HI GUYS! Yea, so this chapter is...i guess quite okay? HAHA Sorry, its 12 here and i have school tomorrow, so i need to sleep soon.
Anyway, thanks for all the awesome reviews, yea? Your reviews really are precious to me! I get the motivation to write more thwnever i see one review after another. So yea, PLEASE REVIEW!
OH and please give CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, alright? If you have any, that is, which you will have HAHA
ANyway, PLEASE REVIEW AND ENJOY! :D
"Can't these go any faster?" Tommy yelled as he, Maria and the ten other men rode their horses through the dense jungle to the city.
"We're going as fast as we can, Tommy!" Maria replied. Tommy gritted his teeth in frustration as he calculated how much more time was needed to cover the damn distance.
"Damnit, Joel. Just five more minutes…don't you dare die. Don't you dare, if not for me, then for Ellie." He whispered, urging his horse to go faster, gripping the reins tightly as worry filled his mind.
"Fucking hell…" Joel swore under his breath as he ducked beneath a counter. The sound of a bullet colliding with the wall rang through the shop. If he hadn't ducked, he would have been shot in the head by then.
He had managed to scavenge a few supplies during the first two hours of his forage. There were some energy bars, canned food, and bottles of drinking water thrown carelessly all over the places in a number of houses, and even a back pack to store the items. It seemed like there had been many survivors that had chosen to reside in Wyoming before continuing on their journey, or before they died at the hands of the hunters.
He had almost been satisfied with his strength level and supplies, as well as weapons, when the hunters arrived. They swarmed into the city like a large group of bees, shouting and screaming at each other about where to go and what to do.
"Come out! You're outnumbered fifty to one! There's no fucking point hiding already! You'll die anyway!" A hunter shouted, his voice filled with anger as well as frustration. Joel snorted quietly at that.
"Like hell I will." He muttered to himself and lifted up his pistol, which he had found beside a skeleton in one of the houses, fully loaded. With speed that rivaled a snake, he shot up, took aim, shot a bullet right through one of the patrolling hunter's head, and ducked back down. That all happened in less than five seconds.
"Fuck! Just Fuck you, you son of a bitch!" He could hear the rage and resentment in the hunter's voice. He scowled, his free hand clenching tightly as anger boiled in him. These fucking people were the ones hunting and killing others, and they get angry when others kill one of them in self-defence? Fucking hypocrites!
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, calming his thoughts and soothing his raw nerves. It wasn't the time to get angry. Anger would only lead to recklessness, which would lead to mistakes, and ultimately his death.
And no matter how much Ellie hated him, he couldn't die until he had seen, and apologized to her for what he had done, though he knew that it was unforgivable.
He focused, closing his eyes and trying to catch the slightest sound emitted from the place. He could hear the heavy breathing of a hunter a few meters away from the counter, he could hear the light footsteps from another hunter outside, probably trying to sneak up on him by the back door of the shop.. He opened his eyes and turned around, tensing his body, waiting for the unfortunate hunter to appear at the doorway behind him.
The moment he saw the hunter's shadow, he raised his pistol, leaned to the side so that he could see the hunter, and fired, point blank, straight at the hunter's head, killing him instantly. Blood splattered everywhere,, some of them falling onto Joel. Twenty years ago, he would have vomited in disgust straight away. Now, he didn't feel a thing.
It made him wonder whether Sarah would approve of what he was doing now. How he was surviving, his reasons for living.
He cursed and shook his head, jerking back and slamming his back against the counter as a bullet hit the spot just above where his head had been. He mentally berated himself for losing concentration at the task at hand. If the hunter had not messed up, he would be dead by now, the same way he had killed so many hunters before that very moment.
"Damnit!" He heard the hunter curse, almost inaudibly. If his ears had not been trained to be like an bat's, he would probably have not heard it. That small curse gave him s sick sense of satisfaction.
These people thought they could just go in and kill anyone, take their stuff, destroy their lives, and leave with everything in tow. He wasn't going to let them get away so easily.
He had to hurry and move from his hiding place. He had stayed behind the counter for five minutes already, and he was pretty sure that the other scouting hunters had heard the gunshots and were already making their way to his very position.
"Shit…" He cursed as he heard two more hunters arrive.
"What the fuck? Its only one guy!" One of them shouted, anger making him reckless. He ran towards the counter, probably thinking about tackling Joel before Joel could aim and shoot.
Joel almost laughed at his foolish action. That very action alone told him that though the hunters were large in numbers, their experience were probably not up to par with others he had encountered before. He took out his standard improvised melee weapon- a steel pipe with a scissors taped together with it.
The hunter grunted in pain as the scissors pierced straight through his lungs. He tried to lift his pistol, but Joel had grabbed it and twisted it, such that his hand lost grip over the gun. The gun clattered onto the floor loudly. Joel watched as the life in his eyes seeped away.
He briefly wondered why the hunters had not taken a shot at him when he had been "wrestling" with that hunter, but had no time to consider.
"Fuck this. I'm outta here." He decided, taking out his very own-made nail bomb he had made while foraging the place and throwing it at the hunters. He then sprinted out of the shop, jumping out of the shop just as the bomb exploded, causing shards of metal to fly everywhere. He heard a few screams of pain, and knew that the hunters in the shop had been hit.
Not waiting to check whether the hunters were dead, he got up and hurried down the alley. Despite his earlier intentions, he had gone quite deep into Wyoming. Now, he was paying the price.
