Chapter 3:

Ellie silently followed Maria, and listened carefully as she led the way through Jackson. At random intervals they would stop and Maria would introduce Ellie to some kid around her age. Ellie actually found this kind of hilarious. Sure they were the same age physically, but Ellie knew mentally she was older than every kid here. From what she was told, most of the kids who lived in Jackson had been there for almost their entire lives. Which meant they hadn't been outside the walls that much, they rarely (if ever) had to deal with infected or bandits and hunters, and they hadn't had to kill. She doubted she'd even be able to keep up a sturdy conversation with any of them.

That was until they got to the "stables". The building that housed the stables was actually what remained of an old supermarket. From what Ellie could tell, the citizens of Jackson had just removed the shelves, and built makeshift stalls for the horses. It was surprising how well it actually worked. As they made their way through the stables, Maria talked about someone who worked their. "Someone your age," she'd said, but Ellie didn't pay too much attention. She looked into each stall they passed. Almost every single one housed a beautiful horse. Ellie couldn't believe how many there were. Each stall was stocked with hay and water. Ellie was amazed at how wonderfully groomed the horses seemed.

"Hey Alex, is Devin around?" Ellie heard Maria ask. She looked over, and saw her talking to a man who looked to be somewhere in his mid-fifties. He nodded his head and said; "Yeah, one sec." Then he turned, and made his way towards the back of the store. While they waited, Ellie looked around her. There weren't too many windows, making for a dimly lit setting. The smell of hay and manure was strong in the air. It was hot and humid inside the stables, and Ellie could feel the sweat beginning to form on her forehead.

"You okay Ellie?" Ellie looked up at Maria and nodded. But to be completely honest, she didn't want to meet...Devin she'd said? She wanted to go back home and wait for Joel to return from the Dam with Tommy. Just as these thoughts passed through her head, she caught sight of Alex stepping back into the main room of the stables. Following right behind him was a guy who looked like he was about a year or two older than her. His brunette hair pulled into a tight ponytail that reached just past his shoulder-blades. His icy green eyes seemed to stare into Ellie's very soul, and she had to suppress a shiver. He had a face like out of one of the books she had read years ago. Running down his left brow, eyelid and cheekbone was a thin white scar. He wore a blue jeans vest unbuttoned, revealing a torso built with very toned muscles. He stopped next to Alex, and Ellie gauged his height to be somewhere around six foot, two.

Maria grinned at Devin, and Ellie saw the ghost of a grin on his face. "Ellie, this is Devin. Devin, Ellie." His icy green eyes shifted to Ellie's, and she couldn't help but feel captivated by them. She felt frozen in place. Devin nodded in her direction, and held out a hand. Ellie hesitantly reached out and shook his. Devin breathed in through his mouth, and shoved his hands into his pockets. Maria watched the exchange, and a look flashed on her face.

"How about we give you two a minute?" She asked, before motioning for Alex to follow. He nodded, and followed her into the back room.

"Wha- what's that supposed to mean?" Ellie spluttered in the direction Maria had walked. After a second, she looked back at Devin who now sported a half grin. "What?" He shook his head, and looked around.

"You ever ridden a horse?" Devin asked, motioning for Ellie to follow before making his way down the aisle, quickly glancing into each stall to check on the horses.

"I actually have." Devin nodded, and stopped by a specific stall. In the wood, the word Storm was crudely engraved into the wood. "Think you could ride this bad boy?" Devin asked, placing a hand on the door of the stall. Ellie looked in and her eyes widened. It was the biggest horse she'd ever seen in her life. It's fir was jet black, it's mane (the same color as the rest of it) was long and flowing. "He's the wildest one we got. He doesn't get to go out a lot because of it." Ellie looked up at Storm, and smiled. He was beautiful, and Ellie found herself wanting to just jump on him and take him out riding. Devin saw the look in her eyes and that same half grin formed on his face.

"If you ever have any spare time, maybe you could come on over and we can take him for a ride." Ellie smiled at that. She loved the idea of being able to ride the horse. For awhile there she'd been sure she wouldn't even be able to go near the stables because of the stunt she'd pulled the last time she'd been in Jackson.

