"Please" the man pleaded as his wife and daughter cried next to him. They had been traveling north of Texas when they'd been forced to go into town for their sick daughter. They'd encountered another three men, but they had been killed while trying to run from the hunters
"You can beg all you want" One of the hunters said sizing up the man's wife, "When the boss gets here everything will be all over for you…not your little wife and girl, but you".
"D-Daddy…" the little girl cried as one of the hunters walked forward, smacking the girl and sending her to the ground.
"Shut it bitch!" the man said as the door opened and in walked Joel.
"We found them wandering around town" Todd said as Joel walked in, "Said they were just passing through".
"Please!" the man on the floor said, "We don't want to fight. M-My daughter is sick. She just needs something for a fever! Please we'll leave and never bother any of you again!"
Joel ignored the man as his eyes fell on the small framed girl who lay on the floor, a small cough escaping her lips. She seemed to be in her early teens, but her frame was so small you wouldn't be able to tell.
A gulp was heard as Joel noticed the dirty patch of short blonde hair on the girl's head.
The man noticed Joel's intense stare and immediately jumped in front of his daughter, "Please…I'm begging you; don't hurt her…"
"Who hit the girl" Joel asked noticing the large bruise forming on the girl's cheek. He turned to look at the three hunters in the room.
A lone man slowly raised his hand, finding the question confusing. Joel looked over at the man for a whole minute; each second making everyone in the room grow nervous.
As quick as lightning Joel's gun was upholstered and a single bullet was put between the attackers eyes.
The other hunters watched as their friend fell to the floor, dead before he could land.
"Get him the fuck out of here" Joel said looking at Todd, his gun still in hand. The man fumbled to raise the now dead man up and take him from the room.
"Go get some of the naproxen; enough for a travel" Joel said looking at the last hunter left in the room.
"But…" the man asked only to be silenced when Joel raised an eyebrow, "Did I stutter? I don't think I did. I've never had a problem talking before. I know my accent is bad…but stuttering" walking to the man who was protecting his daughter, "Did you hear me stutter?"
Fearing for his family's life the man shook his head and replied, "N-No sir".
"Chuck" Joel growled turning around and looking at the hunter, "Are you saying I have a stuttering problem?"
"No way Joel!" Chuck said running towards the door, "I'll get the medicine right now".
The room stayed silent for a whole four minutes until Chuck came back, a small bag in hand. Joel took the bag and told Chuck to leave.
Once the door had shut behind Joel and he was left with the family he holstered his gun. He slowly walked towards the man, bag bouncing.
"Stay away!" The man said while visibly shaking, but still ready to die for his family.
"Shut up dumbass" Joel said pushing the man over and slicing the ties around his wrist. He then walked over to the woman and did the same to her. He slowly kneeled beside the young girl and carefully helped her up as he swiftly cut the binding.
"W-Why?" the man asked as his daughter ran to his wife who was by his side.
Joel slowly stood up from his spot on the floor, stretching his long arms over his head.
"Who knows" he muttered looking at the ground while turning around to face the family, "I guess you guys just caught me on a good day".
The man was about to question further when the small bag was tossed to him. "Make sure she takes two a day, until she's better; one in the morning, one at night." Joel said nodding towards the small girl.
The man looked inside the bag to find medication. Slowly reclosing it he said, "I…I don't know why you're doing this and…and I don't know how I could ever repay you".
Joel looked at the man's wife, a very pretty woman who looked life she could use a good meal. The man couldn't have been too much younger than himself. When his eyes fell to the now staring girl, he couldn't help but feel his heart hammer.
"You wanna repay me…" Joel asked walking towards the family, "You keep them safe. No matter what you do what you have to, to make sure they're safe".
The man was a good few inches shorter than Joel, but he could see the look in the hunter's eyes, a look that knew pain. He slowly nodded as Joel stopped in front of him and said, "Go out the back door. Avoid cities as much as possible. You start heading North towards Wyoming, there's a man down there; names Tommy. He's a little goofy but he'll take good care of you guys".
"Yes sir" the man said hugging his family, a smile coming to his face as he once again thanked the strange savior.
"Now go" Joel said gesturing towards the back door of the room, "Hurry up before anyone or thing comes a looking for ya".
