You don't know me.

Manny always had one of his girls hanging around. Jordan and Leah got too busy sucking face to notice anyone else in the room. Gross.

Owen blinked when Abby spoke, abruptly pulling himself out of his walk down memory lane to focus once more on the present. The end credits to Alien were rolling. How long had he been zoned out for? Long enough for his companion to wonder if he was starting to fall asleep—he definitely wasn’t. Not when he had Abby’s hand in his and this was the most physical intimacy he’d shared with someone in a long ass time. “Pretty good, right?” he said with a light laugh and a grin to accompany it. She moved, making the springs in the couch creak, and he drew in a breath through his nose as she turned to look at him.

Had it not been so late, the offer of another beer would have been enticing but with darkness having fallen over Catalina and losing at least a few hours to the movie, figured it was better to be done for the night than drink another and have an even greater chance of falling asleep right there on the couch. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Owen was quite comfy but there was still nothing that beat the feeling of falling back into a nice, cozy mattress. "I'm good. If you want another, go for it. Definitely wouldn't help you make it through another movie," she offered with a quiet laugh.

Abby did see Ellie buried in her book quite often but it wasn’t like she made an effort to try and see what exactly she was doing. “I see the book but I don’t know what you’re doing. Not exactly like I’m trying to read over your shoulder. Could be journaling or whatever but drawing is cool too.” Maybe once or twice she had caught a glance of what seemed like a picture but had never tried to crane her neck for a better look. If it was something private, Ellie was entitled to that privacy. Abby was here to get her to Catalina safely and that was that. Not here to make friends and certainly not with Ellie. They worked well together but Lev also helped create a buffer between the two of them that made it more tolerable on her end. After all this was done, she would owe him big time for helping keep her level headed and reasonable throughout this trip.

It was nice to have time to herself after being on the road for weeks, or at least having the option to just do her own thing. But she kind of wound up spending most of her time with Lev instead once she’d finished cleaning her gear and weapons. His company was… nice. They worked on making fletchings for their arrows from duck feathers and she discovered that he was actually an efficient teacher, his patience shown in how he would demonstrate proper technique without being unkind or sharp with his words. It was like being in an arts and crafts class except she made less of a damn mess of what she was trying to create.

By the time evening rolled around, the pair were sitting close at the picnic table with their elbows touching as Ellie shared one of her earbuds with him. He was busy whittling what appeared to be a small animal and she was sketching whatever imagery popped into her head. It was a miracle that her MP3 player still had enough juice to give Lev an introduction to heavy metal. Funny how she went from listening to mainly country and folk music throughout her teens to a genre so entirely opposite. Joel definitely would have been covering his ears but Dina liked metal as much as Ellie did… They still had a lot in common.

Dina. Homesickness. There were two journal pages (and counting) that were dedicated to her and JJ.

Shortly before Ellie and her companions left the cabin by the lake behind, she carefully tore out the page that she drew Lev on back in Salt Lake and gave it to him. 'The beard suits you, huh?’ It made him smile from ear-to-ear. Ellie’s affirmation, despite how simple she thought it was, seemed to have made his day. Now, she didn’t intend to have bonded like this with someone so close to Abby because it could complicate things even more but Ellie just brushed it off with a shit happens sort of air. It wasn’t like there was a possibility it could bite her in the ass at some point, right?

Four days later and there was Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest. Near Carson City. The mountain range reminded Ellie of Wyoming and having the crisp forest air filling her lungs was so very refreshing after the Vegas swelter. The trio (plus an energetic Jack) passed a yellow sign and Ellie reflexively held her rife closer as she read:

WARNING HIKERS: YOU ARE IN MOUNTAIN LION COUNTRY.

She had eventually staggered out of bed though admittedly she was still in no rush. Abby took advantage of the free time she had as Lev and Ellie left for their own adventures. A quick washing to freshen up left her ready to tackle the day. Her main priority was potable water. While wandering through the heat of Nevada hadn't cleared them out entirely, she intended to make sure running out wasn't a potential issue while they traversed the same environment these next few days. Food they could stretch but if they ran out of water, it could become game over real fast. Instead, she had every single one of their containers filled with as clean of water as she could get. Took a little bit of exploring but she'd finally found an area where the water began to run off into a stream. Even with the runoff, she still boiled and filtered (to the best of her ability) to give tem the best chance at not encountering any nasties in the water.

That along with more scavenging in the surrounding area left her with another hunting knife, almost a full spool of fishing line, and a small personal first aid kit. Not a bad haul for being somewhat out in the boonies. The rest of the day wasn't half bad either. Some more relaxing and home cooked meals with actual utensils made for a good send off dinner before they found themselves back on the road the next morning. Leaving the comfort of a mattress and security of a locked door behind was rough but she knew the sooner they got started up, the better off they would be.

A grueling 4 days on had finally brought relief in the form of shade, hidden amongst the trees where the heat couldn't beat down on them anymore. It actually felt quite nice after such sweltering heat but Abby still found herself somewhat missing the comfort of the cabin. Not that it was a deal breaker, but it certainly had been missed as they were back to sleeping on the ground or whatever somewhat softish surface they could find.

Lifting his chin, Owen heaved a deep sigh (like it took him a great amount of effort to pull away from her neck) and reclined once more while bringing Abby with him. “Judging people?” She’d be able to feel his rumbling laugh against her back. “Yeah, I suppose we already do that.” There was the deadpan stares or funny expressions he would send in her direction when somebody said or did something questioning. Or just plain stupid. Occupying an island with absolutely no infected made people feel safe enough to do shit worthy of being featured on Jackass.

‘Hi, I’m Johnny Knoxille. Welcome to Jackass!’

