Erlina and Ellie found themselves joined at the hip by the next morning. The young girls followed one another to the point where it mystified Joel and Josh. Of course, it begged the question as to when both girls got the chance to even become so close when they only were around each other for no more than a day. As off guard as it was, the older males had to admit that they were happy to see them enjoying the company of another like-minded child. Smiles were constantly seen on their faces and they constantly had someone to turn or talk to.
In all honesty, it gave Josh and Joel some arm-room to themselves, but most importantly, it gave them something to learn from in terms of there still being some humanity left in the world and that not every single person needed to be an enemy to down before they got the chance,
"Those two became pretty close, huh?" The large Texan attempted to converse, looking at the teen. Josh didn't say much, but he could see the obvious growth between the two. Unlike his cousin, Josh had yet to let his guard down, mainly because he couldn't bring himself to trust a man like Joel. Whereas Joel had probably faced so many cold-blooded killers, he just knew that Josh was far from one of them—so he felt just about comfortable trying to talk to him. Josh took a step from the gathering area after feeding the fireplace a collection of sticks and papers to keep it from sizzling out. He slouched in the far corner of the room, sitting on the floor with his belongings. That's when he heard Joel speak up once again, "If you don't mind me asking," Joel said from the sofa. He sat back and placed his hands onto his thighs, "What exactly are you both doing out here? Not tryna pry or nothin'..." Joel normally took breaks between mid sentences, allowing Josh to gather that the older gentleman wasn't great with words. But he gave him some slack because of it because he could understand that talking to people was hard. Josh could respect that whenever Joel wanted to speak or get a point across, he tried his darned hardest to do so. That's when Joel finally resumed, "It's not safe out here. And you don't seem anything like the folk out here…"
"It's not safe anywhere anymore," Josh bleakly confirmed, "Plus, I'm not a kid. I'm nineteen."
Joel ignored his comment about not being a kid. Sure he wasn't a young kid, but Josh knew that in the eyes of someone as old as Joel, he was young enough to require some looking after.
"You care about your cousin don't you?" he inquired. Josh's nostrils flared, and he looked at Joel with a look that was determined to make him change topics. However, all it did was make Joel look away—for a split second that is, "Ellie and I came here from a town a couple of miles back. You may have passed by there but consider yourself lucky that you never ran into those...people," Joel drummed his fingers on his thigh, "Not people. Cannibals. Tried to kill us."
Personally, as much as Josh didn't want to show it and appear unfazed by his words, he got the chills by the mere choice of words. There was a change in his demeanor, and Josh knew he picked up on it. He fixed his composure and engaged eye contact the longest he ever had since Joel showed up,
"How'd you escape?"
"Wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her..." he pointed toward the ceiling, referencing Ellie in the upstairs bedroom. Josh didn't know how to reply to that since it gave him parallels with the relationship with his cousin. He got that these two looked out for one another and the only thing that freaked him out was just how similar it sort of was when Josh was in danger at the church. Oddly enough, it nearly brought tears to his eyes once he thought about the likeliness of him not being here if it weren't for his beloved cousin. Joel continued telling his story like it were a life lesson, "I got wounded pretty bad out there after some men tried to ambush us. I don't remember much, but she put her life on the line to get me better," he paused as if he were trying to remember the glimpses, "She took me to a mall, stitched me up, and even managed to get me some penicillin..." he claimed. Personally, it sounded like a fairytale to Josh, but Joel didn't look or sound like the type of man to lie about something as serious as that, especially if he had the scars to prove it. Josh was speechless, but he was impressed,
"Where did she get the penicillin from?"
Joel sighed, almost like he had been triggered by it,
"Turns out that the man who gave her penicillin was just another twisted cannibal..." Joel paused after clearly noticing the look of shock on Josh's face. He, however, avoided getting too much into detail, "Can't trust everyone..." he concluded.
All this did was jumpstart memories that Josh no longer wanted to recall, at least for a very long time. Not only did it make him reflect on the importance of his cousin, but it certainly made him question if he really was capable of taking care of her. He had way too many close calls that ultimately could've left Emberly to fend for herself. Joel picked up on it before Josh could even react. The young man let out a sharp breath and placed his fingers over his eyes to hold back tears. That being said, he thought it would be best to share how much of a desperate situation he was in and that there was a possibility that this strange Texan could probably contribute somehow since he seemed to escape the clenches of death quite often,
"Oh man," he said through a now croaky voice, "The reason we're out here is because…" Josh paused, now being the one unable to get his words across, "...is because we got separated from my mom a couple of months back. We were also ambushed by some group of survivors. But we ended up getting separated," his nose turned red and tears streamed down his cheeks as his eyes flooded, "I don't even know how long it's been. I've lost track," his voice began cracking, "I always say that I know my mom's alive, but I'm not even sure. They were going to execute her"
Joel sat up intrigued to hear what the youngling had to say,
"Do you mind telling me where this happened?" Joel inquired.
