After what I perceived to be only a few seconds of complete darkness and silence, the air in my lungs returned and I heard nothing but roaring in my ears. Bright, white light burned my eyes and my ribs felt like somebody had taken a sledgehammer to them. I rolled over, hacking up water like a Boston alley cat did a hairball. The roar in my ears died down a little, and as soon as I could breathe less painfully again, I glanced behind me to find the source.

The Snake writhed and roiled, the white rapids spraying water across the rocky beach and battering the slick boulders jutting out from the riverbed like fangs. My face went slack, and I felt like passing out again. How the hell did I survive that?

"You okay, Aaron?" I heard a familiar female voice ask me, and I turned my head to the left. I was met with worried, jade-green eyes, and I couldn't help but grin.

"I'm just a little bruised. How about you, Ellie? How badly did the river chew you up and spit you out?" I mirrored her concerned gaze as I hauled myself up onto all-fours. I immediately collapsed onto my chest again, my left arm giving out like a snapped twig. Okay, maybe I'm not fine. I thought as I let out a pathetic moan of pain. Fire seared my left upper arm, burning all the way up to my neck. It left behind an ache like the one I had grown accustomed to in my head.

Ellie narrowed her eyes at the wound in my shoulder, wringing the water out of her auburn hair. She was drenched from head to toe, and my clothes felt heavy, too. If we didn't dry them out by nightfall, we would both succumb to hypothermia.

"You got shot." Ellie stated the obvious, shrugging off her backpack and digging out a medical kit. Thank God those things were made of waterproof plastic. She gingerly took my arm, dabbing it dry with gauze. I hissed like the river on the rocks, but I didn't pull away as she poured alcohol on a rag and applied it to my arm. Blood ran from the wound, staining the rocks beneath me red before they were washed clean by the Snake's spray.

Once she had dressed my gunshot wound and I was cleared, I slowly sat up inch by inch, letting each wave of dizziness pass until I was fully upright. Ellie watched me with that same concern in her eyes, and I noticed she wasn't keen to pack up and leave like I expected. After the trap I (indirectly) led her and Joel into, I honestly had no idea why she was still hanging around.

"Why are you here? With me, I mean? Shouldn't you be looking for Joel?" I asked her with more harshness than I intended, clutching my arm to stem the flow of blood. Pain made me snappy.

Ellie glanced down at her knees for a second, bunching the fabric of her hoodie in her hands. Even she looked unsure of why she was here. "After I made sure you were breathing, I tried, but…I couldn't find him. He must've washed up further downstream, or…" She trailed off, her expression suddenly switching to furious.

"This is your fault!" Ellie yelled at me, standing up to tower over me, "Why'd you have to throw me in the river, huh? We could've died! You abandoned Joel on that bridge, and now he could be dead because we weren't there to back him up! You're no better than Taylor!"

I yelped as her boot connected with a tender spot on my side. Ellie moodily plopped herself down beside me again, ripping up the grass that poked up between the rocks. I winced as I controlled my breathing, trying not to hyperventilate at the pain.

"Ellie…I did that for a reason. Joel cares a lot about you, right?" I asked between coughs.

Ellie nodded, twirling a strand of her coppery hair between her fingers. "Yeah…so what if he does?"

"If he cares as much about you as I think he does, than he wouldn't have thought twice about jumping into that river after you. Did you really think we had that much of a chance with three of us against seven Fireflies?" I continued, my voice raspy from coughing up so much water.

I could tell by the furrow in her brow that she wanted to say yes, but eventually she bit her lip and shook her head. "I…I guess not. Not with so little cover and nowhere to run. But why'd you do it? I thought you and Taylor were a team? Why would you just switch to my side?"

I didn't want you to die. That would've been my first answer, but then I thought I would probably get kicked for it again. I didn't want to sound like I wanted to be her hero (even though sometimes I did), and besides, Ellie didn't need a hero. "We were a team…until Taylor beat the shit out of me and expected me to go along with his plan to kill you and Joel."

Ellie bobbed her head in affirmation, unzipping her hoodie and wringing the water out. She had a gray-gone-black t-shirt underneath, and I spied the bite mark on her wrist in the sunlight. She didn't seem keen on hiding it from me since I already knew she was immune, but she caught me looking at it and shot me a glare.

"You were planning it all along, weren't you? To kill me and Joel?" She queried accusingly, shrugging her red hoodie back on. She untied her boots, shaking the water out of them and wringing out her socks.

"I wasn't, but you saw Taylor. He had a group waiting to ambush you here and even I didn't know about it. Not until he told me, anyway. That's why I wanted you to turn around, but…then those Clickers showed up." I lifted my good shoulder, frowning.

