Joel had such a breakthrough during that scene - so proud
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Delilah and Joel kept walking as the sun went down, losing a fair amount of time when they had to face the centipede creature. It was going to be too dark to see soon, and neither of them wanted to be walking around at that time.
"You had me worried for a moment back there," Delilah admitted as they walked alongside each other, the thought eating away at her.
Boy strolled ahead of them, ears perked so that he would hear if any other monsters were nearby. Delilah was hoping to at least get through until tomorrow without another sighting, though.
Joel looked down at her, brows pulled together. "Me? Why?"
The girl shrugged her backpack up higher, hands tightening around the straps. "I mean. . . you froze, Joel."
His eyes fell as he sighed heavily. "Yeah, sorry. That's something I. . . do. I've been working on it."
"You don't need to apologise."
She noticed how his shoulders seemed to tense at the thought. She was right, he had frozen. Just like he had done many times before.
Except for this time, where he had managed to pull through at the last second.
Delilah glanced up at the boy, examining his features. He still looked a bit shaken after what they'd just been through, his hands reaching behind him to hook his crossbow back to his bag.
Biting her lip in thought, Delilah spoke up after they had gone almost five minutes in silence.
"Truth."
Joel looked down at her with narrowed eyes and one side of his mouth curved up. "I thought it was my turn?"
"What? Afraid to break the rules a little, Joel Dawson?" the girl challenged.
His mouth fell agape for a moment before he smiled. "Not at all, Delilah Moon."
"You said that it's something you do - freezing," Delilah reminded. "So, what was different this time?"
Part of her knew what she wanted to hear, but she also knew what that would mean. That Minnow was right. That maybe what she was beginning to feel beneath the surface wasn't one-sided.
Joel took a moment, trying to think of how to word his answer. "I thought about every other time I'd frozen and nearly every time, someone ended up dying. I didn't want to go through that again."
There was a moment of uncertainty that echoed between them. Delilah was trying to decide on how to proceed, while Joel was contemplating telling her more.
"The day that the monsters came to Fairview, my parents and I tried to get out. We crashed and the car wouldn't move. My mum told me to get out of the car," Joel said, taking a breath.
"You don't need to tell me this, Joel," Delilah said softly.
"I want to. I want you to understand; to trust me," Joel told her. He was worried that she might not anymore after he nearly left her to the centipede creature.
Delilah reached over and took his hand in her own, squeezing lightly. "I do trust you. You saved my life."
The boy gave her a small smile before continuing. "My mum told me to get out and I did. And I stood there as she told me to run. But I couldn't move. I just stood there and watched my parents get crushed."
Delilah swallowed heavily, looking up at the boy with a sad frown. "I'm so sorry, Joel."
He shrugged lightly, not letting go of her hand. "It was seven years ago. It's okay."
"That doesn't mean that it can't still hurt."
He glanced down at her with soft eyes, a warm feeling blooming in his chest. He hadn't felt like this about many people in his life. But there was still something about her that had him curious.
"My turn," he said quietly. "Truth."
Delilah nodded, letting him know to ask his question.
"Why did you want to come with me?"
The girl's brow furrowed, "I already told you."
"No, not this time," Joel corrected. "Back on the bus when I said that I was going to Jenner Beach and Brax said I wouldn't make it, you said I wouldn't make it alone. Which kinda sounded like you offering to come with me."
"It was," Delilah admitted. "I guess we're both sharing our tragic backstories."
"If it's not something you want to talk about you can tell me to get lost or fuck off or whatever," Joel told her quickly.
She laughed quietly, "It's fine, Joel."
Delilah looked down at their hands, her eyes trailing up to the bracelet on her wrist. Then she looked over to Boy, who was still walking ahead of them.
"My brother gave me this bracelet the day the monsters attacked. My dad died that day, and then my mum a few months after when a monster breached our first bunker; so it was just me, Arlo and Boy. We moved bunkers a lot, and it was in the last one that I actually met Clyde for the first time.
"You'd think it would be one of the monsters who had killed my brother, that's what we prepared for, after all," she laughed hollowly.
Joel squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her that he was there for her. She began to recount the rest of her story, not having told anyone since she first met Brax.
