Shadowman [Narrator]
A tinge of orange managed to push through the top of the mountains, the valley around them shrouded in shadows as the sun was well within its descent. Joel and Andrea remained at the front as they searched for Ellie's tracks in the mud. Clementine and Lee trailed behind, the younger girl slowly trying to teach him how to navigate the reigns as they went along.
Things were relatively quiet on the search, unless it involved following more tracks. When Andrea started to question Joel on the topic of Ellie, he simply grumbled and avoided giving direct answers. Things had been looking okay for the Pittsburgh survivors, however all the the quiet and relaxed life had seemed to do was facilitate towards the release of all this bottled up tension that had been festering for months now.
It wasn't long before the tracks led them to a small, worn-down structure.
'HIDDEN PINES CORRAL'
Andrea pointed out a sign, it was apparent that the place used to be a ranch, but now time had taken its toll, leaving nothing behind but an empty shell of its former self. Lo and behold, the same horse that had been missing from Jackson was outside the small house, tied to one of the wooden piers, no rider to be seen. However, it was obvious that this place was where Ellie had decided to hole up, somewhere inside. The four finally stopped outside the ranch, dismounting their horses.
Dot [Andrea]
The lone ranch was nestled in a valley between the two largest mountains in Jackson, leaving the area in near-darkness by the time they finally followed the horse tracks to the home. Andrea dismounted her horse quickly, tying the reins around the same wooden piers their missing horse had been. She turned towards Joel as they ascended the steps onto the porch.
She still didn't know what was going on here, and Joel seemed to want to avoid the subject during the ride over. Nevertheless, whatever was going on, it was probably between the girl and Joel. Sighing, she leaned against the wall next to the door.
"We'll give you two some privacy to work things out." Her eyes briefly wavered towards Clementine and Lee, who had joined them on the porch, before returning to Joel, expression turning serious. "This area's outside our patrol zone. Don't be too long."
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel looked at Andrea, sighing with disappointment. Ellie pulling one of these stunts was absurd to him. She had never run off before, had never even dreamed about it as far as he had known. He figured she would have liked to stay with Lee and Clementine; they were good company, after all. Hell, they had been with her for almost as long as he had been. "I won't be." He spoke, relieving her of her orders as he stepped into the house.
"Ellie? Ellie ?" He called, his deep voice carrying across the lobby. "Goddammit, Ellie."
The rooms on the bottom floor were empty. The revolver in Joel's hand felt hot. He didn't hear anybody else here and he doubted that there were any others here... other than Ellie. As such, he stuffed the revolver into his back pocket and climbed up the stairs. A door sat at the end of the hall on the second floor, light slashing his face in half with its vibrance.
He opened it; a rush of just about everything flying through his head. Guilt, anger, pity, fear... she was in there, of course. His expression tightented, bleakened, grew coarser . "Get up. We're leaving." He said, annoyed but... careful, almost.
Dot [Ellie]
Anger had quickly devolved into indifference, an uncomfortable feeling that resided in her gut, almost weighing her down. She'd sat herself down on a couch nestled between two walls next to the bedroom window, a large candle burning on a table nearby to illuminate the room. She hadn't been there for long, but she found herself reading through a diary that had been left on the bedside table, entries going back as far as 2008.
The girl who lived here had lived a life Ellie couldn't fathom. She wondered where she was today, if she was even alive. That thought floated in her head for a while as the sound of Joel's voice emanated from outside the room, until finally the man appeared in the doorway. That weight in her stomach only grew heavier, yet she kept her tone distant and flat as she merely glanced towards him out of the corner of her eye.
"Is this really all they had to worry about?" Joel's eyes turned towards her. "Boys? Movies? Deciding which shirt goes with which skirt?" She sighed, flipping the page. "It's bizarre."
Of course Joel's answer was to avoid the subject entirely, telling her to get up. She ground her teeth, shaking her head, before closing the book, letting her feet fall to the floor as she leaned forward on the couch. "And if I say no?"
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel clenched his teeth, anger swathing in his eyes. His flannel stretched as his hands flew up in the air, expression one of disbelief; annoyance. "Do you even know what your life means? Huh?" He paused, taking a step towards her. "Running off like that, puttin' yourself at risk? It's pretty goddamn stupid."
