Chapter 1

"Aw, hell..." Joel grunted, holding his arm on the right side of his abdomen. Ellie limped right beside him, still squeezing the lot of his sweaty, bloody shirt. All the wet stains had frozen, but the warmth of her hand had melted the area she held in her hand, and covered her palm in somewhat sticky, red glue.
It was as if she didn't hear him swear. Her eyes were mere glass as she stumbled across the snowy grounds, wincing once in a while from the pain on her side.

"I think we're far away, let's stop for awhile" Joel proposed, getting slowly out of breath. Even though Ellie had just went through another level of hell, it had not been easy for him either. Feeling the horror that she had not been there when he woke up started the nightmare that ended right about when they left the burning restaurant a mile ago.

"Ellie?" he coughed, sneering as he sat down on a boulder. The wind had calmed down, and the weather was turning quite nice in spite of the rather cold temperature.

She was sailing somewhere around the Pacific Ocean. She had not let go of his shirt, and she sat down next to Joel, eyes frozen to the ground before them.

"Ellie, are you with me?" he asked again, putting his left arm on her right shoulder to get her attention. Not until now had he time to think about what had happened before he found her mutilating the face of that pig. Not knowing what they had done to her, he felt even more like he should make sure she was alright.

"Huh-?" she suddenly awoke, shaking her head for the slightest bit.
"Ellie, we're safe now. That guy is long gone, won't bother you any longer" he said calmly, leaning a bit forwards so he could see her face. He suddenly remembered that one guy presenting Ellie as 'David's newest pet', and he felt something turn upside down inside his stomach.
"I-I know.. It's just... " she mumbled, fading away and tightening her grip on his clothes.
"Did that son of a bitch do something to ya?"

The question made a change on her face, as she now clearly bit her teeth together. Her lips began to shiver and she put her head down a bit.
"Kiddo, are you alright?"
"I'm... I'm fine. Let's move on"

After a short moment of sitting, Joel winced while getting up. As the girl was glued to his side, she rose with him, tightening her grip once a while. Joel had his left hand on the girls opposite shoulder, and his eyes were on the horizon, which was clearing up to them. Even the light snowing had paused, making it easier for him to guide them forwards.

"There, let's stay in there for the night" Joel pointed out a house. It was right ahead, and they kept on walking towards it, but Ellie started to shiver.
"Stay? For the night? Uh, nah. Let's just keep walkin'"
"Ellie, I can see you're hurt. And to be completely frank, I ain't dancing on no roses either. C'mon, let's have a rest" he answered, taking a longer look at the way she was walking. She had clearly hurt her ribs, and her face had taken a hit or two as well.

After a hundred metres of limping, she pushed the front door open. It lead their way into a small living room, which also had some kitchen furniture in it, not even starting about the patio chairs thrown inside through a window. Thankfully only one of the downstairs windows were broken, and the temperature was bearable.

"This ain't too bad, whaddaya say?"
She didn't answer. Her glass like eyes had turned into living ones, and she searched through the lowest floor with the biggest amount of suspicion. They stood quiet for a bit, and listened.

"No clickers, no runners, no hunters. Go on, kiddo" he tried to encourage her to let go off his shirt, but she didn't budge. Joel sighed, petting her arm with his thumb.
"Hm, then let's walk like this" he gave in, admitting that it didn't do bad for him either. He sure had missed that kid while she was gone.

They walked around the downstairs only a bit faster than a snail would've done it, but they managed to state it clear of any outsiders. Next they headed upstairs. They walked side by side, but as he laid his right leg on the fourth step, they heard a loud crack underneath it.
"JOEL!" Ellie screamed with mere horror in her voice, only to notice that the plank had broken underneath his route. She swallowed as he noticed Joel's serious face. It wasn't such a traumatic experience to him, and he lifted his leg up with no further pain.
"It's okay, I'm fine" he answered to the question she didn't ask. During the short incidence he had felt her grip tighten even more.
"I just.. I thought..."
"Are you sure you don't wanna share anything with me?" he inquired from the girl, who put her head down once again.

She felt embarrassed. Was she weak for being afraid the things that they aimed to do to her? If she was strong enough, would she be over it by now? How could it even be possible to get over that?

"I... I just need to sleep, I guess" she answered, nodding once, not that much for Joel as she nodded to herself. She tried to be okay.

Upstairs didn't bring too much drama into their lives either. It was definitely empty, and quite well robbed from all that could've been useful to them. They still walked like Siamise twins, but he had to let go for the first time after the restaurant as they walked into the largest bedroom upstairs.

