A/N: I don't own any of the characters, they're owned by Naughty Dog. Enjoy.
2034 - FALL
Riley's eyes look empty of the life they once held, her mouth is hanging open and she groans at me.
"Riley… no. You have to wait for me." I say.
Her shoulders twitch and then she seems to have become aware of me. She growls and starts walking toward me.
"Stop. Don't make me do this. I can't." I say, holding the knife she gave me between us.
She lunges forward and I hold her back as she attempts to bite me. She wouldn't want to walk around the mall forever and possibly infect other people who come, right? I know that I wouldn't want that for myself. Her words come back to me.
'Let's be all poetic and lose our minds together.'
"I'll be right behind you. I'm sorry." I say, adjusting my grip on the knife and bringing it swiftly into her temple.
I jump forward in my bed, holding a phantom knife and looking around the room, breathing erratically.
Joel was still asleep in the single on the opposite side of the room. Thankfully I hadn't screamed out loud because he surely would've woken up. I take a couple minutes to steady my breathing to the sounds of the rain outside. It totally sucks that it's been over a year since I lost her and I still have nightmares about Riley. I wonder if they'll ever go away. Do I really want them to?
I get up out of bed knowing I won't be able go back to sleep. The floor creaks softly. Joel turns over to his other side but seems to still be asleep. I grab a tank top and some jeans off the floor before leaving the room.
The first chill of the season hit last night and with it a heavy rainfall has followed for the last 24 hours, pattering against the window. The dirt outside has turned into mud.
I've got nothing better to do than to walk outside I guess, even if it is raining. Opening the door quietly, I exit the house and walk toward the inner gate. I walk along the inner fence but all I see are the usual watchtower lights shining out into the surrounding forest. After walking the perimeter of the inner compound I walk inward toward the garden. I've never really been inside, only seen it from the outside. The greenhouse has those foggy type window so you can't see all that clear either. I wonder if it's open at this hour?
Surprisingly, the doorknob twists open. I walk inside to get a better look. Do they just keep it open all the time? I hear some rustling towards the center. I guess there is someone in here. The door shuts behind me, rather loudly.
"Hello?" I hear a familiar voice. "Is someone in here?"
Should I answer?
"Hello?" They call again. Who does that voice belong to? It's very familiar.
"Hey, yeah. It's Ellie." I say.
The plants in front of me part and a face pops through. Dina. That's why it was familiar.
"Oh, hey, stranger." Dina says, smiling. "How you been?"
"Fine." I say, shoving my hands into my pockets.
I wasn't expecting someone to be up at this hour. Especially not working in the garden.
"Haven't seen you around much. You liking things here?" She asks.
"Yeah." I say. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
"I…" She starts, before conceding. "…couldn't sleep."
"Yeah. Me neither." I say. "So what are you doing in here?"
She eyes me for a few seconds. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah." I say. "The more you know, the more likely you are to have a solution to a problem. Knowledge is power, right?"
Dina only looks at me more curiously and smiles.
"Ok, knowledge seeker, come on over. I'll teach you about the garden." She says, turning around and beckoning me to follow.
I nod, following her through the plants she disappeared behind.
"So, in here we've got corn, potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes. Nothing too fancy but it provides a break from the canned meals that are the main staple around here. And it helps prevent us from all getting scurvy, too." Dina says.
"Bonus." I say, causing Dina to giggle.
"You ever had a garden before?" She asks.
"Nope. I'm probably about as useful here as in the kitchen." I say.
"They haven't assigned you to the kitchen at all, have they?" She asks.
"No, for the good everyone here." I say.
"Good I told them not to." Dina says.
Hmm, she remembered that. And told them I didn't want to be in there.
"So, why couldn't you sleep? Don't like the rain?" She asks.
"No. I just..." I start.
I can't bring myself to open up to her just yet. I've seen her at a distance a couple of times since we got here but we haven't really talked since the day she gave me the tour of the compound.
"It's ok. I get it. We all have things we don't want to talk about." She says.
"Yeah." I say.
She looks up at me and offers a small smile.
"Well, I'll show you what I do here in the garden." She says. "Come here."
I move a little closer and she gives me some tips about gardening. Apparently her father was a botanist, which is a plant scientist. I didn't ask where he was. I assume it's a difficult topic for her.