Dot [Ellie]
Anger swelled in Ellie as she bit back a slew of retorts she wanted to hurl his way. He wanted to dump her off on someone else. It didn't matter that it was Lee, despite everything that they've been through with him and Clementine. Joel had been there since the start. Since the day Marlene hired him and Tess to take her to the Capitol Building in Boston, to Tess dying, to fighting their way through Bill's town to get a working car, to running into Lee and Clem in Pittsburgh. She thought that maybe… maybethey'd stick together, after they found the Fireflies, that maybe she wouldn't lose someone else she cared about. But, of course, that was nothing but a fucking dream.
She didn't move from her spot, the anger fueling her words as she spoke lowly. "Well, I guess we're both disappointed with each other, then."
Kentucky [Joel]
His reaction was almost instantaneous. He approached her, arms held to his sides defensively, as if he were asking a question. And a question he did ask. "What do you want from me?" He bit, sneering as he approached the girl with the hard steps of his boots slapping the ground.
Dot [Ellie]
Anger met anger in what would've easily been a clash of two swords, and Ellie's voice grew louder, harsher. "Admit that you wanted to get rid of me the whole time!"
This whole fucking thing felt unfair, that what she wanted never even occurred to Joel, and probably never would. She came here to just… get away from it all, to have a moment to think, and now all she wanted to do was yell at him, to just tell him to fuck off like Riley did to her, and never see him again. She didn't want that to happen, but clearly Joel wasn't going to stick around anyway.
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel stopped in his tracks, head drawing back. Excuses, excuses, they flooded to his mind in a desperate attempt to claw at any kind of meaning, any kind of verbal protection at a time like this. His voice faltered, and he fell to an age old adage. "Lee and Clementine are better equipped to deal-"
Dot [Ellie]
"Agh, fuck that-" Ellie pushed herself off of the couch, a wave of emotion choking the rest of her words, and causing her to rub at her eyes as she turned away from Joel. Of course he was still going on about how she was better off with Lee and Clem, and the very thought of listening to it was enough for her to want to punch a wall. Instead, she clenched her eyes shut, holding back tears she didn't want to shed.
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel threw his hands up in frustration. She just couldn't get it. She would never be able to get it, would she? Joel looked at the girl as she lifted off of the couch, glaring. "Well, I'm sorry, I trust them better than I trust myself!" His hands lowered to his sides, palms open.
Dot [Ellie]
His voice was starting to grate on her nerves. As soon as the words left his mouth, she turned towards him, returning his glare. "Stop with the bullshit." She snapped, taking in a deep breath. "What are you so afraid of? That I'm gonna end up like Tess?" Under normal circumstances, mentioning the name out loud would've been something she'd avoid at any cost, yet she wouldn't back down, not this time.
"I can't get infected," she shouted, emphasizing each word. "I can take care of myself!"
Kentucky [Joel]
Her name only made him more bitter. His head snapped to attention, hand accentuating each word. Why did she have to bring up Tess? How personal did she need to go? She knew this hurt him and he knew this hurt her; why couldn't the two of them just come to a goddamned standstill?! This was how things had to be, him without her and her without him, otherwise the fate of mankind was going to be hung from a rope.
"How many close calls have we had?!" He yelled, raising his voice again in the argument.
Dot [Ellie]
What did that even matter? For most of their journey, it'd been spent alongside Clementine and Lee. How did he fucking expect her to take him seriously when his excuses were nothing but that, pointless things that he thought would justify him abandoning her? Well, fuck that.
"Well," she started bitterly, throwing her hands out in exasperation, "we seem to be doing alright so far."
Kentucky [Joel]
His voice raised especially for his last moment, an arm extending to his side, index finger aimed at the door. "And now you'll be doing even better with Lee !" Joel nearly screamed, furious and frustrated with this whole ordeal. He was nearly done with this conversation; he had made his choice.
Dot [Ellie]
His words nearly echoed in the room, and he turned away from her with an angry sigh. As his gaze turned away from her, Ellie closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Mentally cursing herself, she took a step forward, though Joel's gaze was still towards the door. She bit her lip, for just a moment reconsidering the words that were about to come out of her mouth. In the end, she said them anyway.
"I'm… not her, you know."
Kentucky [Joel]
Before Joel could turn around, she said it. Of course she had to bring that up. He winced as he turned around, looking over her. He asked the question, but he knew who she meant as he said it. "What?"
