It was around one A.M, and Ellie awoke with a gasp, shooting up and looking around, seeing Joel beginning to stir. Frantic gasps escaped her and she hid her head in her hands, letting her tears dry. Joel awoke beside her and swallowed, noticing she'd decided to stay in his room with him instead of opting for her bed as she'd been doing the past week. He sat up, taking the sight of her in.
"Are you okay?" He asked, placing his hand on hers and squeezing it. She nodded, sniffling and falling back into the bed. Joel frowned, shaking her again. "Ellie… do you want to talk about it?" They both knew what it was about… Joel sat next to her, making her turn around towards him with his arms. "Hey… you still trust me, right?" He asked, seeing her nod after a second. "So talk to me…" He whispered, stoking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"It was Winter…" She admitted, looking up to Joel with a sad face. He cursed in his mind and quickly took her into his arms, though he could still see a small bit of hesitance as he hugged her. "I keep seeing him… everything we did was for nothing, Joel. Everyone we killed." Ellie murmured, shutting her eyes. Suddenly Joel took her in his arms, dragging her upper half into his grip.
"Hey, no. That ain't true. You got me, and I got you. That's worth all of it." Joel replied, looking down at her. She sighed, nodding and shutting her eyes again, just relishing the feeling of Joel holding her again. "Okay?"
Ellie nodded, still not wanting to shut her eyes. Joel frowned, holding her hands and looking to the staircase not so far away. "Hey… if you don't wanna go to sleep again, we could stay up."
"All night?" Ellie asked, looking up at him with tired eyes. He sighed, hating that she was hurting because of what he'd done. It was supposed to be the perfect life -in Jackson- but they were both too broken to just smile and live with no worries. The nosy neighbors and the fake smiles only set them worse off, especially Ellie.
"Yeah… or are you too chicken for another movie?" A small smile tugged on Ellie's lips and she looked up at Joel, giving him an answer. Whatever resistance she held against him temporarily began to dissipate and she forgot about everything for just a second, and it was just Joel and her.
So, as the movie began to play, Ellie rested her head on Joel's shoulder. A throw blanket covered them and though her eyes were on the movie, Joel's deviated down towards her to make sure she was okay. He relished the feeling of her hugging him and he shut his eyes. The past week of her blowing him off and being cross with him had been a nightmare. He respected Ellie's anger at him, though… he knew how much the vaccine meant to her. Its failure still lingered over her like a depression, and no one -not even Joel- could qualm her turmoil about it.
They stayed there until the sun began to shine through the curtains and windows. Ellie yawned, opening her eyes and noticing the movie had ended. She saw the absence of Joel beside her and looked around calling his name in concern. "I'm in here! Making breakfast." He responded, bending around the wall to wave at her, letting her breathe a sigh of relief. I must've fallen asleep again. No nightmares, at least.
Ellie rubbed her eyes, brushing her hair back and slowly standing to her feet, her exhaustion still rolling off of her. Ellie looked to Joel, shutting her eyes for a second and squeezing her fists before moving towards him, ready to tell him the truth. "I… I think I know why you did it." She suddenly whispered to him, making him turn around. "I think… I think I would've done the same thing. And I… I think I forgive you." She breathed, shutting her eyes in guilt when she said the words.
Forgiving Joel felt like betraying Marlene and the want for the vaccine, so the guilt on her back grew. Joel widened his eyes and quickly made his way towards Ellie, hugging her as tightly as he could. "Thank you." He whispered against her, letting a tear fall from his cheek. Ellie gently hugged him back, suddenly taken aback by a blaring knock on the door. Both of them jumped and Joel disconnected himself from Ellie, moving towards the door.
More knocks, even louder, banged on the door and Joel cursed under his breath, opening it. As he opened it, someone broke through the door, quickly taking Ellie into a hug, surprising her. Joel recognized it as Jesse from the ranch and shut the door behind him, both Ellie and Joel confused. "Jesse, what-"
Ellie was cut off as she noticed ashes on Jesse's clothes, and smoke on his lips. "What the fuck happened?" She asked, seeing the words on his lips. No… no, what happened?
"The ranch, they… they set it on fire. Dina's still in there, I thought Tommy would be here." Ellie's eyes widened and she suddenly ran out of the house, running too quickly for Joel to stop her. Her eyes shot open as she saw dark smoke billowing from a distance and she ran faster, her legs on fire. No… no, no.
