Hey guys, once again I'd like to apologies for a lack of updates for the last like couple of months. School has been really busy as of late but hopefully during this summer I can pick up some of the slack on my fanfics. Thank you to everyone who's been patiently awaiting an update, the fact that anyone reads these means a lot. Anyway, enough of that, enjoy the chapter.

S


Chapter 13: Thaw

Pitch black darkness surrounded Jake, as he stood rooted in an unknown place. Low groans, cries and the occasional screams filled his ears as he looked around in confusion.

"Please," "Don't," "Help," "Save me," "Someone," "Mercy," "Kill me," different voices all around pleaded in distress. With each new pleading voice Jake turned to the direction it came from but found no source each time, leaving him frantically looking around. Then a smell all too familiar to Jake began to permeate the air; it was the wretched odour of blood. Accompanying the smell was the sound of the bodily fluid being spilt on the ground. A gunshot then whizzed through the air, causing the boy's head to snap to the source. Before him lay two bodies, a man and a woman, sprawled over each other with bullet holes in their head and blood leaking out, making Jake gasp from the image.

"Mum, dad," the boy thought in shock as recognised the scene before him. Loud footsteps then came pounding towards the child from behind, he turned to face the presence but was immediately knocked backwards by the creature. Jake looked up to face it in fear and saw a large bloater holding Jake's twin sister, Mary, above it and tore her apart making her blood splatter out onto Jake's face. Then the spores of the bloater surrounded the boy as his surroundings shifted. A series of gunshots penetrated the air whilst the wails of infected surrounded him. At the same time two smugglers that he spent much time with in Boston fell before him with their bodies covered in wounds. The floor beneath him then changed to a dirty, cold concrete with an old warehouse. He starred the floor for moments as he heard the sound of blades slashing against skin and the screams of a child.

"Twenty...six…. Thirty...nine… fifty-two...sixty...five," a pained voice forced out intermittently. Jake looked up to see a large man standing in front of chair with someone strapped in it. The man cut the person with knives repeatedly, all over their body. The man then moved away to reveal the person bound was a younger Jake, about two years younger, drained and tired from the several cuts and wounds. Blood and tears covered his face and his arms and legs shook, clothes torn to reveal the extent of his wounds. The younger Jake then stood up from the chair and walked towards his older self, the chains the previously restrained him loosely dangling off him and making chimes with every contact with the floor.

"You're weak," the younger of the two scorned the other with a dry voice "You can't save anyone. You only lose," he continued to taunt. "All suffering in this world is because of a person's own inability. You'll just keep losing because you're weak. But there's a way to stop that. You can't lose anything if you have nothing to lose," the child stated "Disconnect yourself from everything. Break all your bonds," he explained as he went behind the older Jake who still sat on the floor. The younger one then knelt down behind his older self and wrapped his arms over the older boy's shoulders, still frozen on the ground. "Come on, it'll easy. It'll stop the pain instantly. You won't have to feel the grief anymore," younger Jake continued to goad and encourage the older one. Then Ellie appeared on the chair that younger Jake was on, in the same restraints, struggling to get lose. "There, do it," he said as he tilted his head to the left, causing several cracking noises to emanate from his neck. "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on."

The dark-haired boy then found himself in the room where they had been sleeping during their time on the run. His eyes wide open from shock, as beads of sweat trickled down his face and his breathing at an accelerated rate.

"A dream," the boy said between sharp breathes as he processed the situation. The dark room around now came into focus as his senses relaxed and his breathing slowed. He turned to his side to see Ellie laying beside him with her head resting on her backpack. Jake looked outside to see that it was the dead of night; concluding that he had been out for some time. He then noticed that she had her arm over his chest. He grabbed her cold hand and held it for a moment as he observed her peaceful expression. "What does that dream mean?" he questioned internally, as if expecting an answer from somewhere. Some of Ellie's hair hang in front of her face in a messy fashion, prompting Jake to sweep it out of the way and then close his eyes and continue to rest.

The next morning, Ellie had slowly started drifting out of sleep as she lay in the same spot, however her lie in would be disturbed by the sound of a group men outside talking loudly with each other. Her eyes snapped open in realisation and approached a window to see a group men searching the area. The sudden movement also caused the still under weather Jake to awaken and observe Ellie.

"Oh fuck. They tracked us," Ellie muttered to herself as she thought of what her next move would be.

"What's going on?" Jake asked concernedly as Ellie put on her bag.

"We were tracked. I'm gonna draw them away from here."
"I'm coming too," Jake said firmly as he got up.

"No Jake. You're still not well," Ellie insisted as she put one hand to his forehead and another on his shoulder. She noted that his body temperature was still high and concluded that he wasn't fit to go out.