Dot [Ellie]
She hesitated for a second, hands twitching as she tried to muster the courage to keep going. "Andrea told me about Sarah." She continued, voice cracking slightly as she struggled to maintain control of it. "And I-"
Kentucky [Joel]
"Ellie." He interrupted her before she could continue, eyes gleaming, tears welling up in them. His hand extended as his voice cracked, gruff. "You are treading, on somemighty thin ice here." She had to go there, didn't she?
Dot [Ellie]
His threat would go unheeded, anger once again swelling within her. Her tone shifted from soft and apologetic to harsh and bitter in a heartbeat. "I'm sorry about your daughter, Joel, but I have lost people too."
Kentucky [Joel]
His reaction was instantaneous. Angered and bleak, his tone turned for the worse, eyes squinting in their collective rage. "You have no idea what loss is." Accusatory, almost.
Dot [Ellie]
She stared at him incredulously. She almost wanted to punch him. How could he say that? How many times had this world taken everything from her? From everyone?
"Everyone I have cared for has either died , or left me." She took several steps towards him, tears welling in her eyes. "Everyone..." She pushed him, though he barely budged, " fucking except for you."
She didn't give him a chance to reply, pointing towards the door as her voice cracked, nearly falling apart completely. She didn't even stop to breathe. "So don't tell me that I would be safer with someone else - because the truth is I would just be more scared."
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel backed up as she pushed him, watching the girl. A number of things flooded through his mind; but as he had said before, he had already made his choice. "You're right..." He started, his voice as low as a whisper at this point. "You're not my daughter." He stood stern before her, not budging in his moves. "And I sure as hell ain't your dad." His head shifted forward, down, if only slightly. "And we are going our separate ways."
He had already made his choice a long time ago.
Dot [Ellie]
She was hoping that would've been enough to get him to change his mind. In some small part of her brain, she thought it'd actually work. Instead, his words hit her like a pile of bricks, and she averted her gaze to the floor. What was she supposed to say to that? Fists clenched, then unclenched, then clenched again, breathing in and out slowly. Words hung on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't have the courage to say them. Instead, she gave Joel one final glare, then turned towards the door, almost stomping.
She threw the next two words over her shoulder, her voice dejected and resigned. "Fuck you."
She tried to get him to stay, and she failed. She wasn't going to try again.
Before Joel could reply, she slammed the door behind her, leaving him inside the bedroom as she headed downstairs.
Kentucky [Joel]
He didn't say a word. He just stood there, frothing and seething in his own tempered rage. Joel tampered with his shirt, turning around and looking at the door for a second. He was tired of this. Tired of all of this. But it was going to be over soon, at least. Ellie's words had hurt him, they had affected him, and a million things were running through his mind now.
He just needed to get Ellie with Lee and Clem now, then everything would go much, much better. He hoped. He opened the door after a few moments, heading downstairs as well.
Dot [Andrea]
Andrea couldn't help but wince at the noise of angry shouts coming from the second floor. After Lee filled her in on what was going on, she found herself unable to sympathize with Joel's predicament. What did he expect when he was offloading Ellie onto someone else?
Nevertheless, she didn't say anything about it, instead focusing herself on searching the house for any supplies that were worth taking. Being beyond their patrol zone, this place has mostly been left untouched, and she stuffed anything useful she managed to find into her backpack.
Lee had also attempted to bring up the Fireflies again, not to her surprise. She knew it had been coming the moment he explained what was going on with Ellie and Joel, and she tried to brush him off, though he'd remained persistent. In the end, she told him that they'd talk about it once they returned to Jackson. After her last conversation with Tommy and Carl, she was starting to think that she needed to rethink her strategy. Eventually.
Feet stomping echoed through the open rooms downstairs, and Andrea made her way back to the front of the house, finding Ellie coming down the stairs two steps at a time. Once her eyes had found Andrea, she stopped for only a moment, then continued towards the front door, and where Clementine and Lee waited outside.
By the time she finished zipping her backpack up, Ellie had disappeared outside, and Joel was coming down the stairs. She approached him, keeping her gaze focused on the front door as she leaned against the railing running along the stairs. Eyes bounced between the door and Joel before she finally opened her mouth. "You two sort everything out?"
Kentucky [Joel]
As he opened the door, vibrant light shot out and tore through his reckoned eyes. The venture inside the ranch house had taken its toll on him, the words exchanged between the two parties being something he was sure to think about a lot more. But that was how he got by now, by not thinking about it. So he didn't, he tried his best because he didn't want to think about it. And it had worked before, back with Tess, because she had the same goddamn line of thinking and...