We spend the next hour going through the garden and going over what each plant needs. She explains it in such a way that I feel I already understand it pretty well.
"So now you can cover for me, right?" She asks, with a smirk.
"Yeah, sure." I say, dryly, before getting up.
She giggles, causing me to blush.
"Alright well... see you later." I say, walking back toward the side door.
"Bye, Ellie." I hear her say before I exit the garden.
Jackson is becoming more of a home than I ever could've imagined. The world is still shit and everything has gotten a little mundane but at least here it's better than any of the quarantine zones I've been to. And it sure as hell is better than any of the cities I had to travel through on Joel and I's trip to the Fireflies.
There are just over a hundred homes here. Each house can fit up to four people, at most, but typically house 2 or 3. Each home has a bedroom with two single beds, a basic kitchen which nobody seems to use, a bathroom and a living or relaxing area with a couch that pulls out and a kitchen table, which is where Joel and I usually eat.
A garden, clinic and community hall are located in the middle of the compound with the houses surrounding each side but the west side which is where the inner gate is. The mess hall is near the gate as well, with a large pantry connected to it which is where we store food we find on runs. On the outer gate eight watchtowers spread around the perimeter. They are always manned. Tommy's office, the armory, the horse stables, the vehicles and the car shop are located outside the inner compound.
Then the dam is located in the northeast corner of the town.
Joel and I have fallen into a rhythm over the six months. Joel and I do runs as our community job most days. I think Joel was a little afraid of letting me out of his sight. Sometimes he'll help out in the garage or at the dam and I'll help out at the horse stable. Helping take care of the horses gives me something to do. On days off, we'll either help out elsewhere or I usually read books that anyone can borrow from the community hall.
I opted for walking around the compound as opposed to going home after my time in the garden. The sun has finally started to come up which means I can go grab a meal for Joel and I. I walk toward the mess hall and I see Dina walking out of the garden. She looks over at me and smiles. My face heats up and I speed the rest of the way to the mess hall. I grab two plates, one for me and one for Joel, before heading back.
I place the meals on the table and Joel emerges from the bedroom. I sit down and start eating. Joel sits down and starts eating as well.
Dina is usually with Jesse when I do see her so I don't want to intrude or honestly even be around them being all couple-y so I've mostly avoided her the first six months we've been here. She makes me feel queasy.
After breakfast, Joel and I are scheduled to go out and scavenge today. I'm feeling a little groggy but I should be fine.
"You alright, kiddo?" Joel asks, after finishing his food and cleaning off his plate.
"What? Yeah. I'm fine." I say.
"I heard you get up pretty early this morning." Joel says.
I hum in response, getting up and cleaning my plate as well.
"Alright. Just checking." Joel says, leaving to go grab his bag I'm guessing.
A few silent moments pass in the house.
"You ready to head out?" He asks, now at the front door, geared up.
"Yep." I say, going to grab my own bag before walking out the front door which he is holding open for me.
Joel and I walk to the inner gate and Joel hollers to Dan inside the office. Dan nods and opens the gate. We walk through once it's open and then it closes again shortly after.
"Hey Joel. Ellie. Hold up." Tommy says, walking up to us.
Joel turns to where Tommy is walking up to us.
"You both know Dina, right?" Tommy starts. We nod. "I think she could be great for scavenging once a week or so. Her mother was a vet and her father was a botanist, so she knows a lot about medicine and such. I figure that might be helpful."
"Why do we need to know about her?" Joel asks.
"Well I think it'd be good if she went with you two." Tommy says. "All the other scavenging teams are getting to be a little big. You two are the only team of two we have. Once the teams get too big, it becomes harder to keep track of everyone. The other teams are all four or more. Would you guys at least consider it?"
Joel looks down toward me for a second before looking back at Tommy.
"We'll talk about it and let you know." Joel says.
"Alright. Thank you." Tommy says.
Joel nods. We walk toward the stables, mount our horses and head out. We're riding for a couple miles before we reach a small town we've visited once before but we only managed to clear half of the houses.
