It was early in the morning and the crest of the sun was barely visible over the horizon as the first sliver of light illuminated the ground outside. Ellie was awake, which was unusual, as she normally slept much later than Joel. Regardless, she felt well rested from the undisturbed night's sleep. Despite lying on the hardwood floor, she dozed off quickly when snuggled with Joel under the blanket and didn't wake up once during the night. Her ribs were becoming much less sore and sudden movements no longer triggered a lash of pain through her torso.
She looked up to see Joel sleeping and loudly snoring. She felt the weight of his arm that remained wrapped around her, as it had been throughout the night. She rubbed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She thought about the events from last night, how emotional he was, the pain that effused from his face when he finally opened up to her and shared the darkest moment in his life. The watch made complete sense now. It was the only physical reminder of Sarah he had and he wasn't letting it go, even if it was broken. Ellie felt slightly guilty, in a way, for sparking the conversation in the first place. However, a part of her felt it brought the two of them even closer and strengthened their bond. The experience made her realize that he, metaphorically, slit his wrists in front of her and openly expressed the most vulnerable side of him. It made her think that, she too, would eventually be able to share her darkest moment. David. She quickly moved on to a different topic, as the name sent a shiver down her spine. She refocused her attention on Joel soundly sleeping next to her.
I have an idea! Ellie thought to herself in excitement.
She remembered the coffee she found on the floor at the gas station the day before. She wanted to surprise Joel with it this morning. She was going to make an attempt to brew coffee for the first time in her life. In reality she didn't know where to start, but she remembered Joel briefly mentioning how it was done while they were riding from Tommy's to the university.
Ellie slowly and carefully slithered her way out from underneath Joel's arm. She felt him twitch and heard him mumble something just as she rose to her feet from the blanket. She scrunched her face, closed her eyes and prayed she didn't wake him. He continued snoring and rolled his head to other side of the pillow, easing her worry.
She tiptoed into the living room and rummaged through her backpack until she found the red canister of Folgers. She flipped the can around and inspected every part of it, looking for any sort of instructions hoping that in combination with Joel's input, she could solve this mystery known as brewing coffee.
"Okay... I just need hot water. I can do that... I got this. How hard can it be?" Ellie quietly said to herself.
After rekindling the fire from the night before, she poured the rest of her drinking water from her canteen into a pot and waited for it to warm as she gazed out the window, watching the morning sunrise.
Joel's eyes shot open as he gasped for air. He was panting and sweaty from the vivid dream that his brain pulled him out of. It was a bizarre dream, one that involved both Sarah and Ellie. He felt completely discombobulated as he glanced around the room, trying to pull himself back to reality. He didn't feel the familiar warmth and weight of Ellie's little frame sidled up against him, something he became accustomed to. He frantically patted his arm on the floor around him and felt nothing. He shot his head up from the pillow and looked around the room in a panicked state.
Adrenaline began to pump into his heart, expediting the waking process. He feared the worst, as horrible scenarios began shooting through his mind. She got up to relieve herself in the middle of the night and was attacked. She's dead somewhere, mauled and maimed from a pack of clickers, or worse, hunters. Hunters found her and were doing things to her that made her wish she was dead. He thought, that just maybe, he scared her with his heartfelt confession from the night before and she sneaked away.
No, no, no. This can't be. He thought to himself as he attempted to rub the remaining tiredness from his eyes.
Then, all of a sudden, the faintest aroma filled his nose. It was an aroma he hadn't smelled in forever. The smell immediately triggered memories, memories of before the outbreak, as the nerve endings in his brain rapidly fired in reaction to the familiar aroma.
Coffee. He thought to himself.
He was worried, confused and excited all at the same time and wondered if he was still dreaming. He rose to his feet and called out for Ellie.
"Ellie!"
No response.
"What in the hell - " he quietly said to himself. He stepped into the living room, only to see a steaming pot over the fire and Ellie sitting cross legged in front of the dust covered window, gazing at the beautiful sunrise. The adrenaline immediately dissipated and he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Ellie!" he said again as he tapped her on the shoulder.
She jumped from the contact, clearly lost in her own head, as she didn't hear him call her name the first time.
"Gah! You scared me!" she said.
"Sorry kiddo... I uhh... what - what's goin' on here?"
"Well... first off, good morning to you too..." she said.
Joel rubbed his hand through her hair. "Yeah... mornin'."
Ellie smiled. "Secondly... I have a surprise for you." She said as she pointed to the pot. "I made you - well I tried to make you... coffee," Ellie beamed with pride.
"Ellie - how... where did you -"
Ellie pulled out the red canister of Folgers. "Look... found it back at the gas station. I wanted to surprise you," she said sheepishly.
"Well - damn kiddo I - I... you sure as hell did. I... don't know what to say."
