summary: its evening time in the Jackson Wyoming community when Joels gone out for a walk because he just canât sleep, Although it doesn't really help when he spots you who seems just as troubled.
note: swearing (i think), age gap (readers in her 40s), detail on a zombie/rotting human (ii guess?), reader has hair (any length) and is a female, incorrect grammar and punctuation use, not proof read.
Yet another bead of rain trickled down the aged windows as day continued to transition to night, collecting by the corners alongside others until itâs weight became enough to drag it down and into the pool of overgrown grass below.
Lately, the more he struggled to fall asleep the more nights like this had started to become the norm for Joel - silently watching rain pelt down the bask of trees and wooden cabins built in this little home he had managed to make for Ellie, and himself . It wasnât much but the folks here were nice enough and shares were decent.
Although as great as it was, it didnât help his mind calm down.Sure, he was able to keep it all in for the girl but, alone? the thought of permanently being stuck in this hellhole of a world itched at him.
He wanted to get out, no, he needed to get out, Hence why it didnât take long till he found himself slipping on a worn out jacket and shoes he found during a supply run - neither being his exact size but they were good enough, even if he had to tug on a shoe with a grunt anytime he wanted to go out - and trudging out into the dark with a shotgun slung over his shoulder and a crappy flashlight, heading straight for the horses.
Would Tommy and Maria kill him if they found out he 'snuck out'? yeah probably, but right now that wasn't enough to stop the old man as he rode old beardy on and out of the small camp to go knows where. Plus, he wasnât a child, he could take care of himself if anything went down, they all knew that.
Slow minutes filled with quiet buzzing and rustling of leaves passed as Joel continued to travel through the forest, forcing himself to try and find some serenity in it all, i mean that was the whole point of getting out. wasn't it?.
He could still remember those late Saturday nights in his real home. Some random shitty cartoon would play on the tv as a source of light with the thrifted lamp on the coffee table aiding itâs attempt to light up most of the room whilst Sarah would rest on the couch, lazily trying to convince her dad to come outside with her the next morning so she could show him all the cool shenanigans she had been up to. It would 'loosen him up' she'd say smug as ever like the smart mouth she was.
Thoughts like that managed to carve a small smile at his lips, even if it was short. God, he missed her so much, That fact was obvious to anybody with a set of eyes. Years later he still pondered, when he'd end up thinking too hard, why did it have to be her? No matter how many times he'd tell himself to stop being stupid and just move on he still couldn't help but let himself silently ask at times like this regardless if nature or any higher power would give him some sort of response or not.
A heavy huff slipped pass chapped lips as he continued on, deciding to turn back before the rain started to get worse , but as he did an odd noise managed to reach him before the rain swallowed it down.
Calloused fingertips tightened against the reins as Joel quickly jerked his head , dampened hair that stuck to the back of his neck following suit.
At first he saw nothing, just damp shrubbery and trees with trunks turned umber brown from the rain. Almost convincing enough to shrug it all off as his nerves just playing up, Then the sound wisped through again prompting the man to climb off of old beardy completely with his flashlight tucked in his jeans pockets and a gun held firmly in his grasp.
He searched the space before him again: bark, tiny bugs, leaves , bushes , and an arrow..?
"The fuck?", he couldn't help but mutter to himself as his brows began to furrow. Was this a joke?
Not far from him did he find what seemed to be a wooden arrow with a sharp silver edge and a carved base - bearing initials that were barely visible in the dark - just plunged into the wet dirt.
Another sharp hiss of the wind rang out as yet another arrow followed, this time closer by. Almost immediately Joels gun was raised, steady and focused but the goddamn darkness really wasn't helping.
Minutes felt slower now that he found himself in this silent cat and mouse act, hoping that whoever or whatever was doing this could just reveal itself.
"What the fuck are you doing here?," A voice eventually called out from the dark. It was, safe to say the least, a little suprising, It wasn't what he expected it to be - a gruff voice belonging to some young and reckless man looking for some control and dominance in this wrecked world - Instead it was a woman's, still hardened from trauma, don't get me wrong, but almost soothing aswell.
He didn't respond, not right away, instead he took his time to take it in and try to at least figure out where the hell it was coming from.
The woman seemed to notice as not long after rustling and grunts joined the ambience of the area before she started to come into view, revealing herself.
Yet again, the darkness managed to conceal much of her but she seemed around her early 40s , with hair that appeared to be styled as best as she could nowadays, a cream coloured shirt layered with a cotton jumper and a jacket, dark blue jeans and most notable of all, a bow held high and firm inbetween her gloved fingertips.
Joel quickly tensed at the sight, After all he could ponder about her later.
Her chest rose and fell deeply as she kept a cold gaze and a drawn arrow locked onto him.
For a moment neither of the two spoke, simply letting the other study them asif they were some perilous creature preparing for attack.
