From Sea to Shining Sea Ch.2 - Boise

~~~~Summer~~~~

~~~Me~~~

I shifted painfully on the saddle of the horse, my back and necked ached from sitting up so straight as often Ellie was resting her head on my shoulder. It has been two months since we had left Jackson, and most of the journey was through scorched plains, the unforgiving sun sapping my will and energy, while at night the bone chilling wind forced us to curl up together as close to the fire as we could without catching on fire.

It was great.

"Ellie, look." I said, nudging her sleeping body with my shoulder and pointing to the horizon. In the distance, a city loomed before us, a dark reminder of our previous travel through Denver.

"What city is that?" Ellie asked me.

"Boise." I replied.

"Do you think there will be hunters?" She asked nervously.

"You never know, let's hope not." I said. I wasn't sure how anyone could stand to live here, it was flat, brown, and extremely hot. We rode on for a couple more hours, but Boise seemed to be the same distance away as when I had first spotted it.

"Fuck it. I can't go any further." I told Ellie, my discomfort driving me from the horse. I hopped off the horse, the dry grass scratching my legs. I stretched upwards, trying to relieve my sore muscles as best I could. I then helped Ellie off our horse.

"Why does it have to be so hot?" Ellie complained. I shrugged.

"At least we've got water." I said. The Snake river was on our left and we had been following it northwest ever since we had left Wyoming.

"Care for a swim?" Ellie asked me, stripping off her shirt and shorts, leaving her in her underwear.

"Well I'll swim since you still can't." I teased her.

"Hey! I'm learning!" Ellie said, hitting me playfully as she stepped into the water.

"Whoa! Geez that's cold!" Ellie shrieked as she submerged herself in the shallow, slow moving water. I stripped off my shirt, leaving my shorts on and unlaced my shoes before stepping into the icy water. I shivered as I sat near the bank, the water rising to my chest, watching Ellie as she attempted some of the strokes I had taught her earlier on our trip. The freezing water helped ease my aches, allowing me to relax in the shallow water and cool off. I closed my eyes, the only sounds were Ellie's splashing and a faint clicking.

My eyes shot open. "Ellie, quiet for a second." I ordered. She immediately stood and froze in place as the clicking slowly got louder and was now accompanied by some pained moaning.

"Clickers?" Ellie asked in a hush tone. I nodded as I slowly walked up the riverbed. Our horse was neighing nervously as I reached for my bag and grabbed Joel's revolver, pulling the hammer back with a sharp CLICK. I heard the dry grass crunch under feet as the shaking clicker came into view, emerging from behind a small pocket of trees. The clicker threw its body around erratically, trying to sense is among the nothingness separating us. I lifted the gun, aiming carefully before firing a single shot and watching the clickers head snap backwards as it dropped to the ground. Only then did I realize my mistake, as several runners came sprinting from the trees nearby. I fired at the rushing creatures, killing two while crippling a third and missing my other two shots. I threw the gun to the ground and drew my knife from my bag as the last three runners approached. I stopped the first one by blocking it across the chest with my arm and thrusting my knife into its eye. I grabbed the next one, twisting it around and kicking out its knee before severing its spinal cord. I turned as Ellie took on the last one, struggling against its ferocity, holding it back with both hands as they fell to the ground.

"Cameron!" Ellie called out as she fell. I ran to Ellie and kicked the runner's head, which was not a very good idea as I was barefoot. I sent it sprawling next to Ellie, cutting out its throat before it could stand.

"You okay?" I asked Ellie, helping her up.

"Peachy." She replied, brushing grass off of herself.

"I should probably think before I shoot next time." I said with a chuckle.

"You should probably just start thinking." Ellie giggled.

"Really Ellie?"

"Sorry." She apologized. By now the sun had started to set and the chilly wind had kicked up. I shivered, pulling my shirt back on as I untied our single sleeping bag from our tired horse.

