DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN 'LAST OF US,' NAUGHTY DOG DOES.
Ellie woke up to the sweet aroma of fresh eggs and toast. She looked over, and saw a snoring Joel, with one arm draped over her stomach. She gently nudged Joel, trying to wake him.
"Joel. Joel, it's time to get up." He kept on snoring. Most of the time, he would bolt up without another word. Ellie figured that he hadn't had a good night of rest, so she let him sleep a little more than he should have.
Ellie changed into her jeans and put her navy blue t-shirt on, with her white long sleeve shirt on; she didn't want to spook anyone at the gate with her bite mark. She quietly shut the door, not wanting any noise disrupting Joel, and tip toed to the kitchen.
Maria was setting the table, while Tommy was cleaning his pistol. He looked up at Ellie and smiled.
"Good morning, Ellie. You want to go grab your gun, and clean it real quick? There's some talk goin' 'round about some people campin' out in the woods. We're gonna go and see what the whole thing is about, and see if we should eliminate the threat, or if there's a threat at all." Ellie nodded.
Maria shook her head and reprimanded Tommy, "Stop it, Tommy! That is not the kind of talk a fourteen year old girl should hear! I doubt that she's a murderer. She probably has only killed the Infected." Ellie scoffed, but let it go.
Maria turned to Ellie and said, "I bet you're sick of all this talk. Why don't you eat some eggs and toast. I have fresh orange juice for you. It was picked just this morning!" Ellie smiled, and nodded.
"Of course, Maria. Thank you." Maria filled Ellie's plate with two eggs and a piece of toast. Ellie finished the orange juice in one sip, and awed at how good it was.
After about ten minutes, Tommy turned to Ellie and asked, "Is my brother still sleepin'?" Ellie nodded and took the last bite of her toast. She carried her plate to the sink, and washed the plate down.
"I'll go get him." She walked to the room, leaving Maria to talk to Tommy.
Maria turned to Tommy and said, "Stop talking to Ellie about that stuff; I realize that she has been out on her own for the majority of her life, but she needs to-." She was caught off by a yelling Ellie.
"Holy f***ing sh*t, Joel!" They heard a door slam.
Ellie re-emerged from the room, with her backpack. She was blushing so hard, you couldn't tell her apart from a tomato. She rushed out of the house, going to the gate early.
After a few minutes, Joel entered the dining room, noticing the confused looks on Maria and Tommy's face.
"What the hell happened?" Joel huffed.
"Nothin' to worry about, Tommy. I was jus' gettin' ready, aand forgot to lock the door." Joel left quickly, leaving Maria and Tommy to ponder on their thoughts.
What the hell did Ellie see?
Tommy arrived at the gate a little after Joel did. He introduced Ellie and Joel to the rest of the guards, and told them that Ellie was the only exception.
A tall, fit man scrutinuzed Ellie and scoffed. He faced Tommy and said, "You said if you ever make an exception, it would be for my son! Now you're letting a fourteen year old girl join the team? What the f*** are you thinking?" Tommy growled and stepped forward.
"Ellie is more qualified to be here than you and your son put together. Her kill rate is higher than the entire team, not even counting the Infected. What I say goes." He sneered. The man backed away, the dangerous gleam not leaving his eyes.
Tommy ordered the team to round up the horses and carry all of their weapons; the trip might go south.
Ellie smiled and went to get her riding horse. She decided that she would ask Tommy what his name was. Her smiled faded, thinking about Callus. F*** those pigeonheads.
"F*** those pigeonheads? What the hell are pigeonheads?" She turned around and saw a smirking Joel.
"Yeah, big brains and all that kind of sh*t. Those motherf***ers deserved to die for what they did to Callus." Joel nodded in agreement.
"You'd think that you would want to avenge them for what they did to you, not that horse." Ellie shook her head.
"Nope. Callus was family."
The team only had five guys, not including Tommy, Ellie, and Joel. Ellie found out that the guy that spoke out during their introduction, was named Peter. Some of the men in the team were okay that Ellie was joining, but were weary since she was in fact only fourteen.
The team set out in the woods, Tommy in the front, and the others behind him. Peter kept on shooting angry looks at Ellie, and shaking his head, disapprovingly. He rode up past her, trying to show her who's boss.
Joel growled in Peter's direction, not afraid to blow his head off. Ellie turned around, looking at Joel; she shook her head, telling him not to interfere.
Ellie could imagine what Peter was feeling; a teenage girl carrying a gun... Yeah, that's safe. She knew if she wanted to be taken seriously, she would have to be mature, and not react to Peter's hateful glares.
After a while, Tommy caught sight a black smoke coming from an area that was about a mile away. They went into the direction of the smoke, and saw about ten people lighting flame to an old house.