“Wouldn’t have pegged you for an artist but that’s cool.” Her eyes drifted down to the numerous tattoos covering the other woman’s arms and she wondered if it was all her own work or the work of others. Hobbies weren’t necessarily something that Abby occupied herself with. It was all business most days and not something she had actually delved into too much. Aside from Lev, she was a lone wolf, participating as needed and fulfilling her part in contributing to a functioning and thriving society. It worked for her. Or at least that’s what she told herself. It was far easier to stay by herself than try and interact with those around her.

It didn’t take her long to finish up her food and she set the plate down on the dirt besides her feet. Soon enough, she would be ready for sleep but another hour or two would give her time to boil water for them, maybe take a another look around before calling it. The last of the alcohol warmed her throat as it went down and she placed the empty glass just next to the dishes beside her. All she wanted at that moment though was just a couple more minutes to relax. Her gaze found its way back to the lake and she settled down into the chair, making herself comfortable. It was beautiful, the way the rising moon was reflecting in the water. The water was eerily calm save for a few ripples here and there with fish and whatever other wildlife was rising with the darkening hours. It did make her miss Catalina. There was something special about enjoying this very sight but on the beach instead. On the shore in the dark is where she could find a minute of peace these days. All it did was drive the desire to get back to Avalon as fast as possible.

Lev seemed to be intently listening from where he sat to her left. Ellie noted that he would only take the smallest of sips from his own drink. To be fair, it was a strong whiskey. She could see him in her periphery, leaning forward with forearms on his knees and expression one of softness. He was a good kid. Her gaze focused back on the fire again, watching the flames dance. Abby would be able to pick up on the fact Ellie left her confession open-ended. Letting what she wasn’t voicing settle between them; it was taking root outside of her mind now and making her feel restless. She’d been considering staying in California for some time. It was something she’d been debating, mulling over across several pages of her journal. How would Abby react once she picked up on the implication? In Ellie’s head, her staying was entirely dependent on how things went with the Fireflies.

Dina would go wherever Ellie went… and so would Rudy—the person who had become her closest friend since Jesse. Like her, he had aspirations of being a part of something big (coupled with his undying hope to get the hell out of Wyoming one day) so he wouldn’t need any convincing to pack up and hit the road with her.

Ellie suddenly huffed out a laugh after the lapse of silence had fallen between them as she recalled what Abby had said. Lev eyed her questioningly. Probably thought she was finally losing the last of her few precious marbles. “What…?” She was sort of relieved to have another topic to settle on. “Seriously…? All I ever do is draw. You see me do it everyday,” she pointed out, staring at Abby with raised brows. The leather-bound book came out often. Those blue eyes had skimmed over her tattoos but Ellie didn’t shy away from them even as they touched upon the hand short two digits. Her first tattoo was of her own design as was the death’s head moth on the back of her left hand that came not too long after Santa Barbara.

That bite mark healed up without leaving more than the smallest trace behind and for that she was grateful—she could have lost her hand had the clicker not been disorientated from hanging upside down. Their bite force was more powerful than that of a runner or a stalker. A bloater had to be the worst of all, but they preferred to rip and tear limbs off rather than bite.

Abby did see Ellie buried in her book quite often but it wasn't like she made an effort to try and see what exactly she was doing. "I see the book but I don't know what you're doing. Not exactly like I'm trying to read over your shoulder. Could be journaling or whatever but drawing is cool too." Maybe once or twice she had caught a glance of what seemed like a picture but had never tried to crane her neck for a better look. If it was something private, Ellie was entitled to that privacy. Abby was here to get her to Catalina safely and that was that. Not here to make friends and certainly not with Ellie. They worked well together but Lev also helped create a buffer between the two of them that made it more tolerable on her end. After all this was done, she would owe him big time for helping keep her level headed and reasonable throughout this trip.

She was fading and fast. The exhaustion, pain, blood loss - all of it was starting to take a toll but she had promised him she wouldn't leave him and there was a fear creeping up that if she did pass out, that would be it. By this point it's almost difficult to feel what he's actually doing and in her mind, that wasn't a great sign. With no local anesthetic, she should have been feeling the puncture of the needle each time but the sharp prick had been replaced by a dull discomfort. There was a sense of relief when he confirmed that he was done but she had no way of showing it. By that point, she was too out of it to do anything but lay there. At least her jaw unclenched so that the glove could fall down to the floor.

     There was, of course, the option of scavenging the building. Or even leaving the building and seeing if he could find something - anything - to keep her warm while he tried to find a way to get her out as well, but in this state, he didn’t dare leave her alone. What if he came back and she… He shook his head, trying to exorcise the thought from his mind. No, he was not thinking like that. But maybe there were things inside the building that could be of help.

     He glanced back at Abby. Her pale lips, white skin. And he wondered if he could leave her alone for any amount of time. Though if he didn’t do something, it wasn’t going to matter anyway. At this rate, she wouldn’t make it very long. He took a deep breath and smiled down at Abby again. “Abby? I’m going to check the rest of the building real quick, to see if there’s any supplies we can use, okay?” He wasn’t even sure anymore whether she was able to hear him. “I need you to stay awake, though,” he instructed her. “You can’t fall asleep. You can’t.” He wrapped his fingers around her bicep and gave her arm a little squeeze, showing her he was still there, even though she might not be able to see him.

His coat provided a boost of warmth that she was in desperate need of and she nodded her head slowly. "Better." As much as she appreciated it, she knew it meant that now he would be freezing. It would be fine. Once she warmed up more, she would give it back even if he protested. A hypothermic Owen to complement her wasn't a plan of success for either of them.

Seattle 2038