Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
The steel hammer slammed against the wooden plank, driving a nail into it with the last few strikes. The sound resonated through the wood, almost seeming to amplify it as it echoed through the air. It was, though, just one random sound against the clatter of the rest of the construction going on nearby – several men all working on the same project of reinforcing the south wall.
Joel sighed, slipping the hammer back into his jean pocket. The sun was still bright – even in the late afternoon – baking the earth with its relentless heat. Sliding his arm across his face, he wiped some of the glistening sweat from his brow. Stepping back, he looked up at the triangle-shaped planks forming the skeleton of what was soon to be a secondary, concrete barrier wall.
"Hey Joel," called a raspy, southern voice. Turning to see Tommy walkingtowards him, Joel greeted him with a smile.
"Hey little brother. Come to bug me again, huh?" He joked.
"Actually, I came t' send ya home."
Joel blinked.
"Send me home?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Yep," Tommy said out with a grin.
"What d'you mean 'send me home'? You know I ain't finished my job yet."
"Doesn't matter," Tommy shrugged.
Joel tilted his head, looking at his brother through half-squinted eyes.
"What're you gettin' at?" he asked, his voice holding a touch of confused irritation.
Tommy chuckled, placing a hand on Joel's shoulder.
"Don't cha got a date tonight?" he asked rhetorically.
"Tommy…" Joel whined, shaking his head.
"Joel," he interrupted, raising his hand up, cutting him off.
"I got someone takin' over for ya. Don't worry – we're good here. You go on and get yourself cleaned up. Don't wantcha bein' late now."
Finally connecting the dots, Joel snorted, holding back a nervous laugh.
"You ain't ever gonna give up on this are ya?" He asked, uncrossing his arms and putting his hands on his hips.
"Nope," Tommy chuckled, giving Joel's shoulder a playful slap. Joel returned the gesture, bringing him in for a side-hug.
"Well, whoever's takin' over for me - I gotta at least let 'em know where I left off," Joel said, stepping back and motioning to the wall.
"Fair enough," Tommy shrugged.
Just then, a third voice called from behind them.
"Hey, Tommy!"
"Speak of the devil," Tommy said with a smirk, turning around to see the source of the voice.
Ellie ran the brush through the horse's mane rhythmically, keeping the same, gentle pressure with each stroke. The steed snorted, which she could only take as a sign of appreciation for her hard work on cleaning him up.
"You're welcome," Ellie said aloud to the horse, pulling the brush back from the russet-colored locks of the stallion. Giving him a gentle pat on his side, she set the brush down on the side of the stable half-wall. The area reeked of hay and horse droppings; the only solace was the open doors on either end of the stables letting a steady breeze sweep through, carrying with it an occasional breath of fresh air.
"Hey kiddo, done already?" came Maria's voice from behind.
Turning around, Ellie saw the blonde woman approaching from the doorway.
"Oh hey, Maria. Yeah I think so," Ellie nodded,
"Jeez, you work fast. I wasn't expecting you to be done for another hour or two." Maria shook her head lightheartedly as she entered the stall.
"You did good," she said with a surprised smirk, reaching up and running her hand through horse's mane, inspecting Ellie's work.
"Thanks," Ellie said through a nervous smile, almost feeling somewhat proud of herself.
"Well, I think that's all I had for ya today," she shrugged, putting her hands on her hips.
Ellie blinked, that satisfied smile vanishing from her face.
"Oh," she paused, eyes looking down at the floor again.
"Should I go home then?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow up at Maria.
"Sure, get on outta here," she snickered, taking a hold of the reins and leading the horse out of its stall.
"Of course, you could always go see if Joel needs any help," she quipped, smirking over her shoulder as she led the horse towards the exit.
Ellie scoffed, giving a deflated half-smile, mulling over that thought for a brief moment.
"Heh, I might," she said at last, sounding reluctant with her words.
"Say hi to 'em for me!" She hollered as she led the horse through the doors.
"Will do," Ellie called, giving half-wave with her hand. Then, shoving both hands in her pockets, she let out a deep, deflated breath. Glancing around, she couldn't help but feel an emptiness now grow inside her. Then a quick groan from her stomach caught her attention.
"Fuck I'm hungry," she muttered, placing a hand on her abdomen. And with that, she headed for the doors.
"Tommy, you don't need t'do this," Joel whined, shaking his head slowly.
"I can finish up here 'n go see Esther later-"
"Joel, please," Tommy interrupted.
"Let me do you a favor for once."
The seriousness in his voice made Joel's mouth snap shut. Joel crossed his arms, looking down as he awkwardly shuffled his feet.
His guilt was starting to show.
The rhythmic shuffle of boots on gravel grew louder as the man Tommy mentioned before approached them. Tommy extended his arm out slightly, turning to greet him.