Tommy was the first one off his horse, not noticed by the people. Ellie grabbed her shotgun and climbed off her horse.
The rest of the team followed Tommy's lead, watching as the people separated, looking if anyone was left behind. Ellie soon realized the mission would have to be stealth-like. She quickly traded her shotgun for her bow; 15 arrows. She smiled, and aimed her bow at one of the people standing in front of the door. She watched as the man fell lifeless on the floor; not giving away the team's position.
Joel had sneaked up on two of the people, and shivved them in the throat. Tommy signalled the team; telling them to go ahead and end them.
Ellie didn't hesitate; she took her shiv out from her pocket, and took three other guards. She turned and saw Peter choking two guards, and then killing them both by smashing their heads together. Damn.
A man came up from behind her, choking her. She growled, trying to get out of his grasp. She drove her shiv in his eye, releasing her. She took the opportunity to grab her shotgun and smash his face in with the end of the gun. She turned around and saw Joel killing another man. When Joel had killed him, she moved to find Tommy and the rest of the team.
She was about to leave, but heard voices behind the house.
"She's a f***ing child. She has no idea how to take care of herself and you know it. She'll hold us up; yeah sure, she did okay back there." Ellie was filled with anger.
She rounded the corner and saw Peter and Tommy conversing.
"What the f*** do you mean I'm childish? I just f***ing killed five people! If you ask me, you're the immature one! You didn't have the balls to come and tell that to my face! You have no idea of what I've been through; so you sure as hell cannot judge me. Joel and I have been through the kind of sh*t you could only imagine. I know who I am and what I am able to do, and I sure as hell won't let someone tell me about myself." Peter's eyes were clouded with anger.
Joel had overheard the entire conversation; silently applauding Ellie for the things she said. He watched as she walked away, not caring if they had an audience. Joel saw as Peter moved to follow her with fists clenched. F*** no.
Joel stepped in, and held onto Peter's arm aggresively. Joel sneered, "You don't want to do that."
The team went back to the horses, and decided to walk around the perimeter before going back into town. Joel stayed behind the other teammates, seeing if Ellie was okay.
Ellie sighed and said, "I'm fine, Joel." Joel scoffed.
"No, you're not. You just need to let them warm up to you."
Ellie shook her head, "They don't even know you, yet the trust you one hundred percent!"
"No, they don't. Give 'em some time. It took me a couple of months to really trust you; don't worry, just let 'em get to know you. I know I liked you more once I knew I could count on you."
The team continued, not finding any threats. They went to the stables, and brushed their horses down. Once they were finished, Tommy gave them orders.
"Peter, you can go home to your son, since you have had a double shift. Tanner, Ashton, and Ben, I need you to guard the crops; make sure the fences aren't distributing waves of shock since the women will be in there. Joel and Ellie, you can guard the perimeter."
Ellie and Joel stood guard for the next five hours, seeing if there was going to be any trouble. Ellie kept her eyes trained on the outer area, trying to think about anything other than Joel, and their morning mishap.
Joel knew Ellie was avoiding any kind of contact with him; he wanted to give her the space she wanted, but he also wanted to dissolve the tension in the air.
After a few hours, Tommy arrived, and pulled Joel off to the side, "Peter has told his son about Ellie, and how she's allowed on the team. Listen man, I allowed Ellie to do this because I knew she could take care of herself. But I don't want every father and their son to join in. Peter's son has told all the other kids in town about Ellie, and now they're really kinda p***ed off. I know this is Ellie's first real shot at a semi-normal life, and I don't want her to get off on a bad start. It's up to you, Joel; she is welcome to stay on the team, and she is allowed to leave."
A thousand thoughts swam in Joel's head. He nodded, turning back to his post, but was stopped by Tommy.
"I need an answer soon; tomorrow." Joel nodded, weary of what the night held, and how Ellie might react.
F***, she's going to go all 'Tess' on my a**.
A/N: I about had a heart attack with the amount of people who reviewed!
A huge thank you to Ivyec (thank you!), doomsta27 (I am obsessed with the Walking Dead! Thank you so much, I'm really glad you're enjoying this! I totally agree- she showed it in this chapter!), ThatChickontheInternet (I am a HUGE Daryl and Merle fan too! ******HUGE SPOILER ALERT: I hated it when my favorite elder Dixon died... I agree- I should have put Tommy as Merle... I'm just stupid sometime :p), Sr. Anonimo (Thank you so much!), itsnotelliesturn (thank you for understanding!), and kkman57 (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE IDEAS! :D I will definitely include them in later chapters... ;D) for reviewing!
I am open to any suggestions! :D