"Thanks." Devin nodded. "No problem,"

Joel walked almost silently towards the front door of their house. The sun had set hours ago, and Joel could see the half-moon rising from behind the trees. Crickets sang. The cool breeze that had been blowing all day had quit several hours ago, and now the air was still and quiet. Joel was sure he'd be able to hear a pen drop from a hundred yards away. Once at the door, Joel stopped and turned around. He looked left and right, making sure nothing had followed him.

There's no need for that Joel. Joel knew he didn't have to look over his shoulder anymore, but he couldn't help it. Habits die hard he supposed. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, Joel opened the front door and slipped inside. He was met by Ellie's soft feminine snores. She had fallen asleep on the couch trying to wait up for him. The sight of her on the couch caused a flash of pain in his chest. He was reminded of Sarah, and how several times he had found her sleeping in the living room, most likely trying to stay awake until he was home.

Joel breathed through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth. Once he had himself under control, he quietly walked to where Ellie lay, and picked her up bridal style. She stirred lightly, but other than that, she was still. God she's so beautiful. Joel thought as he carried Ellie up the stairs, and to her bedroom. He laid her down on the mattress, and covered her with the blanket. He watched her sleep for a long time. She was his, he was hers. She was what he was fighting for, and he was what she was fighting for. He knew they relied on each other. with that thought in mind, Joel slid from Ellie's bedroom and made his way towards his own. He was tired, and needed his sleep.

Joel woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking loudly on the door. He jerked up in bed, and looked around him. By the dim light filtering through the window, Joel gauged the time to be somewhere around six or seven in the morning. He quickly climbed to his feet, slipped into his boots and hurried down the stairs. He stopped at the front door, and looked through the peephole. On the other side, he saw Tommy, rifle in hand and a sick look on his face. Oh God, what is it? Joel thought as he turned the lock on the door and swung it open.

"Joel, get some weapons and meet me at the front gate."

"Tommy, what's goin' on?" Joel didn't get an answer, because Tommy was already running down the street, probably on his way to get more men. Joel shook his head, what could be going on? Joel huffed, and went running back up the steps. "Ellie! Ellie!" He stepped into her bedroom, and walked quickly to her mattress. Joel gripped Ellie by the shoulders and shook her vigorously. Ellie's shock-filled eyes snapped open, and looked around. When she realized it was Joel shaking her she became annoyed.

"What the fuck Joel?"

"Don't got time to explain. Get your stuff packed." Without another word Joel went back into his room and began sifting through his backpack, making sure the meager supplies they had were there.

Once Joel was sure he had everything, he holstered his revolver, .9 Mm, and shotgun before grabbing his hunting rifle and walking briskly to Ellie's room. "You ready?" Ellie nodded, confusion clouding her eyes. "Joel, what the hell's going on?" Joel shook his head.

"I ain't got a clue, but Tommy came over here tellin' me to get to the main gate. We might need to make an escape." He motioned for Ellie to follow before turning and hurrying down the stairs. He stopped at the door as an idea popped into his brain. "Ellie, do you know where the stables are?" Ellie nodded. This gave Joel some hope. If they ended up having to leave in a hurry, he could probably meet up with Ellie somewhere outside the walls. At least she would have a better chance of escaping if she was on a horse.

"Go there, if somethin' goes south you get out of here on a horse. I'll meet you down by the plant."

"But-"

"Go!" Without another word, Joel swung open the door and went sprinting down the street. As he ran he prayed that Ellie would listen and go to the stables. So many things could be going wrong, and Joel couldn't help but feel like he was running headfirst into a hurricane.

Ellie watched Joel as he ran off in the direction of the main gate. She kept her eyes on him until he was out of sight. She felt so confused, and she debated on whether or not to follow him. But then she remembered the look of worry and fear that had etched his lined face. Something bad was going on, and she decided it would probably be smarter to just obey him and go to the stables. So, with a huff, she turned to the right, and slowly began jogging down the street. She reached into her back waistband, and pulled out her handgun. She pulled out the mag and did a shell-count. She had a full clip. Ellie took a deep breath, switched the safety on and shoved the gun back in her waistband before moving onward.