There was a long pause as Josh tried recollecting himself.
"No, I don't mind. Uh, Crawford, Nevada I think..." Josh said, clearing his throat and looking up.
Joel carefully reached into his backpack resting by his foot. He offered Josh a chance to sit beside him so he could show him something that could possibly help him out. Reluctant at first, Josh eventually gave in, seeing that this could be a lead for once. Joel pulled out a map and unfolded it, resting it on his lap and flattening out the creases and dog ears with his fingers.
Josh looked over at the map with his stressed, red eyes. Within the time that Joel and Josh spent together, Joel explained his travels from Boston to Wyoming since it was all he could remember before Ellie took over. Once Josh enlightened that they were traveling from the east coast, it only made sense for Pam to keep traveling west. Her chances of survival were slim like everyone else's—but Joel would be sociopathic to say such a thing out loud. But if she was as smart as the children she raised, she could've wound up in Wyoming or here in Colorado. But this wasn't anything new to Josh. The reason he and Erlina were even in Colorado was for the exact thinking and once he voiced that to Joel, Joel mentioned something that he would probably thank him for years to come if they ever crossed paths again,
"I don't know if it could be of any help," Joel pointed to the map, landing on the far end of Wyoming, "...But my brother helps run a small settlement in Jackson," he enlightened. Judging by the look on Joel's face, Josh could tell that he eventually picked up on his cluelessness and what that had to do with his own journey. Joel readjusted his posture, "I'm just sayin', in case you ever need a place to rest every now and then...maybe you could stop by there," he took his signature pause, "Just ask for Tommy and tell him Joel sent ya."
"Hm," Josh nodded, "At least it's something. I was beginning to think there was nothing left out there. But then I met you two."
The older gentleman looked as if he was going to say something before Josh snuck in that last sentence. Even though the adult teen anticipated it beforehand, he was the least bit surprised to see Joel reserve his words.
Early that afternoon, the entire cabin thought it was best to head out and gather some supplies since everyone was practically running low on needs. Ever since hiding from the Runners yesterday, the town had been on Erlina's mind all day, so it was her suggestion to search around for some things. Although she was extremely confident that they both could handle it on their own, Ellie would never tattle that it was also Erlina's idea for just the two of them to sneak out and do it themselves.
They all trudged through the inches of snow as they collectively made their way out of the forest.
"I wonder what we're going to find today..." Erlina said, placing her braids over her shoulder.
"I don't know," Josh said from last in line, "What would you like?"
"If we're lucky, we can probably catch deer," Joel raised his calm voice to be heard over the sudden winds, "Or boar."
"I caught a nice big stag a while back," he cheer suddenly vanished, "Just wish I didn't trade it."
"Well, if you didn't trade it, I wouldn't be here, now would I?"
"I guess not," Ellie happily answered. It was a sentimental moment that took some savoring and although Ellie understood it, she didn't want the silence to become so prominent. To her, she obviously enjoyed the constant chatter amongst the group. She looked down as she trudged through the snow that eventually shallowed as they made it further outward from the forest, "Callus would've made traveling so much easier," Ellie groaned, "I miss that fucking horse."
"You had a horse?" Erlina gasped, nearly freezing in place from pure shock.
"Yep, there's plenty of 'em at Jackson," Joel commented, looking over his shoulder to glance at Josh. A glance was all it took for Josh to give a light smirk. Still stopped in her tracks she looked back at her cousin as he caught up with her and gave her a light shove to continue moving,
"What's Jackson?"
"Joel told me about a community his brother has up in Wyoming."
"Can we go?" she practically begged. Before he could even answer, she commented once more, "What if Auntie Pam is there?"
He paused, unsure of how to even process that. Joel didn't mention it and neither did he, but he'd be lying if he said he never thought about the possibilities. The world was smaller but how much smaller had it truly become? For all he knew, his mother was either decomposed in Nevada or with another group. But frankly, he had to admit that he had been that way everywhere he went—whether it was a urinal stall in the road or cars in a parking lot, he often questioned whether he would just stumble across his mother. Instead of answering her last question, he answered the initial,
"We can make a stop there, but not for too long."