Joel looked from Jesse to Ellie, both of them running after Ellie. Joel ran as fast as he could, catching up with Ellie and stopping her before she could run into the blaze. The entire ranch seemed to be consumed by fire and Ellie's eyes widened. Jesse stood behind her, horrified. Joel ordered him to go get Tommy and he did, running towards Tommy's house in a panic. "Ellie, hey, we need to wait for Tommy." Joel ordered, shaking her vision from the fire.
"N-no, she could be trapped, I need-"
"Ellie, listen to me, you can't do any good if you end up dead." Ellie looked into Joel's eyes, sending an apology with her gaze. Before he could grab for her, Ellie broke herself from Joel's grip, charging into the fire. Joel screamed after her, debating going into the fire to follow her. "ELLIE!" He roared, seeing her frame disappear in the entrance of the blazing ranch.
"Dina!" Ellie called, squinting her eyes. They began to burn from the smoke and she let out a cough, trudging through the fire. "DINA, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Ellie screamed, coughing into her sleeve. She pushed the memories of Winter down and moved forward, desperation living through her. She had begun to conspire feelings for Dina, and she couldn't lose someone like that again, not after Riley. She'd deal with the boys who had done this later, she'd kill them. Fire poured inches from her and she blinked from the heat. Her shoelaces began to burn and she panicked, racing through the ranch. "DINA!" Ellie screamed, whipping around and panting, trying to breath.
Finally, a weak figure crawled into sight and Ellie raced toward it, feeling an arm. Dina was barely breathing, her face flushed with color and the tips of her fingers burned. "Dina!" Ellie yelled, hoisting the girl's arm over her shoulder and helping her stand. "Hey, you've gotta help me out here, okay?" Dina weakly nodded, trying to walk with Ellie as she tried to get them out of the barn. Burns singed at Dina's hands, and burns were lying on Ellie's arms. Soot and ash covered both of their faces and they let out coughs, gasping for air only to inhale more smoke. "Okay, this way, come on." Ellie grunted, forcing her way through the flames and trying to protect Dina, taking the pain herself. "Hey, come on, come on." Ellie cursed, finally seeing daylight beginning to meet their face.
Ellie let out a whimper as she saw that they'd escaped. Bystanders stood before them as Ellie weakley hobbled out of the waves, all of her body hurting. Dina was barely standing and she was barely recognizable, covered by smoke and ash. "Someone help!" Ellie yelled, looking down at Dina, seconds from collapsing in her arms. Jesse appeared beside Ellie, quickly taking the girl from her arms and nodding to her, thanking her between cries.
"Tommy, where's… where's Joel?" She coughed out, limping to the man, seeing her father was nowhere to be seen. When she saw the look on Tommy's face, her face died and she cursed under her breath.
"H-he, he went back in for you. Ellie… Ellie!" Tommy yelled after her as she once again ran back into the flame. The structure of the ranch was beginning to collapse and she knew she had little time left. Ellie heard Tommy screaming for her outside, and even the voice of Jesse calling her back. But she pressed forward, screaming Joel's name.
"JOEL!" Ellie cried, tears making clean paths down her ash covered skin. "Joel, please!" Ellie screamed, barely able to see anything through the smoke and flames. She let out a horrible cough, losing consciousness quickly, but she pressed herself forward, determined to find Joel. "JOEL!" She roared again, and again, a shadow was seen in the distance and she ran towards it, forgetting the burns on her lower legs and limbs. The tips of her hairs were singed and she felt pain bashing in her nerves. "Dad!" Ellie screamed, suddenly feeling something collapse onto her.
A burning piece of wood had fallen onto her, slowly burning her. She tried to wedge her way out, screaming in pain. Ellie's hands dug in the dirt, slowly pulling herself out. "Joel!" She cried, feeling someone suddenly grab her, pulling her with great force from the wood. "Joel." She whispered, feeling someone throw her over their shoulder.
He smelled like smoke and ash and Ellie let out a series of coughs, smoke already filling her lungs. "It's okay, baby, come on. Come on, we're getting you outta here." He growled, holding her just below her waist and right above her shoulders, making her face land just above his back. "Come on." He cringed when she let out more coughs, tightening her grip against Joel and feeling her grip to consciousness begin to dim. "Hey, stay with me, baby girl, stay right here." He coughed as well, covering her mouth with his sleeve. "Oh, God." Joel exhaled, feeling they had escaped the near death experience.
He held her close to him, taking the sight of Tommy rushing towards them in. "Joel, Jesus Christ." Tommy cursed, taking Ellie from Joel and trying to help her stand, but she almost immediately fell, smoke filling her lungs. "Is she breathin'?"