"Yeah, well…can you stand up? I want to look for Joel again." Ellie said, and she hesitated like she wanted to say something else, but then changed her mind. I nodded, picking myself up off the rocks. I wobbled a bit, and Ellie put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

We walked for a few minutes, the chirping birds and rushing river filling the silence between us. We weaved our way between the trees and tall grass bordering the river, and I noticed that on the other side a road hugged a steep, bushy ridge; the beginnings of the mountains I had seen from the other side of the town we had just passed though.

"So…how'd you get that scar on your leg?" Ellie questioned in an attempt to break the silence.

I remembered she caught a glimpse of it back in Freedom, before I could cover it up again. "It's just a burn scar I got as a kid, from a Molotov or something. I was too young to remember what happened."

"Didn't look like a burn scar to me. It was all bubbly like mine, see?" Ellie pulled back the sleeve of her hoodie, displaying her bite mark.

I chuckled, shaking my head. This girl had a sick sense of humor. I sat down on a nearby boulder, pulling up my pant leg to show her the scar on my calf. She knelt beside me, inspecting the warped, twisted area of skin. "I did not get bit by Infected. If I did, I would've been shot in the head when I was two or three."

"Maybe not bit, but scratched. See this long indent, here?" She lightly traced her finger down my calf, and I resisted the urge to close my eyes and shiver. I bent my head, following the path her finger made as she discerned another indent right beside it, and then a third, shorter one.

We exchanged a glance, communicating the same message. Scratch marks.

"I am not immune, Ellie. No way I got scratched by a Clicker and lived." I let go of my pant leg, standing up and shaking my head so hard my neck hurt.

"Well, it sure as shit ain't a burn scar! Burn scars don't look like scratches and they don't have those little circles!" Ellie protested, but I clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her into the safety of the darker forest. She squirmed and tried to wriggle out of my grip, but I pointed across the river and she stopped, eyes wide.

A black and white-patched horse loped down the road on the other side, in the shadow of the ridge. Its clopping hoof beats echoed up and down the valley like a death knell, but I didn't recognize the rider. I did, however, recognize the black Firefly emblem embroidered on the saddle pad.

"They're looking for us. Shouldda known Taylor wouldn't give up the chase…" I mumbled to myself, releasing Ellie once I figured she would have the sense to be quiet. We watched the horse canter on until it we couldn't see it anymore.

"We have to hide somewhere until we can find Joel and get out of here. Do you still have your gun?" Ellie asked me, resuming trekking through the conifers.

"Naw. It fell off the bridge while I was fighting Taylor. Do you have any weapons?"

Ellie pulled her bow off her back, which had somehow survived the journey through the river, and nocked an arrow from the bundle of them sticking out of her pack. "Here, you can have my pistol. I'm better with arrows, anyway." She tossed me the black gun, and I stuck it in the waistband of my camo pants.

"Where would Joel be whenever you got separated from him?" I asked after we had walked another dozen meters.

Ellie shrugged, hopping across a couple of rocks by the water. It was getting harder and harder to stay hidden in the trees since the land was so steep by the river. Eventually, we would have to risk crossing to the other side and walking on the flatter portion of the grassy land skirting the water.

"Obvious landmarks, I guess. We didn't get separated a lot, but we always decided to meet at a landmark if we ever got lost…only, we didn't have time to agree on one before you jumped off the bridge with me." Ellie said, hugging a tree trunk as she stepped from one rock to another.

"I see nothing but trees, trees, and more trees up ahead. Who knows when we're going to run into a cabin, or something? I hate sleeping on the ground in front of a shitty campfire." I complained, scanning the other side of the river for a suitable crossing point.

Ellie shot me another one of her glares. She seemed to glare at me a lot these days. "Alright Princess Buttercup, we'll see if we can find you a five-star cabin with all the fixings." She drawled, sarcasm dripping from her words. This time I leered back.

"No need to be bitchy," I retorted, "I just don't like roughing it in the boonies. I'm not the outdoorsy type, okay? You may be fine with creepy bugs, cold nights, and all your little wild animal friends, but I'm not. I like a warm bed with the guarantee of food in the morning."

Ellie just rolled her eyes, sighing as she came to a stop. I understood why; there were no more rocks to hop across, just water lapping at tree roots. The river was considerably calmer now, with no more white rapids to hiss and spit in my face.

Ellie gazed across at the other side of the river. There were more trees to hide us from the road over there, but her hoodie was a dead giveaway amidst the green pines. "We're going to have to cross if we're gonna put distance between us and Taylor's goons."

"I can swim. Can you?" I queried, eyeing Ellie as she bit her lip anxiously. That was all I needed to know. "How'd you get across water with Joel, then?"

"Wooden pallets, usually. Or we would just avoid the water altogether. Why is it everybody can swim but me?" Ellie groaned, stepping cautiously into the water, one toe at a time. She shoved her arrow back into her pack and strung the bow across her chest. I followed, wading in until I couldn't reach the bottom anymore. The current wasn't too strong, and even with my injured arm I could still cross the small distance to the other side.