"Yes!" Erlina cheered.
Being ahead of the relatives, Joel and Ellie were making their way down a snowy slope with Erlina somehow managing to fall behind and be the last to sloppily follow. According to Ellie, she swore she spotted something large enough to be something she could eat. The more she elaborated on it, the more she implied seeing a hare. They weren't sure if it was the hunger or excitement of being in a new group, but Ellie endlessly rushed the adults to follow, claiming the hare would flee if they weren't quick enough. That's when Ellie announced that she would be going ahead before the little critter escaped, and for the sake of being able to properly hunt it, Erlina went along too. Before Joel and Josh knew it, the girls were out of their grasp.
It all just happened too fast and just as Ellie ran to the first location at the intersection, she turned a corner she believed the wild animal went around. However, Ellie froze in her tracks to see a different kind of wild animal.
Catching up with Ellie, Erlina continued pacing once she noticed Ellie break from afar. Assuming that Ellie had either located the creature or was relentlessly searching for it, Erlina spoke at an average level and inquired one thing,
"Did you catch—..." Erlina eventually slurred once she came into full view of what Ellie was witnessing. They were now having a staredown with three Runners who were having their very own outing. Each and every one of them had their faces buried in their frostbit palms and they all twitched and shivered uncontrollably from their shared illness. The exciting smile that was present on her face might as well have been knocked off by one of them because that's what it felt like. She knew that she screwed up big time the split second she was proved wrong when she hoped that they didn't hear her. Once she realized that the Runners had heard her, they simultaneously shrieked at the air like a pack of howling wolves and turned their mean, ugly faces at them.
"Go!" Ellie said, making a one-eighty turn. Instead of bringing the Runner's back to Joel and Josh, Ellie took them to a place where she could hopefully lose them. So, she and Erlina went running in a completely different location that only led them further into town.
The strolling guardians, who were just getting themselves prepared, were stunned to hear the notorious cries of the Infected and to then see both girls being chased down by the three Runners who sprinted behind them like track stars. It scared Josh, even more, to see Ellie run ahead and Erlina just roughly managing to catch up. Without hesitation, all it took was a holler of Ellie's name and for Joel to take off after them. Attempting to follow, a Clicker managed to jump out of the first building nearby and tackle itself into Joel's shoulder. The older man tumbled to the ground and rolled around with the Infected fighting its face away by pushing at its deformed cranium.
"Get the girls!" Joel protested while slowly losing the fight to the rabid Infected.
As troubling as the situation was, Josh ignored his request and retrieved his handgun from his pocket. Coming in from behind, he grabbed the Clicker by its coat and forcefully pulled them apart. Now having the Clicker's torso and face pointed in an entirely different direction, Josh rested the end of his gun on the back of the Clicker's head and pulled the trigger three times before the Clicker could, what initially looked like, jump onto him.
Just as its body slackened, Joel turned away to avoid any splatter of excess blood. With his arms still erect, he managed to hold the Clicker's corpse away from him, and with the help of Josh, the Clicker's body was pushed over and dumped beside him. There wasn't time to share gratitude or even dust themselves off, so Joel picked himself up as soon as Josh rushed him to his feet and quickly marched off in search of the girls.
They continued their trek throughout the town and the weather somewhat worsened. It hadn't been snowing since yesterday but the winds still managed to blow snow around. The mist escaped their nervous breaths every minute was an indicator of both of their uneasiness. For these past few minutes, all they did was search around and hope they wouldn't come across the bodies of either girl. It seemed normal to Joel, but Josh was getting a feeling of separation anxiety and he couldn't bring himself to think straight, finding himself thinking more on the outcome than doing the actual search. Of course, it wasn't hard for Joel to pick up on it, and he said something that would hopefully encourage him to keep his head on straight,
"Their footprints end right over there," Joel informed, pointing to an open doorway that led into a former establishment.
Besides snow being cold, wet, and unwelcomed, the one perk it served was making tracking a lot easier.
In front of the said doorway was a collection of sloppy shoe prints of various sizes. Even though Infected usually had some preexisting injuries, signs of blood in the snow still managed to make both of them anticipate the worst. Josh entered the store without any second thought as Joel followed, having no need to push the damaged doors open any further than they already were. The more inside they went, they both took in the presence of empty racks and desolate counters with rusted cash registers.