We approach one of the homes, a blue one, that I know we didn't go through the last time we were here. Joel and I hop down from our horses and tie them to the front porch railing, scanning the surrounding area. I pull my bow from my back and Joel pulls his shotgun from his back. He cocks it and ascends the stairs, glancing into each side window of the door before looking back at me. I nod and he attempts to turn the knob before kicking the door in. We split up and search the bottom floor before moving to the top which we cleared just as easily. I found a first aid kit in a bathroom upstairs and there were some cans of food in the pantry downstairs. We exit the house and I move what I found from my backpack into the horse pack just to keep things light. Going through the rest of the houses in town took the majority of the day.
"So what do you think?" Joel asks, as we leave the town behind us.
"What do I think about what?" I ask in return.
"Dina." Joel says. "Joining us once a week."
"Oh." I say.
What do I think? What does it really matter what I think? It seems like Tommy's made up his mind. It would only be one day a week, right?
"Ellie?" Joel says.
"Yeah." I say. "It's… fine. I guess."
"Really?" Joel asks, something in his voice I can't place.
"Yeah. Sure. Like Tommy said it'll be less dangerous than having her go with another team." I say, hoping that'll appease him.
Joel remains quiet for a solid 15 seconds before he speaks.
"Alright." Is all he says. Fucking, of course. God damn it, Joel.
"Alright." I say.
We ride back the rest of the way in silence. We board our horses back in the stable and grab the nearby wheelbarrow to unpack the saddles. As we're heading over to the pantry, Tommy exits the office.
"Hey, Joel. Ellie." Tommy says. "You guys think about what I asked?"
"Yeah. Sounds good. She can come with whenever she's ready." Joel says.
"Really?" Tommy asks.
Why is everyone so surprised? Tommy looks between us quizzically.
"Yep." Joel says.
"Ok." Tommy says, a surprised but happy smile on his face.
I haven't been able to get Dina out of my head over the past two weeks. She's the only person who hasn't brushed me off, or that I've brushed off, in the longest time. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, even after six months in Jackson, I haven't been able to make any friends. I know that Joel has had a similar issue as well but he has had some luck with a couple people.
I'm glad we get to go scavenge today. Tommy has prohibited us from leaving for the past three days until a bandit issue got resolved. Joel wouldn't let me go help resolve it so I've been cleaning the stables in the mornings and reading in the afternoons. But we're cleared again and I can't wait to get out there. I've read through all the books on the compound. Twice. So reading just isn't as exciting. I was debating on going to the garden yesterday but decided against it.
"You ready?" Joel asks from the door.
"Hell yes." I say, to which Joel gives a disapproving shake of his head.
We walk silently up to the front gate.
"Ellie. Wait up." A voice calls as Joel and I stand at the front gate waiting for it to fully open. Sounds like…
I look back to see Dina with a backpack on, jogging toward us. Joel turns back as well.
"Who's that?" He asks.
"Dina." I say, simply. "You're getting blind old man."
"I've only seen her in passing." He says.
"Uh-huh." I say, busting his balls.
"Hey stranger." Dina says to me. She turns to look closer at Joel. "You must be My Joel." She says, sticking a hand out in greeting.
"I s'pose." Joel's eyebrows furrow together as he grasps Dina's outstretched hand.
"I'm Dina. Ellie's best friend." Dina continues, smirking at me.
I roll my eyes as Joel just looks between us, with growing perplexity.
"Yeah I didn't tell you?" I deadpan, earning a giggle from Dina.
"Alright… Well are we still going?" Joel asks, clearly admitting defeat on understanding what's going on here.
"Yeah." I say.
"Well Tommy wanted us to search somewhere near Boise. I'm guessing because she's coming with us. We'll be gone a couple days. We're taking the camper." Joel says.
A couple days? I've got to spend the night with her.
"You kiddos need to grab anything else knowing we'll be gone longer?" Joel asks.
"I'm good." Dina says.
I think for a second.
"Hold on." I say, to which I receive two confused looks.
I jog back to the house and grab the book that I'm reading. Maybe it'll be better if we don't talk. Or at least I can play off whether she seems to want to talk or not. I jog back to Joel and Dina to seeing Joel… smiling? Actually… fucking… smiling? I've been trying for years and I don't know if I've ever made him smile.
"What the fuck are you smiling at?" I ask.
"Whoa. The mouth on this one." Dina says, smirking.
"You don't understand how hard it is to get him to smile." I say. "What'd you say to him?"
"Want to hear a joke about paper? Nevermind, it's tearable." Dina says.