"I'm going to get some firewood." I told Ellie, motioning to the small group of trees where the group of infected had hid. Most of the trees were thin and dead and I was able to snap off some good sized branches for the much needed fire. I returned back to where Ellie had dug a small hole for the fire, the temperature dropping fast as I struggled to light the fire.

"Why does it have to be so cold?" Ellie complained.

"Weren't you just complaining about being hot a little while ago?"

"Shut up."

I crawled into the sleeping bag with Ellie, our bodies pressed together. The bag was approved for subzero temperatures, but that didn't stop me from being cold.

"We should probably get to town tomorrow since we don't have any food left." I told Ellie, pulling her body against my own.

"Mmhh? Yeahhh." Ellie purred as my cold hands brushed her tummy. I kissed her exposed neck before falling asleep.

~~~Ellie~~~

Ellie stared up into the starlit sky, the amount of stars amazed her.

How could there be so many? She thought to herself, watching the stars twinkle and dance against the dark canvas of the sky, reminding her of Cameron's eyes when he watched her. That thought made her smile as she rolled onto her side to stare at the boy pressed against herself. He was so different from her. Her usually pale but now burnt skin stood out against his darkened tan skin. His short, sandy blonde hair and her long, dark red hair. The thing that got Ellie though was his size. Cameron stood a full half a foot taller than her and outweighed her by at least 40 pounds and he made her feel small and weak. She didn't feel defenseless when she was by herself however, she had learned a lot when she was by herself and from Cameron, Joel, and Tommy. She knew she could take care of herself if she wanted to. But she didn't. Cameron shifted in his sleep, turning away from her, making Ellie pout. She finally let out a long sigh and allowed herself to fall asleep.

Ellie awoke to Cameron struggling to get out of the sleeping bag.

"Sorry." He mumbled, standing and stretching before Ellie. She let out a yawn and slithered out of the sleeping bag, enjoying the cool morning air. Ellie rolled up the sleeping bag before strapping it to the horse as Cameron stomped out the remains of the fire. Ellie walked to the river, splashing the icy water onto her face, sending a jolt down her spine. She washed her face and hair in the water as Cameron sat impatiently on the horse.

"Ellie?" He called out to her.

"Oh hold your horses." Ellie joked.

"That was really bad."

"I know."

Cameron let out a frustrated sigh as he helped Ellie onto the horse. She instinctively wrapped her arms arms his waist as he spurred the horse into a trot.

Gurrgh! Ellie felt her stomach more than she heard it, but it was loud enough to make Cameron look over his shoulder.

"Hungry?" He asked.

"What do you think?"

Cameron smirked back at her. "I know something you can eat"

"Don't. Do not go there." Ellie warned

"You didn't even know what I was going to say!" He complained.

"Really? You boys are all the same."

Cameron say up straight and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I'm not a boy."

"Well what are you then." Ellie asked. "Not a man." She added before he could answer.

"Uhh, something in between I guess. I think adolescent is the word?" He responded. Ellie just rolled her eyes.

They rode for several hours, the heat increasing with each passing hour. Boise was now just a few miles out and Ellie felt a shiver go through her, even through the heat. She did not like cities.

"Cameron? Something doesn't feel right." Ellie said worriedly, wrapping her arms even tighter around him.

"I know, but we need to stop here to scavenge some food." He reminded her, her stomach growled as he spoke.

Ellie grew restless as buildings started to pop up around them and increasing in size and amount the further they went. Cameron pulled the horse up in front of a dilapidated strip mall inside the city. He lowered himself from the horse with a low grunt before helping Ellie off. Ellie's eyes darted back and forth, scanning for any hidden dangers, she hoped there'd be none. Ellie tied the horse up to lamppost and grabbed Cameron's hand as he walked towards the strip.

"We are going to be fine." He reassured her, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"I know." She answered.

They approached the first store and Cameron pushed open the door and immediately a rancid smell sent Ellie's head spinning, but the sight before her almost caused her to throw up.

"Jesus Christ!" Cameron exclaimed, looking away.