The presence of snow lessened the more you ventured away from the entrance, leaving balls of paper and other junk exposed along the floorboards. Just like any other location, it was dark, cold, and streaks of light shined in through the broken spaces in the partially collapsed ceiling. Breaking the silence was the abrupt gargles of a dying Runner to their far right. With the way blood ran down from its eye socket and throat indicated that it had been stabbed gruesomely and mercilessly. Passing the body, they carefully crept into another department of the store, having more inactive Runners come in sight—two in fact, each having an arrow pierced square in the head.
Judging by the look and hit of the arrows, Josh knew that Erlina was the one behind them but chose not to speak too soon. That's when he unintentionally kicked a rotten piece of wood and some rubble, ultimately prompting a figure from behind a "checkout" counter to jump up from hiding, resulting in the two adult males pulling out their guns as well.
Once Josh recognized that it was his younger cousin, he let out a relieved sigh, feeling almost as if his soul could potentially leave his body.
"Geez," Josh yelped, "Don't just do that. What if we shot at you?"
Just as pleased to see them, Erlina lowered her weapons, eventually tucking the arrow back into her adequate quiver. Carefully, she strolled out from behind the counter and walked out into the open, casually passing the guardians to reclaim her arrows left in the downed Runners. Although he was proud to see her in one piece, it wasn't long before they could realize that something was still amiss, and all it took was a glance directed at Joel for him to turn and look over at Erlina,
"Where's Ellie?" he asked.
"I'm over here," Ellie's head popped out from behind a smaller, c-shaped counter on the opposite end of the room,
"What did I tell you about just wanderin' off like that?" Joel reprimanded with his arms crossed.
"It was my fault," Erlina intervened while holding an arrow in her hand.
Joel's eyes moved to her, peering from the corner of his eye. He watched as she bent down to clean the blood off the arrowhead on the Runner's fabrics.
"Oh, was it?" Joel inquired, clearly wanting to hear more of what she had to prove.
"When I heard that she saw a hare, I got excited and made too much noise…"
Joel remained silent for a while,
"Just when I thought one troublemaker was enough..." Joel remarked in a manner he considered playful.
Just to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding his way with words, Erlina looked over at Ellie, only to receive a pursed smile. In return, Erlina gave a shy one back, turning away in slight embarrassment.
"Alright," Josh delayed as he began walking towards the exit and having the others follow, "Since I nearly died from a heart attack today, why don't we just hurry and scavenge some stuff so we can wrap up."
Everyone else followed, leaving Joel to be the last to wander,
"I really like the way you handle that bow," Ellie complied.
"Yeah, well, thanks for stabbing that Runner for me..."
Their eager yet precautious conversations went on in amusement until Joel called Ellie to talk with her privately. Erlina didn't initially understand until she was summoned by her older cousin at the exit, resulting in both of them waiting outdoors so the winds could do them a favor and take them out of earshot.
Ellie took notice of Joel holding her by the shoulder to take her further into the store, which only meant one thing—Joel had some serious matters to go over,
"What is it, Joel?" Ellie found herself becoming inquisitive.
"I, uh," he hesitated, "It isn't safe out here."
"Yeah?" Ellie responded unsurprised, "Don't you think I know that?"
"That's not what I'm trying to say," Joel raised a hand, getting a sense that he needed to prevent any sort of escalation, "I'm just saying we're gonna have to leave. Soon."
"Okay," Ellie shrugged, "How soon?"
"Tomorrow."
"Okay," Ellie prepared to walk off, "We'll all just leave tomorrow, then."
"Ellie," Joel called once again, wanting to prevent her from stepping any further. Once they made eye contact, he continued, "You know they can't come with us," he essentially put it bluntly. Unsurprised by the redhead's scoff, he tried making sense of it before she could get a word in, "We can't take them with us. It's too risky."
"For us or for them?" she waited for an answer, "For fuck's sake, they're only looking for a family member."
"I know that but...I can't…" he paused, "I don't want a repeat of what happened in Pittsburgh. I don't want to put you through that again."
"...Joel," Ellie sighed, "We've lost people. A-and I know it sucks but this is why we're doing this. Besides, I like these guys."
"Yeah," Joel said softly while nodding, "I do too."