I look at Dina, unsure if she's serious. She only grins. I look over to Joel who is gives me a knowing look before walking over to the camper.
"You're serious. That's what you said?" I ask, thinking that Joel might be trying to fuck with me.
"Yes?" Dina says, looking confused.
"Alright you two. Come on. Let's get on the road." Joel says, opening the camper.
I walk over to the camper without another word. Dina seems hurt that I didn't find it funny. On the contrary, I love that one but I needed to make sure she wasn't in cahoots with Joel. Once I made it to the camper door I turn around. Dina walks up with the cutest puzzled look on her face before stopping just in front of me. She looks up at me.
"A furniture store keeps calling me. All I wanted was one night stand." I deadpan.
A smile creeps onto her face before she giggles.
"You're such a dick. I thought you were mad at me." She says, before shoving me inside the camper.
After a couple hours of Dina and I trading 'Dad jokes' while Joel tries his best to ignore us, I decide it's best if I go take a nap while I can. I know we'll have to stay up in shifts while we're out on the road. I take my backpack to the bed with me and drop it on the floor after pulling out my book, Atlas Shrugged. I draw the curtains on the windows and shut the door. I pull off my shirt before climbing into the bed.
I read about a chapter before finally being drowsy enough to attempt sleeping. Within the hazy fog of sleep, I half-hear Joel and Dina talking for a minute. Unconcerned I refocus on drifting away.
"Hey, Ellie. Joel says I—" Dina says, opening the door.
"Huh?" I say, leaning up onto my elbows.
"Where's your shirt, Tex?" Dina asks. Her cheeks look a little pink. I wonder if she's hot.
"Oh, fuck!" I say, realizing my state of undress I grab the sheet and pull it over my head. "I get hot when I sleep."
Dina mumbles something and I poke my head out.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing." She says, avoiding. "But look, Joel wants us both to keep watch when he takes his turn to sleep, so he wants us rested. Move over."
Dina starts crawling toward me on the bed. Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis.
"No, uh. I'm not tired. I tried but I can't. I'll try again later." I stammer, falling out of the bed before getting up in my sports bra and jeans and stumbling to grab my shirt and exit the bedroom as quickly as possible.
"Suit yourself." I hear as I shut the door.
I pull my shirt on before walking into the main cabin.
"Hey, kiddo." Joel says as I sit down in the passenger seat.
"Hey." I say, still trying to understand what just happened.
"I thought you were trying to sleep." Joel says.
"I just…" I start, thinking of Dina crawling up toward me. "…couldn't."
"Well I remember you saying how you haven't been sleeping well these last couple weeks so why don't you try again in an hour." Joel says.
"Yeah. Yeah. Uh, will do." I say.
He hums in affirmation, returning his focus to the road.
The winding road, the blur of the trees and the hum of the tires on pavement lull me into the sleep I was so close to only minutes ago.
"Ellie. Hey, kiddo." Joel says, nudging my shoulder gently.
"Yeah." I say, sleepily.
"We're here." Joey says. "I'm gonna do a quick scan of the area. Why don't you go wake Dina?"
I rub my eyes before humming in acknowledgement at his request. He leaves the camper with his shotgun. After a quick stretch, I push myself out of the seat and walk back to the bedroom. I knock softly on the door. I hear no response so I open the door to see Dina sleeping peacefully under the covers. As much as I'd like to wake her gently, the last time she tried waking me comes to mind. I smack her sheet covered calf a couple times with decent force, as I would if she were awake.
"Hey Dina. I don't want any pay back for choking you. We're here." I say.
I hear a groan before I see one of her eyes crack open.
"You're such a dick." She says, leaning up.
Whatever she says afterwards falls on deaf ears because the sheet falls off her chest and her nearly naked torso is exposed to me. I feel my face heat up before I turn around, putting my nose on a wall.
"Ellie?" She asks, before a slight pause. "What? I get hot too."
I hug the wall until I'm at the door and close it without looking behind me again.
The trees are barren of leaves and there is a thin layer of snow on the ground. It has yet to snow for us but I know it must be coming soon if I'm seeing it here.
"Hey. I see you're back to your original color." Dina says, exiting the camper.
"I see you're back to your original clothing status." I say, to which Dina smirks.