"It doesn't matter," he continued to protest adamantly.

"Do you not trust me?" Ellie questioned as her tone shifted from argumentative to sympathetic.

"It's not that. I do trust you."

"Then let me do this," Ellie persuaded as she gave him a concerned look. Jake grit his teeth and clenched his fist in frustration. He thought of all the people he failed and let die, and then looked back at the injured Joel.

"I can't stand not being able to do anything."
"Jake I'm gonna be blunt here," Ellie began softly "In your condition right now you're nowhere near well enough to fight. You might die," Ellie explained. Jake knew that she was right but didn't want to accept it so stubbornly looked away. "You know I'm right. So please, trust me."

"I can't lose you as well," Jake thought to himself as he sighed in defeat "I trust you," he said simply and accepted her judgement. Ellie then helped Jake lay back down and then took his hand in both of her's. She held it tightly for a moment before leaving Jake and Joel. "Don't die. Please."

Ellie exited the house along with Callus, making sure to close the garage door as to not give away the location of Joel and Jake. She then mounted the horse and began to ride away, whilst intently observing two men in the distance searching the area for her. However, before she could get very far, a man grabbed her and announced that he'd found what they were looking for. Ellie then drew her switchblade and stabbed the man in his throat to silence him. Unfortunately, it was too late as the rest of the search party was aware of Ellie's presence now. Ellie urged Callus forward as those hunting her opened fire. She quickly rode away from the men of David's group, evading their shoots and those who would boldly run at the horse. Their terrible aim would not last though, as one shot Callus down causing Ellie to tumble down a hill along with the now dead Callus. However, Ellie had no time to mourn as her pursuers were still hot on her heels and firing her way.

Ellie continued to lure David's men away from Joel and Jake and entered into a lodge on her way back to evade capture. She started to push open the doors to the lodge that were being blocked by a crate. As she opened the doors, she felt David appeared behind her and gruffly grab her, his arms around her neck restricting her breathing. She drew her switchblade to attempt to break free but David had grabbed that hand.

"Relax," David said, Ellie continued struggling "I'm keeping you alive here," he reassured as he knocked her unconscious.

Ellie then woke up hours later on the floor of guarded off by a cage. Her head throbbed with discomfort as she woke. Seconds after waking she noticed another person in the same room. He stood by a table with a knife. Ellie soon noticed that he was cutting up human flesh and moved away from the cage in shock. The man then noticed Ellie had awoken and left the room. Once he did, Ellie attempted to pry the door open but had no such luck. Moments later David entered the room with a tray of holding a plate of food and a glass of water.

"How are you feeling?" David asked on entry. Ellie then stopped struggling with the door knowing that it would be no use with David now here.

"Super," Ellie retorted. David then slide the tray under the cage door, insisting that Ellie should eat. "What is it?"

"It's deer," David replied simply.

"With someone human helping on the side?"

"No. No, I promise. It's… just the deer meat."

"You're a fucking animal," Ellie spat as she sat down and began to devour the food before her.

"That's awfully quick to judgment. Considering you and your friends killed how many men?"

"They didn't give us a choice."

"And you think we have a choice? Is that it? You kill to survive. And so do we. We have to take care of our own. By any means necessary."

"So now what? You gonna chop me up into tiny pieces?"

"I'd rather not. Please tell me your name."

"You're so full of shit," Ellie snapped as she aggressively slid the tray back towards David.

"On the contrary, I've been ah, been quite honest with you. Now I think it's your turn. It's the only way I'm gonna be able to convince the others."

"Convince them of what?"

"That you can come around. You have heart. You're loyal," David stated as he came close to the cage "And you're special," he added as he placed a hand over Ellie's. Ellie then placed her other hand over his, and after a moment, broke his finger causing him to scream in pain. She then tried to reach for the keys that hung by David's waist but they were out of reach. David then grabbed her arm and pulled her into the cage repeatedly. He then left her go and she fell to the floor in pain and blood dripping from her nose. "You stupid little girl. You are making it very difficult to keep you alive. What am I supposed to tell the others now?"

"Ellie."

"What?" David asked in confusion."

"Tell them that," she began "Ellie is the little girl that broke your fucking finger."

"How did you put it? Hmm? Tiny pieces? See you in the morning Ellie."

Back at the house where Jake and Joel rested, the younger of two stirred in his sleep and then rose from his slumber. He glanced out the window and determined that it was the next day.