"If we just leave them, I couldn't have that on my conscience," she implied while twiddled with her fingers, "Besides, you're the one who mentioned Jackson. You might as well let 'em, I don't know, tag along with us until we find the right place to split up."
Joel, as per usual, took a break to think to himself about what to say and do next. It wasn't quite clear what was going on but if Joel was considering, it was a good thing,
"Fine," she finally broke him, "We can take them to Utah since Jackson is up north," he halted Ellie's elation, "But that's it. Once we split up, then we head straight to Salt Lake City. You don't mention anything about the Fireflies to them, understand?" He lifted a finger.
"Sounds like a plan," Ellie about-faced, stretching as if dealing with Joel was a mental workout.
SPRING
From where they stood, Josh and Erlina were having a moment to themselves. For the first time in a while, the spring weather was becoming more consistent and the weather gave the cousin's a good feel. At least for a little while. Interrupting their moment of quietness, both of them were alarmed by the screaming coming from a nearby tunnel. Flashlights, in the distance, grew both in size and intensity—wanting to return to the outside.
"Keep moving! Don't look back!" They heard Joel's voice echo as the young redhead took the lead.
Slowing down, Joel quickly turned around to the yowls and bellows of the Infected closing in behind him. He pulled out a reinforced machete and aggressively brought a clicker to its knees after hacking and slashing at its shoulder and kicking it free from the blade.
From afar, Erlina made out multiple pairs of red eyes and one of them quickly inched itself closer to Joel. The Runner began throwing blows before Joel could struggle to hold it back. Taking an arrow of her own, Erlina shot at it, hitting it non-lethally in the shoulder. The Runner recoiled, giving Joel a chance to give a devastating uppercut to it and escape further prosecution.
"Joel, there's too many!" Ellie shouted, now standing atop the hood of a car.
Climbing over the wrecked automobile was the only way in and out of the freeway tunnel, the reason being was because it was the only place that wasn't obstructed with debris from a caved-in portion of the tunnel. As Ellie leaped down from atop the car as Joel slid over the hood of the car. As they backed away, they watched a Bloater tore its way through Runners and Clickers, attempting to attack the pair of survivors. Fortunately for them, Bloaters weren't agile or nimble, so its unintended target ended up being the vehicle and managed to minimally scoot it out of place. Like a domino effect, Joel and Ellie's surroundings began to make a low rumble.
"What is that?!" Ellie questioned.
Joel looked up, to see particles of dirt rain down onto them.
"Ellie!" Joel shouted at the top of his lungs.
He dove forward and pushed himself and Ellie out of the zone, avoiding the dismantling bridge from crushing them. Even larger pieces of cinder block and stone fell in their previous area, crushing the Bloater along with the car and its windshield.
Ellie being Ellie, picked up a sense of disbelief with the entire group. At this point, no one knew what to say and she didn't want to be left on such a note,
"Well, glad that's over," she embraced her wit.
Joel looked over at Erlina, who was now clothed in a peach cardigan, a grey shirt, and dark denim jeans,
"Thanks for the save, kid."
"No problem," Ellie nodded.
"Is there no other way around?" Josh asked, scratching his forehead.
"We'll find a way," Joel sighed, unable to take his eyes off the obstructed tunnel, "I hope."
It was exhausting honestly—Walking all day and night just trying to find shelter, food, or just simply trying to avoid trouble.
This past month or so Joel, Ellie, Josh, and Erlina stuck together through thick and thin throughout their five-hundred-mile trek.
The girls remained close as usual and Joel became somewhat of a mentor to Josh, teaching him things he never knew, whether it was about survival or himself. It was fair to say that Erlina didn't see Joel in the same light, but she did learn a few things here and there from Ellie and vice-versa. Although it had been long ago, seeing their initial meeting only made Erlina quite fearful of Joel's capabilities. She knew he was an ally but considering that she overheard Joel's secretive conversation back in Silver Lake only encouraged her to keep him the same arm's length.
Over time, they found their way around the tunnel and ended up getting themselves back on the right track, but it was close to nightfall by then and the group needed shelter for the night. This part of Utah was small, however, the town was decent-looking considering that it had been abandoned for decades. While strolling, they stumbled upon a motel,
"Coalville County Motel," Josh read aloud.
Without hesitation, they swept the place together, making sure there was no Infected around to potentially ruin their night. The area was such a ghost town, no one was surprised to find anything but skeletal remains. They all gathered in the same room and made themselves comfortable until it was officially time to fall asleep.
