The trio had been walking down the highway for a good while; the sun was on the west side of the sky, showing it was late afternoon. During the time, the girls had struck up a conversation between them. They had talked from their time in Boston to their current situation, so much so that they didn't see they had reached Lincoln.
"Hey, there it is." Joel said, pointing towards the small town just up ahead. The rest of the highway was blocked off by debris, making it inaccessible. They had to hop over the guardrail and cut through the woods in order to enter the town.
Ellie had a fascination with the woods, it was one of her favorite things ever. She did a little spin as she looked at the sun shining through the trees, "Wow…" "What?" Joel asked, looking at her.
Enid liked the woods as much as Ellie did, it was a thing they had in common. "It's nothing. It's just that this is our first time that we're seeing this." Enid said, feeling the warm summer breeze hit her face and bare arms. "You mean the woods?" Joel replied, looking at them.
"Yeah, we've never walked through the woods before. It's kinda cool. You dig, Enid?" Ellie said, having a bright smile on her face. "You bet. I love it when the sun hits the trees like this." Enid sighed, soaking in the view.
They start walking through the woods with Joel leading the way. The only sounds were bugs and birds chirping, making the woods feel more relaxing. The girls start to think of Marlene and her well being; they both wondered if she was really okay like Tess had said.
"How come you can't take us back to Marlene?" Ellie breaks the silence. "If she was up to the task, why'd she leave you two with us?" Joel replied, still not Happy with this assignment. "Who knows? She might be better." Enid replied, walking ahead of Ellie.
"Look, I don't mean to upset you both but her chances of survival were weak to start with." Joel said. "She's way tougher than you think." Ellie replies. "Yeah. She's gonna pull through quickly." Enid agreed, shrugging her shoulders.
"It don't matter. Cause I highly doubt I can get any of us back in the city in one piece. Trust me, I wish there was another way." Joel sighed, following a trail up towards the town's far gate. Ellie and Enid also wished it was Marlene who would've taken them to the Fireflies instead, however they can't always get what they want.
Then a single rabbit ran by them, catching them off guard. "Whoa. Hey, buddy. Didja see that, E?" Ellie said, watching the rabbit. "Yeah, I did. Cutie." Enid said, cracking a smile.
They come up to the town's far gate, which was locked up and covered in foliage. Joel tried opening it but it wouldn't budge due to the foliage. "Well, shit." Joel sighed in defeat. Both girls inspected it, and it looked somewhat climbable.
"Looks like we can climb over it." Enid suggested, making a hand gesture towards the fence. Joel looked a little closer to the fence, and barely noticed the barbed wire that was hidden under the plants. They'd surely get cut if they tried to climb over. "No, wire's on top of it. We gotta go around." Joel replied, walking over to a fallen tree then leaping over it.
Just as he did that, a swarm of fireflies surrounded Ellie and Enid, getting the both of them to laugh in excitement. "Whoa look." Ellie said. Joel looked behind them to see both girls playing with the glowing insects. Enid reached up to touch one with her index finger but it floated away from her.
"Fireflies. Looks like Firefly Girl here has finally returned back to her people." Ellie jokes, with a chuckle. "Oh ha ha, very funny. Besides, these are the real ones." Enid laughed, giving Ellie a shove. At this point, Enid would have to get used to Ellie teasing her about being a part of the Fireflies. "Yeah, I see that." Joel sighed, turning around and jogging over to a smaller building.
"Sorry, we lost ourselves for a second." Ellie said, pulling Enid along. Both girls hopped over the fallen tree and followed Joel. He had found a plank that they could cross to get on the other side of the fence. When Joel looked towards the town, he could see a large stream of black smoke coming from the church that was on the other side of town.
"That you, Bill?" Joel wondered, scratching the back of his head. Ellie climbed up and turned around to help Enid up. She hoisted Enid up with one good pull and patted her on the back. "Thanks." Enid said, dusting her jeans. They saw the black smoke in the town, blocking the setting sun in the horizon.
"Do you usually meet Bill here?" Enid asked, fixing the sleeves of her flannel jacket. Joel turned to face her for a minute before crossing the plank that was between the two buildings. "Huh? No, I meet him in different places." Joel replied, jumping to the ground. The girls follow suit, hand in hand so they wouldn't fall off.