"Barely." Joel whispered, kneeling beside Ellie, who was now laid on the ground. "Ellie, baby, you've gotta breathe okay? Deep breaths." He ordered her, seeing that she weakly nodded, trying to take steady breaths. It slowly worked, but she coughed more and more, worrying Joel. "Get me some water." He told Tommy, quickly taking the canteen Tommy presented him.
Dina and Jesse were positioned not so far away, the slightly taller girl going through the same orders. Jesse stood beside her as Maria pressed water to Dina's lips, trying to get her to breathe correctly. Burns littered Ellie's feet where she'd been trapped, and her arms as well. They weren't obscenely horrible, but they surely hurt. "Ellie, c'mon." Joel begged her, fear pounding in his body, screaming her name in his brain and cursing him for not being able to protect or stop her.
She let out small coughs, slowly being able to take in breath, but due to the smoke, she quickly lost consciousness. "Ellie, hey. Ellie." Joel hissed, shaking her violently. "Ellie, come on." Tommy was silent and cursed under his breath, standing.
"Maria, get her to Graham. Joel, c'mon, we gotta get her to the hospital." Tommy ordered, meeting his brother's eyes with a severe fear. Joel nodded, swallowing and scooping Ellie up in his arms, kissing her ashy forehead. Fear and adrenaline was pounding in his head, deafening him. It all had happened so quickly, one moment, they were watching a movie and now, he was holding her limp, burnt body in his arms, her best friend in the same state right beside her.
"Dina?" Jesse asked, holding Dina in his arms with no complaint. Her ponytail was slumped over and she was barely conscious, looking up at Jesse. "Thank fuck… hey, you're out, okay?" Jesse asked, but she was too weak to even respond. Dina simply nodded, hiding her head in Jesse's teenage chest. Jesse gulped, following Tommy and Joel to the hospital. Maria was beside him, trying to comfort the boy.
Joel suddenly remembered Jesse's words when he'd first pounded on the door to their home: "The ranch, they… they set it on fire." Someone did this. Someone did this to Dina… someone did this to my baby. Joel furrowed his eyebrows together and looked with rage down to Ellie, along with the people coming out of their houses to see what all of the spectacle was about. Maria seemed to have ordered guards to put the flames out with old hoses they'd scavenged. The water slowly claimed the flames, but the structure of the ranch quickly had collapsed.
"Come on, come on." Joel whispered, trying to shake Ellie again, only to draw a small cough from her. Her eyes were screwed shut and limp breaths were slowly retained from her body. Come on, come on… you are not dying here, Ellie. Joel squeezed his nails into his palms, knowing that someone was behind this. Jesse said 'they.' Someone did this to her. Suspicions ran through Joel and a hard glare settled across his face.
They approached the hospital, though it was really just a slightly larger building with whatever medical machines they'd scavenged. They had the average machines, but nothing fancy, just enough to keep someone alive. "Come on, get them inside." Tommy ordered, cringing when he saw Dina and Ellie's state. Both of them were utterly coated in ash and soot, slight burns on each of their skins. "Come on, doctors inside." Joel nodded, watching as two stretchers were rolled through the building. One of the doctors took Ellie from him, and Dina from Jesse.
He cringed at the absence of her weight in his arms and watched as she was wheeled off with Dina, both of them barely conscious. Him, Maria, Tommy and Jesse all stood there, unsure of what to do. "She's gonna be just fine." Maria tried to comfort Jesse, but it clearly didn't do much. He slinked against the wall, sitting on the floor with a guilty expression.
"Maria, go and get both of them some clean clothes, him, too." Tommy asked, seeing Maria nod. Tommy looked to Joel, who was sitting opposite Jesse, both of their expressions broken. "She's gon' be fine, Joel, Ellie's survived worse than this." Joel just shook his head, but then, he looked up to Jesse. The boy met his gaze and squeezed his eyes shut, sighing.
"You said someone did this. Who did this?" Joel asked, his voice hoarse and serious. "Who did this to them?" Joel's voice was furious as he looked to Jesse, trying to soften his expression when looking at the boy. "I heard you, you told her someone started the fire, who?" Tommy seemed to want to know as well and sat beside Jesse, trying to comfort him. Joel's vision was trained on the boy.
