GUARDIAN, TLOU

8.

"Jo! Joel!"

Jo is abruptly awoken from her slumber by a loud, panicked, shout.

Ellie's shout.

Her eyes snap open, meeting the barrel of a gun, held by a small kid, his eyes surrounded with paint.

Across from him, a man in his early twenties pointed a gun to Ellie's head, twitching nervously, as though he wasn't the one threatening them. "Eyes on me. Eyes on me. You don't have to worry about what to say. We don't wanna hurt you. We wanna help you. Okay. Okay, um... I don't know what the next step is with something like this, but if I lower my gun... we didn't hurt you... so you don't hurt us... right?"

Jo and Joel shared a small look, thinking the same thing. He's harmless.

"That's right."

The man furrowed his brows, holding the gun tighter as his voice slightly shook, nervously, "That's a weird fuckin' tone, man."

"That's just the way he sounds. He has an asshоlе voice. Joel, tell him he's okay," came Ellie's panicked tone.

Joel huffed, "Everything is great."

"Dude," exaggerated Ellie.

Beside him, Jo rolled her eyes, muttering to him quietly, "Can't you just reply like a normal person, held at gunpoint, would?"

He simply glared in retaliation.

"Fuck! Okay... listen... I'm gonna trust you. Yes. But if either of you guys try anything... yeah? Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Joel looked between the two intruders, "Can I sit up?"

"Yeah. Slow. Get up slow."

Jo sighed, questioning the man as she watched Ellie looked around nervously, "What's your names?"

"I'm Henry. That's my brother, Sam. I'm the most wanted man in Kansas City. Although right now... my guess is you're running a close second," he explained, lowering the gun once he saw the shared looks by the group.

***

They all sat in a circle, though it was slightly divided; the brothers on the left with Jo, Joel, and Ellie, on the right. The light, in between them all, allowing the newcomers to see every detail on each person's face, more clearly.

After some more talking, the guns had been dropped from their aim, now tucked away safely. Food was handed to the hungry brothers and Jo watched silently as the little boy scoffed down his share.

"Where'd you get these?" he asked, nibbling on more.

"From Bill. He's dead," Ellie explained.

Jo to blinked at Ellie's bluntness words, mouth parted open as she looked up at Joel to see his reaction. He looked back at her tiredly, shrugging his shoulders in renounce.

The younger boy—Sam—began signing to the group, Henry taking in his comment and translating for the rest, "He says thank you. I'm guessing you don't have much, so... this means a lot."

"How old is he?" Ellie asks, though, Jo is curious herself.

Henry looked back to his brother, asking Sam the same question and letting him reply, before translating for the rest, "He's eight."

Jo's breath hitched, her fingers curling into her palms. He was the same age Theo was. The reminder made her swallow thickly, shoving down the rancid burn of bile that reached her taste buds.

Beside her, Joel tilted his head her way, hearing the slight pause of breath and catching her stiffness. He said nothing but nudged her gently, gaining her attention. His brows furrowed as a clear question was communicated through his eyes: