2
...
David tried making conversations several more times throughout their trek, but Ellie wasn't in the mood to talk. And certainly not to him.
Once they finally arrived at David's community, Ellie did have to admit it looked pretty legitimate. Everyone that she saw looked well-fed, at least, though they were just loitering around for no particular reason, shooting daggers at her with their eyes. David wrapped an arm around her shoulder - which she shrugged off as quickly as she could, only for him to place it there again and then leaned in to whisper, "Remember, you have to convince them. I don't want to have to do anything rash, you hear me?"
"Don't fucking tell me what to do," Ellie whispered back.
Flashing her a tight-lipped smile, David looked to Buddy-boy, who had just caught pace with them upon advent. "James, take the old man over to the medical center and help set him up for the night. Talk to the doctors over there, ask 'em what they can do."
Ellie moved to join Buddy-boy and Joel, only to be stopped by David's grip on both her shoulder and the rope that bound her hands together. She glanced back at him in confusion, eyes narrowed, attempting to pull forward once more only to be prevented by him again.
"Okay, what's the problem?" Ellie questioned, a clearly annoyed tone present in her voice.
David nudged his head towards a building over to their left. "The doctors will take care of your friend just fine. You need to come with me, get some food in you."
Ellie shook her head. "No. How can I be sure you people aren't gonna kill him the second I take my eyes off him?"
"He'll be okay. You've got my word." David's words were kind, yet his eyes displayed a certain harshness.
"No," she repeated firmly. She was suddenly aware of all the eyes on them. She wondered if she looked tough at all, or if she just looked like some dumb kid. If I could cross my arms, I would...
David pulled his pistol from its holster, pressing the barrel against Ellie's forehead as he yanked her towards him by the fabric of her shirt. "If you don't want to cooperate, then that's fine. I'll just shoot, and we'll leave your friend to die out in the cold. No skin off our backs, hm? Two less enemies we gotta battle for supplies with, after all," he lowered the gun, revealing a repulsively warm smile that somehow chilled Ellie to her core. "Or you can come along with me and see your friend in the morning. Which one is more preferable to you?"
Ellie let out a sigh before begrudgingly trudging along beside David in the complete opposite direction from where Joel was being taken. She noticed the men that had been watching their spat dispersing. Looks like the show's over.
Once inside, David led Ellie into what looked like a dining room. He sat her down, taking a few extra minutes to bind her to the chair.
"I'm sorry about this," he said as he finished up, "Once I can trust you, I won't have to - ''
"Restrain me anymore. Yeah, I get it." Ellie snapped, rolling her eyes as her back was pressed flat against the dining chair.
David looked at her for a moment, then disappeared briefly into an adjacent room. He quickly returned with a plate full of food, and one that looked extremely appetizing at that. Ellie tried her best not to seem too eager about the prospect of a meal, but her salivating mouth betrayed her. Eating absolutely nothing but boiled rabbit for weeks could do that to a girl, she supposed.
"I know you're hungry," David announced, taking the seat open right next to her. He set the plate down on a placemat, slowly sliding it towards Ellie as he continued speaking. "And I want you to eat. Really. More than anything I do... but I'll need something in return."
She could hardly tear her eyes away from the meal to glance over at him. "What?"
"I'm gonna ask you some questions. For each question you answer, I'll feed you a bite." David explained, smiling. "Ready?"
Ellie squinted her eyes as she thought, eyes slowly trailing from David's annoying face back down to the food in front of her. She nodded.
David stabbed at a piece of meat, latching it onto a fork. He asked, "What's your name, kid?"
"Why do you need to know that?" she fired back.
"Well, because I want to know," David responded plainly.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because you're an interesting girl. I'd like to get to know you better, and that's awfully hard to do when I don't even know something as simple as your name." David said.
How the hell am I so interesting? Ellie wondered. Her gaze wandered off for a few seconds before she finally answered, "Ellie."
David rewarded her just as he'd promised, spooning a chunkful of meat into her mouth as he chuckled. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Ellie. What a pretty name for such a pretty girl."
Ellie's chewing slowed as she processed his words. Pretty? What was some geezer like him calling her pretty for? Nobody had ever called her that word in her entire life! She supposed it was meant to be a compliment, but coming from someone like him… it just made her feel weird.
"Next question," David announced, interrupting her flurry of thoughts. "What's your relationship with that man? The one that's hurt."
"I know who you're talking about, obviously." Ellie snarled, leaning forward in her chair a bit. "I… don't want to answer that one."
David tilted his head. "How about this, Ellie. You get one pass, where even if you don't answer the question, I'll still feed you. But other than that one time, if you come upon a question you don't want to answer, then dinner time will be over. So, tell me, are you sure you want to use your only pass this early on?"
A single look at the plate and Ellie knew that it wasn't a good idea. Other than her sole bite, everything was still completely intact. It would all be wasted if she messed up in this stupid game...
"We're just traveling together. That's all," she said, trying to sound as firm as she possibly could.
David fed her another bite, posing another question as she chewed. "Where were you traveling to?"
"Nowhere in particular," Ellie responded, a little too quickly. "We were just wandering around, looking for shelter, when your men got him hurt."
David shrugged. "When someone's shooting at you, you shoot back. Even if it's a little cutie like yourself."
Could he not talk like that? Could he not keep referring to her, someone less than half his age, as attractive? It was fucking weird, and frankly, just totally creeped her out at this point…
"How old are you, Ellie?" David asked.
She didn't see much purpose in lying. "Fourteen."
David nodded as he fed her. "How long have you and that man been travelling together?"
"Two years," Ellie lied.
"And you still haven't found what you're looking for?" David questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"That's because we're not looking for anything," Ellie said, rather defensively. "Also, that definitely counts as a question."
The man spooned some food into her mouth as her promised reward. "What's that man's name?"
"Why do you care?" she spat back. She was getting really tired of his prying. "If I'm the one that's so interesting, why do you need to know anything about him?"
David looked unfazed by her reluctance to answer. "Are you using your pass?"
"Yes, I'm using my stupid pass for your stupid question. I'm not a fucking six-year-old, you know. Just because you disguise it as a stupid game doesn't mean I don't realize you're just trying to find information." Ellie said, opening her mouth as she was fed.
"I know you're not just some kid, Ellie," David said, clearly trying to appeal to her without addressing her accusations. "Heck, in my eyes, you're practically a grown woman."
Does not make me feel any better, thought Ellie. She took her time in chewing to try and avoid speaking to him.
"So, what you said before… why do you think that is?" David changed the subject after realizing Ellie wasn't responding to his initial statement.
She looked over at him, wearing an expression of confusion. "What?"
"You know, about how you said I'm so interested in you. Why do you think that is, Ellie?" David asked.
"Why do I think…?" she repeated slowly, a little perturbed. He had caught her way off guard. "I… I don't know."
"Come on, just guess." David pressured her. "There's no right or wrong answer."
As the sickening feeling within Ellie's stomach expanded, she realized that she didn't want to know.
She shook her head. "I'm not answering. I'm done."
David frowned. This was likely not the scenario he had envisioned. "You sure? You only finished half your plate."
Ellie was silent, looking everywhere but where her dinner companion sat. Eventually, the man accepted her lack of response as a surrender of sorts.
"Well," David said with a sigh. "This isn't exactly how I thought things would go. But as a little prize, I'll answer that last question myself. For you."
Ellie opened her mouth. "I don't - ''
"What makes you so interesting to me is… your heart," David confessed. "Where other people would give up or call it quits, your heart tells you to keep going. And you follow it. You're tenacious, and you're smart, and you're strong. We need more people like you in this world. We need someone like you in this very community. Someone to stand by my side and… heh. You're just… very, very special to me, Ellie."
He was rubbing small circles on her shoulders through her clothes. Ellie began to realize she regretted telling him her name, as she hated hearing it come from his mouth.
"Have you ever felt that way about someone before?" David asked, his voice impossibly soft, contrasting the harsher tones she had heard him use earlier. His hands gently travelled around to her neck as he spoke.
She tried jerking away. "Don't touch me."
David chuckled. "I'm not worried about you coming around no more. You'll get there." he stood up from his seat, collecting her plate and taking it to the connecting room, presumably to be washed.
Ellie wanted to wash her skin where he had touched it. She felt… odd. She was frightened, but in a much different way than what she was used to. There were no immediate threats of death coming towards her. No runners. No clickers. No guns pointed in her face. This fear was long and drawn-out, stretched thin like a rubber band that ran along her stomach. She almost felt like she could vomit all the food she'd been served if she tried…
She was startled as she heard David's footsteps reenter the room.
"Now, I've got another choice for you to make," he said whilst moving towards her. "Personally, I'd say it's an easy one."
"What?" Ellie questioned, suppressing a groan. She didn't want to be alone with this creep one second longer.
David looked over at the door. "It's about your sleeping arrangements for tonight."
"I should be staying with J- " the girl bit down on her tongue before she accidentally revealed Joel's name. Shit! I have to be more careful. "...with my friend."
"You can't. I'm sorry," said David. It didn't seem like he had noticed her slip-up. "I told you I'd let you see him in the morning."
"Why can't I see him now?" Ellie questioned, trying to thrash a little in her seat to gauge how much freedom the restraints allowed her. Not much, she soon realized.
David sighed. "We haven't been here for long. I'm sure the doctors are still working on him, doing their best."
"I can't even just be there?" Ellie continued to prod.
"I said no, Ellie. And next time, I hope I won't have to repeat myself," the man's expression was hard for a moment, but soon transitioned into that of pleasantry. "Now, for the decision you've got to make… what would you prefer tonight, to sleep in a nice, warm bed? Or in a cell?"
That's a stupid question with an easy answer, she thought. Which means there's gotta be a catch.
"What do I have to do for the bed?" Ellie asked. Her back was still aching from being thrown on the ground earlier.
"Nothing absurd…" David said slowly. He smiled at her. "Just a quick little kiss."
Her jaw dropped a little, eyes widening in horror as she processed his words. Ellie thought about all his actions up to this point, the way that he treated her, talked to her… he was one of those freak perverts Marlene had warned her about. Immediately she found herself shaking her head.
The man quirked an eyebrow, as if he was perplexed by her decision. "You're sure? I know you must be sore. James told me you were sleeping on the floor back in that old house..."
"Yes, I'm sure," Ellie snarled, leaning as far away from him as she possibly could. "You're fucking gross. If you think for one second I'm gonna do anything like that then you can go - ''
"I'd watch that mouth of yours if I were you," David interrupted her, her lips still parted halfway. "Some things are better kept to yourself. Especially if you want that sick friend of yours to live."
Ellie did shut up, but she fixed the most intimidating glare she could emulate onto her face.
"You have a lot to learn, Ellie. But I am confident that, in time, you'll be able to adjust to your new life here," he was gathering up his things, but making no move to untie her from the chair. "I have some matters to attend to. James will come and take you to the cell for the night... you're welcome for the meal, by the way."
She kept her eyes on him. She just wanted him to leave already.
"Oh, and Ellie?"
The girl paused for a moment before realizing he wouldn't continue until she responded. "What?"
"You're lucky that I accepted lies as answers during our little game today." David offered her one last look before exiting through the door.