Ellie didn't have to bring them up. Sarah and Tess. He was still bitter over it, but he supposed he understood her reasoning behind it, even if he grew angry over it the more it festered. So, he let it go and so it was gone.
It was unfortunate then, that Andrea had to bring it back up.
Joel stopped in his tracks, looking over at the woman as she leaned up against the railing. "I guess we did." He turned to her; it was obvious that wasn't the only question she had for him.
Dot [Andrea]
Andrea's eyes instinctively narrowed at Joel's statement, at how casual it had sounded. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever happened up there, it didn't end with them deciding to stick together. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Can I tell you something?"
Joel's expression was unreadable, as it usually seemed to be, but he nodded nonetheless.
"This notion you've got in your head, that you're better off getting away from her… it's bullshit.." She spoke evenly, calmly, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with the larger man in front of her. Whatever respect she had gained for him was already dwindling, and would completely disappear if he went through with this. Ellie deserved better. "It's your decision, obviously," she continued, sighing. "Just… I hope you know what you're doing."
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel opened his mouth as if to say something, before shutting it to give himself a little more thought. He didn't care what others thought of him. He hadn't got this far caring about others trying to guilt trip him into what was morally correct. This was a dirty job and he had never said it wasn't. He had never said he would stay with the girl either. Twangs of doubt had infiltrated his mind, of course, as they always did, but the decision was final.
"I'm better off getting away from her and she's better off getting away from me. That's it." He walked past her, down the steps of the porch, before reaching his horse, hoisting up on it and spurring it away from the ranch.
That was it, then. That was it.
Art [Clementine]
Clementine pressured her legs and tapped the horse with her heels, urging him to trot faster. They'd been searching for almost half an hour, by then. The long-winded silences making the girl grip the horse's reigns harder and harder. The both of them, her and Lee, ended up lagging behind Joel and Andrea, not only due to Clem's lack of experience, but also because Whiskers was galloping for two. Clem made it work the best she could, checking for anything the duo leading them might've missed, her eyes constantly scanning the bushes and trees. As the sun began to descend past a comfortable point, a sense of terror began to set in once more. If they couldn't find Ellie before nightfall... just thinking about it had the girl shaking in her boots. The best they could hope for were the horse tracks popping up every few minutes, the ones that were gradually becoming harder to see the darker it got.
Thankfully, those would eventually lead them somewhere, for as long as it might've taken.
An old ranch. Clementine sighed through her nose as the adults slowed down to a halt, Whiskers following suit at her command. The horse was there… a horse, anyway, but Andrea sounded pretty sure it was Ellie's. One at a time, they dismounted their horses; Joel, Andrea, and Lee. Everyone except for her, who did so last, apprehensive to an undeniable degree. There was nothing she would've wanted more than to go inside and talk to her, but circumstances dictated otherwise, Lee placing a hand on her shoulder and insisting she let Joel handle it. She didn't really know why, and she didn't ask either. Whatever the case, Clem already had her shot at trying to knock some sense into Ellie… So much good that did.
… And so they waited, not long enough for it to be worrying , but enough so to get Clementine all fidgety. The girl sat on the porch, her two arms rested on her knees, powerless to do much of anything. Lee was talking to Andrea… in fact, they talked for a while. It was so strange, that entire thing, from the moment Lee called her downstairs less than an hour ago. Something was going on…
Shortly after Andrea headed in, Ellie stormed out, every step she made echoing in Clem's ears. Looking at her, right then, well… Clementine had plenty to say. She had more than a dozen minutes to think about just that, while searching for that dumbass on horseback.
Yet for some reason, she genuinely didn't know what to say to her. Maybe there was nothing she could say that Ellie didn't know already. From the moment Clem averted her gaze, ripping it away from the girl she was so desperately looking for… she figured the message was pretty fucking clear.
Dot [Ellie]
It was almost like a weight had been lifted off Ellie's shoulders as she stepped outside, though that feeling would only last so long, long enough for her to notice that Lee and Clementine were standing nearby, looking back towards her. She averted her gaze, face returning to the 'pissed off bitch' facade she'd already began to perfect, and stepped past them without a word.