The spring nights in Utah weren't like the far east or south coasts. The nights here were chilly, but Erlina didn't mind it since she felt dressed right for the occasion. She took her blanket from the hotel room and walked outside, leaving the door to their hotel room, slightly ajar. However, something felt off when she noticed a random breeze of air push their room open even further like an uninvited guest. She pushed herself off of the column that held up the awning around the perimeter of the motel building and slowly returned to the bedroom doorway. The closer she got, she eventually began to hear trivial sounds that she was unsure of. Finally, walking into the opening of the doorway to get a full view of what was happening, she noticed three Infected feasting over the remains of Josh's corpse with Ellie and Joel nowhere to be seen.
The scene was an aggressive slaughter—Deep red blood stained the sheets darker than they already were and blood was splattered onto the walls and ceilings from the aggressive and violent movements. Erlina's eyes began to water and her lips began to tremble. The blankets wrapped around her slid off her shoulders—revealing her bow in hand. But soon after, the bow clattered to the floor due to such an overwhelming feeling of loss and hopelessness. The noise alerted the Infected in the room and the Infected turned around and revealed a face that she had long forgotten but recognized. Decisively, it left its Infected party, darted towards her, and attacked.
In a world such as this, nightmares weren't the only thing you faced outside of slumber. Sometimes, it all just felt inescapable, even when you felt most safe. She had never really spoken to Josh about the dreams and although she did imply it one day and he didn't pick up on it. With the struggles of finding his mother again, she didn't want to concern him anymore.
Now, Erlina found her outside in a similar setting. The only difference was that she was sitting on an old bench right outside of the room. As she craned her head over to look at the hotel room, she thought it was best to close it shut. Standing, she walked over to the doorway and rested her hand on the knob. Before she could close it shut, she felt an even stronger force pull it back.
Gasping, her widened eyes were satisfied to see that it was only Joel,
"Oh my god," she whispered to herself, feeling shaken up.
Joel took a moment to look at her, understanding that he might've frightened her way more than she did him. He took a step outside of the room and closed the door behind him to avoid waking the two in the bedroom,
"You shouldn't be out here, y'know," Joel watched as she walked back to the bench, "It's dangerous out here."
"There's nothing out here," she made excuses for herself, "I just needed some time alone," she confessed. He was speechless, and it was probably because he was surprised to get as much as more than one sentence from her. Ever since she met him, she wasn't exactly welcoming of him and the only newcomer she welcomed was apparently Ellie. Eventually, it didn't take long for Erlina to realize that Joel was staring at her to a point where it made her feel like boundaries had been crossed, "What?" her voice cracked, trying to not sound disrespectful in any way.
"Is everything alright?" he hesitantly asked.
Obviously, it was regarding the tears that were now forming in her glossy eyes,
"No," she anxiously shook her head, "I just had a really bad dream," she put it simply, assuming he wouldn't care.
What business would a hardened survivor like himself want with some preteen's personal issues—so she thought. Surprising to her, Joel moved the motel room and sauntered past her, and invited himself to sit comfortably beside her. However, with them not even feeling close enough to be identified as acquaintances, Joel did himself and herself the favor by sitting a good distance apart,
"Cold out…" Joel attempted to create conversation. All Erlina could do was look over and give a heavy smile in understanding. One thing she could appreciate though, was him trying to make conversation. He crossed his legs, and brought his hand, resting on the bench arm, to brush the hairs on his chin, "I have bad dreams too. Sometimes."
Erlina's eyes looked over at him, still having a sense of torment but she could feel there was a halt in her emotions. He looked down at the ground, having Erlina get the sense that he was possibly trying to avoid getting too personal. When she realized that they would probably get nowhere just sitting in silence, she looked away. Of course, she wanted to say out loud.
"I lost someone very…I lost someone close to me," he sighed and brought his digits up to his forehead. It wasn't hard for her to tell that his dreams were clearly about said person, so there was a possibility that he understood exactly what she was dealing with. It went without saying that lost loved ones were a common denominator in people's dreams. He continued after she appeared intrigued, "I never even knew I talked in my sleep until Ellie told me."
"Yeah," Erlina nodded, "I lost someone too."
Joel looked over at her, and watched her saddened eyes, able to identify a fresh wound that probably had been scarred on him at this point.
"I didn't mean to get you worried…" Erlina basically apologized, "If you want, you can go back to bed."
"Nah," Joel respectfully declined, "I can hang out here for a bit."