012. nothing is ever simple

Aurora sits on the hood of a car, leaning back against the windscreen as she watches a few birds fly over in the sky. They'd stopped for gas, Joel siphoning any that he can from the surrounding vehicles, so that they can continue on their journey towards Tommy. She's not being much help, that much she does know, but there is just an exhaustion that has settled over her. It may have something to do with the fact she'd been crammed in the back seat with very little room, and therefore she'd been unable to actually get any rest — that's what she's betting on anyway.

"Aurora!"

The brunette turns her head and looks at a grinning Ellie who is waving about a book as she stands across from Joel. Aurora's eyesight isn't good enough that she can actually read the cover, but by the unamused look on Joel's face, it's evident it's something that's annoying him.

"What did the mermaid wear to her math class?" Ellie calls over, reading the line out of the book.

Ah, a joke book.

"I don't know. What?" Aurora smiles, much more willing to listen than her Uncle.

"An algae bra," Ellie exclaims, her grin only getting bigger.

Aurora, admittedly, has to stop the laugh from falling from her lips by biting it. Due to the fact she'd grown up with Joel, she can almost guarantee she won't have heard most of these. To be fair to him, however, not many people in their modern world are really up for telling jokes to each other — humour is a rather forgotten aspect of people's lives.

Just as she expected, her uncle is still the furthest thing from amused as he tells Ellie that she can wait in the car instead. The teenager rolls her eyes and puts the book back inside her bag, Aurora is one hundred percent certain that it'll make a reappearance at some stage on their journey — it could be days before they actually find Tommy.

Not long after, Joel tells the two girls to get back in the car and Aurora slips into the passenger seat this time whilst Ellie sits comfortably in the back. She really wishes she could drive, maybe give him time to have a small nap, but they'll probably all end up with severe injuries if she takes the wheel.

Aurora gently twists the end of her hair as the car starts up, the small group now ready for the next part of the trip. Ellie is looking around curiously, eyeing up all the different cars that are on the sides of the roads. Out of the corner of her eye, Aurora sees Ellie stick her hand into the back of the seat cover and pull out a tape of some sort. Leaning forward, once again completely disregarding the fact she should probably be wearing a seatbelt, she holds it out in front of Joel.

"Here. This make you all nostalgic?" Ellie teases, a wide smile pulling at her lips.

Aurora leans over and reads the cover — 'Hank Williams (The Original Singles Collection)'. Aurora has absolutely no idea who that is, in fact even just the image of the man on the front makes her think that it may be quite a bit older than herself. By the scoff that Joel gives off, she can also make the assumption that it's actually older than him too.

"This is actually before my time," Joel responds. "It is a winner though,"

Joel takes the tape out and pushes it into the opening in the car stereo. The music begins to play throughout the car, filling the quiet that had begun to take place. Seemingly happy that she managed to find something of use back there, Ellie now searches in the car seat cover on Aurora's side, pulling out a book of some sort.

Aurora turns her head and her eyes widen slowly. "Uh- Ellie,"

"It's light on the reading but it has some interesting pictures," Ellie comments, turning the book so that she can get a better look at something.

Joel, who has now also realised what she has, begins to protest. "No, no, no. Put that back. That's not for kids Ellie,"

Ellie's eyes widen and her mouth falls open. "How would be even walk around with that thing?"

Aurora can feel her own face turning scarlet red, embarrassment filling her to the brim. How do you even explain something like this? Thankfully, she isn't the responsible adult in the car, at least that's how she sees it. Joel continues to protest from beside her, obviously just as out of depth as Aurora.

"Hold your horses. I wanna see what all the fuss is about," Ellie dismisses, still looking at the magazine. "Why are all these pages stuck together?"

Aurora can't help it, she burst into a fit of laughter at the mischievous look on Ellie's face. Her uncle, on the other hand, is a stuttering mess as he tries to explain.

"I'm just fucking with you!" Ellie exclaims, her words coming out with a chuckle. She rolls down the window and throws the magazine out the window. "Bye bye dude!"

They continue to drive on, passing by several herds of animals and plenty of greenery. The water underneath the bridge they pass on is littered with half sunken ships and pieces of debris, the parking lots afterwards full of broken down cars. In some ways it's beautiful, the peace of the surrounding areas so serene, but it's so hard to go passed the fact that so much death and destruction has been left alongside it.

Joel, who looks as if he's about to collapse into a deep sleep, decides to pull over on the side of the road. He turns into what looks like a field, driving a little further so that they have the coverage of the trees rather than being left out in the open.

Aurora gets out of the car with a small groan, stretching her legs out and finally feeling some relief. Never, in her entire life, has she had to sit in such a cramped space for such a long period of time. She can only imagine how difficult it must have been pre-infected, for people to do this constantly.

Joel begins to set up their small camp, bringing out the small cooker that he managed to find. Bill was seemingly ready for any scenario and had so many things ready to go for when they struck. Within minutes, the three of them have meals to eat.