The woman gave Joel a kiss on the cheek, tears running down her eyes. The man nodded towards him. The little girl looked up at the brute of a man and smiled; something which almost made Joel break.
Hearing the door shut behind the family Joel fell against the closest wall; his body shaking.
"Please forgive me baby" he said running a hand through his hair, "Daddy's gonna make this better…I promise"
"What the fuck do you mean I owe you?" Bill said glaring at the slightly taller man.
Today was just like every other; he'd wake up, pitch a loaf, laugh at some infected stuck in his traps, and then go back to his room. Everything was going fine until a bunch of his traps had been set off very quickly, something that didn't happen often.
"After I saved you from the goddamn hunters you owe me more than a car" Joel said sternly, watching Ellie cautiously.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bill roared, waving his arms around, "I wouldn't have had a problem if you didn't lead them to me in the first place! You come into my town, set off half my traps, let this little bitch hurt my shooting arm, and alert every infected in a two mile radius around town; and I owe you?"
"Yeah" Joel said getting in the man's face, "Trust me; all the infected in the world would be better than what a hunter would do to you".
Bill girt his teeth together, the sound making Ellie grimace. "Whatever" Bill grumbled while walking away from Joel, "Joel wants a fucking car. We'll I'd better do back flips to get it to him!"
"Fucking asshole" Ellie whispered as Bill walked up to a table. "Just keep quiet" Joel responding.
"Alright" Bill said examining a map, "If we're gonna do this, I'm gonna need some parts. It's on the other side of town. Now you help me go gather it, and maybe I could put something together that'll run…but after this; I owe you nothing". As he finished he held out the keys to the handcuffs currently around Ellie.
"That's fine" Joel said grabbing the keys to the handcuffs on Ellie, taking her wrist he said, "That's fine, few days from now we'll probably be dead anyways".
"Good" Bill said walking forward, "Follow me. Whole goddamn town is booby trapper. Best stay right on my ass".
Ellie sighed as she turned around, alongside Joel, "Can't miss it".
Joel stopped and tugged on her arm, "Knock it off!"
They followed Bill up a set of stairs and listened, "We have to cross to another building, move it!"
"God damn it Bill" the long haired man said to himself, "Can't believe you agreed to this. You should've just left them there".
"Wow" Ellie said giving Joel a light jab with her elbow, "You weren't kidding about him".
"Yup" Joel said watching Bill shake his head, "He's defiantly one of a kind".
"So what kind of trouble you in?" Bill questioned walking outside, "Where the hell is Tess?"
Ellie couldn't help the shame she felt as Joel looked down while walking, "No trouble, just a simple drop off".
"What're you delivering?" Bill laughed jumping out an open window onto a broken ledge, "The little brat?"
"Haha" Ellie said crossing her arms, "Fuck you too".
"Where are we going Bill?" Joel asked, hoping to shut the two up.
"We're going to another safe house, more of an armory" Bill replied.
"Wait…" Ellie asked, "I thought we we're fixing up a car".
"Oh" Bill said mockingly, "You know how to fix a ca…"
"Bill" Joel said interrupting the man, "Just fucking stop".
"Haha" Ellie said to Bill while sticking her tongue out at him.
"Whatever" Bill muttered walking forward, "Where we're going is filled with infected. We're gonna need a lot more guns".
"Great" Joel muttered as Joel opened a gate to the back of a church.
"Don't touch anything" Joel said walking away from Ellie, her eyes rolling.
"Psh" She said watching as the two older men walked towards some crates, "I'll touch whatever I fucking want".
Just to make her point she poked some papers with a small smile. Her smile faded when the stack fell and paper flew everywhere.
"Shit!" She whispered looking over; hoping neither of the men noticed. Luckily the mention of a nail bomb had kept the men busy and neither had looked over.
Scrambling to collect the papers he fell to her knee and back placing them in a neat stack.
"What the hell?" she said holding up the magazine, "Maybe that's why Bills such an ass. He just needs a man to love".
She couldn't help but let her eyes immediately travel down to the man's penis. She'd like to say it was the biggest she'd ever seen, but that title belonged to her traveling partner.
She shuttered as she thought about what she'd seen when she'd crept out onto the balcony of the apartment buildings they'd been staying.
Flash back
Ellie didn't know what to expect when she'd tip toed towards the window of the room. She slowly lifted it up, doing her best to not wake the now sleeping Tess. Hefting herself over the window she carefully placed a small bit of weight on the metal balcony, connecting the apartments to each other.