"Ellie," He called out through the house but got no response. His head still throbbed slightly but he beared the hindrance. The teen stood up with a hand in his dark hair and began to search for Ellie. "Ellie," He called her name again, this time louder but still nothing. He did a quick check of every room still found no trace of the auburn haired girl. "Still not back. Better go find her," the teen muttered to himself. He returned to the room he slept in and prepared his gear. Checking his firearms and knives and putting them in their appropriate place. Once ready, he crouched down by the sleeping Joel and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to find her. If we don't come back, don't come looking for us. One of us should survive at least," he told the injured man before leaving him behind. He opened the door to the garage and led their second horse, Bessie, outside and closed the garage behind him. He mounted the horse and rode onwards. Snow fell down around him and he hooves of his stead caused it to make a crunching noise on the sleet; he heard another crunching ahead of him, though this was not of a horse. He listened more intently and realised it was a man aiming a gun right at Jake. Right before the shot was made, Jake jumped off his horse behind cover. The bullet went right through the horse and it dropped dead onto the cold snow. Jake then engaged them in a fire fight, coming over cover when and shooting his enemies when he had the chance. "Where is she?!" Jake demanded as they retreated. Jake pursued them between the abandoned houses but they fled relentlessly. "Tell me where she is," He ordered but as expected got no answer. The teen followed them along the side of a house towards an open road.

"Gotcha now brat," a man taunted as he grabbed Jake when he came past the house. Another approached Jake brandishing a knife with the intent of finishing the child off. Jake struggled in the man's grip but with little success. Once the second man was in reach, Jake kicked him between his legs and then kicked the knife out of his hands. Jake then kicked off the dazed man to push the one who held him backwards into a wall. This caused the man to release his grip on Jake. Jake then turned quickly and stabbed the man in his neck. He then returned the other man still on the ground and dazed. He drew another knife and plunged both between the man's chest and each of his shoulders. Jake then placed his knee on the man's chest and pulled him by the collar.

"Your group, came by here yesterday. Searching for some people right?" Jake interrogated the man but the man only whimpered in pain. After getting no response from the man, Jake released his collar and grabbed the handle of the blade in the man's left side and began to twist it within his body. "Now talk," Jake ordered and the man nodded "Then a girl lead you away. Is she alive?" Jake asked and the man nodded once more. Jake then pulled the knife out of the man's body and put it the handle in his mouth. Jake then drew a map of the area and held it my the man's face. "Mark the place on the map," Jake ordered and the man complied. After marking the location Jake took the knife from the man.

"Please. I'm begging you, let me go now," the man pleaded. Not missing a beat Jake then sliced the man's throat to silence him.

Back in cannibals town, Ellie lay within her cell uncomfortably on the floor. That is until James had grabbed her off the ground, waking her from her sleep, out of the cage. Ellie struggled in his grip as David put a hand on her shoulder. Immediately as he did so Ellie bite his hand hard, causing David to hit her with his knees to make her let go. They then slammed the girl onto the table which the human flesh was cut on.

"I warned you," David stated as he held a large knife and was about to bring it down towards Ellie.

"I'm infected! I'm infected!" Ellie screamed in desperation causing David to pause and hesitate for a moment.

"Really?" He asked with doubt in his voice.

"And so are you," Ellie replied "Right here. Roll up my sleeve. Look at it!" Ellie demanded.

"I'll play along," David informed James as he put the blade into the table by Ellie's face. David then rolled the teen's sleeve up to find an unquestionable bite from infected.

"What'd you say? Everything happens for a reason right?"

"What the hell is that?" James asked in shock and concern.

"She would've turned by now. It can't be real," David argued.

"Looks pretty fucking real to me!" James urged, close to shouting. The distraction of the bite caused him to weaken his grip on Ellie's arm. At the same time David turned to look at the bite Ellie had left him with, no longer holding Ellie down. Seeing her chance, she grabbed the knife David discarded and plunged the blade into James' throat. She then rolled off the table to cover herself from David's shots. She then ran out of the room while David continued to fire at her. Once out of the room she hid beside the doorway and spotted her switchblade on a shelf next to her. She grabbed the blade and exited through a window into the cold snow. She made her way through the town whilst sneaking in and out of buildings to evade detection of the cannibals searching for her. She was now inside an old restaurant and headed for the exit in hopes of getting back to Joel and Jake. As she opened the door, David appeared and grabbed her, pushing her back inside and onto a table and then pushed her to the ground, in doing so knocking over some lit candles and igniting the wood. David was momentarily distracted by the flames, allowing Ellie to retreat behind cover. In response, David locked the exit to the building and began to stalk his prey. Ellie Moved stealthily between the cover provided by the tables, looking for an opportunity to stroke at David. She noticed many broken plates on the ground and used the sound made by them to lure David, and then she would sink her blade into him. She did this twice but the third time David backed into one of the tables with Ellie, knocking them both out, as the smoke spread in the building.

At the same time, Jake searched the town for Ellie as the snow continued to come down on him more and more, impairing his vision. However Jake deducted that in combat this would play to his advantage, the snow would make it easier to detect his enemies through sound whilst also limiting their ability to see him. And Jake had no intentions of sparring any of the people in this town. He cut down anyone he saw in his path and lit the buildings of the town on fire using molotovs, further disorienting his enemies, allowing an easier path for him. He would check the buildings for supplies before torching them, in one of the buildings he found Ellie's backpack, an encouraging sign. However, in the same building he saw human bodies being hung up from the ceiling. Jake concludes that the storage of dead bodies meant cannibalism, making his search for Ellie more desperate. Eventually he came across a building set ablaze that he had not caused. It meant that there was a conflict in or around the building, to which he concluded Ellie was the source of.

Ellie woke up with her entire body throbbing in the same burning building. She struggled onto her hands and knees and saw a machete nearby. She mustered her strength to crawl towards the blade. But as she approached the weapon, David came towards her and kicked her in the stomach, causing the girl to collapse in pain.

"I knew you had heart," David taunted "Y'know, it's okay to give up. Ain't no shame in it," he continued belittling her as she tried once more to pull herself to the discarded machete. "I guess not. Just not your style is it," David commented and kicked her once more in the stomach. This time she audibly groaned from the pain. David then grabbed her head and kneeled above her back, holding her down. "You can try begging."

"Fuck you," Ellie spat back. David then turned her over and wrapped his hands around her neck, causing her to squirm and wriggle in his grip.

"You think you know me? Huh? Well let me tell you something," David continued to boast as Ellie stretched her arms for the machete that would be her last hope. "You have no idea what I'm capable of," David said and Ellie had manages to grab a hold of the blade. Once her grip on it was firm, she immediately swung it towards David, causing him to scream in pain and fall onto his back, leaving him open for Ellie to finish him. Ellie then got on top of him and sliced away at him. After the first slice he had died but she continued to do so over and over. As she did so, Jake walked into the building and saw what she did, shocked at what was before him. He stood frozen as he observed her, the sight looking all to familiar to him, but never having seen it from an outside perspective.

"I told you didn't I," the voice in Jake's head taunted and Jake felt a chill along his whole body "You can't do anything." He returned to his senses and ran towards Ellie, getting grazed by the swing of her blade across his bicep as he did but still pulled her away from the mutilated corpse.

"Ellie stop!" Jake urged as she struggled in his grip.

"No. Don't fucking touch me!" She yelled back, still afraid and not knowing who it was.

"It's okay. It's Jake, it's me. Look it's me," Jake said as he held her close, now realizing who it was she calmed down.

"He tried to-," Ellie began but Jake cut her off by pulling her into his chest.

"Oh Ellie. I'm sorry. It's gonna be alright now," he reassured at held her close for a few moments.

"Jake," she sobbed quietly into his chest and he placed his head above hers and held tight and close. He let her linger there for a moment to collect herself. Still conscious of the fire in the building and the town hunting them down. He encouraged her stand and insisted they need to leave. That they needed to move onwards, just as this world moved forwards relentlessly. He knew that better than most. Jake led the shaken Ellie outside with her hand in his, giving her what little console he could.

As they made their way through the snow covered grounds of the town Ellie began to regain her thoughts and take in her surroundings. She began to smell smoke filling up her lungs and noticed many buildings in the town ablaze. She knew the building where she fought David in was set alight, but it shouldn't have spread to this extent. The only explanation on her mind was Jake creating the blaze she saw around her. She looked towards him and once again so the void in his eyes; the familiar lifeless gaze. Looking at it now seemed to amplify the cold around her, his grip around her hands weren't as comforting as they were moments ago. Still, he held her hand tight and led from the town he damned.

The pair eventually returned to their house of refuge and upon entrance they found Joel standing before them, a hand over his injured stomach and leaning against a table for support, but standing before them nonetheless. Ellie rushed over to him and took the hugged Joel, causing him to be pushed back from the sudden act, but he returned the act regardless. Jake only approached the two and smiled the faintest smile at the bitter-sweet moment before him. All of Ellie's anxieties about Joel's health were cleared, but she was still

shaken from her earlier encounter. Those sealed up feelings now released freely. Joel looked down at Ellie and saw a sight that was all too familiar to him, a broken teen, smeared with blood, shaken from the world around them. He just hoped it wouldn't end the same way twice. Ellie then turned towards Jake, who gave her the warmest look he had.

"You're safe now."