Jesse sighed, shaking his head and looking down to his sneakers. His clothing was coated in ash: he'd been taking out one of the horses when it started. First he heard the screaming, and then he saw them. "It… it was those assholes that attacked Ellie and Dina two days ago. We… last night, we tagged their place… we were trying to get revenge, but… I'm sorry, we didn't think they'd do this. We just thought it was funny." Jesse croaked, looking to Tommy then Joel. Joel squeezed his nails into his palms and shut his eyes, remembering the bruises that had been on Ellie when she'd gotten into a fight with them. His face twisted into hatred and he suddenly stood, but Tommy stood before the exit.
"Joel, no. They're kids, you can't go and fucking kill them-"
"They almost killed Ellie, and Dina!" Joel hissed, trying to move past Tommy, but Tommy pushed him back gently, shaking his head. "Tommy, I swear-"
"You cannot go and fuckin' kill them. I will deal with this, you stay with them, alright?" Tommy whispered back, his words quick. Joel shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly not satisfied. Still, he guiltily nodded, sliding against the wall once again with a sigh. "Jesse, your parents should be here soon, alright?" Jesse nodded, not really taking anything that Tommy said. It went through one ear and out the other, all he could think of was Ellie and Dina's ash covered bodies.
Tommy slipped out of the door, leaving Joel and Jesse, both of them silent and consumed in their own minds. Though, Jesse looked up, speaking: "I'm sorry. We didn't think they were going to do anything serious. It's my fault they're in there." Jesse spoke softly, and Joel shut his eyes, shaking his head.
"No, it ain't. It's those assholes' fault. You didn't think they were gon' do anything." Joel responded quietly, looking down the hallways where Ellie had been taken from him. He wiped his face, making his hands dark with ash. "You should go back to your house and wash up, kid." Joel spoke, seeing the ash and soot coating Jesse's face. He shook his head violently, looking back down.
"No. I'm all Dina has… I need to be here for her." Joel cringed, empathizing with the boy's words far too much. Ellie was the only thing he had, and vice versa; and he had failed her. He failed to protect her.
It was a long few hours. Jesse slipped in and out of sleep, and his parents had tried to take him home at one point, but he violently refused. They talked to Joel for a little bit, but he was in no mood to speak. He only shook his head at them and remained silent, boring his eyes deep into the carpet of the so-called hospital. Finally, they seemed to be done with both of them. One of the nurses emerged from the hallway and began to make their way down the corridor, her boots clicking together. Joel's and Jesse's heads both picked up, awaiting her words.
"They're both going to be okay. They're resting right now, but if you'd like to visit them, the doctor said it'd be alright." Joel felt an ocean of relief run over him and he quickly got up, moving past the nurse and down into the hall, his impatience growing. Each second got slower as he moved closer to the door, finally opening it and seeing Ellie in her hospital bed.
A hundred pounds seemingly weighed down on him at once as he saw her slumbering figure, dark burns on each of her arms and a look of pain on her sleeping expression. Joel frowned, feeling his throat close around him at the harrowing sight. They'd hooked her up to a heart rate monitor, so a continuous beeping sounded through the room, screaming the fact that Ellie was still alive to Joel with a purpose. Joel gratefully accepted it, slowly crossing the room and sitting in a chair that laid beside her bed. He scooted closer to her, taking her burnt hand that was laid gently across her chest. "Kiddo…" He whispered, pushing the familiar strand of hair behind her ears with a painful smile.
"It's okay… you're okay now." He kissed the top of her forehead, and suddenly, she began to stir. Joel's eyes widened and he dropped from the chair quickly, kneeling at her bedside. "Ellie?" He asked, taking both of her hands and looking into her eyelids as they slowly fluttered open. "Oh, thank God." He whispered, ducking his head for just a moment before looking back to her.
"Joel?" Her voice was as dry as the sand of a scorched desert and he cringed, hearing it. He nodded, tears quickly spilling over his eyes. "Dina, is… is she alive?" Ellie asked weakly, letting out a small cough and shutting her eyes again.
"You saved her, baby girl, she's alright." Joel swore, nodding and squeezing Ellie's hand gently. Joel suddenly realized what a miracle it was that she hadn't been burned on her bite mark and that the doctors hadn't had to unband it and see it. "Jesse's alright. They saved the horses, too. It's alright now."
"Remind me… not to try running into a burning building again… this shit hurts." Ellie croaked, her eyes barely open as she looked at Joel, squeezing his hand with care. His chest hurt when he thought of how much pain Ellie had to be in. They must've given her some sort of pain-meds, but they clearly hadn't settled in yet. "You shouldn't have… have ran in after me." She whispered, meeting his eyes.
