GUARDIAN, TLOU

10.

Three months had past, and the autumn turned into winter, snow covering the roads and mountains, for miles. They had been moving around a lot but the cold was making it harder to travel, especially without a car.

The wound caused by Sam and Henry had almost fully healed, however, guilt still resided in the minds of the three, all feeling somewhat responsible for their deaths.

Ellie attempted to put up a front, not wanting either Joel nor Josephine to see her upset. Although, the two weren't oblivious, both well aware of the girl's pain and comforting her in their own ways; Joel teaching her how to shoot more accurately and feeding her some of his food as well as her own, and Jo hugging Ellie close, in the middle of the night, keeping her warm through the harsh winter and telling her own jokes she'd found in Ellie's book.

Currently, the trio were found in a small wooden cabin in the middle of nowhere. An old lady sat in the middle of the room, waiting calmly as her husband returns from hunting. She'd been interrogated by Joel, asked where they currently were and pointed at their location on a map. Then, she'd supplied them all with hot bowls of soup.

Ellie was above them all, standing upstairs which overlooked the bottom floor.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard in the snow, and the handle to the door was grasped, pushed open by the old lady's husband.

He paused, taking in the scene of two adults pointing guns at his wife. He lowered his bow and arrow slowly, watching Joel who took a step forward.

"And the gun," he urged the man to remove his other weapon, placing it beside him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Just someone passin' through. Take the gun out, two fingers only, put it outta reach."

The man turned to his wife, "Why didn't you shoot him?"

"The gun's all the way over there. He didn't hurt me, by the way."

"Yeah, I got eyes. You made him soup?" he asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, I did. It's cold out."

Cutting to the chase, Joel spoke, "I'm lookin' for my brother."

The man scoffs, "Well, I ain't seen him."

"I haven't told you what he looks like."

"He look anything like you?"

"A bit."

"Then I ain't seen him."

"They've got a girl with them."

Jo ground her teeth in mild annoyance, Ellie had begrudgingly stayed upstairs, but now being mentioned, she would obviously reveal herself, and even with the man weaponless, he could easily shoot her with a small quick movement.

"Can I come down?" Ellie shouted.

Having been silent through the entire exchange, Jo turned her head, shaking it harshly, "Ellie, no."

"No. Ellie!" echoed Joel.

Ellie rebelled, ignoring their warnings and running down the steps.

"Ooh-wa," chuckled the couple.

Joel sighed frustratedly, gesturing to himself and Jo, "What did we just say?"

"Joel, come on. They're, like, a thousand."

"Who's this little psycho?"

"That's not something you need to be aware of," snapped Jo.

"I need you to tell us where we are," Joel lifted his arm to Jo, beckoning for the map as she retrieved it from her coat pocket.