Dina laughed loudly as they walked through the busy streets of Jackson, "No way?! You? In a hotel?!"

"Yeah..." Ellie chuckled, "He fell into the bottom of an elevator shaft, and I was on my own. I just beat the hell out of an entire raider group,"

"When you were 14?!"

"That's the crazy part! A bunch of raiders couldn't kill or see a fourteen-year old coming."

"Damn," Dina shook her head, "I wish I had the balls to do that when I was fourteen." She examined her face, all the scars that were showing, especially on her right eyebrow, "You know what, you win. You have done crazier shit than me."

"Well that is particularly sport of you..."

"Sport? Of you? God, you sound like a fifty-year old."

"I have picked up some phrases here and there." Ellie shrugged, "So, what do you do around here anyways?"

"Look at her," Dina smiled, "Getting all personal."

"Hey, I just want to know. Fine, I'll tell you mine first since you're shy." Ellie joked.

She smirked widely. "I am not - "

"Basically my job here is to scout and guard the dam," She flailed her arms in the air, "Wasn't that hard,"

"I was just saying, Ellie, you were getting a little bit personal," Dina stated, "Since I just got here, my job isn't that special. All I do is wash the horses often. You know, since some people go raiding, people use the horses."

"I use the horses," She said.

"Really? You know how to ride a horse?" Dina surprisingly questioned.

"Yeah," She scratched her head, "I mean, I can ride it. Not too much of a pro, either."

"Where did you learn how to ride one?"

"Back when I was thirteen," Ellie recalled, "There was this guy near my school named Winston, he thought me and my friend how to ride one."

"Lucky son of a bitch," She rolled her tongue, "I would love to learn how to ride one,"

"I can teach you," She suggested, "Tomorrow, after lunch. I'm on a shift anyways."

"Um," Dina thought and nodded, "Hell, why not. I don't suppose my friends would be bothered."

"Your friends? You don't have parents?"

"I... I don't - "  She stuttered.

Ellie waved her hand, "It - It's fine. I've heard enough stories about things like that."

"You know this too much," Dina remarked.

"I do," Ellie touched her switchblade, "Maybe a little bit too much."

They continued to walk, until they reached a forest-green house with a porch on front. It was mixed with white and black areas which made the house look retro. There was moss growing out of the sides, signifying the amount of time that has passed since it was built. It was well lit up, with a lamp that was shining brightly outside. To the side, there were clothes that were hung, which were washed by Joel.

"I guess this is where it ends," Ellie noted. She looked towards Dina, "Hey, really, thanks for saving me back there. It was nice meeting you too."

"You too, Ellie." She beamed. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

"Same here," She clicked, "Anyways, see you soon?"

"Mhm," Dina nodded and walked the other direction.

"Oh, by the way!" Ellie called which made her turn around for a second, "Wait, damn. I had a joke about amnesia,"

"And?"

"Well, I forgot how it goes,"

Dina widened her lips and cringed, "That was terrible,"

"I know," Ellie couldn't contain her happiness, smiling widely as she walked away.

Silence followed their encounter. Ellie watched as Dina went further away from her, staring at her throughout. The happiness that she felt was different. There was feeling of Riley that was in her. When she was out of sight, every action came back to her. All of the sounds of the people simultaneously returned. She noticed the adults playing poker outside their houses. The children using water guns and shooting at one another. Near her, people looked at her strangely and she felt anxious.

She turned around and went inside their house. In the kitchen table was a well-cooked steak with a little bit of vegetables. There was some fine wine that was sitting on the table. She finally noticed Joel laughing with Esther, who was dressed in a v-neck and leather pants. She looked fresh, as she had turned forty-seven a month ago. Her appearance seemed like she was at her early-30's. They seemed better off with not seeing her.

Ellie carefully approached the stairs, tip-toeing her way over. The shouting of the children suppressed the sound of the footsteps. It also helped that they were conversing loudly with one another. The stairs were just a few meters away from her, she began to rush towards it. In the corner of her eye, Esther saw Ellie passing by, "Oh, hey Ellie!" She noticed the blood that was on her hoodie, "You went hunting again?"

Ellie stopped. She bit her tongue and closed her eyes in anger and failure. To cool off, she began to wave towards her, "Hi, Esther. Yeah, I... I went hunting again."

It was the only thing Ellie wished didn't happen. Joel turned his back and began to nod at her, "Ellie!" He started to have a disappointing face. "Didn't know you would be back soon."

"Really?" Ellie continued, "I thought you knew that I was not overtime for today?"

Joel chuckled and pointed at her, "Can't you believe this girl, Esther? Let me have a word with her for a second."

"Sure, Joel. Have a talk with your busy girl." Esther accepted while chewing on the food.