"Joel, this is the guy I wanted you ta' meet," Tommy said, introducing him as he stopped at his side.
Pulling his head up, Joel's eyes were met with a noticeably younger blue orbs. A strong, recently-shaven jawline outlined a pair of warm smiling lips. The short, brown hair immediately reminded him of his own, holding a similar length and that look of neat chaos that almost appeared messy. His light gray t-shirt seemed to fit comfortably around his well-built, upper body. It showed off the work of a daily grind through the darkened spots under the collar and arms. His navy jeans just the same – telling away their story by the mud stains on the pant legs, leading to a pair of all-too-worn work boots.
Tommy gave him a pat on the shoulder as he pulled him in.
"This is Joe."
"Hey." He greeted warmly, reaching out for a handshake.
"Howdy." Joel replied in a low tone, taking his hand.
Joel quietly raised a brow, noticing the firmness of his grip.
"It's good to finally meet you," Joe said as they finished their handshake.
"Tommy's told me a helluva lot about you."
Joel scoffed.
"Pfft, all good things I hope."
Joel half smiled, shooting Tommy a glance.
"Oh, nothin' but."
Joe shook his head.
"Actually from his stories, I was kinda expecting you to be about eight feet tall." He gave Tommy a playful nudge with his elbow.
Tommy laughed, even bringing Joel to give into a nervous cackle.
"Yeah he's prone t' stretchin' the truth at times." Joel nodded.
Joe shrugged.
"I wouldn't know anything about that..." he said, looking up and away in an obvious display of sarcasm.
"Oh go on..." Tommy mumbled, holding back a laugh.
"Yeah anyway," Joe began, motioning over to the wooden stilts against the town wall.
"I guess I best be takin' over for you so you aren't late for tonight."
Joel sighed.
"Jesus Christ...Does everyone in town know about this already?" Joel muttered, a faint annoyance surfacing in his tone.
Joe smirked over his shoulder.
"Not everyone - just everyone Tommy knows."
Joel snorted, glaring over at his brother.
"So everyone." He quipped.
Tommy laughed. He patted his brother's shoulder, as if that was an apology for not keeping his romantic interests a secret.
"Eh, more or less." He shrugged.
Joel grumbled, rolling his eyes to himself.
He might have been a little annoyed at the big mouthiness of his younger sibling, but he couldn't be all that upset with him.
And Tommy knew it.
"Well I'll leave ya'll to it then. But you git outta here aye-sap, mkay?" Tommy said before turning to leave.
"I got it, I got it..."
Joel nodded, turning with Joe to head back to the wall.
Her stomach growled, growing impatient with the lack of food.
"Mph," she whined, rubbing her abdomen again, feeling that emptiness grow inside her. She quickened her pace as she crossed the town, on her way to see the man she had come to accept as the closest thing she would ever get to a father figure.
All things considered, though, he wasn't a bad example to follow. He might not be the most perfect, but even she knew he cared for her as if she was his own. And that thought alone was comforting in this post-apocalyptic world.
Her stomach growled again, breaking her train of thought.
"Uugh!" she grunted, frustration mounting in her voice.
"The faster I get there, the faster we can eat," she said to herself, as if setting her own motivation.
After a few minutes, she found herself walking through the town square, giving her a slight sense of satisfaction.
"Almost there," she whispered to herself, knowing this marked the middle of the town, and the halfway point of her journey. It wasn't much – just an open square-shaped grassy yard, crisscrossed by concrete walkways, leading to the courthouse.
But it was cleaner – noticeably cleaner. The grass looked recently cut and there were almost no weeds creeping up through the cracks in the walkways like they usually did. Even the courthouse itself was cleaner – the white marble pillars almost appeared to glow in the sunlight; the concrete steps leading up to them still wet from a recent hose-down.
Ellie took in a prolonged look at the sight as she continued her journey, silently raising a brow at the strangeness of it. But her relentless stomach wouldn't let her dwell on anything for long, demanding her attention as she continued on, heading for the south wall.
"A'right, now see this here?"
Joel pointed to one of the wooden joists a few feet away.
"Yeah." Joe nodded.
"Those gotta get reinforced so we can pour concrete through here 'n beef up a backstop for the wall."
"Okay."
"So, you'll wanna support it with another stilt here and here," he explained, pointing to the two spots.
"And jus' continue that down the wall 'til it corners."
"Oh, alright – yeah, I see what you're sayin'. I know where we are then."
Joe immediately passed Joel, stepping over a beam.
Joel quirked a brow, watching him slip through the maze of wood.
"You done this before?" He asked, following him.
Joe gave a nod.
