Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CINDY HAD TO catch her breath for a while by the time they'd stopped running. So did Ellie. Joel just kept walking. He was visibly pissed. Frustrated. Angry at the world.
Cody was a complete dead end.
Entirely overrun with infected. Not a single living person in sight. Disappointing was an understatement. They'd only just managed to make it out alive themselves. And now they were faced with another long, empty, snowy road that seemed to stretch for miles.
"Joel." Cindy called out his name as he kept walking ahead. "Joel!" She jogged to catch up with him. She grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks and standing in front of him. Ellie was still behind. She'd sat on the floor to catch her breath.
"What the fuck do we do now?" He growled.
"Joel, we'll figure something out."
"And how do you propose we do that, hm?" He snapped.
"I don't fuckin' know, Joel, that's the whole point in trying to figure something out." Cindy remarked. "We just gotta find somewhere to go to... I don't know, think about shit. About what we're gonna do."
He sighed. "I really thought he'd be there."
"We all did. But we'll find him. I know we will." Cindy said. "Are you okay?"
Joel nodded. "I'm fine." He replied gruffly, but she could see the lie in his eyes. She didn't push him. He needed time, she knew that.
Their fire crackled and popped, sending sparks into the cold night air as the three of them sat around it, now in the dark. The winter chill wrapped around them, a tangible reminder of the fact that they now didn't have a ramshackled old cabin to sleep in. Disheartened and weary from their journey to Cody, the city being overrun had dashed Joel's hopes of finding Tommy. He felt like a failure once again.
Ellie's voice broke the heavy silence, her tone filled with uncertainty. "What now, Joel?"
Joel's brow furrowed in thought, his gaze fixed on the flickering flames before he finally spoke. "We just keep looking." Was all he said.
Cindy watched the exchange between Joel and Ellie. She could see the exhaustion on Joel's face. She understood the weight he carried. She just wished she could take it all from him.
As the silence settled between them again, Ellie shifted closer to Cindy, resting her head on her shoulder. Cindy instinctively wrapped her arm around the younger girl, pulling her close to share her warmth.
"You're freezing, Ellie," Cindy remarked softly, rubbing her arms gently.
Ellie smiled faintly, "well we are in the fuckin' snow." A sense of comfort washing over her as she nestled closer to Cindy, who laughed at her words, even though they were eerily true.
Joel observed the scene before him, a flicker of warmth in his eyes for a very brief moment as he watched Cindy care for Ellie. He'd watched how everything she did rubbed off on Ellie one way or another. It reminded him that she was a huge part in Ellie's whole life. Been practically glued at the hip for the past seven years.
As the night wore on, Ellie eventually drifted off to sleep, her head still resting on Cindy's shoulder. The crackling fire cast a soft glow over their faces, occasionally Cindy would waft a couple of the sparks away from the sleeping Ellie.
Joel turned to Cindy, she was already looking at him. She met his gaze, her heart racing as the warmth of his eyes met hers. In that moment, she felt a surge of longing and affection for the man beside her. As much as she didn't want their little group to separate, she wanted Joel to find his brother.
"When does it stop snowing in Wyoming, Joel?" She asked the question to just cut the tension.
"Slows down by February. Usually stops completely by March." Joel answered.
"So, fuckin' months to go yet." Cindy sighed.
Joel shifted slightly, his arm brushing against Cindy's, and a shiver ran down her spine at the contact. As the night wore on, Cindy felt her eyelids grow heavy, the warmth of the fire lulled her into a sense of drowsiness. She leaned her head against Joel's shoulder, the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her a comforting rhythm that eased her into a slumber.
When Cindy woke the next morning, the first rays of sunlight peeking over the horizon, she found herself fully nestled against Joel's side. His arm was wrapped around her, keeping her warm now the fire was out. She blinked sleepily, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep that clung to her, and saw Ellie watching them with that mischievous glint in her eyes and knowing smile on her face. She was across from them now, eating something out of her bag.
"Don't you two look cosy." She teased, a playful smile on her face as she tossed a breakfast bar onto Cindy's lap.
Cindy blushed, feeling a rush of embarrassment take over her. She sat up, glancing at Joel, who was watching her with the ghost of a smile on his lips.
"Shut up, Ellie." Cindy chuckled, shaking her head and standing up. Ellie laughed, throwing her head back in exaggeration.
"I won't tell anyone, don't worry." She laughed.
Joel stood too, excusing himself for a moment to go and pee somewhere out of sight from them. Cindy tried not to smile when she felt Ellie's eyes on her, but failed miserably. She glanced at Ellie, who grinned at her knowingly.
"Shut up." Cindy snapped through her smile she was trying to push away.
"I didn't say anything!" Ellie defended herself, laughing.
"You looked at me weird." Cindy said.
"What, I'm not allowed to look at you now?" Ellie questioned.
"Not like that." Cindy nudged her.
"I'll stop giving you funny looks when you admit there's something going on between you and Joel." Ellie urged.
"There's not!"
"Oh, my God, Cindy, cut the shit." Ellie rolled her eyes, laughing. "Okay, so you say there's nothing going on between you and Joel."
"Yes." Cindy confirmed.
"But you want there to be." Ellie added.
"Ellie, you're killing me." Cindy groaned.
Joel's footsteps shut them both up. "Let's get moving."
