Chapter Text
The day was as ordinary as ever. Following such a night of excitement, the morning had been almost calming. As calming as patrol can be. Mounds of snow decorated each crevice of the surrounding earth. There had been several on and off again blizzards through the area during the last few weeks, making each patrol a dangerous game to play, and a risk that only the most skilled took on. The air was frigid and pinched at the cheeks of the two teen girls who trudged through snowy banks and icy streams.
Dina and Ellie.
The two were hardly ever spotted apart in Jackson, always giggling and spitting sarcastic remarks at each other. Their friendship was almost iconic in the lively settlement, always arousing trouble and convincing the other teens of Jackson to join their mischievous acts. Because of these trouble-making tendencies, the two were hardly put on patrol together. However, Jesse had assigned them to the Creek Trails, in an effort to make time to manage more patrols. Jesse figured he’d head out after them to relieve them. Jesse had made it a point today to relieve both Ellie and Joel’s patrols around the same time. He had heard about their confrontation the night before, and he felt as though they both needed a break for the rest of the day. Besides, Joel and Tommy were far older than he was, they needed their rest.
The two men only grew slower by each week that passed, and each day left them more drained than the last. They had both lived comfortably in Jackson for years, Tommy longer than Joel had. It had taken Joel at least a year to completely adjust to this new lifestyle. It had only been him and Ellie for so long, he had to push himself to be comfortable around others. Joel, more often than he’d like to admit, had to fight the urge to constantly check on Ellie. Joel tried to fight his hovering, but he knew it was inevitable each time he approached the young girl’s door.
However, outside of the comfort of Jackson and the four walls of Ellie’s shed, a storm raged through the mountains. The pounding snow surely disturbed any form of patrol occurring. The once peaceful tour of the area had become a race on horseback, with two young girls desperately scavenging for warmth and security.
Ellie hid her face from the overpowering storm, her cheeks and jaw feeling numb from the biting air. Her hands, still managing a shiver despite her gloves, clung to the reins of Shimmer. The horse neighed fiercely, jerking against Ellie’s orders and fighting to get away. Ellie fought for control of the horse, grunting with difficulty. When her green, distracted eyes lifted to see before her, Dina was gone.
“Dina?” Ellie called out, “Dina!” She cried out again, the desperation rising in her voice.
Shimmer and Ellie raced forward, the mare slowing occasionally due to her exhaustion. The effort to get through the snow was hard enough for Ellie, and she wasn’t the one trudging through it. “Easy, girl.” Ellie comforted her horse the best she could before they continued forward. She was utterly lost, and with little to no experience with the Creek Trails, Ellie believed that she was truly done for.
Luckily for Ellie, a voice called back for her. “Ellie!”
The girl’s expression brightened slightly, urging Shimmer to continue forward toward the voice. Past the cloud of snow that covered everything in her path, Ellie could see the silhouette of Dina. She trudged forward until her eyes caught Dina’s brown ones. They shielded themselves from the falling snow with their arms as they spoke.
“You know that ski lodge not far from here?” Dina called, her voice barely audible through the roaring of the storm. Ellie thought for a moment before nodding. “But Dina,” She began before being cut off by the other girl. “We have no choice.” Dina pleaded, her brows furrowing in fear. Ellie read her expression before nodding. And with that, they were off towards the ski lodge.
Ellie had only ever patrolled the ski lodge a handful of times. Once or twice with Joel, and the other times with Jesse and Tommy. She didn’t know the area well, but as she followed Dina through the snow, she realized the other girl had a very good understanding of where they were headed. “How often do you work this route?” Ellie called up ahead to Dina. But the question fell upon deaf ears. The storm silenced all conversation, making any attempt pointless.
“Dina!” She called, actually managing to get her attention. Dina twisted backwards to look at Ellie. “What?” She called back. Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat before proceeding. “We need to pick up the speed, it’s only getting worse!”
“I’m trying!” Dina argued back before a deafening cry rang out past the snow. Ellie felt her eyebrows lift with concern and horror before her attention was redirected to Dina. Her skin had gone pale with terror as she clung to her own horse, Japan, harder. “Infected!” She shouted before pulling on Japan’s reins and taking off. Ellie huffed, following after Dina and Japan swiftly.
