CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Everyday

Shots fired in the meadow as Joel and Ellie stepped back, aiming their guns at the infected that were pouring out of the house.

'Go, Ellie!' Joel yelled, reloading his shot gun and shooting a runner right in its face.

Joel held them out for a while, and rushed back to Ellie, pulling her into the woods. The pine trees provided good cover. The runners followed them in, screaming, flailing their arms, but lost them among the rocks and trees, wandered around in confusion.

Ellie pulled him down to the rock she had been hiding under, and they sat there, catching their breath, waiting for the infected to give up and go away.

Joel looked at Ellie, saw her reddened cheeks and sunken eyes. Her cheekbones made shadows on her face, and her lips were chapped. She looked like she had been sick.

'What the hell were you thinkin'?' he grumbled at her, his voice deep and low, laced with the same paternal concern Ellie had heard before. She met his gaze with accusing eyes, felt her blood boiling.

'What was I thinking?' she repeated in disbelief. He shushed her, and Ellie brought her voice down.

'You were the one that disappeared without a trace!' she exclaimed in a loud whisper. They could hear the sounds getting distant, like the infected were walking away slowly. 'Everybody kept talking about some explosion, and you guys getting lost! What was I supposed to do, just fucking sit there?'

'I was doing fine, Ellie,' Joel emphasised, his voice louder. 'Tommy, Kenda and I were almost back home four hours ago, until we found your trails.'

'Yeah, sure you were,' Ellie replied sarcastically, pointing to his blood soaked hand and clothes, from tending to Kenda's wounds the same morning.

Joel said nothing, but his eyes caught the red bandage on her foot. 'Come'ere,' he said, in a slightly softer tone, as he reached out to examine her foot, but she pulled it back.

'I'm fine,' she said, pushing his hands away.

'Can you walk?' he asked her, genuinely, gesturing to her foot.

'I can fucking walk, okay?' she retorted, peeping out of the rock once. The infected were wandering in the glade, disoriented, confused.

Joel observed the same over the rock, and said, 'We can go now. Just follow me and don't make any noise, alright?'

Ellie scoffed.

Joel felt a mix of guilt and relief as they made their way back to the town. It was deep inside him, but he could feel it. The fear that had taken over him in the afternoon had shaken him up from the inside, and after finding her safe and in one piece, he believed that they still had some luck left. He shook off the things that had been sitting on his mind the last three days he was out in the snow.

He remembered the moment he had found blood on the snow, and the dread that had gripped his being, that had driven his mind to call out her name inspite of knowing the risks. He remembered the memory that had flashed in his mind at the moment, the image of Sarah in his arms, her final breath.

He looked back at Ellie now, saw her eyes on the ground as she followed him solemnly, carrying her bow by her side. He could breathe peacefully when he laid eyes on her.

He had redressed her roughly covered wound, and had cut off the edges of the flesh to avoid any discomfort while she walked, because she refused to let him carry her. Her face was still red, her breathing a little quick.

He stopped her, placing a hand in front of her as she walked. She looked up at him, the same accusing glance that made him nervous. He removed his backpack and slung it on one shoulder.

'Climb on,' he said, kneeling down in front of her, his back facing her.

'Pfft,' she looked away, like she didn't need it. She folded her arms across her chest and looked down into the valley, the flowing river, listened to the sounds of the water. Joel didn't give up, simply sat there in front of her, his back facing her. She hung her arms and sighed, rolling her eyes.

'This doesn't change anything,' she muttered under he breath, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held her knees up on either sides of his back and walked ahead.

They went the rest of the way quietly, among the eerie silence of the snow covered forest. Ellie rested her chin on Joel's shoulder, her eyes on the ground as he walked ahead. She found herself thinking of Riley, of the hazy hallucinations she had had last night in her delirium. She closed her eyes, remembering her voice, her words.

She was tired of remembering her as something that was a mistake, associating her with everything that was wrong with the world. She didn't want to grow sad whenever she remembered Riley, because Riley was the opposite of it. She was full of life.

She didn't want to turn her into a reminder of the sorrow she had come across, or a symbol of her remorse. She wanted to see her smiling, laughing, running and leaping. The way she had been.

She opened her eyes again, and looked at Joel. Her lips parted, and she mumbled, 'I miss Riley.'

Joel looked sideways, saw the shadow of her form. He took a deep breath, and looked back ahead.

'That's all we can do for the departed,' he mumbled, his voice gentle. 'Remember them.'

Ellie opened her mouth to ask something else, but hesitated. She knew this was a hard subject for him, talking about his daughter. She waited a few seconds, built up her courage. He did talk about her a few times, but it was rare. Even when he did, she saw the oblivion his eyes travelled to, felt the distance he immediately developed from everything and everyone, even her.

'Do you miss her?', she asked, her voice meek.

He didn't reply for a while, and when he did, his voice was so low she had barely heard it.

'Everyday.'

A/N: Thank you for reading! I'll try updating asap, meanwhile please support me and follow/review. Constructive criticism is also much appreciated!

Also, Merry Christmas everybody :)