"So, our guess is that this is your first time being in this town?" Ellie asked, jumping on the ground with Enid behind her. "I do know that he lives here. But, yeah, this is my first time being here." Joel confessed. "And that smoke is coming from him?" Enid wondered curiously. "Sure as hell better be." Joel replied.
The three of them jogged to another opened gate that had an opening. There was a drop that was easy to miss if one didn't look good enough. "Down here. Watch your step, it's a good drop." Joel called, jumping down the small ledge. Ellie and Enid too jumped down with a grunt.
Instantly after jumping into the new area, there was the sound of a clicker nearby. The trio immediately froze in alarm after hearing it, crouching down immediately. The clicker wasn't anywhere that they could see, that was because it was hidden in a shed that was about 1.3 yards away from them.
"Shit." Joel quietly cursed, "You two stay quiet." He carefully crept down a small flight of stairs where the front of the doorless shed was. Sure enough, there was a single clicker standing in the middle of it, unaware of their presence. "Oh god." Enid gasped after seeing it.
Ellie and Enid snuck to the side of the shed to stay out of the clicker's path.
Joel snuck up to it, pulling out a shiv. He then grabs it, to which it screeches loudly, swinging its arms at whatever was grabbing it. Joel stabs the clicker in the side of the neck quickly, letting it drop dead. "Jeez…" Ellie said, taking a deep breath. "That was scary." Enid replied, slowly standing back up.
Joel walked up to another building, opening the unlocked door. "Through here." Joel quietly said, walking up a flight of stairs. The building they walked into looked like some office building. Enid looked around the interior of the office building, seeing stacks of office cabinets stacked up against the wall of the further window.
Joel walked into the office, looking through the desk drawers for anything worth taking. Just then, the silence was broken by a sputtering sound coming from behind Enid. She spun around to see who was whistling. Turns out, it was Ellie attempting to whistle, which she couldn't do before.
"Are you alright?" Joel asked, turning to face the auburn headed girl. "I'm trying to whistle." Ellie replied. "Really? For a minute there, I thought there was a dying cat in here." Enid teased. Ellie gave Enid a shove at that response.
"Gimme a break. I'm trying." Ellie said, giving a pout. Enid remembered the last time Ellie tried to whistle when they were in the mall. She smiled at the cheeky memory. "I know it. But you'll always sound like a cat choking to death." Enid teased with a laugh. "Hey, you better take that back, Firefly Girl." Ellie said.
"Oh yeah, why don't ya make me?" Enid teased, holding her arms out and raising her eyebrows. Ellie leaped at her and got her in a headlock. Instantly, Enid tried pulling her head out of Ellie's grasp. "Ay! Let me go!" Enid said with a laugh. "Only if you take back what you said!" Ellie replied, "Admit that I'm gonna be a better whistler than you!" "Gnh! N-Never!" Enid barked, hands on Ellie's arm, "C'mon, it's true!"
"Then, I'm not letting you go!" Ellie cried, still having a grip on the headlock. This went on for another minute before Joel had to intervene, having picked the place clean. "Alright, you two. That's enough, let's go." he said, walking out of the office and towards another doorway.
Ellie looks up at Joel with raised eyebrows before letting Enid go. "Alright, you win this time, Firefly Girl." Ellie said, shoving Enid back playfully. Enid rubbed her neck from Ellie's iron grip. "Alright, I'll admit it's not the worst thing I've heard." Enid replied.
"Thank you. And if I'm not encouraged, my attempts won't get better." Ellie said with a grin. "Oh, that'll be the day." Enid laughed, smiling big. The trio exited the building and descended a flight of metal stairs. The next area was blocked off by a gate, which was jammed shut from the adjacent side.
"Shit, it's jammed from the other side." Joel said, seeing a pipe wedged in the lock. The top was accessible, meaning one of the girls could climb over to get the door open. "We can climb that. Why not lift one of us over it?" Ellie suggested. "No, I don't think it's a good idea." Joel protested, not so sure about going through with it.
"Well, you're too heavy for us to lift. We're the only ones that can open it." Enid pointed out. Joel realized that both were right, neither one of them could lift him up over the gate. If they were gonna get anywhere, one of the girls would have to go over.