Joel strolled over to Ellie who looked like she was backed into a corner. She stood still and took the punishment from him just like always. It felt like she was shuffling, trying to make something up. He noticed it and his eyebrows grew closer which only meant one thing.

"Joel, I - "

He intervened and whispered, "Hunting, Ellie? At night?"

"At least your happy that I'm alive, right?" Ellie pointed out quietly.

There was red spots that were burning all over her neck, "Is that a mark?" He reached out to her wounds but she deflected his hand out of the way, "Ellie, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Joel..." She held her right arm. "Besides, I had a better night than expected."

"Your neck doesn't say so," He started to look at any more scratches, but the blood was the biggest clue, "Did you go hunting for animals or something else?"

"Joel..." She scolded.

"I - I'm just worried, Ellie. Did you get attacked?"

"Ye - yes. I did. Alright, it's over, okay? We're done talking about this..."

"We are." He tapped her on the shoulder, "You hungry?"

"I'm good. I'll just go to sleep."

"But..." He paused when she started walking up the stairs, "Get some rest. Let's talk in the morning."

"Sure, Joel." She muttered, getting to the top of the stairs.

"Oh, and Ellie!" Joel called loudly enough to get the attention of both her and Esther, "I have some fresh clothes for you in your closet."

Ellie turned around and smiled, "Night." She then walked towards her room while slouching, showing some fatigue.

He let out a sigh as she left his sight. "Goodnight, Ellie."

Esther began shaking her head, "She did something bad again, didn't she?"

"Oh... she didn't. She was getting some food outside for the next week."

"Is it that," She looked at him and chuckled at him, "Or does she not like the stew?"

"What?" He pretended to seem surprised, "No she doesn't. She loves it."

"Well," She shrugged, "I think she doesn't like me."

"Esther." He growled as he pulled the chair back so he could sit down. "She does like you."

"How do you know that, Joel," concern in her eyes. "She's not even your child."

"I just..." He placed his hand on his head, "I just know it, okay?"

The outside world quieted down to a few murmurs. The only loud sound was coming from below, where Joel and Esther were talking. From the hallway window, the street lights were bright as ever. Many carts containing wheat, grains, and seeds were left on the streets which were to be pushed in the morning. Jackson built a honest and truthful community where stealing and crimes were non-existent. It is to be expected, especially that they are one of the last communities in the U.S.

Ellie softly pushed her door to reveal her room. It was calm which made her uneasy. Her clothes were neatly stacked on her bed. She turned around and locked her door. From the stack of clothes, she picked the blackest hoodie from it. Once everything calmed down completely, she took off her hoodie as the air touched her soft skin. The breeze made her shiver. Air sucked the pain out of her wounds. There were multiple scars already on her body. On her lower chest, there was a large wound that came from a bandit with a machete that slashed her a few weeks after they arrived in Jackson. There were also large scratch wounds on her back from wolves around the area. She was just relieved that she used to be a military student.

There was a continuous nagging pain on her right knee. To make sure there wasn't too much pain, she slowly and carefully removed her pants, avoiding the wound. It was not bleeding too much, but there were still droplets of blood that were dripping. She grabbed the gauze that was on her bedside table and applied it to her wound. It was just normal procedure. Wrapping it around the leg and keeping it there seemed like a part of everyday life to her already.

Once it was finished, Ellie laid on her bed, tired from all the stress the hunting trip caused her. The only thing that seemed to cheer her up was Dinah, who made her all nostalgic which didn't particularly happen often. She just wanted to get some sleep so she could see her again the next day. From all the pain, Ellie could only mutter a few words before drifting off, "Goddamit."

{ The Next Day }

Ellie felt a little bit different when she awoke from sleep. The most notable was that she was wearing clothes now after she was unable to put on before she passed out. She tried to sit up straight and squinted her eyes. There was a sitting figure wearing a brown-buttoned shirt while staring outside of the window. She quickly realized it was Joel.

He heard her groans and looked to her, "Rough night?"

"I've had rougher," She rubbed her forehead, messing up her hair even more. The room seemed like it was cleaner. "You cleaned my room?"

"I cleaned your room and dressed you up." He stood up and revealed the hunting rifle he was holding. "You know, you should really wear something before you go to sleep."

"Feels better to do it when you have a wound on your knee." She yawned.

"I patched that up too."

Ellie rubbed her knee and instantly felt soft cloth. Not only was it patched, but she was wearing baggy pajamas. "Really?"

"You wear jeans to sleep?" He chuckled.

She looked at him and smiled, "You, of all people, should know that by now."

"Yeah," Joel scratched his beard, "I should."