Dozens of infected made themselves known as they threw themselves through the trees that lined the pathway towards the ski lodge. They croaked and screamed, violently twisting towards the direction of the horses. Their running was jagged and their sense of balance was clearly thrown by the snow. But this made them no less terrifying. Ellie pulled her pistol from its holster, though this only left her with one hand to hold onto Shimmer. Her abdomen twisted to fire at the Runners and Clickers that pursued them. Though, the snowy turran and rough, unpredictable movements of Shimmer made her shots pointless.
Ellie scoffed, still holding her attention on the infected before she was thrown off of Shimmer, and into the heavy snow. Relieved at the snow beneath her, Ellie was grateful that it wasn’t concrete that greeted her fall. However, the horde raged towards her, “Fuck!” She exclaimed before scrambling to her feet. Her body jolted, attempting to get away as the horde neared her. The immune girl collapsed to the ground yet again, a runner falling upon her and swinging its arms violently. A simple bite wouldn’t be enough to turn or kill Ellie, but infected we’re still capable of mauling her lean figure, or ripping her face apart. She held back the infected with one arm, the other reaching for a switchblade.
The disgusting creature attempted to gnaw at Ellie, crying and screeching as it twitched violently. Ellie, finally holding a grasp on her switchblade, reached up to stab the runner. Yet, the infected knocked the weapon from the girl's hand, and into the snow. The girl felt her eyes widen with dread, kicking wildly beneath the fungal monster to get away. The runner lunged forward towards her before it collapsed to her right, blood spitting from its head. Ellie, frozen in place from shock, only stared at the runner, not realizing a hand was grabbing ahold of her arm and was yanking onto her feet.
“Let’s go!” The person cried, catching Ellie’s attention. It was a woman, Ellie could say for sure, but other than that the snow and bundles of winter clothing hid the girls features. Ellie only nodded, turning from the horde as the other girl released her arm. The two took off into a sprint, Ellie hoping that they’d possibly encounter Shimmer. Ellie took occasional glances at the mysterious woman, her brows furrowed with suspicion but curiosity. She didn’t recognize her voice or the little features that she could see of the girl. She was certainly not from the area. The people of Jackson were never the type to shoot on site. Maria and Tommy specifically made the settlement to be welcoming to those in need, and to provide shelter and security; a chance at a normal life. Yet, they were always cautious with newcomers.
The two women eventually discovered a clear building in their sprint. The infected were still not far behind. The mysterious woman pointed to an open window before placing her hands on her knee. “I’ll boost you.” She told Ellie. Ellie, reluctantly, climbed atop of the woman and pulled herself in through the window before reaching an arm out for the other girl. The woman’s grip on Ellie’s hand was firm, and the two managed to get her in through the window with little trouble.
They stopped to collect their breath, both breathing heavily and Ellie with a light pant. She turned to the mysterious woman, nodding towards her briefly. “Thanks.” She muttered softly, the expression of gratitude hardly audible. The other woman only nodded slowly, removing her winter beanie and allowing a bundled up braid to fall from the beanie. She rubbed her face briefly, her cheeks and nose bright red from the cold outside.
Adjusting the straps of her backpack, she turned towards Ellie. “My friends, we’re held up in a mansion not far from here.” She paused to further collect her breath, “Could be worth heading there, holding out until this storm ends. Those infected will find their way inside soon enough, and it’s not warm enough for us here.”
Ellie took another look around the building they had taken shelter in. The girl was right. Realizing this, Ellie allowed a sigh to escape her. She shifted uncomfortably, “I was, I was with another girl just now,” she began uneasily, “I fell off my horse, but she didn’t notice and kept riding.” A bang at the door interrupted her sentence, causing the two to stumble backwards slightly. “We can’t stay here.” The woman argued.
The thought stirred in Ellie’s mind angrily. She couldn’t possibly imagine leaving Dina out in such weather. But an idea tickled her mind. Dina was a responsible woman, who knew this area far better than Ellie did. Her eyes flicked back to the other woman before she offered a reluctant nod. With this nod of permission, the two took off towards the mansion.