With a sigh, he walked to the gate and locked his fingers together in order to lift one of them up. "You go, El. I'll hang back." Enid said, giving Ellie a shove. "Alrighty." she said with a grin, placing a foot in Joel's locked hands. He starts to lift her up over the gate to get it unjammed.
"Just open it. Nothin' else, you hear?" Joel instructed, hoisting the red-head up over the gate. "Sure thing." Ellie replied, climbing over the gate and dropping down to the ground. She then grabs the pipe with both hands and pulls it out of the gate door. "Okay, tada." she said, standing aside with an arm outstretched as if she was presenting something.
"Good job." Joel replied, walking out of the gate. "Look at you, the key master. That deserves a 10/10." Enid said with a smile. Ellie gave her a double high five, which Enid reciprocated. "I thought I was the brick master?" Ellie replied, . "How about both then?" Enid suggested. "That too, heh." Ellie replied, walking ahead of Enid.
Both friends recalled the time that they were in the mall, throwing bricks at some cars to break the windows. Ellie had one that game, calling herself the brick master. It was the first time that either one remembered that game for the first time in the three weeks.
Joel walks by the two girls and into the town. It was littered with abandoned cars and a few railings were put up, obviously to keep people on one side. The only sounds the trio heard were bugs buzzing in the summer heat. The summer sun painting the ghost town in a shade of gold and yellow.
"So, let's say we get this car from this friend of yours? What do we do then?" Ellie asks. "We head to Tommy's," Joel answered. "Your brother?" Enid asked, tilting her head a little.
"Yeah. And more importantly, he was a Firefly like you, Enid. He'd know where to take the both of you." Joel replied, walking down to another small area that was filled with garden moss-coated gnomes. This discovery brought a smile to Enid's face.
"Hey, El. Check this out." Enid chuckled, patting Ellie with the back of her hand. Ellie turned to look at what Enid was talking about. "Oh, sweet. Gnomes." Ellie giggled, resting her hands on her knees. She got a closer look at the vintage garden decorations.
"Yep, those are gnomes," Joel inquired. "Enid, remember when I had that art book filled with these cute little guys?" Ellie asked. "Fuck yeah, I do. But we said no to fairies though." Enid replied, remembering just how much they didn't like those small winged people.
"Yeah, they are creepy as hell," Ellie replied. Joel only sighed at the girl's innocent conversation. It was a little bit of nostalgia that was between them. That was something that they had in common, their love of garden gnomes.
The trio leave that area and walk into the town. The trio soon entered an abandoned restaurant the door that was almost torn off the hinges. Joel hopped over the bar to look for loot.
However, there was something that caught the girl's eye instantly. It was that same arcade game Enid introduced her to three weeks ago. "Oh… Ellie look," Enid said, grabbing Ellie's attention. Ellie too looked and was instantly hit with heartbreaking nostalgia.
That was before the two friends got into a heated argument about Enid going back with the Fireflies. Before Ellie got bitten, Enid had made her choice to stay behind with the girl that she's known since they were toddlers. And she was going to keep that promise.
Ellie walked up and started pressing the controls. "Remember this?" the auburn-headed girl asked. "Yeah, I do," Enid said, giving a sigh. Joel sees the two girls over by the game and he walks over to them.
"What? You two ever play this before?" Joel asked. "Yep. I was the one who taught her everything about this game." Enid replied, pressing a couple of buttons.
"Really?" Joel asked, subtly curious about their history with this game. "Yeah, apparently from what she told me, there's this character named Angel Knives who'd punch a hole in your gut and kick your head off after a fight," Ellie said, taking a few steps back.
"Yeah… And she said that she didn't like it all that much. But you were so into it." Enid said, smiling sheepishly at Ellie. "Hey, don't throw me under the bus. I said it was alright." Ellie said modestly. Enid playfully punched Ellie on her shoulder.
The trio leaves the abandoned restaurant and continues down the road. While walking down the street, Ellie spots a sign that said, 'Mandatory Evacuation.'
"El, what're you looking at?" Enid asked, seeing that Ellie wasn't with them. "This sign here," Ellie replies, still looking at the sign. The raven-haired girl jogs over to her friend and also looks at the sign.
When she saw the sign, she felt a bit overwhelmed. Joel walks over to the girls. "What does Mandatory Evacuation mean?" Ellie asks curiously. "Means some people got a heads up before the infection showed up. Other places didn't," Joel explained.