Aurora grew up learning to savour what she was given, as most of the time they ended up with hardly any rations between them. Without fail, Joel or Tommy would split their's with her as well just so she had a little more. Ellie, on the other hand, is practically shoveling the food into her mouth. The brunette can't blame her, she really can't, sometimes it's simply too hard to ignore the temptation.

"Slow down," Joel grumbles, cutting up some of the meat on his plate and eyeing the girl who doesn't take his advice.

"This is slow," Ellie responds, mouth full of food. "What am I even eating?"

"That is twenty year old Chef Boyardee ravioli,"

Aurora can't help but hum in appreciation for the food, even if it may be the slightest bit stale. It's hard to come across food like this these days, usually she is stuck with beans or jerky.

"So how long are we staying out here?" Ellie questions.

"I figure I sleep tonight and drive tomorrow, all day, all night. Should get us to Wyoming by the next morning," Joel answers.

Sleeping under the stars is an odd yet almost extraordinary thing to Aurora, it's a beautiful sight that probably deprives her of hours of rest. By the time she awakes the next morning, she's still exhausted and is practically of no help as her uncle packs up the small camp. Ellie arises even later than her, moving over to the pot of coffee.

"Ugh! What the fuck is that?" Ellie exclaims with a disgusted look plastered upon her face.

"You don't like coffee?" Joel asks.

Ellie simply continues to look on with a look of disdain. Aurora crouches down beside it and pours herself a cup, smiling at the way Ellie seems to openly judge her for her choice. "I don't like it either kid, but I'm so fucking exhausted that I might just suffer through it,"

Aurora cringes as sips on her drink, trying her hardest not to spill it as Joel pulls out of the clearing. It's so bitter, nothing about it is remotely nice, but she suffers through it as she can already feel the caffeine having an effect on her body — she feels more alert, switched on even.

"Is that seriously what those Starbucks in the QZ used to sell?" Ellie questions, sticking her head in between the two front seats so that she can engage the Millers in conversation.

"Well, their's was a lot fresher than what Bill saved up, but yeah, it's what they sold," Joel explains, taking another sip.

"I can't believe people actually paid money for this shit," Aurora interjects, her face screwing up as she drinks a little more. "Surely there was something nicer,"

"Oh there was. Tea, hot chocolate, but coffee was extremely popular. I know where you get your distaste from, your mum hated this stuff,"

Aurora's lips lift slightly at that, happy that once again he's finding ways to teach her new things about her mother. It's not often he does, but on occasion an obscure fact like that will be thrown at her and she can uncover more things about the woman that she wishes she knew.

"Where in Wyoming did you say your brother was?" Ellie asks Joel, holding a map open in the backseat.

"Last contact came through a radio tower close to Cody," Joel's eyes flick back to her, before returning to the road.

Ellie's eyes search the map intently, looking for the place where they are to be heading. Aurora has never been good at directions, nor has she been good at remembering the names of different places — hence why she ended up lost for seven years. It's better for her, and them, if she merely stays out of the conversation when it comes to where they're going. They seem to be figuring it out amongst themselves just fine, so Aurora decides to just keep watch on the road.

She hopes, with everything in her, that they're able to find Tommy. It's probably a long shot, the world is such a big place, but she doesn't allow the hope to simmer out and die. It might be a dangerous thing to have in this life, but she holds onto it with an iron fist.

"What's your brother's name?" Ellie questions.

"Tommy,"

"Younger or older?"

"Younger,"

"And this isn't Aurora's dad, right? I'm a little confused on the whole familial relationship there,"

"No. Rory's mum was our sister,"

It's like he's giving the girl an entire run down of the Miller family history, not that there's much of it left. There are only three known members of that family who actually lived passed outbreak day, and two of them are in this car.

"Why isn't he with you?" Ellie asks.

"Tommy's what we used to call a "joiner." Dreams of becomin' a hero," Joel begins to explain, a deep sigh falling from his lips as Aurora now looks over at him too.

"So he enlisted in the Army right outta high school. A few months later, they ship him off to Desert Storm. Being inthe Army didn't make him feel much like a hero. Cut to 12 years later, outbreak happens. He convinces me to join a group makin' their way up to Boston, which I did mostly to keep an eye on him, keep him alive,"

Aurora had been along for that ride too, she doesn't remember much of it though.

It's where we met Tess. And that whole crew, for what it was, it worked. And then Tommy meets Marlene. She talks him into joining the Fireflies. Same mistake he made when he was 18. Wants to save the world, pipe dream,"

Aurora swallows lightly.

"Last I heard he quit the Fireflies too. Now he's on his own out there and I gotta go get him,"

Aurora had spent so long looking for him all those years ago, she wishes she could say she was even close. However, Joel seems to have a little more luck with these things than her so maybe this time it'll be different.

"You keep going for family," Joel tacks onto the end of his previous statement.