"Can you manage on your own for a while, I-"
"NO! Joel, I can't!" she shouted for an answer, after she felt his arm detach from her shoulder. He frowned his face for the slightest bit, feeling an enormous wave of empathy towards the girl. He sighed and nodded towards the bed.
"I ain't going nowhere, Ellie. I just have to.. " he grunted from the pain on the wound "- to clean the stitches" Joel continued, sighing deeply as he sat down on the mattress. She understood what he meant, letting her grip loosen for the first time that day.
"Aw, shit Joel. I'm sorry"
"Don't worry, kiddo. We should check that rib of yours, too" he advised, lying down on his back after taking the backpack off his shoulders. Ellie had let go completely, sitting quite carefully next to him. She felt only little pain from the movement, and focused to watch Joel lift the tail of his shirt. She leaned forwards to see better.
"Holy shit, Joel! The antibiotics are working! It don't look even near as disgusting as before!" she rejoiced as she saw the wound. It didn't look healthy, but it had healed big time after the medicine.
"Are you serious?" Joel got excited, leaning forwards to see the wound for a bit.
"Well, I'll be damned! You're right, kiddo!" he smiled putting his head back on the mattress. He tried to put his shirt back down, but a small hand was on the way.
"Wait, I still have some of that left" she announced, jumping off the bed. They joy that she felt from Joel's healing progress had made her forget that she was also hurt. The hit against the wooden floor made her realize that again.
"Aw, fuck!" she grunted as loudly as her lungs let her, and she knelt onto the floor, wrapping her hands around her stomach.
"Oh, hell Ellie!" he answered to her pain, getting up from the bed with almost no pain at all. He quickly knelt next to her, putting his arm on her back.
"Here, lie down" he proposed, as she still tried to breath the pain away. He gently pushed her onto her back with his left hand, and she let her do it. Ellie kept her eyes shut, as Joel leaned on top of her. She lied down, slowly opening her eyes as the pain wasn't killing her no more.
"Joel, I'm OK. I-"
"Stop bullshitting me" he answered, not hesitating one bit when lifting he tail of her shirt to see the damage. His eyes widened a bit, and this had a huge effect on Ellie.
"I told you-" Ellie started, using her left hand to put her shirt back down "-it's no big deal" she continued, trying to get up. This was not a good idea, considering that the use of her abdominals would cause her ribs to crack again.
"Aaah!" she cried as her upper body fell back to the floor. Joel winced as he felt her pain in his mind, and sighed once.
"Why are you so eager to cover up that? Here, let me carry ya on the mattress" he offered, squeezing his arms underneath her legs and back to lift her in the air.
"Hng.. " he bit his teeth together, while that still hurt his wound. Ellie took a quick look at his face while being held on his arms, but couldn't give out a smile. She did not object in any way, but sighed as she felt her back hit the mattress. He looked around for anything to cover her up with, but he wasn't able to find a blanket or anything like that.
"It's alright, I ain't cold" she answered to the question he never asked, and he watched her try to turn on her side, which obviously hurt like hell. She turned to lie on her back, sighing out deeply. He took a look around them, gazing out of the window. The previous storm had most probably hidden their steps, and there was no way to track them. He limped to the other side of the bed, sitting on top of it all worn out.
"Oh, almost forgot about the antibiotics!" Ellie suddenly opened her eyes. She almost rushed and got up, but she felt a warm hand on her left shoulder. As she gazed up, Joel was shaking his head.
"I can get it myself. Where is it?"
"Uh, it's in my bag. Le- oh, no... right side pocket" she advised, swallowing once after feeling the hand detach from her shoulder. He got up and came back after finding the little bottle and the syringe. He sighed again after sitting on the mattress, lying down on his back.
"Shit, I hate stuff like this" he complained while filling up the syringe with the medicine. He hold his breath while sticking it into his side, and sighed out again after taking it out.
"You better heal soon" he whispered to himself, putting the medicine away. Joel lied onto the mattress, keeping a decent distance to the girl lying next to him, and turned onto his left side.
"G'night" he said with closed eyes. At least the people who had robbed the place had left the pair of pillows.
He didn't hear an answer. She had slowly approached him, and finally touched his right arm with the tiny one she had. Joel opened his eyes for a bit, feeling the smaller arm gently pulling his arm towards the mattress.
"Ellie, you alright?" he asked quietly, turning a bit towards her. As he gave in for a bit, the small arm pulled the rest of the way. He fell on his back and saw the little girl with her eyes closed. She was a bit ashamed to be craving for a touch like that, so she didn't open her eyes. He smiled with the other side of his mouth, sighing out again and putting his arms on top of his stomach. As he closed his eyes again, he felt the warmness of Ellie's palm on his chest.