Asking a Few Questions
I woke to the sound of Joel's pained groans. I was on my feet almost immediately. The sun was up, I had slept in.
"Joel" I spoke, "It's okay, you're alright"
"Water" came his gravelly speech.
I gave him some water from the bottle in my pack, he coughed a little but he drank.
"Where are we?" he asked as I helped him into a sitting position.
"Some resort by... Whitelake, I think" I answered "You've been a bit out of it for a while"
"Where's Ellie?"
I cursed to myself, where was Ellie?
"She might be hunting" I said "Be the first time she's gone off on her own though"
Joel's face hardened "Help me up"
"Woah, wait for a sec-"
"Get me up" he growled "We need to find her"
Reluctantly, I helped Joel to his feet. He was a bit wobbly, but he stood. Taking hesitant steps, Joel donned his backpack and climbed out of the basement.
"Ellie?" I heard him call.
I checked the garage. Callus was gone.
I found Joel on the way to the back door, leaning on the kitchen counter, taking shaky breaths.
"You don't look so good"
"I'm fine" he insisted "I've survived the worst of it" he looked up from his feet to stare at me "She's not here"
"Neither's the horse" I confirmed "She's gone"
"Where's the other horse?"
"Got hurt really bad about a week ago. Had to put it down"
Joel wiped his brow "Jesus" he muttered, "We'll go on foot then"
"Hey" I started "You may have managed the stairs, but you're still recovering..."
"We got a lotta ground to cover" Joel argued "You need me"
"If Ellie finds out about this..."
"What? You scared about pissin' off a fourteen-year-old girl?"
"No. I'm scared of pissing off Ellie"
"Heh" the old man chuckled "Smart boy" He walked to the door, his stride back and purpose in his steps "Come on then"
"Shit" I muttered before following him out.
It was freezing. A storm was brewing, bringing with it a new layer of snow.
"Where'd the hell'd she go?" Joel muttered.
"There" I pointed, spying Callus's prints "Tracks lead that way"
We walked about halfway down the street when we saw a gate open ahead, spilling out about half-a-dozen men who all opened fire on us.
"It's them!" I heard one of them cry as we dove behind a car.
"The hell are these guys?" Joel growled.
"From what I'm guessing" I explained "There the guys from the university. Ellie and I ran into them yesterday, they must've followed us back"
"Then they probably know where she is" Joel concluded. The tone of voice he used made me think he didn't plan on asking nicely, it kind of made me glad he was my side.
"Let's ask" I spoke with an identical edge to my voice. Peeping from cover, I loosed an arrow which, while it didn't hit anyone, spooked a guy into poking his head out of cover. Joel fired with his El Diablo, and didn't miss.
We killed another guy before the remaining four decided to take the wise option: cut their losses and run.
"Where is she?" Joel roared as we gave chase.
I fired an arrow as we ran, hitting one of them in the leg. He fell with a cry, and Joel knocked him out cold with a running kick. Joel fired a shot with the El Diablo, the next man fell dead, the shot shooting straight through the centre of his chest. The remaining two vaulted the fence and out of sight.
We followed, and Joel was clubbed on the side of the head and was caught in a headlock. I didn't fare much better. The second guy punched me in the jaw, grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and threw me to the ground. Shiv drawn, I sprung to my feet as the bastard came at me with a knife. The resulting scrap was quick and brutal. Ducking low, I stabbed the man in the side, roughly where his kidney was, before grabbing a hold and furiously stabbing him repeatedly in the chest. Joel had escaped from his attackers grasp and had knocked him to the ground, dazed but alive.
"Let's hang on to 'em" he growled "We can ask 'em where their buddies are"
I nodded "I'll get the other guy"
I went back and found arrow-leg, who was just coming around, but still powerless as I dragged him back to the cabin.
"Lemme' go" he mumbled "I'll fuck you up"
"Aye, so you will" I snarked. I left him with Joel to "get them comfortable" while I checked the remainder of the neighbourhood. I came back with a few new tools, and thouroughly pissed off.
It seemed that Joel had got started without me. Arrow-leg had been tied to the radiator, his nose broken and bloody. The second was tied up in a chair in the middle of the room, with a knife in his kneecap. Joel rose from his own chair as I entered.
"I found our horse just outside of town" I whispered with barely restrained fury "Shot dead" I let that comment hang in the air before speaking "They know where Ellie is. I've brought a few things. Let me have a go, and I'll make him talk"
Joel saw the look in my eye and agreed. I sat in his chair and faced the bastard with a look of steel.
"Please..." he whimpered
"I've been told that you've not been very cooperative"
"Please" the guy begged "I don't know nuthin'"
"Oh I think you do" I hissed, before drawing my new kit from my pocket. "You know what I found a couple of houses down? An old woodworking kit. Now, most of it had been taken, but you'll never guess what was left behind" I paused for a moment (let the fucker squirm) "A little wooden mallet. Now, that's not very dangerous on its own but... I found this" I held it out in front of him, just to see if he recognised what it was. "This is a chisel. Now, if I remember right, this is one of the more... risky instruments you can find in a hardware store. This little bastard, with enough gusto, can chip through bone if you're not careful" I stared him in the eye, smiling with just enough sadism to unnerve him. "That's what the mallet's for"
"So, do you know where this is going?" I waited for a bit, just to see if he'd respond "You know what, don't answer that" I pressed the tip of the chisel against his still-intact kneecap, smiling a little at his whimper. "Now, answer this. Where. Is. The girl?"
The man's voice was quiet, his words almost impossible to understand. "What girl?"
"You know what girl!" Joel barked.
"Give me a minute" I assured him. I looked back to knifed-kneecap "You know what girl. About yay high, red-brown hair. She was wearing a dark green jacket, riding the horse you and your buddies shot and killed just outside of town so DON'T. FUCKING. LIE to me!"
"I don't know no girl" he whimpered.
"You're lying" I spat. With a single blow of my mallet, I hammered the chisel into his knee. He cried out in agony, swearing like a sailor.
"WHERE IS SHE?" I roared less than an inch from his face.
"She's alive" he wailed "She's back in town, she's..." He almost said something else but stopped.
"What?" I asked "What's happened to her?" I dropped my mallet, took a hold of the knife in his other knee, and gave it a little twist. He cried in pain "What?"
"David's got her" I cried "She's his newest pet"
"What?" my blood boiled at the implication. "David. The creepy guy with the beard" He nodded in response.
"Who's this David?" Joel asked.
"One of the guys we ran into yesterday" I quickly explained, before turning back to the prisoner "He your leader?"
He nodded.
I looked to Joel again, "You wanna take over". He nodded and I gave him the chair. I walked outside for some fresh air, a little sick from what I had just done. A necessary evil, I keep telling myself. A necessary evil.
I grabbed a nearby plank of wood, and decided to vent my frustration out the nearest tree. Shouting and yelling like a wild man, I beat that plank against the worn wooden tree. It was my fault. It never occurred to me that those fuckers might have followed us. I let Ellie go out on her own. It had to be my fault. The plank snapped in half with one final blow. I had to wipe away some tears with the back of a bloodied hand.
My energy spent, I went back inside. Joel was clubbing arrow-leg to death with a pipe. I winced a little at the sound of the blows, and checked knife-kneecap. He was dead. Joel had strangled him.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"Northwest" he answered. "Follow me"
Joel stormed out, purpose seeming to have numbed the healing wound in his gut.
"We're coming Ellie" I whispered to myself.