Ellie gives him a thoughtful gaze before speaking again. "I'm not family,"

"No. You're cargo,"

It's harsh, and yet somewhat the truth. Aurora cannot even guarantee that he would have continued on this journey if it wasn't for the fact he'd made a promise to Tess before she died. A cure has been heard of so many times before, the word thrown around more than it should've been, and most have become desensitized to the idea entirely — Joel included. But a promise, Joel has never been real keen on breaking those with people he loves.

"What if you don't find him?" Ellie asks softly, her gaze now away from Joel.

"I will, I'm persistent. You got up pretty early, if you wanna grab some more sleep—"

"Pft! I'm not even tired,"

The light snores that fill the car minutes later seem to disprove the fact. Once again, it leave the relatives in an awkward silence. Aurora tries her hardest to pretend like it isn't, that the two of them are simply just comfortable with quiet, but she knows it's not true.

"You know, I-uh- I never apologized for what I said that day," Aurora is the one who finally breaks the silence, her voice quiet and rather brittle.

"Ain't got nothing to apologize for, you were right," Joel responds, his tone almost flat.

"No, I wasn't. Nothing I said to you that day was even remotely true, Uncle Joel. Fuck, I've spent the last seven years of my life wishing I could go back and make sure it didn't happen. I-I thought I'd never see you again when I got lost, the last thing I wanted was for that to be how we ended things,"

Joel finally tears his gaze away from the road, giving his niece a glance. Her lips is trembling ever so slightly, emotions threatening to boil over as she sits there. They'd both have their regrets, ones they wish they could rectify.

"I-I went looking for him," Aurora's voice is a whisper, a pained one at that. "I thought if I found him, it could make me feel better,"

The him in question has Joel clenching his jaw. "I thought you said you went looking for Tommy,"

"I did and when I couldn't find him, I thought maybe I could hunt down the man who was supposed to be my father,"

"You're not my fucking father Joel and good fucking riddance for that too! I don't want you in my life! I'm not my mother and I'm certainly not here to replace her because you and Tommy let her die!"

It had been emotion fueled, hatred hissing out of her with every word she'd spoke. She still remembers the way he'd flinched back slightly at her yell, a brief glimmer of sadness in his eyes before it was glossed over with anger of his own. There had been more words thrown about, and it had left a scar on their relationship — made even worse by her up and leaving.

She'd been so mad, at Joel for constantly acting as if she was unable to care for herself and even at Tommy for leaving. They'd been the only two constant people in her life, and when their relationship had collapsed in a heap, so did she.

"I didn't find him, I don't even know if he's actually alive. It took me a long time, but I've finally realized that I don't care if he is. He abandoned mum and made it his goal to destroy her happiness, I understand that now. I'm so sorry for what I said that day, fuck Joel I'm sorry I left,"

Joel slows the car ever so slightly, just so he can actually look to her without there being any danger of crashing. "I forgave you a long time ago, Rory,"

"You were the closest thing I ever had to a parental figure growing up and from the stories you and Tommy have told me, Mum would be so grateful for you,"

"I once told her a long time ago that I would look after you like you were my own, it was a promise I made to my family. You were always my responsibility, my kid, ain't no argument going to change that — no matter how bad it might have been,"

Aurora sniffles softly, leaning over and leaning her head against his shoulder lightly. Joel presses a kiss to the top of her head, in a way he used to do to Sarah before tucking her in for bed. "I love you, kiddo, nothing gonna stop that,"

"I love you too," Aurora responds, pulling away from him.

There's a slight rustling in the back of the car as Ellie slowly starts to wake, clearly finally rested enough. Aurora quickly wipes underneath her eyes, not wanting the younger girl to think that anything was wrong. Thankfully, in her rather sleepy state, she doesn't take much notice.

Joel slowly drives around some cars before opening his door and slipping out, grabbing his gun. He walks ahead slightly, almost as if he's looking for something, some way passed all the banked up cars that are going to keep them from making their way through.

When he returns, he grabs the map from Ellie. "How far do we have to go back to get around this?" The girl asks.

Joel traces some of the routes on the map and sighs, starting the car and turning them around. "We can go right around this tunnel, take the next ramp and we're back on the road within minutes,"

It's a relatively good idea, the other way seemingly much clearer. Ellie is still trying to give out some sort of directions, when she finally tells him to stop. Joel listens, stopping the car and looking where she now is.

"Is that the QZ? Where the fuck is FEDRA?" Ellie questions.

Aurora frowns, looking out the window at the deserted gate.

"Hey! Please help!"

Aurora immediately knows that this isn't a good sign. A man limps out in front of them, seemingly injured and needing assistance. However, she's been around long enough to know different.

"Are we gonna help him?" Ellie asks.

"No," Joel responds.

He speeds forward, the man jumping out of the way just in time to avoid the oncoming car. Aurora looks up and can see several people posted around with guns aimed right at them, ready to shoot at a moments notice. Something falls from above, crashing into the windscreen and cracking the glass astronomically, enough to throw Joel off. The car swerves, the sound of screeching tires echoing in Aurora's ears.

He manages to dodge and oncoming person with a gun, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as he makes a sharp turn. The unfortunate consequence?

The car smashes straight through the side of a building.

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