Although dinner was finished, the dining hall was still crowded with people enveloped in conversation and genuinely enjoying each other's company. Tommy sat adjacent to Maria, holding her hand beneath the table and laughing as an elderly man across from him was telling one of his many childhood tales. The voices and laughter seemed to echo throughout the small establishment and gave everyone a sense of comfort - after the world was overrun, down time was a hard thing to come by, and they savored every minute of it.
Joel quietly slipped through the doorway as not to interrupt and made his way down the isle towards Tommy's seat.
"We have a problem," he said, one hand resting on Tommy's shoulder.
Tommy, still engrossed in conversation, motioned his hands towards the door as to tell him to go away. "Not now. I'm busy."
"Tommy," Joel said, tightening his grip and his voice turning into a growl. "You need to come with me. Now."
Tommy could feel the stares from the people surrounding him. "Okay, okay," he said, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm coming."
He turned towards Maria and lightly pecked her forehead, then turned towards the rest of his company. "I'll be right back."
They all waved goodbye and quickly returned to their conversation as he and Joel exited the room. Closing the door behind him, Tommy crossed his arms and buried his back against the wall. "What is it now?"
"Ellie, she..."
"No," Tommy replied lividly. "I am not getting in the middle of this shit. Not again."
He started to walk towards the door, but Joel grabbed the handle to prevent him from leaving.
"She's gone."
"What do you mean 'gone'?"
"Her bag, her weapons... everything. She fucking left, Tommy!"
Tommy tilted his head and glared angrily at Joel. "Are you shitting me right now? You have got to learn how to control that goddamn kid, or I-"
"She's not a kid, Tommy. And this is nobody's fault but mine. So can we please stop the goddamn bickering and do something about this?"
Tommy grazed his fingers along his chin. "I, uh... I'll grab a few of my men and send out a search team. She's gotta be around here somewhere."
He squeezed Joel's shoulder and shot him a quick smile before calling in his men through the radio and making his way out of the door.
"Please, baby girl," Joel pleaded, his eyes closed tightly and his hands clasped together. "Please be okay."
The day was finally coming to a close; the sun shone brightly through the trees, kissing bits of the ground as it lowered behind the mountainside, and the air grew colder and colder as nighttime began to close in.
"Damn," Ellie mumbled to herself, rubbing her hands against her shoulders for warmth. It'd been several hours since she'd left the settlement and she was already having doubts - she quickly dismissed them, however, once she remembered what made her leave in the first place. But man, did she miss her warm bed.
Treading along the beaten down highway, she stumbled upon an abandoned cottage home just a few meters away. "Perfect."
The home had been reclaimed by mother nature - it was completely engulfed in moss and vines, and the field of grass surrounding it looked as if it could swallow it up whole. The windows were completed boarded up with plywood and strange markings created with spray paint littered the siding. Ellie had always been infatuated with aged and abandoned buildings - they provided her with passage to a world she never knew, and there was something really beautiful about that.
Using her arms to push the wild grass beside her, she slowly made her way through to the front entrance. The door handle was jammed; tucking her elbow into her stomach, she managed to burst the door open and was immediately greeted by musty air and dust balls.
"Fuck," she said, coughing and waving her hand through the air around her. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here for awhile."
She studied the room and noticed an array of cots - at least a dozen - lined up against the back wall. Beside them were crates stacked with magazines, empty cigarette cartons, and half-melted candles. It was obvious that the old cottage had been inhabited at one point, but judging by the thin layer of dust that coated every surface of the room, no one had been there for quite a while.
Ellie decided to explore the building even further and made her way up the wooden staircase, gently gliding her fingers across the railing as she tried to imagine what the little home looked like before the world went to, well... shit. The bay windows, now broken and boarded, were once opened and warmed the home with light; the floors were beautifully polished and practically begged to be danced upon; the walls were painted with vibrant colors and echoed with the laughter of children; the piano in the loft once played beautiful music that danced along the surfaces of the home. Although she was raised in this cruel world, she held on to the hope that one day she, too would be able to live a happy, normal life like the people in the stories she was told growing up.
After sifting through the rest of the top floor, Ellie discovered a large master bedroom complete with a king size bed, a walk in closet full of clothing, and a custom bookshelf complete with movies, novels from practically every author ever, and - oddly enough - comic books.
"Jackpot!" She yelled, tossing her backpack on the bed and rummaging through the collection.
"No. No. Too boring. Too many boobs. Already read it. Definitely no," she commented as she flipped through each book. "Aha!" She pulled out a boxed collection of Savage Starlight, the comics she had been reading for all of those months she had spent with Joel. A few of them were missing, but she was still excited to see the few issues she hadn't read yet. She pulled herself off of the ground and propped herself onto the bed, which, although it had no sheets, was still surprisingly comfortable. She reached for her bag and pulled out the copies that he had found for her, a faint smile on her face. She decided to save them for later, as she knew she'd be on the road again soon and would need something to keep her occupied.
Laying on the over sized bed, Ellie sprawled herself out and blew out air from her mouth. "What to do, what to do..." She had the entire house to herself - there had to be something she could do to keep herself entertained. Then she remembered the closet. Clothes. She'd always wanted to know what it was like to dress and act like a, well... girl.
