The sun beams down on the trio as they continue to push forward, hopping over a concrete block and landing into ankle high mossy water that floods the street ahead. Olivia scrunches her face in disgust at the smell and feel of the water, her feet picking up their pace as she climbs to stand atop an algae coated car.
Meanwhile, Joel dove into the water, swimming towards an old wooden pallet that sat floating atop the water a short distance away. He wasted no time gripping it and pushing it back to the two females, especially with the echoes of screams and gunshots filling the air around them.
He frowned at the familiar sounds that took him back to his hunter days - the part of his life he was most ashamed of. "Get on," Joel ordered Ellie as the pallet nudged gently against the car she and Olivia stood upon.
"What the hell was that?" the teen asked in reference to the gunshots.
"We're cutting through the hotel," Joel tells her simply, a look sent Olivia's way causing her to nod in understanding.
"Okay..."
"You're gonna make me swim aren't you," Olivia mutters with a unimpressed pout that rises a slight smirk on Joel's lips as he instructs Ellie to set up the plank across the gap between the two trucks they'd need to cross to reach the hotel.
"Yep,"
"I don't like you," she grumbles before reluctantly shuffling off of the car and into the cold murky water. Her expression and careful swimming causes Joel to chuckle, his head shaking at her visible discomfort and growing disgust. "Yeah, keep laughing. I'm about to make you drink it, old man."
"I am kinda thirsty," he says with the same smirk.
"Shut up," Olivia giggles, now shaking her own head, amused.
She follows Joel into a nearby coffee shop, swimming up to the counter and rounding it to search the cabinets for supplies. "Ugh, this place stinks." Ellie complains atop the truck that was half crashed inside the shop, already having bridged the plank across the gap.
"Yeah, the woods all rotted." Joel comments casually, unfazed by the stench.
"I am not a fan," Olivia mutters whilst scooping up some alcohol and rags, tossing them to Joel with a smile.
The older man catches them with ease, placing them in his pack and turning to Ellie as she asks a very fitting question. "Did you drink a lot of coffee?"
"Yeah, all the time."
"And... what would you get?" she pressed further.
"Just- Just coffee." he shrugged.
"Boring," the teen mumbled unimpressed before turning to Olivia who also shrugs.
"I've never tried it but I've heard good things."
"God, I miss coffee." Olivia hears Joel breathe out wistfully causing her to chuckle and clap him on the back as she passes by him to climb atop the truck, crossing the wooden plank to the large broken hotel window.
She drops down into the lobby of the building, making a small splash in the ankle high water as she does so. She groans and shakes her feet in distaste, glaring at her soaked combat boots. "Damn it," she mutters lowly, her feet moving towards the ladder leant up against some scaffolding to the far right of the floor.
She picks it up, sliding her hands up the smooth cold metal in an effort to get a better grip on it before moving to place it against the upper balcony where a section of the railing had broken away.
"Wow," Ellie whispers in awe of the fairly beautiful and grand building. She wanders the lobby area slightly, taking in the details of each wall, the different patterns and engravings carved into the columns left her speechless.
"This place was fancy," Olivia observes.
Joel nods, "Yeah, definitely too rich for my blood."
"Wow, I'm surprised." Olivia says sarcastically before smiling wide, "but I get it. I always preferred camping." she admits with a light half shrug.
"I wonder what it was like before..." Ellie wonders aloud, her eyes scanning the room slowly.
"Damn expensive would be my guess," Olivia remarks whilst stepping up to the ladder and climbing it until she reaches the overhang above. She steps aside, allowing room for Joel and Ellie to join her with a small smile gracing her plump pink lips.
Ellie blows a cherry and reaches behind herself, towards her back pocket. "We need to lighten the mood..." she says.
"We do?" Olivia asks, confused.
"Yup. Okay..." the teen holds a small book in her hand, flipping the pages until she lands on one just a quarter the way through it. She grins wide, "I tried to catch the fog earlier. I mist." she reads.
Olivia laughs lightly, shaking her head and folding her arms. "Okay, I like that one."
"What is that?" Joel's asks the teen, no reaction shown towards her silly pun.
"A pun book," she answers with a duh tone as she flips the page once more, skimming the page slightly before reading yet another eagerly. "You know what's not right?"
"Left?" Joel replies.
The teen laughs, clearly rather amused with that particular pun causing Olivia to laugh lightly herself. It was nice to see Ellie so happy and acting her age. For a moment she was permitted the chance to just be a kid and Olivia adored that. She cherished it.
Joel shakes his head but a smile does eventually form on his lips, amusement dancing in his eyes as he briefly catches Olivia's gaze, the same intensity sparking between them before Ellie reads a final joke that leaves her feeling less amused than the previous one.
"People are making apocalypse jokes like there's no tomorrow." she reads with a dip in her tone. "Too soon..." she sighs as she tucks the book away once more. "That's enough... for now."
"I gotta admit the first two got me," Olivia tells her with a warm smile, ascending the stairs first. "Oh, watch your step here." she calls over her shoulder as she shuffles along the broken chunk of stairs to reach the floor above.
The floor they come upon is only a short hallway with the stairs that would lead up to the next floor having been intentionally blocked by various furniture. Therefore, their only option is to jump out of the broken window to their right that leads onto a small roof.
Immediately, the moment they step foot on the roof, they are forced to duck down behind some air-conditioning units. Deep voices echo from the rooms to their left, they're loud and masculine, easy to pick up thanks to the many broken windows of the building.
Olivia frowns at the number of voices she can pick up, her hand instinctively reaching towards her knife as Joel gestures silently for the two to follow his lead.
