Chapter 4: More Like Us
Another two weeks had gone by and Joel saw no change between Ed and Ellie. He wasn't expecting for Ed to just come and say that he's her father but he should at least try to get to know her. Everyone in the settlement knew everyone. Everyone weren't necessarily the best of friends with each other but everyone knew of and watched out for one another. They were one big family.
But so far for the two of them, every meet has been met with very few words and left with lingering awkwardness in the air.
Joel was going to change that.
Today, Joel, Ellie, and three others, Ryker, Baron, and Lester were going out hunting in the northern part of the settlement; one of the more difficult areas to hunt. Joel knew that Ed was a very capable hunter and would be a valuable asset, but this would also be the chance for him and Ellie to bond a bit. See how they interact.
The five of them were gathered at the northern gates going over their equipment.
Like Joel and Tommy, Lester Dime was from Austin, Texas and was actually a good friend of Tommy. He is 45 years old, has dark brown eyes, and a thick beard. He stands at an impressive height of exactly 6 feet.
Instead of leaving, Lester stayed in Austin and braved things out with his wife and they did for over 10 years. But while he and his wife were out gathering supplies they got swarmed by a hoard of infected. He could do nothing as he watched the horrifying sight of his wife's jaw being torn apart by a bloater.
Months later, when Tommy returned to Austin, the two reunited and Tommy offered him a place of residence. A second chance. Lester graciously accepted.
Lester's weapon of choice was an El Diablo and a special shotgun. It belonged to his wife.
Ryker Bayette was a boy who kept to himself. He comes from St. Paul, Minnesota. Like Ellie, he was born during the outbreak, currently 17 years old. He is 5'7", has a thin yet muscular frame, hazel eyes, tan skin, and long black hair that's kept in a neat ponytail.
Ryker and his mother Judith managed to stumble upon Tommy's settlement after wandering the country for several years, getting themselves in and out of sticky situations. From a young age, Ryker was taught how to shoot a gun & rifle, and was also taught several hand to hand combat techniques, courtesy of his mother. His aim with a rifle is impeccable.
Ryker and Ellie got along fairly well, developing a close friendship in almost no time. He tends to be more open when he's around her. But Joel is always wary.
Baron North is a very quiet man, coming a long ways from Eastport, Maine. Not much is known about his past, being just six years old when the outbreak occurred. But what he must have gone through must have been traumatizing, since he doesn't speak much, if not at all. His presence is almost forgotten at times.
He is currently 26 years old, stands at 5'10, has blue eyes, and short, brunette hair. He has a muscular frame but isn't overly bulky. He has a noticeable scar running across his face, but the story of that is unknown as well. Judging by the size and angle, many speculated that it may have come from a knife, or even a machete or hatchet during an encounter with a hunter or bandit.
His weapon of choice was a bow and arrow. The added scope made his shots more accurate and deadly.
"We all good to go?" Lester asked the group.
"Yeah." Ryker answered, securing his bag on his back.
"Let's do this." Ellie said, tucking her bow and arrows away.
"Hold on, Ed's on his way here." Joel said.
"Ah the new guy. Sure he won't hold us back, Joel?" Lester asked.
"Trust me he's good. Don't know how he does it, but I don't think he's ever let his target slip by."
"That still needs to be seen. We're hunting in one of the more difficult areas today. Not too many groups have been successful up here."
"Don't forget we have Ryker." Ellie spoke up. "Just point him in the right direction and he can take care of it."
Ryker blushed, looked down and rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.
"What about you Baron? Think we'll do good today?" Lester asked.
Baron stared blankly at him for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Right…" Lester muttered.
After a few minutes, Ed had finally arrived at the northern gates.
"Sorry I'm late, Greg needed a little help with the breakfast shift." Ed said.
"It's no problem at all." Lester said. "If we're all set, let's get a move on."
Lester went to the gates and opened them up. One by one they all walked out of the gates, Joel being the last one, tasked with making sure the doors were sealed shut behind them.
"Joel?" Ed whispered. "You didn't tell me Ellie was going to be on this trip."
"That's the point." Joel responded. "You've been avoiding her like the infected these past two weeks."