She approached her horse, untying the reins from the wooden pier, and climbed into the saddle. She softly ran her hand through the horse's hair, keeping it calm as they waited for Joel and the others to join them. The sooner they were out of here, the better. At least she'd be able to put some distance between her and Joel once they were back.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
As Ellie stormed down the stairs and made a beeline for the horse, Andrea saw fit to have a word with Joel inside. Lee slanted up against the wooden pier of the porch, gun in hand as he kept a lookout, head swung low in thought whilst his foot rhythmically tapped away at the ground in frustration. The look on the immune girl's face said it all; it was done and dusted between her and Joel. Nothing he could do about it now. It was best to just leave her alone… then, sometime later, they'd have to talk it out, or form some kind of plan... provided they finally did decide to give them that location. He was hoping that Andrea would sympathize with him on that, but it was obvious she had some sort of obligation to Tommy for his approval on that matter.
This was all so overwhelming for one day, from Joel admitting his planned departure to realizing that he now had another to take care of for the rest of the journey. He felt like Joel was giving him more trust than he deserved, granted probably because he was so desperate to leave, but that didn't mean Lee wasn't without his doubts on this whole Firefly thing either. Now wasn't the time for this.
It was already hard enough to keep Clementine from going inside when they got here, and he wasn't looking forward to explaining the predicament they were in now either. Better late than never. He slowly made his way towards Clementine's side, taking his seat next to her on the porch. The man didn't say anything at first, mostly because he was still thinking about how to approach this. He kept his eyes forward, towards the treeline, half his attention directed to keeping a lookout as he spoke, his voice low. He figured it would be enough for Clementine to put two and two together as to why the whole day suddenly went to shit.
"Joel's leaving."
Art [Clementine]
Part of her always expected to hear it. Sooner rather than later, admittedly, though the news came to reach her ears nonetheless. Clementine didn't want it to, and still, finding out about Joel's departure did make her upset. A fact the girl hid well, with the exception of the somber sigh that escaped her.
Why, was the first thought to cross her mind. Why now?
… and Ellie?
Yeah, Clementine supposed it made sense, that whole… well, thing. After Lee explained what was going on, everything else clicked fairly quickly. It didn't make her any less mad, but she did understand it. If something like that happened to her, it wouldn't be that great of a stretch to see herself wanting to run away too. Joel couldn't have picked a worse time to ditch the three of them.
Lee kept his eyes locked on her, a warm gaze she chose not to return. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? It hardly helped that she was the last to find out. Everything felt so backwards... like reality itself was crumbling under her feet and everything in it decided to stop making sense all at once. One thing was made pretty clear, though. Joel didn't care and he never did. He could go back to Boston or go straight to hell. She didn't care either way. Clem shook her head in a vain attempt to clear her mind, tired eyes that barely had the strength to look angry anymore facing the one beside her.
"Where is he?"
Ledge [Lee Everett]
"Inside. Andrea's having a word." Lee shot a glance over his shoulder, as if expecting to get interrupted at any moment, before turning back around to face Clem, sighing out as he ran a hand down his face. He felt like he'd been effectively sapped of all his energy, all this drama... he was just done with it. Things felt like they were going okay for that week, so why did everything have to get so complicated all of a sudden? "Listen, he wants us to take her the rest of the way..."
Art [Clementine]
"Of course he does…" Clementine retorted in a grumble, clenching her eyes shut. It wasn't fair. Not for Lee or for Ellie. Was that really it? After everything…? If Joel really wanted to leave, then... so be it. They were gonna find the Fireflies one way or the other.
The girl very abruptly rose to her feet, hands drifting to her jacket pockets. I'm so sick of this. The more her boots crushed the humid grass under them the farther she got from Lee and the ranch, the coldness in her eyes like that of a feral hound. Clem needed a minute alone to cool her head off.
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie fidgeted in her spot on the horse, keeping her eyes away from Lee and Clementine as they talked nearby. A small part of her was grateful to Clementine, that familiar tone of anger that often settled in Clementine's voice returning as Lee explained the situation. Ellie lifted her gaze only as the girl began to walk away, heading for the outer perimeter of the ranch, though the girl didn't return it. She didn't really blame her.
Attention directing back towards Lee, she shifted in the saddle, petting the side of the horse's neck to keep him calm. A sense of restlessness was washing over her, only accentuated by the fact she was wringing her hands together nervously. She briefly let her gaze settle on Lee. Despite how fucking pissed off she was at Joel, at least Lee wasn't abandoning her, so she couldn't say the same for him . After last time, he'd have been the one she expected.
Guess she knew who to trust now.