The water chilled my wet skin, seizing my muscles enough to make me shiver. I couldn't spend too long in the water. I glanced behind me after a few strokes, grinning encouragingly at Ellie. She hadn't gone in past her waist, and I could tell she was having trouble keeping her balance on the rocks underneath the surface. The current would carry her away from her perch if she tipped forward far enough, and we didn't need to attract Fireflies with her splashing and sputtering.

I swam over to her, offering her my hand. "C'mon, let's get moving. Grab my hand and I'll help you across." I said, my teeth chattering. The freezing water sapped more strength from me with every second I spent in the river.

"I can't swim, moron! Isn't there a log we could use, or something?" Ellie glanced around, but the effort was futile. When she realized there wasn't any other way, she reluctantly took my hand and waded in until she couldn't reach the bottom, practically whimpering the whole way.

"Trust me, okay? I won't let you drown." I crooned as I felt the last foothold disappear from beneath my feet.

That's when Ellie started panicking. She clamped her arms around my neck, frantically kicking and muttering obscenities under her breath, which I could plainly hear. Unfortunately, I needed both arms to keep us afloat, and she was dragging me down more than helping me.

"Ellie! Calm down! We're almost halfway across, see?" I choked out, struggling to breathe with the vice grip Ellie had on my neck. It didn't help that she was as good as dead weight, pulling my head underwater every five seconds.

"I-I-I can't r-r-reach the b-bottom…" Ellie squeaked, hyperventilating in my ear. If she kept up like this, she would be dead weight. I had to find a way to calm her down before she passed out and drowned us both.

I continued my sidestroke, "Just, uhh, kick the same time as me, okay? And don't hold on so tight, you're choking me." Ellie nodded, loosening her grip just a fraction. Her breaths still came in quick, shallow gasps, but she eventually got the rhythm and matched her kicks to mine. With occasional (and by that I mean frequent) panic spells, we reached the other side just before my arms and legs were about to seize up for good from the cold.

Once we were both on dry land, I shook myself off like a wet dog while Ellie rocked herself back and forth on the grass, audibly chattering her teeth. I chuckled a little, removing my t-shirt to wring it out before putting it back on. I did the same for my socks, dumping the water out of my boots.

"Ellie, we gotta find Joel. And put our hoodie in your backpack, I don't want those guys spotting us. You stand out like a sore thumb in that thing." I shivered, waving a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Ellie…you hear me?"

Ellie whacked my hand away, shrugging off the red plaid piece of clothing and wringing the water from it. "Yeah, I hear you. Don't make me do that again, okay? I've had enough near-death experiences for one week." She snapped at me, removing her shoes and a decent amount of water from them.

"Good, then move. Maybe we can squeeze in a few more once those Fireflies find your lazy ass and fire a bullet into it." I quipped, shouldering my pack and making my way up the incline. Pine trees formed a barrier between the road and the river, but it wasn't anywhere near as steep as the other side. My gauze was soaked and useless, so I fished a medical kit from my pack and began to replace it.

"Here, let me." Ellie finally got over her shock from crossing the river, gingerly taking the gauze from my hands and wrapping my gunshot wound. I smiled briefly at her when she was done, my fuse still short from the sharp ache in my ribs, arm, and now everywhere else after crossing the river with a panicky fifteen-year old who didn't know how to swim.

"Hey…Aaron?" Ellie called after me, stuffing the gauze into her bag.

I whipped around with an irritated, "What now, Ellie?"

I saw the clear hesitation on her sun-dappled face, her auburn hair vibrant among the dropping pine branches even if it was dripping wet. A moment passed, and I was about to turn around again when she sidled up to me and gently wrapped her arms around my neck. She nestled her head under my chin, and I stiffened like I expected her to stab me in the back with her switchblade. I could tell just by the way she held her breath that she was tense, too.

I waited impatiently for the awkward hug to end, blowing drying strands of Ellie's hair away as I sighed quietly through my nose. I tapped my fingers against my thigh as I thought, is she done yet?

"Thanks…for, you know, not letting me drown. And for…saving me from those Fireflies." Ellie said so quietly I had to strain my ears to hear her. She disentangled her hands from my neck, biting her lip in that cute way girls did when they were nervous. Apparently she wasn't one for grateful speeches, but then again, I wasn't one who wanted to hear them.

Ellie stood up on her toes, timidly pecking my cheek before brushing past me like nothing just happened between us. I arched an eyebrow after her, shaking my head as a stupid grin stretched across my face.

You're so weird, Ellie…

It was wiped off my face when I heard a rifle shot crack across the valley like a bullwhip, followed by her scream of agony.

A/N: There you go, some fluff and lighter material to get the character development flowing. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, followers, favouriters, and readers! Keep those comments coming, they make my day!