The Southern man sneaks through the open window straight ahead, landing effortlessly in a near empty room with a wide open doorway opposite them. He scans the limited contents and frowns, little supplies offered to them in a moment they may potentially need them most.
He pauses and watches Olivia walk ahead slightly, though when she does, he hears the heavy footsteps approaching the room they find themselves in. He waits for Olivia to hear them too, expecting her to stop and hide but instead, she continues to walk towards the open door, unaware it would seem of the danger approaching.
So, out of pure instinct and desire to keep her safe, he quietly rushes towards her. His hand grips her waist whilst the other covers her soft mouth, turning and pinning her gently to the wall beside the door - just out of view of the hunter passing by.
Her body is closer than close, her heat radiating against his clothes. His hand slips from her mouth, his gaze flicking to her soft pink lips as his heart rate picks up in pace. His fingers graze the exposed skin on her hip causing a thrilling chill to run through Olivia's spine. The two lock eyes, their hearts fluttering and that intensity burning deeper than ever before as Olivia flicks her gaze to the older man's lips, feeling that familiar urge to press her own to them rise up.
But as always, the moment falls away. Joel steps back as the footsteps retreat away. His brows dip in conflict and thought. He looked troubled, disappointed even with himself. As though he were upset he hadn't done or said something in particular.
Olivia also feels the same emotions. She feels the conflict over her feelings for the man before her cloud her mind whilst disappointment runs through her veins.
She realises, she had wanted Joel to kiss her. She had enjoyed his body pressed close to hers and his eyes boring into her own. She enjoyed the intensity that existed between them, the connection and trust.
She wanted Joel.
She was just too chicken to admit it to the man himself - or anyone else for that matter.
"We should get a move on," he clears his throat and crouches once more, creeping around the corner and out of sight leaving Olivia nodding in response half heartedly.
"He feels the same you know..."
Olivia turns her head at the low whisper, her gaze falling to the young teen beside her. Her brows dip with confusion as she tilts her head, "huh?"
"Joel. He feels something for you too," Ellie explains simply with a smile, causing Olivia to force out a scoff.
"We are friends, El. He was just looking out for me. That's all."
"Sure. Friends." The teen mutters with a scoff of her own, a wide knowing smile on her young face.
"Come on you," Olivia chuckles, ruffling her hair playfully. "He'll be waiting on us."
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The hotel proved to be flooded with hunters. Moving from floor to floor looking for a safe exit seemed impossible with an enemy thirsty for their blood around every damn corner.
Olivia was growing fed up of taking them out none stop, finding the task alone exhausting, her knife was soaked with their crimson blood, even having splattered on her engraved handle. Even Joel appeared put out by the situation at hand. He was growing angrier and far more ruthless with his kills with every hunter he took down.
"I think that's the last one," he panted out as he stumbled back from the dead hunter at his feet.
"I think you're right." Olivia nodded, wiping her blade with the rag Joel had given her earlier.
"You're bleeding," Ellie says, her eyes trained on the blood seeping through Joel's sleeve.
Her words attract Olivia's attention, drawing the woman closer to the Southern man with worry. She reaches out towards his arm, taking it in her hand and lifting it so she can get a better view of the injury he had sustained. "Shit," she says under her breath whilst rolling the sleeve up and shooting Joel a stern look when he attempts to shake away her touch.
"It's nothin'." he tries to dismiss but Olivia isn't convinced.
"Nothing my ass," she mutters whilst shrugging off her pack and tossing it to Ellie. "Pass me a bandage, El. Oh, and a clean rag - soak it in that antiseptic stuff we found earlier." she instructs as Joel shakes his head and grumbles at the fuss being made.
"Liv..." he tries to protest but again she shoots him a look that shuts him down.
"Suck it up, buttercup." she takes the bandage and soaked rag from Ellie with a mumbled thanks and a small smile. Then, she applies the rag to his arm where a bullet had grazed him. The wound wasn't too deep, it could heal without stitches but it was bleeding a lot and so she intended to wrap it tight after giving it a good clean.
Joel winces at the sudden contact, the stinging somehow unnoticeable as he stares at Olivia's concentrated expression; admiring how her brows dipped and her tongue stuck out just slightly. It was adorable, even to him.
He smiled at her gentle touch, making note of her tenderness with him. She was truly making an effort not to hurt him more than he already was. She was being extra careful with him.
"You gotta be more careful," she tells him through a heavy sigh, her gaze flicking up to him.
"I will," he drawls with the same small smile.
"Why don't I believe you?" she smiles slightly.
He chuckles as she wraps the bandage around his upper arm before cutting the end with her knife and tying it in a way that would keep it from coming away from the wound. She did a good job, especially given she had little medical training.
"Not a bad job," he comments.
"That was almost a compliment," she teases as she throws away the bloody rag she'd used to clean his wound. "It was almost as impressive as your attempt at an apology." she smirks.
"Cute,"
"I am, aren't I." she flips her hair dramatically causing Ellie to stifle a laugh as Joel's smile widens, his head shaking and his hand lifting to gently run along his new bandage.
"Up the stairs," he directs, trying to shift the focus whilst also attempting to hide his amusement at her response.
Truth was, she was cute in every sense of the word.
Even as she weakly tried to pry open the elevator doors on the next floor upon realising it was their only possible route through the building.
Olivia was beautiful, she was everything Joel remembered her to be plus more. So, of course he cared for her deeply. Of course he felt more.
And of course he was too chicken shit to tell her.
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