"I just get nervous around her…"
"Ed-"
"Yeah, you're right. I just need to man up. What was that you asked? What could possibly go wrong?"
Joel clapped him on the shoulder. "There you go."
The group laid low and quiet, not wanting to scare anything away. Lester and Joel had the most acute hearing so they led the group while Ellie, Ed, Ryker, and Baron stayed in the back. Along the way, they managed to catch some rabbits, courtesy of Baron's quick shots.
Ellie, Joel, and Lester also managed to hunt down some deer.
What was more impressive was that Ed had also managed to successfully hunt down a goat, a rare catch.
Today, luck was definitely on their sides.
"We're in luck men and little lady." Lester whispered to the group. "We got quite big one up ahead.
The six of them huddled behind a large boulder.
Not terribly far away from them was an Elk grazing.
"You're up son." Lester said to Ryker.
Ryker nodded and pulled out his rifle. He made sure there was ammunition and peered up from behind the boulder.
"Whoo-whoo-whoo." Ellie silently cheered on. The Elk looked up at the sound (Ryker ducked back down) but ignored it and continued to graze.
Ryker peered up again and lined up his shot. A direct shot to the chest should do it.
Once Ryker lined up his shot, he fired and scored a direct hit.
The Elk staggered but instead of dropping dead, it ran off.
"Fuck." Ryker muttered. Either he had missed for the first time since he was a child or the Elk had a chest of steel.
Either way, he felt like he had failed.
"That's alright, son." Lester squeezed Ryker's shoulder in reassurance. "Figured an animal of that size wouldn't go down so easily."
Ryker nodded, feeling slightly better.
"You managed to hit it, so it'll leave us a trail of blood for us to follow." Lester said.
They followed the blood trail which led them further up north. They spotted the Elk grazing once more.
"Hey, Ed, why don't you give this a shot?" Ryker said.
All eyes went to Ed. "Uh sure, I'll give it my best." Then he looked to Ellie. An idea crossed his mind.
The worst answer he could get is no…
"Hey…Ellie. You're pretty good with a bow and arrow too. Want to give me a hand?" Ed asked tentatively.
"Sure…Ed was it?" Ellie asked, pulling a bow and arrow out.
"Yes ma'am." Ed responded happily "Let's do this."
"Let's kick some ass."
Both of them drew their bows and took aim.
"You're aiming for the head?" Ellie asked.
"Yep, you're aiming for its chest?"
"You know it."
Joel couldn't help but smile at the sight. A father and daughter, side by side, hunting.
Once the two of them lined up their shots, they fired their arrows. Ellie's arrow landed in the same area where Ryker's bullet had hit. Ed's shot hit the elk directly in its eye. The arrow was still wedged in its socket as it ran off once more.
"God damn! That sucker was lodged right in there!" Lester exclaimed. "It's still not going down."
"Then the next shot should be the last one then." Joel said.
The group nodded and they followed the blood trail once more.
Even further up north and slightly to the west, they found the Elk grazing once more.
"I think I'm going to use Ed's idea. There's no way it could survive bullets in each of its eyes." Ryker said.
"Go for it." Joel said.
"Alright, Ryker, he's teetering. Bring this on home and let everyone eat happy tonight!" Lester silently cheered on.
Ryker gave a thumbs and went to climb up a tree. If this was to work he would need a better vantage point. He sat perched on a tree branch and pulled out his rifle.
"Alright…" Ryker whispered. He raised his rifle and aimed at the elk's other eye. He fired and the bullet landed as intended, with a more positive result.
"Fuck yeah!" Ellie exclaimed. The Elk finally dropped dead.
"That's some good shooting there, son." Lester said.
Ryker smiled and made to get down, but his smile immediately dropped as he heard a dreadfully familiar sound approaching. Fast. He immediately looked to the distance and the sight confirmed his fears.
"What's wrong Ryker?" Lester asked.
"We've got infected!" Ryker exclaimed.
"They must have heard the gun fire." Joel said.
"How many Ryker?" Ellie asked.
"Uh…ten of them at the very least. Likely more." Ryker said. "Two stalkers, four runners, and I think six clickers."
"Alright, you stay up there and cover us. We can't let them get too close to the town." Joel said.