Less than two years after their mother died, Arlo had come down with pneumonia. Sure, they had an allocated medic in their bunker, but that was like asking Doc from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to perform surgery - it was just a title, they knew how to bandage wounds and hand out aspirin and that was as far as that went.
They tried to find a real doctor, but the closest was twenty miles away and the man was not willing to risk his life for the child.
Some doctor, right?
Delilah had been more than willing to go out on her own and take her brother there, but no one would let the eighteen-year-old leave with a sick child. They insisted that as long as they kept him warm and medicated, he would overcome it.
Delilah trusted them, none of them realising it was pneumonia at the time, given that none of them was a real doctor.
As his condition worsened, Delilah decided she couldn't just sit around anymore. She snuck out with Boy in the middle of the night to retrieve the doctor from the nearby bunker and convince him to come with her.
"He actually said yes, so I brought him back to Arlo, but I was too late. He died while I was gone," Delilah said quietly, biting back tears. "I left and he died."
Joel stopped, stepping in front of the girl, "You went to get him help. You can't blame yourself for any of that."
"Arlo is the reason I wanted to come with you," she continued softly. "I wanted to try and make a difference this time. Make sure no one dies."
"Well, you're doing a great job so far. You and Boy," Joel told her with a gentle smile.
The girl moved forward, wrapping her arms around him again as she felt like she might cry. Talking about Arlo and how she hadn't been there to comfort him in his final moments hurt every time. She felt like she had let her parents down. The one thing they asked her to do, was to look after her brother, and she couldn't even manage that.
Joel ran his hands up and down her back soothingly, his heart going out to the girl. He couldn't even imagine what that must have been like.
"You are one of the bravest, kindest, most badass people I know, Delilah Moon," he said as he pulled back enough to look at her. "And if anyone is gonna get me where I need to go alive, it's you."
She couldn't help but laugh at the sentiment, sniffling as she shook her head.
"Don't be ridiculous, Joel Dawson."
He moved his hands to her shoulders, squeezing them slightly. "I'm serious though, Lilah. You're. . . incredible."
The two stood staring at each other, both unsure of what was happening. All Delilah noticed, was how they were both beginning to grow closer steadily. They both seemed to be hesitant but continued to move either way.
Just as their lips were mere inches from meeting, Delilah began to feel rain droplets on her skin. The cold water woke her up, reminding her of where she was and who she was with.
"We should probably get moving before the rain gets too heavy," she whispered.
Joel pursed his lips, nodding as he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."
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Delilah and Joel ran through the rain with Boy by their side. The rain was getting heavier by the second, the trees working as coverage while they searched for a place to stay. They had managed to spot a building in the distance when they reached the edge of the woods and immediately headed in its direction.
As they got closer to the building and out from the shade of the trees, the rain began to soak them. Joel whooped, rather excited to be out in the elements.
Delilah laughed at the sight of the boy, managing to keep up with him. She didn't think she'd seen him smile this wide since she'd met him.
They finally reached the building, rushing to get beneath the awning outside. It turned out to be an abandoned inn, which excited Delilah. This meant beds, blankets, pillows and with any luck, some vending machines that still contained food.
Boy jumped up onto the couch sitting on the porch, shaking all of the rainwater from his fur. He then sat down, panting after their run.
Joel followed suit, shaking his head and causing rain droplets to go everywhere. He laughed, running a hand through his soaking wet hair.
Delilah forced herself to look away from him, biting her lip to contain her smile. She rang out her hair, squeezing the water from the strands out onto the ground.
"Wow," Joel sighed happily, looking around. You know, I haven't felt the rain in seven years."
"I couldn't imagine being in a bunker for that long," Delilah said loud enough to be heard over the storm. "The smell of fresh rain on asphalt is one of my favourite little things."
"I like that, too," Joel smiled. "I've missed this."
They stood side-by-side watching the rainfall heavily. The air felt so fresh, part of Delilah just wanted to take Joel's hand and step back out into the rain to let him experience what he'd missed out on for seven years.
"Do you think I'm crazy?" Joel asked suddenly, his smile now flat in thought. "Coming all this way?"
Delilah took a moment to think. Joel hadn't asked to use one of his truths, but she wanted to be honest either way.
"I did at first. But not anymore. Truth, do you think you were crazy to do this, now that we're almost there?"
He thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "This whole journey has been crazy, but I don't regret it. I feel like so different, and I feel better for it."
Before Delilah had the chance to say anything in response, a voice came from the room in the inn behind them.
"Hello."
They both sound around, confused. Delilah was quick to unsheath her machete, holding it up defensively as Boy growled. Even though she was the one with the weapon, Joel stepped in front of the girl, shielding her as they entered the room slowly.
Boy remained outside, watching as they approached a hunk of metal sitting on the couch. The metal then came to life, and it was at that moment that Delilah realised what it was, putting her machete away.
"Holy shit," Joel gasped. "You're alive. I mean. . . you're on."
"I have 51 minutes of power left," the Mav1s bot informed them. "What are your names?"
"Uh, I'm Joel. And this is Lilah, uh, Delilah," Joel answered for them both, correcting himself when he used the girl's nickname.
"Hello, Joel. Hello, Lilah, uh, Delilah," Mav1s greeted.
Delilah stepped forward, "It's just Delilah."
"My apologies," the robot said. "I am so pleased to meet you both. My name is Mavis. But if you were to write it out, you would write it with a 1 and not an I."
"Yeah, I know," Joel grinned. There had been a Mav1s bot at his bunker, but she had never worked. He had always wanted to see a working one, so the moment in itself was surreal.
This appeared to make Mav1s happy, her electronic eyes giving the impression that she was smiling, "You are familiar with the Mavi1s line. Delightful!"
"You guys are supposed to be the next amazing thing," Joel said as he and Delilah took a seat across from the robot. "I can't believe I'm talkin' to one."
"But if you were to write it out, you would write it with a 1 and not an I."
"Do you think she might be broken?" Delilah asked Joel. "I mean, aside from the fact that it has no legs."
Mav1s, hearing Delilah, recounted how she lost her limbs. "Years ago, I was bitten in half by something I did not get a chance to name. I crawled for safety and powered down, hoping someone would one day find me. And here you are!"
Delilah and Joel both chuckled softly as they watched the boy go through her range of emotions at seeing them.
"This is amazing," Joel said quietly, shaking his head.
"Joel, Delilah, besides conversing with me, for which I am eternally grateful, may I ask what you are doing outside of your colony?"
"Yeah, um-"
"Did you steal food?" Mav1s asked, her electronic eyes narrowing.
At this, Delilah couldn't hold back her laughter. This was the third time that he had been accused of being a food stealer.
Joel's face went serious, his frustration showing as he shook his head. "No. No, I didn't steal any food. I don't know why people keep assuming that."
"Maybe you just look like a food stealer," Delilah shrugged with a smile.
Joel laughed, turning back to Mav1s.
"No, um, I'm actually on a quest. . . to find a girl."
Mav1s' lights showed happiness, raising a hand to gesture to Delilah, "And you found her! That must be exciting!"
Delilah flushed furiously as she looked down at her lap, her jaw clenching shut. She would've been even more embarrassed if it weren't a robot who had made the assumption.
Joel looked from Delilah back to Mav1s, shaking his head lightly. "Oh, uh, no. Not Delilah. A different girl."
"Another lovely lady has caught your eye, Joel! What is her name?" Mav1s asked.
"Uh, her name's Aimee. With one I and two E's."
"She sounds like an incredible person, Joel."
Joel looked like he was going to answer, but then found himself glancing at Delilah out the corner of his eye, and his words died on his tongue. He wasn't sure what to say.
Mav1s, still happy, continued to speak. "Is there anything I can do to assist you in your quest for Aimee with one I and two E's?"
"Nope," Joel aside. "Appreciate it, Mav1s, but, uh, unfortunately not. Unless you happen to have a power source to an SK-21 ham radio handy."
Mav1s looked down at her arm, lighting up the panel. "I would be honoured to donate my remaining power to you if it would help you with your quest for Aimee with one I and two E's."
Joel chuckled, accepting the offer and removing his backpack to retrieve his radio.
"I'm just gonna go and check on Boy while you do that," Delilah said, trying not to show that she was hurt. Maybe Brax and Minnow had been right after all.
Minnow.
On her way out of the room, she grabbed Joel's sketchbook when he was focused on the radio, walking out with it tucked under her arm.