"Where's Joel?" Dina asks.
"When we do these longer trips he likes to clear the surrounding half mile. It usually takes him 15 minutes or so. Got your stuff?" I say.
"Yeah." Dina says.
"Good. It looks like he's parked it where it'll be most camouflaged. I'm going to grab a shovel to help cover it with snow. Considering it's mostly white it shouldn't be too hard to finish hiding." I say before explaining. "Would you go find some large branches that help cover it?"
"Sure thing." Dina says, looking at me curiously.
I grab the shovel from inside one of the compartments on the outside of the camper. I scoop up some snow and throw it up on top, repeating until the roof, tires, and engine hood are covered thinly. I take a nearby branch and scrape the ground so that the snow scooped area looks more even with the rest of the ground.
Dina and I use the branches she gathered to cover it as best we could.
"What's brown and sticky?" I ask.
She looks at me for a second, confused.
"Caramel?" She says, tilting her head.
"A stick." I say, smiling.
She lets out a short laugh.
"That's stupid." She says.
"I know." I say.
"How many apples grow on a tree?" She asks.
Hmm. I haven't read this one before. I think for a second before shrugging.
"All of them." She says.
I groan. "That was dumb."
She smiles, as if saying she knows.
"Don't you two get tired of dumb jokes?" Joel asks, walking up out of the trees.
"You're the dad. You should be giving us more ammo." Dina says.
Joel and I share a look before I clear my throat.
"So you know what we're here for. Tommy said that there should be a lot of the stuff on your list on this side of town. They didn't have the space for it all last time I guess. We'll spend a few hours today and all day tomorrow searching for as much of it as we can. Apparently we're really low on all our medical supplies." I say, pulling a stretcher out from one of the outer compartments. "We'll use this to carry as much as we can with less trips."
"I'll stand watch for us outside each house and Ellie'll stand guard inside the houses as you search for what you need." Joel says.
"Ok." Dina says.
We all walk down toward the town, weapons drawn and the stretcher being used as a sled tied around Joel's waist.
The first afternoon was a huge success, considering the time constraint. We needed to be back by dark so that we weren't making things more dangerous for ourselves. But even considering that, we were able to completely fill the stretcher/sled and all of our backpacks. We made it back just as the sun was beginning to set. We loaded the supplies into various areas of the camper before locking ourselves inside.
All three of us, gathered around the oven, the door hanging open to warm us all as we eat some canned food. I'm sitting on the floor in front of the oven since I wanted to give Joel and Dina the seats of the dining room table of the camper.
"I thought about going on an all-almond diet. But that's nuts." I say, grinning.
Joel groans and Dina giggles.
"Why couldn't the bicycle stand up by itself?" Dina asks, after recovering.
Joel narrows his eyes and I ponder the answer, feeling like I've heard it before but the answer is eluding me.
"It was two tired." Dina answers, obviously proud.
"And on that note, I'm going to sleep. Come wake me up at 2." Joel says, standing up and walking to the back.
Dina watches Joel go back to the bedroom. I wonder how we're going to pass the time. The lights are all off inside, aside from the oven and all the curtains are drawn.
"Good I was hoping that he'd get tired of our dad jokes." Dina says, after the door closes behind Joel.
"Were you just trying to get me alone?" I deadpan.
"Obviously." Dina says, getting out of her seat at the table and sitting down next to me, threading her arm around my elbow.
"For what reason?" I ask, mildly curious.
"I want to get to know you a little better and Joel, no offense, seems like his own tough nut to crack." Dina says.
"You're not wrong." I say.
"Ok well I won't ask you any targeted questions. These are open-ended. So more generalized in me getting to know someone. But I reserve the right to ask more targeted questions if I so choose." Dina says, adding the last part on authoritatively.
"Alright. On one condition." I say.
"What's that?" She asks.
"You have to answer any question you ask me after I answer." I say, curious if things will change with this rule.
"Sounds good." Dina says. "Ok first question, given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?"
That's an oddly probing question. I wasn't really expecting it.
"Do they have to be alive now?" I ask.
"No. Considering the world we live in, I'll let you choose someone who's dead." She says.
"This would only be for dinner, correct?" I ask.
"Yes. You can't bring them back permanently." She says, a little sadness in her voice.
"Will Livingston." I say.