"Man, that's gotta be hard to just leave all your stuff behind like that," Enid commented. Joel sighs and walks away from the sign. "That ain't the hard part," he muttered. Ellie and Enid weren't around when all of this started so neither understood just how hard it really was for families who had to leave their children behind at the Quarantine Zones.
They walked away and made their way into what looks like a vintage music store. The girls were instantly mesmerized by the rows of unused music records and the dust-coated decorations hanging on the walls and from the ceiling.
"Holy shit, look at this place," Ellie said in amazement. "I know right? This is my kind of place," Enid laughed, walking to a section of music records. Enid flipped through them, looking at each cover with child-like curiosity.
There were records of Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Aha. "Oh, no way." Enid smiled. Ellie, who was on the same shelf, saw what Enid was looking at. "Whatcha looking at, Enid?" asked Ellie, seeing the record that Enid was holding.
"This place has this? The one with your favorite song on it?" Ellie guessed, poking the faded record. "Yeah, this is it," Enid replied, "Too bad we can't listen to it." Enid puts the record back on the shelf with a sigh. "Unless we were carrying one of those music boxes that you play these things on," Ellie commented.
Joel found all he could in this music store until it was picked clean. The trio leaves the music store. They come to a corner that led to the back alley.
Suddenly, a single clicker comes out of nowhere and ends up running into a thin line that blew the clicker into a million pieces upon impact. The sound was so loud that Enid had been scared shitless.
"Jesus!" Joel exclaimed. "Whoa, nelly! What the hell was that?" Ellie asks. Enid ended up grabbing ahold of Ellie's arm as she tried to catch her breath. Ellie saw just how freaked out Enid was and helped her regain her balance.
"Whoa, you okay, Enid?" she asked. Enid looked at Ellie and managed to regain her composure. "Y-Yeah. That thing scared the fuck out of me," she replied, standing up straight.
"You sure?" Ellie asked, holding Enid's bare shoulders. Enid glances at her long-term friend in the eyes. "I'm okay. Don't worry," Enid assured.
Ellie smiled at her friend and felt relieved that she was okay; she was only spooked a little. "Joel, what the hell was that?" Enid asked. Joel walked passed the now blown-up clicker. "That there… would be one of Bill's traps," Joel replied.
"Guy's gotta be paranoid as hell," Ellie commented. "Yeah, that's putting it lightly," Joel replied, rolling his eyes. The trio enters a back alleyway where Joel picked up some items from the ground.
"So why does he do that? What the hell's his deal?" Enid asked, jogging beside Ellie. "Let's just say he helped us smuggle stuff to the city. The guy knows how to find things," Joel replies.
"Well, let's not try to end up like that clicker," Enid commented. "For real, I'd hate to get blown up into bits," Ellie agreed. Joel jogged forward and found a few arrows in a runner. Joel takes them out of the runner.
"Bill good with a bow?" Ellie asked. "I reckon he is," Joel replied, putting the arrows in his backpack. Enid agreed and followed them to a truck that could be used as their next point.
Joel picked up a stray ladder and places it against the back of the truck. The trio climbs up the ladder and gets on top of the truck.
To Joel's right, there was a bow that was in good condition. He picked it up and stretched out the string that was on it. This bow caught the girls' attention.
"Hey, can we use that? We're pretty good shots with that," Ellie asked. Joel glances over at the girls. He didn't want them to carry anything. His job didn't say that he should let them carry weapons. Enid was pretty good with a small pistol and has offed many infected with it, but Joel still wasn't trusting of it.
"No. Let's leave this stuff to me," Joel declined. "Aw, c'mon, Joel. You can trust me at least," Enid suggested, making the last effort of his approval.
"No, and that's final. And I don't care that you were a Firefly," Joel declined, walking across a plank. He really wasn't trustworthy of them; he didn't have to say it. They follow him up a ladder that led to a rooftop.
"Man, this isn't fair," Enid whined, crossing her bare arms over her chest. "I'll say. If it were me, I'd trust you in a heartbeat." Ellie commented. Enid glanced at her friend with a raised brow.
"Is it because I was a Firefly?" Enid questioned. Ellie teasingly looked away with her hands behind her back. "Ellie?" Enid questioned in a parent-like way. "What can I say? You're a good shot." Ellie said.