"You jump, I jump, baby girl. You run into a snowstorm, I go right after." He responded, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking down at her. "Ellie… who did this?" Jesse had told his story, but he wanted to authorize the boy's testimony with Ellie's. Elle hesitated, shutting her eyes and shaking her head. "Who was this?"
"It… it was those assholes who jumped me. We tagged their place last night… God, I'm such a fucking idiot, I signed my name." Ellie croaked, covering her face with her hands. "This is all my fault…" Joel shook his head, gently prying her hands from her face and looking her directly in her eyes.
"No, it ain't. Those assholes are gon' pay." Joel promised, knowing Tommy cared for Ellie as he did, and that he'd make sure that Dina and Ellie got their comeuppance. "The doctor says you can come home if you take it easy, but I reckon with you that'll be a handful." Ellie smiled sheepishly, weakly hitting his arm as much as she could.
"Is Dina up yet?" Joel shook his head 'no,' and Ellie frowned, looking down. "Ah." Ellie winced in pain, hissing and brushing her arm, pressing her shirt against it. Joel stroked her chin lovingly, pain hidden in his eyes.
"I know, pain meds should kick in soon." Joel whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek to behind her ear. Ellie nodded, feeling exhaustion take over her. "Get some rest, kiddo…" He kissed the top of her forehead, feeling her relax and fall asleep beneath him. Joel repositioned the chair beside her and took her hand, getting comfortable. He knew he'd be here until she was cleared to go home that night: he'd be right beside her until she recovered.
Joel wished he could slip into Tommy's skin and deal with those boys. He knew Jesse already wanted to 'talk' to them as well, and Ellie would of course want to murder them once she was better. Dina seemed to have woken up, because he heard laughs on the other side of the door. He smiled, thankful Ellie's friends were alright; they meant so much to her, and he didn't want her to have to go through that again… even in Jackson, Riley's death still haunted her.
He knew that the anniversary of her death was coming up, something that only worried Joel. With each day it approached, she grew more and more anxious.
Each breath that rose from her sleeping chest, he praised. Joel remembered his fear when they were in that fucking barn with Ellie coughing her lungs out, slowly dying in his arms. And when she finally collapsed on the ground outside the blaze… he thought she'd died, and any good thing in his life suddenly seemed to become dark and invisible. He heard a knock on the door, and turned to see Maria entering with a fresh pair of clothes for Joel. "Hey…"
"Hey." Joel responded, still holding onto Ellie's hands. Maria placed the clothes on the edge of Ellie's bed and sighed, placing her hands on her hips.
"The doctors said she'll be okay… nothing long term." Joel nodded, murmuring a 'thank you' under his breath and turning back to Ellie.
"And the boys who did this?" Joel asked, his voice in a deep grovel of rage. Maria sighed, shutting her eyes and pacing around the room, her eyes drawing back to Ellie's unconscious form every now and then. "They need to pay Maria."
"I know, Joel, but… Jesus, it doesn't work in here like it does out there. We can't just banish them, they're fifteen." Joel shut his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. They're getting away with this. Joel chewed the inside of his tongue, looking up at Maria, squeezing Ellie's hand in his.
"So, they're getting away with this." Joel snarled, meeting Maria's eyes. She sighed, shaking her head and turning around. Her electric blonde hair framed her face as she hung her head, picking at her nails. "They almost killed Dina, they would've if Ellie didn't run in to save her." Joel growled, looking back down at Ellie's injured and battered body once again, anger resonating in his body and face. "Hell, they would've burnt the horses if Dina didn't run in to save them!"
"I know, okay? Look… Tommy said he can get them community service and no permissions to go outside. That's everything we have the power to do."
"Bullshit."
"Joel, we can't just kick them out. They're kids. I'm sorry, but that's how it is." Maria sighed, looking at Joel for a moment before walking out, leaving Joel to rage. He heavily breathed, squeezing his nails into his fists and pacing the room, swearing under his breath. Ellie's just a kid… and she almost died. And, nobody cares. He thought in fury, but he let it boil down, sitting back down beside Ellie.
His hand rested on his temple and he chewed the inside of mouth, wanting to scream in anger. Though he didn't want to wake Ellie, she needed her rest, now more than ever. He let it boil down and he sat back down in the chair, squeezing Ellie's hand. I'm keeping you safe… this ain't gonna happen to you ever again. He swore, falling asleep by her side and waiting for her recovery.