He pressed his back against a wall as he heard two sets of hasty footsteps making their way towards his direction. He took out two kitchen knifes from his backpack and readied himself. He knew that they were running close to the wall, and had every intention of turning.
So when they appeared, he immediately shot out his hands and stabbed both of them at random places. He stabbed one, with luck, right in the neck, whereas the other one was stabbed in the shoulder. Due to that, he was incapacitated, which gave Joel an easy time finishing him off with another stab at the neck. He could hear them gurgling, desperately trying to get air into their lungs, but failing to do so. He ignored their twitching bodies and the blood spilling out of their throats and sprinted across the street to the next shop.
He sighed in annoyance and irritation when he heard more voices. Can't he just get a break for one fucking moment? Every single place he goes to, there would be a fucking hunter. He checked his gun, and reprimanded himself for forgetting to retrieve the pistols the previous hunters had held. His brain wasn't functioning well, he tried to reason, due to the insufficient amount of nourishment he had gotten. Just enough to fight, but not enough to think properly and efficiently.
His eyes caught sight of a hunter running across the street twenty meters to his left, and took aim, his arms steady, his breathing even, before firing. The bullet hit the hunter straight in the head.
He could have ignored the hunter, but at that moment, the more he killed, the better. The city was teeming with hunters. So many that stealth would hardly be enough for him to escape all the way.
Or maybe it was just because he hated them. He couldn't be bothered to think which reason it was.
He stood up and swiftly ran into another shop as he heard more voices, ducking behind what seemed like a suitable hiding spot, preparing for more battle.
His eyes widened when he heard gunshots echo from the outskirts of the city. It seemed like the hunters had found a new enemy, and Joel immediately knew who it was.
"Tommy." He told himself under his breath, and the sense of urgency in him increased drastically. No matter how strong his brother's force was, he knew that they were still outnumbered. He sprinted out of the shop and saw the backs of many hunters who were currently running towards the outskirts, not even noticing his presence.
He took a quick glance up and saw that the sun was already setting. Pretty soon, it would be dark, and since it was winter…he didn't particularly like the idea of it.
Joel sprinted after them cautiously, but quickly nevertheless. He knew that most of them would probably be too focused on the battle raging on the outskirts to notice him, but he could never be too careful.
"Hey, hey, Ellie. Wake up." A muffled voice coaxed her as a hand shook her body gently. She groaned, slowly opening her eyes and rubbing them as she sat up slowly. Her neck ached, as well as some other parts of her body, probably due to her awkward sleeping position.
She frowned as she tried to recall why she had been asleep on the floor, and Joel's room, no less. All the memories hit her like a tidal wave when her eyes caught sight of the recorder that was being held tightly by her fist. Her emotions, once again, shook her entire being, but she managed to push it down, determined not to break down again.
She looked at the person who had woke her up, and saw that it was Robert. Robert was a twenty-eight year old man, married and with a two year old baby girl. She felt worried when she saw his face, which was all scrunched up with hastiness as well as …guilt?
"What is it?" She asked questioningly, tilting her head slightly to the side in curiosity. He seemed to battle with himself for moment, and let out a sigh of resignation.
"Fuck this…" He cursed, and then straightened up and looked at her directly in the eye, his face serious, his eyes weary.
"Ellie, I came here to tell you the truth. Tommy won't like it, but fuck it if I don't tell you this. I may regret it for the rest of my life if Joel doesn't come back…" He trailed off. Ellie's entire being perked up at the mention of Joel's name, and her alertness spiked up to maximum.
"What? If he doesn't come back? Has he gone somewhere?" She asked worriedly. He paused for a moment, but after receiving Ellie's frightening, glare, he gave in.
"Ellie, Joel never came back from finding you. It has already been three days. Tommy found out where he was three to four hours ago, and is currently trying to recover him." He said in a cautious tone, wary of how Ellie would react.
Her reaction was way out of his imagination. Instead of going into a fit about them lying to her, she simply stood still, her eyes wide and dazed, her face showing shock and disbelief at that statement.
"He…come…hasn't…what?" She couldn't complete a sentence. Tommy had lied to her. He fucking lied to her about finding Joel. Joel had never came back. He was still out there, still surviving. Or was he? He may have already died from the cold, or gotten killed by some wild animal, or shot by some hunter, or-
Possibility after possibility ran through her mind, each one scarier, each one more terrible than the previous one.
"No…he can't…he cannot die…not before…I-I need to talk to him first…" She stammered, tears prickling her eyes. The very thought of Joel dying…
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She cursed, each word louder than the previous one. She shook her head violently, rubbing the tears away, scolding herself. It wasn't the time to be all fearful, sentimental and weak. She needed to talk to him, and to ensure that she would have the chance, she would have to find him first.
"Where?" She asked Robert. When he hesitated, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, holding back the urge to punch him hard in the face.
"I asked," She growled menacingly, glaring daggers at Robert. "Where is he?" Robert shivered involuntarily as he felt the atmosphere explode with malice.
"W-wyoming city. They're there now. H-heard that there's a gunfight." He stuttered, his fear getting the best of him. She nodded, saying a quick 'thanks' before leaving the room. Once she left, he cursed softly.
"Man, she's becoming more like Joel. That killer glare, and even that animalistic growl…sheesh." He said, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead as he tried to calm himself down.
Ellie, on the other hand, immediately went to take her backpack, which was always packed and ready to go. She then left the house and made her way towards the horse ranch hastily.
"Don't you dare die on me," She muttered, her eyes looking straight on with determination, her voice filled with purpose. "Don't you dare die on me yet, Joel."