"Who is that?" She asks.
"The author of my joke books." I say, with a smile. "I would like to get as much material as I could."
"I expected something much more profound from someone who reads as much as you." Dina says, shaking her head, chuckling softly.
"How do you know I read a lot?" I ask.
"I work in the garden. I've seen you go into community center with old books and out with new books all week. Kind of a boring week for you, huh? Not to mention that everyone says all you do is read when you're in town." She says.
I hum in acknowledgement. "Your turn."
"Hmm. I would have to say Joel. I'd need a whole dinner to really get into what he's got going on. Plus I only read medical books so I can imagine that the people I know would probably be more entertaining." Dina says.
I crinkle my brows at her choice but I guess I learned that she's not a big reader and in this world if you don't read you only know people by meeting them.
"Alright next question, what would constitute a 'perfect' day for you?" She asks, sounding completely innocent.
"These questions, while vague, are oddly telling about a person if you listen to them." I say, narrowing my eyes at her, even though neither of us can really see.
"Yeah. That's kind of the point." She says, laying her head on my shoulder waiting for my answer.
"Well a perfect day is what I've got I guess. I wake up in the morning, Joel has gotten breakfast and we eat together. We go out scavenging and then come back, read and go to sleep. The only thing I'd change is…" I stop, not knowing how honest I should be, but then I decide to just go for it. "… being able to talk to you every day. Maybe after I get home, and after you're done with your stuff, we could go up on the roof, look at the stars and talk, or not talk."
"That sounds nice." Dina says quietly while holding tighter onto my elbow. "Well my perfect day is pretty close to what I have as well. I like working in the garden. So I'd work until sundown then have dinner with Joel." I feel her smile against my shoulder. "I'd go to a dance for a couple hours and then I'd go find you on the roof and we'd talk, or not talk."
"So you like dancing?" I ask.
"I do." She says and I smile.
"So… next question, when did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?" Dina asks.
"Never. I don't sing." I say, at least not remembering the last time I sang.
"Really? That's sad." Dina says. "I sang to myself just yesterday morning in the garden. Last time to someone else was… for my mom, about a year ago, right before I had to kill her."
I tense a little at this confession. She had to kill her mother? Was she turning? Or was she sick beyond help?
"Another time." She says.
"Ok." I say.
"If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?" She asks.
"Body. The mind would grow wise with age. At least that's how I see it." I say.
"Hmm. I'd have to say mind. The books I have read depict mind illnesses as quite a scary way to go. I couldn't imagine losing a loved one to something like that, especially in this world, where making it to 90 seems impossible." She says.
"Good point. That reminds me of a book I read called the Notebook. The wife got a disease called Alzheimer's and couldn't remember her husband." I say.
"Exactly." Dina says. She readjusts herself that her head is laying on my lap.
"Next question?" I ask.
"Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?" She asks.
I think on this one for a minute. Does she not know? Might as well be honest I guess.
"Well I know how I will NOT die." I say, thinking that'll be enough to confirm whatever everyone says about me.
"What are you talking about?" Dina probes.
"Do you really not know? Or do you just want me to say it?" I ask.
"I really don't know." She says, obviously confused.
"I'm immune. To the cordyceps disease. I got bit about a year ago." I say.
"Whoa, are you serious? Can I see it?" She asks, grabbing onto my arm.
"Really?" I ask.
"Well not now. That would be pointless… but tomorrow?" She says, clarifying.
"Sure." I say, after a pause. "But I guess to answer your question. I think I'll probably die trying to protect someone I love, whether by stab wound, gun shot or whatever. Almost happened half a dozen times already. It's bound to catch me sooner or later."
"Sounds like an honorable way to go. I'd like to go out that way." She says. "I'll probably go out with a bite. Just don't let me know turn into an infected, okay? I wouldn't want to hurt anyone after I turned."
"Ok." I say, hoping I don't have to keep that vow.
"Name three things we have in common." She says.
"Are we still playing?" I ask.
"Yes." She says.
"That's not really a question." I say.
"I know. How about you do one, then me, so on?" She asks.
"Ok…" I stop for a minute, debating on the first thing that comes to mind. Might as well do it. "No parents."
"Ooo… ripping the bandaid off, huh?" She says, chuckling darkly. "Underestimated."