"So..." Ellie stood and walked over to the mirror, "Hunting today? After I failed yesterday?"

"Actually, I'm going out with Tommy today..." He sighed, "You want to talk about yesterday."

"Nope." She quickly replied, trying to fix her hair. "I look like shit."

"You don't act like this on most days," He looked at her reflection, "Where you going today? Or who are you meeting."

"No one, just thought I should look nice today." She turned around after adjusting her hair a little more, "Better?"

"Yeah, you don't look like a person who got out of bed," He moved some hair that was blocking her face, "There, much better." The red marks that were on her neck continued to bother him even more, "One way or another, I'm going to find out what happened to you."

"Good luck with that." She smirked.

"Come on, Ellie. Will it hurt if you tell me what happened?"

"Probably..." She shrugged. "It's like any other day," She turned to him and stared at his eyes, "Another bad hunting day."

"I know what a bad hunting day looks like for you... it doesn't look this."

"Joel, I promise it's nothing..." There was silence.

"I hope it is. I just - " He paused when radio chatter echoed through the room. Picking it up, he turned his back on her, "Yeah? You good... I'm ready to go."

"I guess you have some work to do with Tommy," She raised her hands up. "You'll be back before dinner?"

"Of course," He tapped her shoulder, "You stay out of danger, alright? Take care."

"C'mon, Joel. I don't always get into trouble."

"I know," He took a step out of the door, "but I care about it if it's you."

"Awh..." She joked, "You - uh... take care."

"You too, Ellie. See you later."

As soon as Joel left, Ellie had loneliness fill her again. There she was, standing by herself without anyone beside her. Before she went off to work, she had a change of clothes. Just like last night, she made sure there was nobody watching.

Now it was morning, it was a quiet morning. There were people who were still grumpy while carrying over materials. Children were still slouching while waiting for their parents to do work. Ellie tried her best to ignore it and exchanged the hoodie Joel had put on her for a grey shirt that she had found in a dumpster on the way to Salt Lake City. To cover the bite, she wrapped more gauze but on her right arm

{ A Few Hours Later }

Ellie was helping Maria carry over some scraps that the workers at the plant were supposed to use. For three years, the dam was looking great and hadn't been attacked since they first arrived at the place. It still looked fresh and new. They weren't having too many problems with the facility. It was always providing enough electricity for everyone.

"So, Joel and Tommy went out today, any idea where they're heading?" Ellie questioned, easily carrying the bag of scraps.

"I didn't entirely hear all of it but I did hear about some gang that started living near here."

"Mhm," She silently responded.

"Why? What makes you ask?"

"Nothing. I'm just worried about Joel."

"You two," She covered her mouth when she let out a chuckle, "Good to know you still have each other's backs."

"He did everything for me, and I am happy that he did." Ellie nodded.

"I'm glad that you managed to find Joel. You two are just..." Maria looked at her, "perfect for each other."

She chuckled, "We are far from perfect but, I am thankful that I got to meet him."

Their attention was brought to a woman that was wearing a purple tank top with long jeans and boots who was trying to enter the dam's factory through the steel gate. Ellie seemed a little shocked by her appearance but given their interaction yesterday, she wasn't surprised too much. Maria sensed there was something, which made her smile a little.

"Who's the girl, Ellie? A friend?" Maria encouraged.

"It's a - uh..." She laid the scraps on the floor, "I'll be right back."

Maria watched as Ellie ran over to Dina, while she stood there laughing in her mind over the fact that she had finally made a friend. It filled her with joy as she grabbed Ellie's bag that she had dropped to move it towards the factory.

On the other hand, Ellie slowed down at the gate and approached Dina, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I thought you said we were going horse-riding?" She argued.

"I said after lunch, Dina." She scolded her.

"I had nothing better to do, okay, Ellie?" She pointed to the back where there were two horses hitched to the tree, "I got your horse so we might as well ride."

"I've got work, okay, Dina? I'll just finish up here and then we'll ride." She turned her back to Maria who was almost inside the factory. "Maria, I can led you a - "

"Oh, I'm fine here, Ellie. You could go with your friend." She waved her hand.

"But I - "

"No 'buts' Ellie. Go and have some fun. I can handle myself." She reassured.

Ellie nodded in frustration. "Take care. Remember, I'm always on the radio..."

"I know, Ellie, I know."

She looked at Dina who had a smile on her face while Ellie was opening the gate, "I was busy."

"I saw that, Ellie. But I guess, you aren't now."

"Great way of getting to me, Dina." She annoyingly said.

"I could always return the horses and return - "

"Don't start it, Dina." She stared into her eyes for a moment, not facing anywhere else but hers. She was lost for a moment but shook her head, "We're here anyways. Might as well teach you."