It seems like every chapter I'm apologizing for being late. Enjoy.

Winter

Ellie's POV

I wake up to the smell of roasting meat, I got up and checked Joel's temperature like I do every hour and each time with the same result, burning hot with fever. I make my way upstairs and find Jake roasting some rabbit on a fire.

"Hey." He said as I sat down by the fire and warmed my hands.

"You're up early." I stated.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep." He said.

He occasionally does this, sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night, in cold sweat, gasping for air. Ever since I... admitted to killing his parents a few months ago gotten a bit cold and distant and I don't blame him, I mean I killed his parents, what does that do to a person?

"How's Joel?" he asked.

"The same." I replied. Joel's been in a coma for two months, I'm afraid if we don't find medicine soon he could die.

"I went scavenging and I found some of this." he said throwing me a box filled with…. girl stuff.

"Thanks." I said, blushing. I ran into that problem a month before I met Jake and faced it again a little after Joel fell into his coma. It was pretty awkward when Joel had to deal with it and the awkwardness only increased when Jake had too also.

"Here." He said as he handed me half of the rabbit.

I bit down, savoring its taste and warmth against the snow. We've been hunting ever since we got settled down here. We usually bagged rabbits and raccoons, but occasionally we got lucky and bagged something a bit bigger like a turkey or a fox. Jakes still not very good with guns but he's actually a decent shot with Joel's scoped hunting rifle, but he usually leaves the actual hunting to me and my bow.

"We're running low on food, not to mention it's getting harder to find game." Jake said.

"What do you suggest we do?" I asked.

"I say we go poke a hornet's nest." He said.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"We take Joel's rifle, we go find a big animal, like deer or something, and we bag it. One deer will be enough to last us the whole winter." He replied.

"Most of them are in hibernation, and the sound could attract infected or hunters."I said, last thing we need are some bandits tracking us down for supplies.

"I saw some deer prints in the forest today. One shot, that's all I need." Jake asked, this made me reconsider a bit. We were running pretty low on food and such and it was only getting colder and colder. The reward might outweigh the risk.

"Okay we'll go, just let me get my bow." I replied.

The car broke down a bit after we got here, something to do with the engine block, so were stuck walking to where ever we needed to go. Which, in this case, I didn't really mind, the walk to the forest was almost always silent and the scenery was beautiful. The only problem was that it was cold; I swapped out my long sleeved shirt to my purple hoodie and green jacket combo from back at the zone, they had gotten a bit smaller on me, but they were fine. They still covered up the bite.

Jake on the other hand, was initially out of luck, He had almost nothing to protect him against the snow. We had to go raid a thrift shop in order to find him a winter jacket. He settled for a dark blue coat with side pockets that he stored bullets in.

We finally made it to the forest; we treaded across the snow as quietly as we could, checking for any tracks along the way. Eventually Jake spotted something in the distance, I looked out and, wouldn't you know it, a deer. I motioned him to be quiet and cocked my bow with an arrow; we have a bit of routine. Whenever we see bigger game, I try to kill it with my bow, if I don't kill it or if I miss, and it runs off, Jake gets to shoot it with the rifle.

I crouch and walk up a bit closer, lining up the dear in my sights. I release my hold on the bow string, I see the arrow zip through the air and lodge itself deep in the deer's chest. The deer, however, wasn't dead as it took off running further into the forest. Jake lined the deer up in his sights and fired, this time shooting it in the neck and making it tumble down the hill.

We chased after it, sliding down the hill in the process. We passed through some creepy shacks that looked like they could collapse at any second. By the time we got there the deer was on its side; the eyes were still open from the shock.

As we approached the fallen deer, I heard footsteps that were way too heavy and loud to be ours. I knocked my bow and Jake raised his rifle and called out. "Alright we can hear you, come on out!"

Two men, one unarmed and one with a rifle slung over his shoulder, stepped out from behind a tree. The one with the rifle replied "We just wanna talk okay?"

I replied."Any sudden moves and we both put one between your eyes."

"We're from a bigger group, women, children, we're all very hungry." He said.