I smile to myself. "Resilient."
"Animal Lovers." She says, giggling.
"You assume a lot but you're right." I say. I am worried that I'm about to say something dumb but she knows that I'm not stupid and these questions are all about being honest. "Nightmares."
I feel her tense in my lap. She only hums in response. There is a long pause. I'm about to ask her if I said something wrong when she says, "Pun Masters."
I chuckle, which seems to be the desired response.
"What do you feel most grateful for in your life?" She asks, without missing a beat.
"Joel." I say, deciding not to elaborate.
"You." She says, equally short.
This is so confusing for me to hear.
"What about Jesse?" I ask.
"I'm thinking he may only be interested in being with me in a goal sense not me as myself. If that makes sense. A couple times he's said things that made me feel like a trophy or something. I'm not really able to talk to him like this." She says. I feel kind of angry at her response. Not at her but at Jesse for making her feel that way.
"But why me?" I ask.
"Why Joel?" She asks.
"He's made me feel like family when I never knew what having a family was like. Even though our family is small. And he makes me feel safe." I say.
"You make me feel the safest I've felt in years. I lost my parents shortly before I came to Jackson County. I liked being here but I've always felt things were a little empty." She says.
"Oh…" I say, blushing in the darkness.
"If you could change something about how you were raised what would it be?" She asks.
I contemplate this for a few seconds before settling on, "I would've just wished I'd found Joel sooner. As much as he's a pain sometimes, he's the best thing that could've happened to me. I was raised in a military camp, there wasn't much to me being raised since I fought against the officers every chance I got."
"I wish my parents would've raised me to understand my emotions better. Sometimes I think I do what's easiest as opposed to what I really want to do." She says.
"That's kind of cryptic." I say.
"Yeah." She says, in return. "If you could wake up tomorrow with one quality, what would it be?"
"Optimism." I say.
"Autonomous." She says.
I want to ask but I'm not interested in elaborating on mine so I leave it for tonight.
"Alright, last one. It's not really a question again but I want you to be detailed." She starts, making me nervous. "Tell me your life story in as much detail as possible, in about four minutes."
My brain short-circuits. How do I condense my life story into a four minute synopsis? Can anyone do that? I stare into the dull light of the open oven before looking down at Dina's barely lit face. Her eyes look closed. It'll be interesting to hear what her condensed down life is, if I can make it through my own.
"You alright up there?" Dina asks, her eyes still closed.
"Yeah." I say. "Just working out the outline in my mind."
She hums, a smile forming, in the red light.
"My mother died in childbirth and my father wasn't with her when she gave birth. So I never knew either of them. I grew up in the Boston Quarantine Zone. Surprisingly, I was a bigger pain in the ass than I am now." I say, feeling Dina chuckle on my lap. "I went to a military prep school starting at age 5 because they couldn't figure out what to do with me. From what I remember, a common nickname was 'little shit'. Those years were kind of a blur. They tried to control me and I just didn't do well in a militarized system."
"I imagine not." Dina says, to which I chuckle softly.
"When I was kicked out of the military prep school, I was sent to just live among everyone in the general quarantine area. I met this girl." I say, eyes glazing over.
I feel Dina shift and I turn my gaze back to the oven and in the low light of the room I see her eyes open in my peripherals.
"Riley. She stole my Walkman the first time I saw her." I pause, smiling. "But we got to know each other and she had a spirit that I hadn't seen in anyone else I'd met before. We were both rebels. And she was my first friend. We had some great times together but…" I take a breath. "We got bit. Right after…" I think of our short kiss. "It doesn't matter. She turned and I didn't. I had to put the pocket knife she gave me as a birthday present into her temple after she turned and I didn't." I stay silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"After that, my mission was to go to the Fireflies who were working on a cure. That's how I met Joel. He was a smuggler and the leader of the Fireflies in Boston hired him to transport me to the Fireflies at the other side of the city. Every checkpoint we hit, we had barely missed the Fireflies. At one point we'd come across Jackson because Tommy used to be a Firefly. After almost year of infected, bandits and cannibals we made it Salt Lake City. We barely made it into the city before I nearly drowned. Next thing I know I wake up in a truck, Joel driving me away from the city saying that they've given up on looking for a cure. Then we came back to Jackson where I've been for the last six months as you know."