"Yeah, I guess so. Sucks that I can't that gun Marlene gave me." Enid pouted. "Yeah, that really sucks. But at least we got to show those assface soldiers my skills," Enid gloated, acting as if she was holding a bow and arrow as she pretended to aim at the area around them.
"Oh, fuck yeah. Those fuckers didn't see it coming," Ellie laughed. It was a fun time that the two friends shared that they choose to remember. It was before Enid left with the Fireflies.
"Nope, they didn't. But, who's to say that it'll be our last time?" Enid teased. "The world may never know," Ellie chuckled. Enid laughed at Ellie's comment, knowing that it's true. If they ran into any soldiers, they'd put caps in their asses for sure.
While the girls had their spat, Joel had carried the same plank and put it across the building they were on and on the adjacent building. They carefully walk across it and stumble upon a clicker. Joel successfully kills it with the bow and arrow.
They descend down a second ladder to retrieve the arrow. "Listen up, Bill ain't the most stable of human beings. So when we see him, both of you keep your mouths shut and let me do the talking. Understand?" Joel warned.
'Unstable? That's an understatement,' Enid thought to herself. "Sure thing," Ellie says for the both of them. "Let's be clear on this. The guy is nice but he needs time to warm up to the both of you. He isn't too keen on strangers," Joel inquired.
"Oh, that's comforting," Enid muttered under her breath. The trio made their way down another building and back into an alleyway, only to be stopped by another wire.
"You two see that wire? Stay underneath it, keep your heads low and you'll be fine." Joel instructed. "Alright," Ellie and Enid say in sync. The duck under the explosive wire and make it to an opening.
The only way forward was another gateway, which was blocked off by two explosive wires. "See that? Stay back," Joel said, holding up a brick. He throws it at the wires, causing them to explode.
Enid yelped again, almost falling on her ass from the loud sound. "Oh shit. Those things are kinda awesome," Ellie commented. "Man, at this point, I'm gonna die of a damn heart attack before the infected kill me." Enid said, irritable about the wires scaring her.
They walked through the gate and down a grassy path that led to another doorway. Joel walks through it and picks up some ammo in a rotting desk. He opens another door and a fridge falls over with a rpe attached to it. The fridge crashed onto the floor with a loud sound.
"Oh shit!" Joel shouted, getting strung up by his left ankle by the rope. He was hanging upside down like a pinata. Enid and Ellie storm in the garage and see him hanging from the rope.
He was still swinging around a bit. "We got you," Enid said, grabbing onto the man to help him stop swinging. "Goddammit, Bill…" Joel cursed under his breath.
"Joel, what just happened?!" Ellie asked in distress. "Another one of Bill's damn traps!" Joel huffed, letting both arms dangle below him. Enid quickly looks around to see where the counterweight was.
"That fridge! Th-That could be what's holding you up!" she exclaimed, looking from the fridge to Joel. "Right! You two go cut the rope! It'll bring me down!" Joel instructed. Ellie and I run to the fridge as quickly as they could.
Ellie climbed on the fridge before helping Enid up. They then started sawing through the rope with their knives. As they started cutting, the familiar sound of runners echoed outside.
"Shit! Here they come!" Joel exclaimed, pulling out his revolver. Just as he said that runners started making their way into the garage. Joel managed to shoot a runner down before it could get a hold of him.
Enid started to panic, her hands started to sweat. She was losing her grip on her knife. "Fuck!" she swore, struggling to cut. "Joel!" Ellie shouted.
"Just tend to the rope!" Joel shouted, shooting a few more runners down. Enid sped the pace up on the rope, failing to notice that her left foot was dangling off the edge of the fridge.
A runner ended up grabbing her ankle and roughly pulled her off of the fridge halfway. "Shit!" she shouted, holding onto the fridge. At the same time, she was kicking frantically with her other foot.
Ellie instantly noticed that her friend had gotten grabbed and was quick to help her. "Get off of her, you fucker!" she yelled, grabbing Enid by the waistline of her jeans. She leaned over and stabbed the runner in the head before it could bite her.
Enid kicked it off in the face with her free foot and climbed back up. Ellie grabbed her by the arms and helped her up. "You okay, Enid?" she asked frantically. "I'm fine," Enid replied.