"Us too, now turn around and leave." Jake replied. Lying, so we could have the deer to ourselves.

"Here, I'm David this is my friend James. Maybe we could trade you some supplies for that deer?, ammo, food, medicine?" He said, he caught me at the medicine part, could they have what Joel needs?

"Antibiotics, do you have any antibiotics?" I asked.

"We have some back at the camp, you're both welcome to follow us back-"" He replied before I cut him off.

"We're staying right where we are, buddy boy over there can grab it, if he comes back with it. The deer's all yours." I offered. Joel needs that medicine.

"Alright, James go grab a syringe and two bottles of penicillin." He said as James started to take off. James, Jake, Joel, damn I know a lot J's.

We stood there for a bit, Jake still aiming down the scope, on David's head. I, still having a knocked arrow pointed at the guy's heart.

"I'll take that rifle of yours." I said, more like commanded.

He carefully and slowly took the rifle from his shoulder and handed it to me. I quickly put away my bow and arrow, and aimed the rifle at him. David finally spoke. "He's probably gonna be a while, how about we go warm up inside?" He motioned with his head towards one of the more intact shacks.

I looked at Jake for a moment. He shrugged as if to say, 'It is pretty cold out here.'

"Alright, take the deer and drag him inside." I told David.

By the time David had dragged the buck in to the shack, Jake had already started a fire. David sat down and warmed his hands over the fire. "Y'know it's not safe for you two to be out here on your own." He stated.

"We can take care of ourselves." Jake replied.

"Oh can you!" he said chuckling at, our presumed naivety. Jake said nothing.

"So what are your names?" David asked.

"Why?" I asked back.

"Look I'm just trying to be friendly that's all." He replied.

Suddenly the all too familiar sound that anyone who's survived this long in the apocalypse knows by heart, sounded through the forest, Clickers. First time in a while we had encountered infected, they seemed to freeze up in the snow.

"Oh shit!" He said, as he ran to look out the windows. Jake picked up his rifle and I got my pistol out, we both aimed it at the windows, waiting for any infected.

Soon enough a runner appeared at one of the windows, clawing at the boards, trying to get in. Jake raised his rifle and shot one in the head, killing it instantly. A few more showed up near the windows, I moved a bit closer, bringing up my pistol to the heads of each infected and shooting them. Soon enough more infected came up and started breaking through the boards. Jake must have realized that we don't have nearly enough bullets to take on that much infected, and ran over too an ancient book shelf and motioned me to come help him. We were in the middle of moving the shelf in the way of the windows, hopefully delaying the infected, when suddenly I was grabbed through one of the windows by a clicker.

Jake tried to raise his rifle to shoot, but was too slow as David took out a pistol behind his back and shot the clicker right off me. "You had a second gun!" I half yelled as I picked my rifle up from where I dropped it.

"Sorry." He replied.

We fought like this for about a minute; taking shots at the infected lining up at the door. It was only when they finally broke through the windows and started getting inside, we decided to bail. David busted through the door and ran onto some kind of walkway, above a bunch of ancient machines.

David and I we're already across when the walkway Jake was running across collapsed: taking him along with it. "You okay!" I called out.

"I'm fine, just busted my fucking ass, that's all." He replied as he got up from the wreckage.

"You should really watch your language." David said.

Jake scoffed. "That's not gonna happen old man."

David was about reply when he was cut off by the sound of clickers. "Look try make your way up, we'll be waiting at the back."

"Just be careful, alright?" In the harsh winter cold I'd gotten to care about Jake, I really don't want him to get himself killed.

David and I ran across the walkways, David taking out some clickers along the way with his pistol. I could hear the screech of clickers, a lot of shots, and Jakes grunts of struggle, but he isn't screaming so I figure he's fine. After more running, David and I jump down to the lower level, eyeing a ladder in the corner that could be the way out.

"Here this way." David said as he started to climb up the ladder.

"We have to wait for him." I said defiantly.

"Just leave him alright?" David said forcefully.

"I'm not leaving him." I said, putting emphasis on the 'not'.

"Leave who?" Jake said, grinning, as he stepped out from behind a wall. His jacket was stained with infected blood, but other than that he was fine, good.