Breathing in deeply, I let my breath out slowly. Dina lifts herself from my lap and leans back against the table, bringing her knees up to her chest.
"Thanks for being so honest with me." Dina says, into her knees.
"Sure." I say, quietly.
A silence settles between us. I don't know if I've ever been that open with someone. Not with Joel, that's for sure.
"So… my parents were well prepared for the infection when it happened. They told me they starting preparing more so because of the political climate as opposed to a widespread infection but in the end their plans worked out well. They were in Canada when the outbreak happened. I was born and lived the majority of my life in that small underground compound. We grew our own garden, had electricity, they taught me everything they knew about plants and animals, and considering the rest of the world, we did really well. It kept us safe and worked for almost 20 years." Dina says, pausing and seeming to relive things.
"Just after I turned twelve, bandits invaded our home. We fought hard but we lost my father there. My mother realized that without him it'd be difficult, if not impossible, to build everything back up to what it was and she made the decision that we had to leave. On the road down here, we wanted to stay off the main roads to avoid more bandits but my mom got bit. I couldn't let her go so we kept moving until she could feel herself slipping. She didn't want to infect me so she asked me to kill her while she was still herself." Dina pauses for a couple breaths. "Thankfully this place was directly south of where we lived because I had a compass with me and all I knew was that I didn't want to use the main roads and I wanted to head south until I found something. Honestly, it's a miracle that I'm alive. I don't even know how many infected I've killed or even just regular people. And that scares me."
"I was probably on the road for 3 months, doing 20 miles a day, before I got here. My mom said we were deep into Canada. I'm not exactly sure how far I went but I know it was over a thousand miles. I've been here in Jackson ever since, not really leaving unless Tommy begged me to go help find medical supplies." Dina says, pausing. "And then about six months ago, I met this girl. She doesn't talk a whole lot and sometimes I think she's avoiding me but she's really growing into my best friend. I feel like I can tell her anything."
I blush a little at her words.
"I can't believe how far you walked before you got here. I mean, I covered some distance but we found trucks for the long hauls." I say.
"Yeah. My feet still hurt thinking about it." Dina says, still trying to lighten the mood.
"Your story wasn't anything like what I expected." I say.
This girl keeps surprising me every time I'm near her.
"Yours wasn't really what I expected either. I kind of figured you and Joel had been together much longer. You both really seem to understand each other." Dina says.
A chuckle escapes me at that statement.
"What's funny?" Dina asks.
"You're right." I say, leaving my statement there to fuck with her.
"Oh, is that how it is? Looks like someone is getting their best friend card revoked." She says.
"I'm devastated." I deadpan.
"You'll miss me when I'm not on your scavenging trips. Just you wait." Dina says.
I hum happily in response.
The oven clock beeps softly. 2 AM.
"Guess it's time for bed." I say, pushing off the floor to stand before offering her a hand. "Come on, sleeping beauty."
"Sleeping what?" Dina says, grabbing my hand and smirking.
"It's a kid's tale. Never of heard it?" I ask, pulling her to her feet.
"Oh. No. I haven't. Like I said the books my parents kept were medical and scientific journals and a basic set of encyclopedias. They probably would've liked me hanging out with a brainiac like you." She says.
I only hum in response before heading back to knock on the bedroom door.
"You decent in there?" I ask after softly rapping on the door.
"Gimme a minute." Joel says, gruffly.
After some rustling behind the door, the knob turns and Joel stands in the doorway.
"You sure you'll be alright out here by yourself?" I ask, mostly joking since I know he's more than capable.
Joel only hums in affirmation before walking over to sit at the dining room table. "Go get some sleep you two."
I walk back into the room and slip under the covers of one side.
"You going to let me get in bed with you this time?" Dina asks.
"Yeah, o' course. You need to sleep, too. Long day tomorrow." I say, turning onto my side, facing the wall.
I feel the bed shift as Dina gets in the other half of the bed.
"Thanks for answering my questions again. G'night Ellie." Dina says, adjusting a little on her side.
"G'night Dina."
A/N: I don't know if this will be true, but let's say Dina is a year younger than Ellie. Hope you all enjoyed a big ol' chapter of slow burn and terrible dad jokes. Review if you desire. Have a lovely day. I leave you with a quote.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." - Confucius