Joel reached the main gate, and climbed the ladder, to the platform near the top. There he found Tommy crouched, waiting for him. "What is it little brother?" Tommy motioned towards the other side of the wall. "We got a group of hunters out there, tryin' to get us to come out. I was thinkin' we try and scare 'em off. I got some guys in the towers, ready to snipe 'em if they open fire." Joel looked at the guard towers. There was one on each corner of the wall. Joel nodded his head. He opened his mouth to ask Tommy if there was anything else to the plan, when a voice yelled up at the wall. It was a voice that chilled Joel to the very core. Because he knew that voice.

"All we want is the town Tommy! You give it to us and we'll let all of you good people go! If you don't, we'll be forced to break through your walls. And if we have to do that, we'll kill every man, woman and child we find in there!" Joel couldn't believe it. Had his ears deceived him, or was he really hearing that voice. Tommy saw the look on Joel's face, and his eyes grew wide. "Is that who I think it is?" He asked his older brother. Joel looked him in the eyes, and nodded his head. Tommy suddenly looked as if he'd seen his own headstone.

"Joel...what do we do?" Joel thought about it. What could they do? If the voice he was hearing belonged to the man he thought it did, there was no way anyone in Jackson would survive unless they fought him tooth and nail. "We can't give Jackson up," He said finally. "He'll slaughter anyone in it no matter what. Probably rape the women before he kills 'em too." Tommy nodded his head. "Looks like we're gonna' have to show them who's boss." And without saying another word, Tommy stood. When he wasn't immediately torn to shreds by gunfire, Joel and anyone else on the main wall stood as well. Joel looked down the other side of the wall and froze.

It was just as he had suspected. On the other side of the wall stood about seventy-five, maybe eighty men, all armed to the teeth whether it be pipes, molotov cocktails or firearms. At the head of the small army stood the one man Joel had ever come to call evil. He stood at a towering six feet, nine inches. His black hair was long and greasy, his facial hair covered almost his entire lower face. His face was lined and etched with battle scars. His black eyes burned with a fire so intense Joel thought they looked like burning coals. He wore tight cargo pants, a white t-shirt and a Kevlar vest. Over all of this, a black trench-coat hung on his body, ending just at his ankles. In his hands was an M-16. In his mouth was a lit blunt, and Joel couldn't help but wonder where he had found the grass to roll it. His name was Devlin-nicknamed "The Wolf" for his ravenous and wild fighting style.

When the Wolf caught sight of Joel, his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas, and he spread his arms out. "No fucking way! Joel! Good ta' fucking see ya'!" Joel' grip on the hunting rifle tightened and he felt his stomach roll. He remembered the Wolf from his time with the Hunters, before he abandoned them in Boston. The Wolf had been in charge then, and it seemed as if nothing had changed.

The Wolf held the M-16 in both hands again, and flashed a shit-eating grin up at Tommy and Joel. "Joel, I know you've got some fucking sense up in that fucking head of yours. So why don't you tell these people to stand the fuck down and let us in?" Joel didn't answer, only stared back down. He didn't want to show any signs of weakness. He didn't want to show that he was trembling in his boots.

"Get out of here Devlin! We ain't givin' this place up!" The Wolf didn't move from his spot. He's like a living statue, Joel thought. He was suddenly reminded of when he abandoned the Hunters. Back in Boston. He remembered the Wolf telling him he'd regret his decision. He was beginning to do just that.

Joel was sure they were done for. They didn't have the kind of numbers to take on a group this big. But instead of opening fire on them, the Wolf only shook his head.

"Joel...Joel...Joel. You and I both know you don't want to do this. We've got more fucking guys than all of the people combined in that fuckhole town of yours! Now you fall back or you and all of your motherfucking buddies are DEAD!" Joel felt a shiver run down his spine. He had forgotten just how terrifying the Wolf could be.

AN: Hey guys! What do you think? Does the Wolf seem like a nice guy? Will Joel be able to stand his ground? Is this the end of Jackson? What's going on with Ellie? Found out all of that and more in the next chapter! Don't forget tor review and tell me what you think. And above all: enjoy!

~Exangellion