Ellie picked up her backpack. She reached for her rifle and hopped onto Misty. She looked at her watch, given to her by Joel. She wanted to cry, but there was no time. She had to get away. Fast. Clickers screeched and ran towards her, wanting to tear her apart like a kid ripping a big present open on Christmas. She kicked Misty into a gallop, rushing to the main highway. After about ten minutes of galloping to safety, she stopped Callus for a much needed break by a cooling creek. She was on a high hill, so she could see the city Joel had…had…She couldn't think about it. She swallowed her tears, but the lump in her throat grew and it felt like it could burst out of her neck at any given moment. She pulled out a granola bar, some oats for Misty, and a comic book her and Joel found on the way to the hospital. He lied. He lied to Ellie. And she knew it. But she wasn't angry- she understood. With the loss of his daughter, and Ellie growing on him, he took responsibility over Ellie like she was his daughter. She knew she would do the same if she were in his shoes. His, dead, bloody shoes… she shudders at the thought. Ellie walked over to Misty, rubbing her left flank. Ouch. She put medical cream on the wound and patched it up with cloth and duct tape, which was the best she could do at the time. All of a sudden, she heard a noise that didn't sound like Misty's hooves crushing leaves, but a more faint crunch, like a deer. Ellie grabbed her bow and snuck over to a boulder, giving her enough room to see the deer, but still covering her up. She pulled back the bow, and the feather at the end of the arrow touched the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath, and let go. When she opened her eyes, she saw it was a perfect shot to the heart. "Yes!" she exclaimed. She went and got Misty and her backpack to set up camp in the nearby forest.
Later that night, deer skinned, cleaned, and put on the fire, Ellie kicked back and crabbed her comic. She had read it several times, but it always made her happy. An hour later, after she hid the rest of the deer and her and Misty had eaten, she crawled into her makeshift shelter. She laid down, and went through her memories. She remembered when Joel saved her from a pack of clickers, when she saved him from a pack of clickers, and when she found Misty. Then she remembered Callus. And Sam. And Riley. And Tess. She had to stop and get some sleep. All of a sudden, she heard a screeching neigh from Misty, and something grabbed her. They threw a bag over her head, and threw her into the back of a truck. When she tried to scream, a man grabbed her and hit her square in the head. She blacked out and hit the floor of the back of the pickup. She was out cold.