"Here, it's done. Try it, c'mon!" Ellie implored with excitement.
"I reckon I will."
Joel grabbed an old cup that was sitting in the sink and dipped it into the dark liquid. He brought it to his nose and closed his eyes as he took a big whiff of the wonderful aroma that emanated from its surface. He took the first sip and immediately relished the almost forgotten flavor that fell over his taste buds. The coffee was old and had lost some of its potency, but it didn't matter. He swallowed then gave a big smile of satisfaction.
"Ahhhh... goddamn that's good."
"Yeah!? You like it?" Ellie asked, looking for approval.
"Sure do - it's great. Thank ya."
Ellie again smiled and hugged him as she pressed her head against his waist. Joel patted her on the head as he took another sip of his hot morning beverage. He let out another satisfactory sigh, enjoying every ounce. Drinking coffee, whilst in the presence of his daughter, triggered pleasant memories of Saturday mornings with Sarah and he relished experiencing the same thing with Ellie.
My baby girl. He thought to himself.
"Okay... I'll bite... let me try some. I gotta see what all the fuss is about," Ellie said as she reached for his cup, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Ellie grabbed it from his hand, brought it to her lips and took a sip. Her eyes widened and she immediately spat it out.
"Blech! What the fuck Joel!? What is wrong with you!? This shit is disgusting... I - I can't believe anyone could fuckin' enjoy that!" Ellie said in appall, raising her voice in confusion.
Joel belted out a laugh. "Acquired taste kiddo... oh well - more for me," he said as he grabbed the cup from Ellie and took another sip.
"Ugh - I guess so... man... that was nasty. People used to drink that shit?"
"All the damn time... coffee in the morning became 'bout as standard as sleepin'. Closest thing to fuel for the human body I reckon."
"Wow," Ellie said in surprise.
Joel finished off his coffee and put the empty cup in his pack.
"Alright - let's get goin' we lots more road ahead of us."
Ellie nodded and they began packing their things.
They had been walking for many hours and the sun was high in the afternoon sky. The weather was kind, once again, as there wasn't a cloud in sight. The ambient temperature was still rather low and the wind was strong, but the warmth of the direct sunlight counteracted it. Since leaving the town limits of Kremmling, Joel hadn't said much. He was self-conscious, constantly thinking about his brutal honesty and confession he displayed to Ellie the night before. Ellie found his quietness troubling and wasn't sure how to handle it. She didn't know why he was so somber, but made multiple attempts to engage in conversation. Normally, she was the quiet one and he was the one trying to lighten the mood. She even read off a few jokes from her pun book, hoping to fish out any kind of reaction from him. She only got a few muffled laughs, which sufficed for the time being.
The road before them started to steeply ascend and they noticed at the apex of the hill, a sharp, blind turn to the left. To the right of the road, at the top of the hill, was a guardrail that bordered a vista point looking over the valley below. To the left, stretched a plateau of land filled with bushes and small trees covered in snow.
After climbing to the top, Joel strutted over to the guardrail and rested his hands on it. He caught is breath and took in the amazing view of the valley beneath him.
"Hey Ellie... c'mere. Look at this," he said, motioning his hand to beckon her over.
Ellie was glad to finally hear him talk on his own and not merely respond to her with a one word answer. She jogged over to the guardrail and, like Joel, rested her hands on the edge as she observed the view.
"Wow... look at that view. Can't beat that huh?" she said, turning her head to face him.
"Nope."
They both took a deep breath and felt the intensity of the wind pick up. The brisk feeling of it rushed against their faces and hair. The wind left a biting, cold feeling against their cheeks, but was also refreshing at the same time.
"Joel..."
"Yep?"
"I umm... as you would say... gotta take a leak," Ellie said sheepishly as she blushed.
Joel laughed.
"Soundin' more like me every day... well - go behind those bushes there on the other side an' find yourself a spot. Ain't no one around. I'll be here."
Ellie nodded, headed across the road and ventured far over the plateau until she felt comfortably in private, although she was nervous to be this far from Joel.
A few minutes went by and Joel could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching behind him.
"Better?" he yelled, still looking forward, expecting Ellie to re-appear next to him.
He felt the familiar feel of a gun barrel, pressed against his back and heard a voice that was much, much deeper than Ellie's.
"Put your hands where I can see 'em."
"I said, put your hands where I can see 'em mother fucker!"
Joel slowly lifted himself off of the guardrail and raised his hands behind his head.
"Turn around... slowly! Lemme see your face!"
He turned around and saw three men, hunters, surrounding him. One was carrying a baseball bat, one had a pistol holstered at his side and the other, who had him at gunpoint, was wielding a standard hunting rifle. Joel was surprised they didn't shoot him on sight.