It wasnât until the silence dragged out long enough to grow pointless did she rasp a rough command, almost faint enough to be mistaken for the rain, âdrop the gun.â
This time it was only Joel that failed to respond right away, instead he tried to weigh his chances. The woman didnât seem like she was with anybody - though as time went on Joel did learn that âseemingâ wasnât good enough. She was acting pretty hostile..so was she hiding something? but to be fair in times like this who wouldnât act hostile? Well, was she apart of any group? She couldnât have been..she wasnât wearing any sort of symbol and even if she was it would be stupid to send her out alone, let alone at this hour. What was she even doing alone?
He shouldâve just stayed in , huh? Well to be fair this was taking his mind off things, by filling his brain up with more questions that is. Will they ever be answered, heâll never know.
Eventually, he blinks away the stream of thoughts and loosens his grip on the safety latch on his gun before carefully lowering it until it sunk into the damp dirt.
She watched, quietly, not showing any sign of approval or denial , nor lowering her own bow and arrow.
After a beat or two she takes a step forward, then another, leaving the sound of squelching to join the sound of harsh rain as her boots press into that same wet dirt.
The closer she got, the more Joel was able to pick up: The faint scar that tainted her chin, the few traces of lime-green nail polish that was almost completely chipped away on her nails, the crows feet that grew more pronounced as curiousity marred her features, the very very few grey hairs that started to form in her hair for every strand here and there. It all only filled him with more questions.
She drew a chapped lip inwards as she pressed her boots foot on the wooden shotgun, then she started to drag it towards her, ignoring the squeaking that began to emerge as she tried to keep a sturdy grip despite the rain that coated everything.
âLook i donât mean no trouble,â Joel finally spoke, ignoring the way every word scratched at his throat, he hadnât noticed how dry it grew up until now, â âm just passing throughâ
And for a second it was starting to look like the woman was going to give a response if it wasnât for the sudden croaking that made her grow tight-lipped once more.
The thing moved quickly with loose and jagged steps, twitching and recoiling every now and then, but mostly when raindrops would pelt down and inbetween cracks of the fungus that aggresivley took over its face. All the dried clumps of blood , specs of dirt and rain mixed together didnât help either, creating a deep stench that only prompted Joels nose to crinkle further.
âdamn clicker,â The woman before him grumbles, Joel picked up his gun. If it wasnât for the situation he was in right now, maybe he wouldâve acknowledged the trembling of his swollen fingertips all because of the wind and rain.
His gaze tears away from the infected once the sound of the woman slinging her arrow further back came into play.
âhey,â he whispers, voice tinged with a thick southern accent. Though instead of continuing he puts his hand on the tip of the womans bow, catching her attention, reluctantly.
The clicker groans and races a few steps before slowing again.
âtoo weak, not gonna kill itâ
Regardless she looks away , âitâs quiet,â focusing back onto the far gone creature and angling her bow again âand i know what iâm doingâ
The sass almost draws a chuckle of disbelief from Joels lips. Honestly, she sure as hell wasnât that young reckless male he was expecting but boy was she close to that.
So, he watches as she puffs her chest and grows still for a second or two before releasing her grip on what seemed to be handmade string and tail, letting the arrow shoot out and directly into the fungus fiesta of a head the clicker had.
Obviously, it didnât do much, only prompting more clicks from the thing as it almost snapped its body into her direction. Still, she continued to reload another arrow regardless of its much quicker movements towards the two of you.
Again, wrapping nimble knuckles around the tail of your arrow and the drawstring of your bow, you aimed for the creature before shooting again, then again, then again. In the same, or close to, perfect spot.
It was cool to watch sure, and she was doing some damage. The thing was coming to a stop every now and then, clawing its hand - which was mostly covered in peeling skin - at itâs face asif trying to take the arrows out. But the closer it got, the more impatient Joel grew.
He didnât bother telling her to stop, instead strided towards the clicker, grabbing itâs shoulder -in which due to the softening of its flesh, only resulted in his fingertips sinking into straight mush. But right as the fact that somebody was there really dawned on the clicker, he slammed the butt of his shotgun right onto its fungus filled head.
The blow caused it to stumble back a step or two , almost tripping over a branch.
With another thud, he struck again , meerly dodging the swing of the clicker afterwards , ignoring the roll of the woman with a bow and arrows eyes as she took a moment to watch the scene unfold.
A grunt left him as the clicker, stumbling but still quick, relentlessly swung at him, even missing and grabbing the latch of his bag at one point.
Soon enough though it stopped missing, planting two hands, twisted and drained off colour, on Joels arm, knocking the shotgun from his grip and forcing him back. Thatâs when the woman moved, swiftly reaching for the shotgun, and, with little hesitation pulling the trigger.
As expected, it hit the perfect spot.
note: heyhey tysm for reading! i hope you guys enjoyed it. This is more of a practice to just get myself to not only get back into but enjoy writing without worrying about how every little thing sounds soo yeah. Friendly reminder to not only check out the masterlist but alsoo request any ideas you have for me! (only if you want) . I should have also done a poll sbout how you guys would prefer me to layout my stories like so make sure to vote on that too so i can make my little stories enjoyable for you :))
ps: this is only part one!! so stay tuned a siâm hoping i can continue this series for you guys. anyways byee love ya
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