"Aye-aye." Ryker was already loading up more ammunition into his rifle.
Like a swarm of angry bees, the infected descended on the group.
The fight for survival was on.
As Ryker fired he noticed a larger figure approaching. Far too large to be a clicker or even a regular human being.
Fuck.
"Even better news! We got a bloater incoming!" Ryker said. "I'll do the best I can before it gets here. You guys focus on the others." Ryker turned his attention to the bloater that was quickly approaching. He fired five quick shots into the bloater but it showed no signs of slowing down.
"Son of a bitch, go down!" He muttered. He reloaded his rifle and kept firing.
Below him, the group did their very best trying to take down the rest of the infected and as quickly as they could should Ryker be unsuccessful with taking down the bloater.
Ellie managed to take down two clickers with her switchblade and was in a slight struggle with a stalker. But with time, she managed to take that one down as well.
Ryker couldn't help but admire the sight. Ellie was the strongest woman he had ever seen during this outbreak, right behind his mother. But in his gazing he failed to notice the branch beginning to succumb under his weight. The branch snapped under him and Ryker snapped back to reality as he fell.
He fell on his back, knocking the wind out of him. The bloater did not waste any time to attack.
"No, no, no." Ryker did his best to keep the bloater off, but the bloater was just too strong. The bloater was closing in on his neck when -BANG- the bloater went limp. Ryker quickly pushed it off to the side.
Ryker looked over and saw Ellie holding his rifle, smoke coming out of barrel.
Ellie put down the rifle and offered her hand to him. Ryker smiled and grabbed it and pulled himself up.
"Thanks." Ryker said.
"Anytime." Ellie handed the rifle back to Ryker.
It appeared that they were in the clear when…
"Holy shit." Baron said softly.
Once the group got over the initial shock of words escaping Baron's mouth, as profane as they were, they soon found the reason behind his exclamation.
A clicker had latched onto Ed's right collarbone. Ed let out a pained scream but with his other arm, he reached behind him and pulled out his machete. He knocked the clicker off his shoulder with the butt of the machete, causing it to fall on the ground. He then finished off the clicker by plunging the machete into the clicker's head, splattering pieces of its head. When he went to remove it, the blade detached from the handle.
"Damn. And that was my favorite machete too." Ed said.
He looked up and saw several pairs of sad eyes on him.
"What?" Ed asked, confused as to why everyone was staring at him all of a sudden. "Oh this?" Ed pointed to the bite mark on his collarbone. He laughed a bit. "Oh this is nothing. I already have two others. So-"
"Did I hear that fucking correctly?" Ellie said. "You've been bit two other times and you're fungus free?"
"I can't freaking believe it." Joel muttered. Just when he though Ed and Ellie couldn't be any more similar.
"Yeah, I can even show you." He bent down and rolled up his pant leg. "I got this back in '16." He stood back up. "And I have this one on my left shoulder that I got in '28."
"How is this possible?" Ryker asked. "You're supposed to turn within 48 hours."
"It's possible." Baron spoke up again. His voice was soft and almost hard to hear. Possibly from years of under use. He pointed to the mysterious scar on his face. "I got this when I was thirteen. Stalker got me right across the face with its hand. I never turned."
Joel couldn't believe his ears. His lie was becoming more and more like a definite truth rather than a dubious one.
"Well we got over twenty words out of Baron today. I'd say it's been a good day." Lester joked. Everyone else laughed, including Baron.
"Alright, let's grab this fella and head on back."
Ed and Ryker silently volunteered to carry the Elk back to the settlement.
"I like Ed." Ellie said to Joel.
"That a fact?" Joel crossed his arms.
"Yeah. He's pretty badass and he's like me." Ellie rubbed her bite mark through her sleeve.
"In more ways than you may ever know." Joel whispered.
"What was that?"
"Oh nothing. Let's head back so you can finish up on that comic of yours."
"Hell yeah! I think I left off on a really good part too."
Joel laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her close.
Unbeknownst to them, Ed watched their entire interaction. He felt a slight pang of jealousy that it wasn't him interacting like that with Ellie. But being able to hunt with her was exhilarating. He had to thank Joel later for including him on this trip.
It was a step in the right direction.