"Take off your pack... open it up. Show me what you got!" the hunter with the rifle said.
Joel slid his pack off and knelt down to open it up. He lifted it wide open, displaying the contents contained inside.
"You alone?" the hunter asked.
Joel nodded. "Yep," he said, praying they didn't see Ellie's small foot prints in the snow going across the road.
"Alright... sit down, right there... and slide that bag of yours over."
Joel obliged, pushed his bag to the three hunters then sat down with his hands supporting his weight behind him.
"Hector, go on, check it out," the hunter said, motioning the tip of his rifle towards the bag.
The hunter wielding the bat knelt down and began sifting through Joel's things.
The lead hunter spoke again. "Where you comin' from? A town? There food there?"
"Better be... for your sake. I'm fucking starvin'," the hunter with the pistol said.
Joel lifted his head and could see Ellie peaking around the bushes on the other side of the road. He quickly averted his gaze from her and back to the three men, worried he would alert them of her presence.
"I said, where you comin' from fuck face!?"
"Uhh... Kremmling. Kremmling - it's a small town down the road that way. There's a bunch of supplies - can take ya there if ya like," Joel said as he pointed down the road. He had to keep them thinking they needed him, otherwise, he was dead.
Ellie sat behind the bushes, partly frustrated with herself that she left Joel alone and partly relieved the hunters didn't know she even existed. She drew her pistol and loaded it quietly.
"Alright... get up ass hole... slowly! You're comin' with us. You lie to me... and I swear you're a dead man. Scout's honor."
Joel simply nodded and started to rise to his feet when he noticed Ellie, pistol in hand, aiming towards the hunter with the rifle. He readied himself for what was about to come next.
Okay, Ellie, you got this. C'mon, take a deep breath... and make it count. Ellie thought to herself as she lurched her finger over the trigger.
Pop - Pop!
Ellie fired two bullets into the head of the lead hunter. Blood spurted out from his neck and head region as his body collapsed to the ground.
"Agh! - What the fuck!?" the other two yelled, looking around frantically.
Just as the second hunter reached for his holstered pistol, Joel immediately dove into him, pinning him on the ground. The third hunter picked up his bat and ran straight for Joel, who was now kneeling over his companion in the snow.
Ellie came running across the road.
Pop - Pop!
She fired two more shots, hitting the hunter with the bat in the chest as he recoiled in pain and fell backwards to the ground. Blood rapidly flowed from his chest, saturating the snow with a deep, dark red color.
"Joel!" she yelled.
Joel was engaged in a battle of pure strength with the last one. The hunter was trying to forcefully point his pistol at Joel's head, while Joel gripped his hands, putting all of his strength into pushing the gun back in his direction.
"Ellie! Stay there!" he yelled.
Ellie obeyed and stopped in her tracks. She couldn't get a clear shot since Joel was towering over him. She was frozen, she didn't know what to do and simply watched the struggle for life between Joel and the hunter. Only one was coming out alive.
Both of them continually let out grunts of exertion as they willed the pistol in one direction then another. The hunter let loose a loud yell, as he gave everything he had one last time, pushing the gun towards Joel's head. He got close, but not close enough. Then, his muscles tensed and gave out. He had nothing left.
Joel started slowly pushing back, creeping the pistol closer and closer towards the hunter's head as his strength overpowered the man's arms. He knew it was over, he lost, his eyes began to widen and he looked at Joel as if to beg for mercy. Joel kept pushing and pushing, gritting his teeth as the barrel of the pistol was now merely centimeters from the hunter's head. He slid his thumb over the hunter's finger which was wrapped around the trigger.
"No! No! Plea - "
Joel pressed his thumb down.
Bang!
He felt the man's body immediately go limp. All resistance he was feeling disappeared as the hunter's arms flopped to the ground. A large spray of skull, brains and blood sprawled on the other side of the hunter's head as his eyes emptily gazed towards the sky.
Joel collapsed, lying on his back and panting to catch his breath. Ellie ran over to him, knelt down and held his shoulder.
"Oh shit! Joel! Joel are - are you okay!?"
He let out a deep exhale.
"Yeah - yeah... I'm - I'm alright," he responded through his tired breaths as he stared up at the sky. The touch of the cold snow beneath him felt good on his sweaty and warm skin as his adrenaline began to recede.
"Oh man... fuck that was intense," Ellie said through short breaths as she lowered her forehead to his chest.
She stood up, held out her hand and helped Joel to his feet. He collected the bullets from the hunter's rifle and quickly rounded up all of his things, then slung his backpack over his shoulder.
"C'mon kiddo... we gotta move. There'll be more soon... lots more. There always are."
He reached out, grabbed Ellie's hand and the two of them hastily made their way down the hill.
She didn't let go and gripped his hand tighter.