Deeming it safe she jumped onto the balcony; checking to make sure Tess hadn't wakened up. Turning her head she looked at the only other widow that was accessible by the balcony. She could hear what sounded like fighting coming from the room.
She whipped her switch blade out as quickly as she could; ready to defend Marlene against the giant man who had taken her last friend into the other room. Slowly creeping up to the window she looked inside.
She had expected to see a fight, or an argument; not Marlene moaning like a slut while the man humped her from behind.
"Holy shit!" Ellie exclaimed as she pressed her face closer to the glass. She honestly couldn't believe what was happening, and she probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been happening right in front of her.
"God damn!" she said as Joel pulled his long gun from Marlene. She was amazed to see a guy his age so lively.
"Where to you want it this time?" She heard the man quietly mutter as he jerked his dick.
Ellie was surprised when Marlene bent over, her butt presented to the man. She saw even Joel was a bit surprised when Marlene spread her cheeks and said, "Pump that monster in my ass you fucker".
Joel just leaned forward, spitting on the tiny hole as he slowly fingered her.
"No fucking way" Ellie said as she watched Joel line his humongous head with Marlene's small asshole, "He's gonna fucking skewer her!"
She heard Marlene groan as Joel began pushing into her, her body struggling to take him.
She was astonished that Marlene could handle it, let alone want it in her backdoor.
"I can't believe this" Joel said shoving five inches into the woman, "You've actually got a tighter hole than your pussy!"
From her angle, Ellie could see every bit of length that was being shoved into her friend. "This is actually pretty hot!" Ellie said as she watched Marlene place her face down onto the bed, muffling her moans.
She couldn't help but admire Joel's cock as it slid in and out of Marlene's ass. Every vein, bump, and ridge began to make her tingle.
"Fuck" Ellie said as she moved, a familiar wetness now present in her pants, "I guess I could…not like they'll hear me over each other".
End
"ELLIE" Joel called, bringing the girl out of her flashback, "We're leaving now! Come on".
Ellie rolled her eyes as she picked herself up from the ground. She put the magazines and papers back on the rack, only to look twice and snatch one of them.
"Yeah, yeah" the redhead said strolling into the men's eyesight, "I'm ready".
"Alright" Bill said walking towards the exit, "You two better stay with me, because I ain't stopping to save either one of ya".
Ellie couldn't help but feel helpless under Joel's gaze as he stood propped on the door of the truck. "I won't let you down with this…"she muttered, staring into the man's dark eyes.
It took a few seconds until Joel gave a little nod and said, "Alright".
Joel walked to the back of the truck, getting behind and ready to push, "Alright Bill, let's do it".
"Alright" Bill said opening the garage door, running to the back of the truck with Joel, "Put er in first. Then keep you foot on the clutch and when we get to rolling"
"I know how to pop a clutch" Ellie said clicking her tongue as she once again rolled her eyes.
"H-How the hell?" Bill asked quietly, only to say, "You know what, I don't give a fuck. Just don't fuck it up!"
Joel was just on the verge of falling asleep when Bill slapped the side of the bed and said, "Alright! This'll do!"
He sighed as the truck came to a stop and they jumped out the bed.
Ellie made sure to listen carefully as the two men talked.
"You know" Bill said taking the shotgun from his back, "That girl almost got us killed".
"Well…" Joel said stretching, sneaking a peak at the girl who had moved to the passenger seat, "You gotta admit though….she did hold her own".
"Oh yeah" Bill said with a chuckle as he grabbed something from his bad, "Here ya go, for refueling. You'd be amazed by how many cars got gas in them".
"Thank ya" Joel said holding the hose in his hands, "You know Bill…about your buddy back there…that's a tough deal"
"We square?" Bill asked turning around, looking towards the city.
"Yeah…" Joel said looking at Bill's back as the man began to gather himself for the walk back, "We're square".
Joel could hear Bill mutter, "Then get the fuck outta my town".
Ellie watched from the car as Joel gave a small nod and then turned. She turned her gaze, but could hear his door open.
"Thank you" Ellie said looking at the man who was switching into first gear.
"What for?" Joel asked as the truck began to move.