"Yeah, sorta. Did similar stuff on a house a few months back. I usually work with machines, but - Tommy's been havin' me doin' all kinds of stuff lately."
He approached the ending beam, sliding a metal ruler from his jean pocket and placing it against it.
"I've probably done just about every job in this town so far, actually."
"Heh." Joel paused a moment, thinking about the weight of that statement.
"How long have you lived here?"
Joe looked up, breathing in through his nose as he thought.
"Uh, about a year I think. I got here last fall." He shrugged.
"Wasn't too long after you left."
Joel blinked.
"I left?" He asked, half squinting at the oddly casual tone of his remark.
Joe pulled back from the beam, raising a brow at Joel.
He was less sure of his assumption now.
"Didn't you? Tommy said you left for Colorado, like, late last summer-"
"Ohhh that." Joel groaned. He had almost forgotten about that.
"Yeah, I had, uh…I had some...business to take care of."
He looked down, his tone sounding almost somber.
Joe gave a slow nod, as if he knew what that meant.
"I understand." Joe replied, slowly crossing his arms.
"I know a lot about 'business', too."
He pointed his index finger to a small, silver cross hanging from a thin chain around his neck.
Looking back up at him, Joel noticed his gesture, eyes fixing on the small, shiny cross dangling from his necklace. His words echoing in his head, Joel wondered what he could mean before the realization hit him.
The style – the texture – the size of that necklace.
It belonged to someone else.
Joel's lips parted; a metaphorical drop of the jaw as he slowly began to understand the magnitude of what he just said. Joel stared at him momentarily, trying to digest his words. He wasn't sure exactly what – or even who – this boy had lost, but he had a feeling that somehow the two had some sort of mutual understanding that transcended whatever words they were using.
"I'm sorry." Joel murmured.
He reached up to place a hand on Joe's shoulder.
Joe quickly brushed away his action.
"Don't be. I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows what loss is."
He shrugged, giving a weak smile.
"Mm, you'd be right about that." Joel murmured, just barely loud enough for Joe to hear.
Joe nodded slowly, letting his eyes trail to the ground in thought.
A brief silence passed between them.
"Welp, anyway," Joe pipped up, gesturing towards the wall.
"I'll finish up here. You better get goin'."
He glanced down at his black wrist watch for a time-check.
"Yeah, you're prolly right." Joel said, scratching the back of his neck.
"I better git outta here before the 'Boss Man' comes back." He winked.
Joe laughed.
"Yeah, that's probly wise." He nodded.
"But it was good to meetcha, Joel." He said, reaching out for another handshake.
Joel gave in to a genuine smile as he took his hand again.
"Likewise."
And with that quick gesture, the two men separated.
Joel turned to leave, stepping back over a few beams as he made his way out of the work area.
Hearing the sounds of construction up ahead, Ellie heaved a sigh of relief.
"Ugh, finally," she said to herself as the wooden planks mounted against the town's barrier came into view. Her eyes quickly scanned the place for Joel, hoping to find him before her stomach turned inside out. Then, seeing that familiar figure stepping over a maze of wooden planks, Ellie couldn't help but smile.
"Hey Joel!" she called, flashing him a wave.
Joel's head shot up at the sound of her voice, noticing it even through all the noise around him. Eyes quickly spotting her walking towards him, his smile spread from ear to ear.
"Ell-lay!" he yelled out, throwing his arms out to either side. Her grin deepened at his action, compelling her to quicken her pace to a quick jog as she ran right into his arms. Snatching her up, Joel briefly picked her up off her feet, squeezing her tight into his chest. She silently reveled in his warmth, soaking in as much of it as she could – even in the heat of the late summer afternoon. She squeezed him back, prolonging the moment just a second longer before he set her back down.
"What're you doin' here?" He asked.
He was a bit surprised by her presence.
"I thought you were workin' in the stables?"
"I was."Ellie nodded.
"Maria let me off early."
She shrugged, turning both palms upwards.
"Good behavior, I guess?"
Joel scoffed.
"Good behavior? You? Now that's a laugh," he teased, nudging her shoulder.
"Ha-ha. Fuck you, too," she replied, rolling her eyes to hide a smile creeping up underneath.
Joel nodded.
"Alright, alright. Well, Tommy let me off early, too," he began, scratching his beard some.
"So I guess we'll head on back-"
"For dinner?" Ellie interjected, looking at him with an almost hopeful stare.
Joel paused, raising a brow.
"You hungry already?"
"Star-ving."
"Well we better git you home before you starve to death," he snorted.
He reached his arm across her shoulders as they set off.
A few minutes of quietness passed between the two before Ellie pipped up again.
"Oh, Maria says hi, by the way."
"Heh, well then tell her I said hi back," he teased, giving her far shoulder a squeeze.