She pranced over to the closet and began searching through the racks, picking out the craziest outfits she could find and trying them on. She then stood at the back of the closet, pretending to hold a microphone and introducing herself to the imaginary crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for the amazingly beautiful and talented Ellie!" With her hands on her hips, she walked down the isle of the closet, humming an old rock ballad and striking a pose as she walked down the imaginary runway. She was wearing 5 inch heels that were two sizes too big, and her dress was bright pink and covered with jewels and feathers. A colorful sombrero sat atop her head and wiggled around as she continued to stumble through the closet. As soon as she reached the doorway, she managed to do one more dramatic pose and blow a kiss before falling flat on her face.
She held her stomach as she lay flat on the ground and laughed, the sound echoing throughout the room around her. It was nice to finally have some fun, even if it was just with herself this time. And who knew being a girl could be so difficult?
After she was able to control herself, she threw off the clothes and hobbled over to her bed, her ankle sore from the fall. She blew out the candle on the bedside table and huddled up on the bed with a blanket she found from another room. As she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she could almost feel Joel's lips pressed against her forehead and his voice saying what he always had when she was about to fall asleep.
"Sweet dreams. I love you, baby girl."
Ellie's seemingly peaceful first night at the cottage was soon interrupted by a series of loud noises coming from the floor below her. Her eyes shot open as she tried to focus her hearing.
"Man, I am so sick of this shit!" a man's voice yelled. "Can't we just find the damn girl and get this over with?"
The girl? What were they talking about?
"It's been months and there's still no sign of her anywhere. There's gotta be tons more immune people out there. Why waste our time on this little bitch?" Another voice added.
She huffed. "Well then."
Ellie pulled out her pistol and quietly shuffled towards the bedroom door, slowly turning the doorknob as not to make a noise. The men had moved upstairs into the room across the way, and she followed the sound of their muffled conversation as she shimmied towards the opposite end of the hallway.
With her back buried against the wall and her pistol in hand, she took a deep breath and prepared to ambush the two men. As she turned the corner to surprise them, she felt someone pull her back and cup their hand over her mouth.
"What the - get the fuck off me!" She tried yelling, but it was quickly buried beneath the stranger's hand. Her gaze shifted to see who the person was. It was a boy - he looked to be about Ellie's age, if not a few years older. His blue eyes glistened as the moonlight hit them from the skylight above. He put one finger against his lips and shushed her as the sound of more footsteps came from the first floor. He looked her in the eyes and pulled her towards the bathroom, gently closing the door behind him.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she whispered, the anger clear in her voice.
"Saving your life," the boy replied through his small, panicked breaths. "Which, by the way, you're welcome."
"I didn't need your help," she shot back. "Besides, there's only a few of them. I could take 'em on with no problem."
He chuckled. "Is that so? Then, by any means, go back out there finish your business."
She rolled her eyes. Who was this kid?
"I, on the other hand, will be gathering what I need and getting the fuck out of here." He quietly rummaged throug the cabinets, grabbing some pills and an old toothbrush.
"Can we just get out of here, please?"
The boy stuffed the items in his backpack and walked over to the bathroom window. He pulled it open, motioning for her to go through. "Ladies first."
"Pfft." She climbed through and stepped onto the roof. She walked to the edge and slid herself onto the ground, the boy following right behind her. She took a second to brush herself off and started walking towards the woods.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked.
"Away from here."
"Well, I never did catch your name..."
This time Ellie stopped completely, turning to face the boy. She took a second to examine him - he was tall, at least 6 foot; he wore a tattered old band t-shirt with a light denim jacket over top of it, and a worn down pair of converse just like she had; his short, frosty blonde hair was gently brushed to the back of his head, revealing a scar across the top of his forehead and showing off his prominent facial features. She didn't want to admit it, but he was cute.
He smiled as he noticed her staring.
"Hello?" he asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
She quickly snapped out of it. "Oh, uh... Ellie. My name's Ellie."
"Nice to meet you, Ellie. I'm Bryce." He held out his hand, but she just stared at it.
"Okay, then," he said, pulling it back and awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "So... what brings you here?"
She glared at him. "Why does it matter?"
"I'm sensing some resistance."
"Don't ask stupid questions."
He laughed and slid his backpack off of his back, quickly rummaging through it for something.
"What are you doing?"
"Here," he said, holding out the boxed set of Savage Starlight she had found earlier that day. "You dropped this earlier. Y'know, when you were getting ready to brutally murder those bandits."
She hoffed and grabbed the books from his hand, stuffing them into her bag.
"So, you got a group?"
"No," she retorted. "It's just me."
She felt strange saying that out loud.
"Yeah," he replied, his voice going soft. "Me too."
The walked silently alongside each other for a few minutes before he revived the conversation.
"My camp's over there," he pointed towards a small opening in the woods. "I'm only there for the night, but if you want a place to crash, I gotta tent and more food than I can manage."
"I, uh... I'm good. I'm sure I'll find a place to stay up the road."
He laughed. "Good luck. There's nothing around here for miles. Next town's a few miles over. You'll freeze to death if you walk there now."
She hesitated for a moment, but was quickly interrupted by the loud growling of her stomach.
"I don't think so."
"Are you sure?" He raised his hands and started walking ahead, turning around to face her as he did so. "Are you sure? You're obviously hungry... and I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I make some mean baked beans."
She laughed, holding her noisy stomach.
"Goodbye, Ellie." He shot her a quick smile and continued on his way.
He was right - according to her map, the next town over was almost 20 miles north, and that could take her hours. She was already freezing as it was. Her stomach growled again, this time sending a sharp jolt of pain throughout her body.
And she was hungry.
"Hey!" she called after Bryce.
He stopped and turned his head back. "Yeah?"
"Save a bowl for me, would you?"