"Let's just get out of here." David replied.

We climbed up the ladder and ran through a hallway leading to a fairly big room with, a few mattresses, some supplies and a couple dead bodies. "Looks like these guys didn't make it." I said, picking up some arrows while examining the bodies.

"I was looking for these boys; they disappeared a few weeks back." David said, with remorse in his voice.

Suddenly the groan, and scuffle, of infected sounded out from the hallway and into the room. "Is there any way out?" I exclaimed, frantically looking around for an exit.

"No it's a dead end!" David replied, reloading his pistol.

An unconscious agreement was passed along us, it was either stand our ground or die. The first infected came bursting out the door, it was met with a rifle bullet exploding its head from Jake. The second and the third one came running through the door and was almost halfway there before David stopped killed them both with his pistol. It continued on like this for a bit before somehow the infected got on the roof. The fucking roof! Soon enough clickers started jumping down from an opening in the ceiling, but a few nail bombs were enough to take care of them.

Until a bloater showed up, fuck. Its fat overgrown body stumbling with each step, roaring as it recovered from its fall. So in addition to runners sprinting at us from the corridors, clickers dropping from the ceiling, we have an immensely powered bloater up our ass too! The bloater started shooting its spore bombs as it stumbled towards us, forcing us to split up.

Jake ran by the dead bodies and grabbed something I couldn't see, as I tried to fight off a runner before I eventually shived it with my switchblade. Next thing I know is that I hear the eruption of flames and screams of pain. I look over my shoulder and see a bloater on fire, trying desperately and fruitlessly to put the flames out. It stumbles and knocks into a group of infected, setting them ablaze, soon enough all the infected in the room were on fire. Jake has a look and smile of satisfaction on his face as all the infected finally die from the flame. It's over, I realize as I look around the room at all the charred bodies on the floor.

"Guess that Molotov took care of them." Jake chuckled as he looked around the room.

"You did that? Wow." David said.

I walk over and high five Jake as we go looting for supplies. After a few minutes we're convinced that we've got everything and we step into the corridor. We eventually make it back to where we started, our buck still laying there, untouched. We settled by the fire warming our hands like nothing ever happened.

"I say we did pretty good out there." David said, grinning as he looked over at us from the fire.

"Luck, that's all there is too it." Jake said as he warmed his hands over the fire.

"Luck? There's no such thing as luck." David said. Jake said nothing.

"See I believe that things happen for a reason." He continued.

I scoffed at that. "Sure, whatever."

"I can prove it too you. See a few months ago, I sent out a group too look for supplies at a nearby town. Only a few returned, they said they had been slaughtered by a crazy man, and you know what? They said the crazy man had a little boy and girl with them." I froze up in shock. Jake grabbed his rifle and I got my pistol as we both started backing up to the door. I can't believe it, this fucker sent out the group who put Joel in a fucking coma?

"James, put the gun down." He said as I looked over my shoulder at the James guy holding a gun, behind us.

"No way, these two were the ones at the university!" he said.

"Put the gun down." David said forcefully.

James put the gun down. "Now give them the medicine." David continued, James threw the medicine at my feet; I scooped it up and put it in my coat pocket. Jake and I backed out the door, still pointing our guns.

"You know, we can take care of you two." David offered.

"No thanks." I said as we ran back to the house, like I said it's kind of a long way to the house but we still ran all the way. When we got there we were both out of breath and scared shitless too. We both walked down to the basement, giving Joel the medicine we got from James. He mumbled a bit in his sleep when we were done, but he seemed fine. Jake went up stairs to keep watch as I layed down next to Joel and fell asleep.

That took a hell of a long time to write.

I've been promising this chapter for a while, so I hope this lived up to your expectations, also I think this is the biggest chapter yet. I probably could've split it into two parts, but I thought you guys deserve better. Real quick, does anyone notice that Ellie has a WAY different pistol in the winter that she had in the fall? I thought about including it in the chapter but I left it out. Also the 'Girl Stuff' part was a reference to the fanfic of the same name, check it out if you haven't.

Until next time

-Jogman