Ellie snickered. That was such an obvious answer it almost sounded dumb.
"Hah – okay."
"Well if you won't I'm sure Tommy will." Joel said just barely loud enough for her to hear.
Ellie quirked a brow at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Joel scoffed, shaking his head.
"Nuthin'." He smirked.
Ellie stared at him for a moment, her skeptical eyes trying to find some meaning behind his words. But she quickly shrugged it off, knowing that whatever he meant must not have been that important.
Or at least, not important to her.
"So what's for dinner?" She asked.
"Hmm," Joel thought aloud, giving his bearded chin a stroke.
"Well we could always-"
"Hey Joel?" called a voice, interrupting him.
Joel slowly looked over his shoulder, brow raised in a slight display of annoyance at the interruption. But immediately seeing who it was, he stopped, relaxing his appearance.
"Oh hey Joe," he replied, finding a smile slip across his face. Dropping his arm from Ellie's back, he turned around to greet him.
Ellie noticed the absence of his arm immediately and frowned. She turned around as well, curious to see just who could have caused that to happen.
"What can I do ya for?" Joel asked.
"Well I came by t' see if you still had the hammer on you, by chance? I can't find it up there."
Joe pointed back over his shoulder with a thumb.
Joel patted his pockets, immediately feeling that tell-tale shape of the hammer sticking out over the hem of his jeans.
"Oh, shit," he muttered.
"Yeah I do – my bad. Here you go," He said
"Ah, no worries – thanks," Joe replied as Joel handed it off to him.
A rather awkward silence formed between them for a moment, before Joe glanced over at the smaller, red-headed girl standing next to Joel. His smile widened in realization.
"Is this Ellie?" Joe asked, giving a nod towards her.
"Eyep, this is Ellie," Joel replied, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey! It's good to finally meet you," he said, extending his hand out to her for a shake. He gave her the same earnest smile that he had given Joel earlier.
"Yeah, you too…I guess," she stammered, sounding a bit unsure of exactly who he was as she reluctantly took his hand.
She immediately felt the softness of his fingertips upon his touch, noticing how strange that felt compared to the calloused, aged hands she had grown used to with Joel.
It was oddly kind of nice.
"Ellie - this is Joe." Joel explained.
"He took over f'er me at the wall taday."
"Yeah, your dad was slackin' so they sent 'em packin." Joe joked, giving Joel a wink.
Ellie and Joel shot one another a glance.
"Well…he's not really my dad, per say," Ellie began, scrunching her face some as the fumbled through her words.
Joe tilted his head some, seeming confused by her statement.
"I kinda promised someone I'd look after 'er." Joel finished, patting Ellie on the shoulder.
Joe nodded slowly.
"Ohhh, I gotcha."
He looked down briefly at the grass, a melancholic expression taking over.
"I understand that."
Ellie noticed the sudden softness in his voice, making her raise a brow at him.
"Yeah?"
She looked at him as if wanting some further explanation.
Joe looked back up at her with a seriousness in his eyes - a coldness she wasn't expecting.
"Yeah."
The softness of his answer instantly shut her up.
She had clearly struck a nerve.
"Well anyway – thanks for the hammer." Joe said at last, returning the conversation back to the lightheartedness it had before.
He forced a weak grin towards them.
"See ya'll later."
He gave them a quick, two-finger salute as he turned to head back to the wall.
"Nice meetin' you, Ellie." He waved.
The two gave him a casual wave back as he left.
"Y'er welcome – see ya 'round." Joel called as he turned around to continue on home.
Ellie followed suit, following Joel back home. But Joe's words echoed in her head.
She had gotten the feeling that he was hiding something - but she couldn't pin-point just what that was.
He understood what "taking care of someone" means? She thought. How could he understand that?
Ellie pondered those words - until her stomach interrupted her again, reminding her of how hungry she still was.
Sliding her hands into her jean pockets, Ellie sighed.
"So what did we say was for dinner?"
Joel shrugged.
"Eh, I think we still got us some canned beans left," he replied, laying his arm across her shoulders again.
She scoffed, placing a hand on her stomach.
"At this point, I'd fucking eat anything."
Joel smirked as a quick thought entered his head.
Leaning down, he murmured into her ear.
"Well if you're gonna eat a clock, jus' know that it's very time consumin'."
He smirked, looking at her out the corner of his eye as if to wait for her reaction.
"Oh my god, Joel..." She whined, dropping her shoulders at his joke.
She looked up at him, shaking her head.
Joel burst out laughing, pulling her closer. Her heavy cringed at the terrible pun only made it that much more hilarious to him.
"Oh come on! That's funny!" he pleaded, squeezing her shoulder.
Ellie rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. That's a good one."
She knew it was a terrible joke.
But it made her smile anyway.