HELL BREAKS | tlou hbo

CHAPTER XIV - HELLO, BROTHER

The wind rushed into her ears, goosebumps erupting on her skin, but she didn't want to put that coat on again. Instead, she crossed her arms across her chest, pulling her jacket closer around her body. She was leaned up against an abandoned car on the highway, breathing deeply, her eyes sitting on the back of Ellie's head. The other girl had been understandably, but unusually quiet since what had happened. She kept to herself, came in and out of the world depending on what was happening, usually sat further away whenever they were searching or she wasn't necessarily needed for something.

"Hey! Girls!" Joel called gently, but it sounded like he had been trying to get their attention for a while. Noah turned her head away from Ellie as Ellie lifted her own head up, both staring at the man with confusion. "D'ya hear me?"

"No. What?" Ellie asked mildly.

The man looked between them with concern, but lifted up a can to show them. "Well, I found this in there. Beefaroni. Chef Boyardee."

"Oh, cool," Ellie replied after briefly glancing at Noah, noticing how she had zoned back out.

"And... And have either of you ever played this?" Joel questioned, pulling out a box from under his arm, walking over and tapping Noah on the shoulder. She lifted her head up from her boots, blinking at the man, her heart having raced at the sudden touch. She calmed down when she saw it was just Joel. He carefully moved her around to the back of the truck Ellie was sitting on, showing them both the box. "Boggle? It's a word game."

"No," Noah said, shaking her head.

Joel pursed his lips, seeing the girl looking around her, seeming as if she was going to zone out again in a few seconds. "Well, if you wanna beat me at somethin', it would be this." Ellie nodded, and Noah went back to staring at her boots. "Well, alright then. We're gettin' close. Saw a sign for a hospital. Could be the one we're lookin' for."

Noah zoned back in, hearing the hospital was close by. "Let's go then."

Joel nodded, wandering further away, packing away the stuff he'd found. Ellie took her time sliding off the back of the truck, grabbing her backpack, and Noah watched her for a minute.

"You okay?" Ellie asked, checking up on her as she stood upright again, fiddling with the straps on her backpack as she looked up at her.

"Yeah, I'm, uh... I'm good," Noah lied through her teeth. "You?"

"Peachy," Ellie breathed out.

Both of them knew they were lying, but they didn't want to push each other. Noah knew it wasn't the biggest issue at hand, but sometimes her mind wandered to what had happened before Ellie ran out to distract David's men. She wondered if Ellie had done that just to shut her up, or because she actually felt the same. But then again, neither were going to bring it up, too scared to see how the other truly felt. It seemed miniscule compared to everything else that happened the same day, yet both of them found themselves coming back to it every now and then.

The two of them wandered over to Joel, the man glancing up at them. He stood up, slipping the rifle off his shoulder. "Take this for me?"

Noah swallowed for a moment, before nodding, pushing past the tight feeling in her chest.

Joel put his backpack on properly before holding out his hand again. Noah shoved it back over to him, letting out a breath once it was out of her hands. "Thanks."

The three of them started to walk down the abandoned highway, cars covered in plants and vegetation. It was even worse than the highways in Boston, it seemed the plants had grown more over the past couple months, even with the cruel winter.