Her hands were starting to sweat even more, which was making it more difficult to cut. "How's it looking, you two?!" Joel shouted. "We're going as fast as we can!" Enid grunted. The rope was too thick for them to cut and they couldn't go fast enough.
Ellie then stands up and grabs the rope with both hands. "Enid, keep cutting. I'll try to pull it loose," Ellie said, starting to pull the rope. "Okay," Enid nodded, sawing away at the rope.
"Anytime, you two," Joel groaned, starting to get a headache. "We're getting there," Ellie says, still pulling the rope. The fridge started wiggling around before falling on its side. Enid dropped her knife on the way down and fell on her back awful hard.
"Ow!" she cried, feeling stunned for a moment. "Fuck!" Ellie yelled, having fallen on her side. "You two okay?" Joel shouted. He was pulled up even higher off the ground when the fridge fell over.
Enid pushed herself upwards and groaned from the aching pain in her back. Ellie quickly helped Enid up by her arm. "Yeah, we're fine," Ellie called back. They ran for the rope again.
Then, more infected started running in the garage, coming three at a time. Enid felt her stomach going in circles as she dodged them left and right. She saw one heading right for Ellie while her back was turned.
"Ellie! Watch out!" Enid yelled, running at the infected and driving her blade into the runner's eye. The runner yelled out, flailing its molded-coated arms around. Enid pulled her knife out of its eye and let its blood spurt out everywhere.
Another runner ended up tackling the 13-year-old to the ground. Enid held the runner back with both hands pressed against its shoulders. Ellie quickly comes to the rescue by stabbing it in the back and Joel shoots it down.
Ellie helped Enid to her feet quickly. They quickly got Joel down from the ceiling and he falls to the ground hard. As Joel was trying to get up, he didn't see a runner coming towards him. "Joel, watch out!" Ellie yelled out.
The runner jumps on him and tries to bite him. He holds it back with one of his muscular arms. The tussle went on for a minute before a heavy-set man with a gas mask over his face came to the rescue. He unsheathes his machete and uses it to behead the runner.
He then leans down and extends a hand towards Joel. "Get off your ass and on your feet!" the man said, his voice muffled thanks to the gas mask. Joel grabbed his hand and was hoisted up to his feet.
The four sprint out of the garage just as clickers were coming in. The man pulled the door shut so they couldn't get out. "This way! C'mon!" the man shouted, leading down a alleyway.
Infected were coming fast, giving the four little time to escape. "They're behind us, guys!" Enid shouted. "Bill, c'mon!" Joel exclaimed, shooting at the infected, killing three of them.
The man finds the key to open the door and uses his body to open it. They run inside and the man quickly shuts the door. They were led into an abandoned laundromat. Runners and clickers were aggressively pounding on the metal door while growling.
"Don't slow down! Place ain't secure!" the man urged. Joel saw some infected running through an open door that was the back door. "Bill, they're coming through the door!" Joel shouted, shooting them with his revolver.
"Fucking knew it. Take 'em out!" Bill tells them, using his machete to kill another runner. While the older men was taking the infected out, Ellie ended up getting pinned to the dryers by a clicker.
"Get the fuck off of her!" Enid shouted, stabbing the clicker on the back. After she pulled it off, Joel shoots it with his revolver.
"Go! Go, go!" Bill shouted, pushing the three out of the back door. They ran out of the laundromat and jumped through an open truck, and bolted into the back door of a bar.
(Inside of Bar)
Ellie and Enid were the first to go inside. Bill and Joel ran in and pressed us against the door to keep it shut just as a clicker ran at them. The clicker eventually gave up and staggered away from the door.
Enid bent over with her hands holding herself up as she tried to catch her breath from running so much. "Jeez, that was close," she said, standing back up. Bill looks at the girls and walks over to them. "Thanks for saving our asses back there," Ellie added.
Bill removed his gas mask from his face and looked at them with paranoia. "I'm Ellie and this is Enid," she said, extending her hand for a handshake. However, Bill didn't reciprocate the handshake.
He suddenly grabbed Ellie's wrist with a tight grip and dragged her to a pole. "Hey, what're you-?!" Ellie yelled. "Hey! Let her go!" Enid shouted, trying to help her friend only to get her wrist grabbed. Bill handcuffs both of them to a pole a pair of handcuffs.
"Let us go, you asshole!" Enid shouted, trying to pull loose from the pipe. One of their wrists was in one handcuff so they were handcuffed together. Bill points his gun towards Joel, his finger on the trigger. "You! Get on your knees!" Bill demanded, breathing heavily.
"Bill, take it easy," Joel said, trying to defuse Bill's anger. Bill kicks Joel in the back of his knee, forcing him to the floor. "I said turn around and get on your fucking knees! Don't fucking test me!" Bill shouted. Ellie and Enid were struggling to get loose from the pipe.
"You got anything sprouting? Anything sprouting from your ass?! Huh!?" Bill shouted, having the barrel of the gun pointed at the back of Joel's head. "No, goddammit, I'm clean!" Joel shouted back.
"I swear to god if I see so much as a little twitch-" Bill growled. Ellie then loosens the pipe that was attached to the wall and both girls hit Bill hard on the arm. It would be the first time that they beat someone up with a pipe.
"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Bill shouted, holding his assaulted arm. Joel grabbed the pipe before the girls could make another swing at Bill. "You done?" Joel said, narrowing his eyes at him. Bill glared back at Joel, still holding his arm. "What? Am I done? You come into my house, you set off all my traps," Bill then looks at Ellie and Enid, "These two nearly break my shooting arm! And, who the fuck are these punk ass kids anyway, and what the fuck are they doing here?!"
"First of all, we are none of your goddamn business! Secondly, we're here because you owe Joel some favors," Ellie snapped, walking forward, pulling Enid behind her. "And thirdly, take these fucking things off, you asshole!" Enid scowled, lifting up their cuffed wrists.
"I owe Joel some favors huh? Is this some sort of joke?" Bill accused, walking up to his work bench. Joel decided to move this conversation forward. "Alright, I'll put it bluntly. I need a car," Joel says. Bill turns to him and begins to laugh at Joel's request.
"Well, what do you know? It is a joke! Joel needs a car! Well, bad news for you, I don't got one for you! And besides, the fuck makes you think I'd ever lend it to you even if I did?" Bill argued, sharpening his hunting blade, "While you're at it, why don't you take all my food too?"
Even though Joel said to let him do the talking, both girls couldn't resist a small jab. "By the looks of it, you could lose some of that food," Ellie says with her quick wit. "Yeah, I agree. Pretty sure you outweigh us by 500 lbs, fatass," Enid agreed, having to stifle their laughs.
Bill quickly points his hunting machete at the smart-mouthed teens. "You listen here, you punk-ass little bitches!" the overweight man growled. "Go fuck yourself! You handcuffed us-" Ellie shouts. Joel pushed them back a few feet. "That's enough! You two shut up right now." Joel warned.
The girls roll their eyes and they backed off. Enid lifted her cuffed hand along with Ellie's. "Well, looks like you're really stuck with me, heh." Enid joked. Ellie shook their wrists around lazily and grinned. "You're right. We're closer than ever," Ellie agreed, letting their wrists fall.
"Whatever favors you think I owe you, it ain't worth much. There are only parts of cars in this town," Bill sighed, still sharpening his knife. "You could fix one up, Bill." Joel pointed out. Bill pondered this for a moment. He then decided to help them, only because he wanted them out of his hair.
"Alright. If I'm gonna do this, then there's gear on the other side of town that I'm gonna need. Help me gather it, and maybe I can put something together that runs," Bill says, pointing to a few places on the map that sat on the table. "But, after this, don't expect any more favors from me," Bill finished, slamming the key that would unlock the handcuffs onto the table.
"That's fine. We'll be dead anyway within a couple of days," Joel says, unlocking the handcuffs and throwing them on the floor. "Good. Follow me. Whole goddamn town is booby-trapped. Best to stay on my ass," Bill finished, walking to the other side of the bar, hunting machete in hand.
"Psh, can't miss it," Ellie commented. "Psh, yeah, hard to avoid it," Enid added. Joel tells them to stop with their smart-ass mouths and pulls them along.
Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not keeping up with this story. It's been over a year since I last updated this and I apologize wholly for leaving you guys hanging. II had some other stories to work on along with my personal life getting in the way. I'm gonna do my best with this one.
Thanks for reading and leave a review.