"Back there…" Ellie said, her thumbs twiddling, "When Bill said I almost got you killed…"
"You don't gotta thank me" Joel said, his serious face never changing.
"Yeah" Ellie said with a nod, only to look at him, face slightly red, "But you didn't have to defend me either".
"Get some sleep" Joel said, clearly wanting to stop the conversation. Ellie nodded before she grabbed her bag and crawled into the back. She used her bag for a pillow; the last thing she saw was Joel's head, before falling asleep.
A few hours later
Joel had been driving for a while now, he was beginning to feel drowsy, and the rain tapping on the windshield wasn't helping.
He could feel his eyes slipping until he heard, "UGH MAN!"
Snapping his eyes open he said, "Hey, what happened to sleeping?"
"Okay" Ellie said sitting herself up, "I know this doesn't look like it, but this is a pretty good read; only one problem".
Joel watched through the mirror as the girl held her finger to a colorful page of a magazine, "To be continued! I fucking hate cliffhangers!"
"W-What?" Joel said almost turning around, only to remember he was driving, "Where'd you get that?"
"Ugh…" Ellie honestly was lost for words, but decided it'd be best to tell the truth, "Bill's…I mean, it was just lying around!"
She could hear Joel give a disappointed sigh, before he looked at her through the rear view mirror. She could swear she saw a small glint in his eyes as he asked, "What else did ya get?"
"Well" Ellie said with a smile as she reached into the bag, pulling out a small cassette tape, "Here, this make you feel nostalgic?"
Joel looked at the small object in the girl's hand before grabbing it.
"You know" Joel said looking at the tape before popping it into the cassette player, "This is actually before my time".
"It is a winner though" Joel said as the music began playing lowly.
Ellie's face scrunched up as country music began to fill the car, "Eh…I guess it's better than nothing".
"Oh yeah!" Ellie said reaching into the bag, "I bet your friend will be missing this tonight!"
"Yup" Joel said ignoring the girl as he listened to the music.
"It's a little light on the reading" Ellie said with a smile as she opened the magazine, "But it has some interesting photos"
Joel couldn't help but look through the mirror to see what the girl had, and was surprised when it was an adult female magazine.
"Ellie!" Joel said turning his head, "That ain't for kids".
"Whoa!" Ellie said as one of the pages, the same she'd seen earlier fell open, "how the hell would he even would around with that thing?"
Ellie smiled as Joel reached for the magazine; her teasing effective.
"Get rid of that!" Joel said shaking his head as he watched the road.
"Hush" Ellie said looking at another page, "I just want to see what all the fuss is about…wait…why are these pages stuck together?"
She giggled as Joel awkwardly said, "Um…" before she rolled down the window and replied, "I'm just fucking with you!"
Joel heard the girl toss the magazine out the window as she said, "Bye, Bye dude!"
He looked on the road and read a sign that said, "Pittsburg 242 miles west".
Joel wanted to roll his eyes when Ellie jumped back into the front said and began blowing through her lips, making a fart noise.
"You know what?" She said suddenly, green eyes wide with excitement as she started at Joel, "this isn't that bad!" she slowly turned the volume of the old song on; relaxing in her seat.
"Why don't you try and get some sleep" Joel said turning the music back down a little, "Gonna be a long way to where we're going".
"Pst" Ellie made the noise again, "I'm not even tired yet".
Joel smirked as Ellie got comfortable, "Yeah right".
The next morning
Ellie's light green eyes fluttered open softly as she heard the man driving mutter, "No, no, no".
She looked out the window to see the road on the highway was blocked up, but the exit into a city was open.
"What?" She asked, "Just go through the city. Get on the high way through the other side".
"Those cars being blocked like that ain't no natural cause. Hunters set that up so we'd have to go through town".
"Hunters?" Ellie asked, scared eyebrow raised.
"Yeah" Joel said turning off the exit, "Hunters; basically killers who trap people and steal everything they've got on em, then kill em. Man, woman, child, doesn't matter; hunters don't care".
"Well…"Ellie gulped, fearing the worst, "What do we do?"
She watched Joel pull a small piece of cloth from his pocket and hold it tight, "You listen to me and go along with anything I say. If I tell you to do something, you'd best do it, and quickly. No questions asked".
Ellie could tell by Joel's face that he meant business and nodded.
"Alright then…" Joel said driving down the road, "Let's see what happens".