I was on lookout when a rabbit comes up from a hole and looks around, I raise up my bow and arrow, steady my breathing, and fired at it, hitting it in the neck. I walk towards the rabbit, picking it up and remove the arrow.  "Oh, this won't last very long." I muttered as I put the arrow away and walk towards Fiona, tying the dead rabbit to her saddle.

I heard some hooves coming towards me and I look up to see Elliot riding Callus towards us. "Find anything?" I asked him as he dismounts from his horse. "Just some squirrels." He said ad he gestures towards some dead squirrels that he had tied up. He looks over my shoulder then his eyes widen. "What?" I asked then I turn around and saw a deer some feet away from us.

Elliot and I share a glance at each other then grab the reigns of our horses and toss them on a branch. "You two'll just startle it." Elliot said and he and I start to follow the deer. I shoot at it and the arrow hits the deer. It let's out a painted screech and it runs off. "Come on." Elliot said and we chase after the deer.

We find it, still alive, and Elliot goes to shoot it and he hits it as well. The deer let's out another screech and runs off. We follow the blood trail, that the deer left, to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Elliot and I look around, nervously, at this place as it was giving me creepy vibes.

We run through a building and see the deer, now dead. We go towards the dead deer, still impaled with our arrow. Elliot observes it when I heard a snap of a twig and I turn around and aim my arrow at a tree, Elliot follows.

"Who's there?" I asked as we hold up our bow and arrow, but there was no response. "Come out!" Elliot orders and, finally, two men come out from behind a tree. One of them, who wS carrying a rifle on his back, holds out his hand. "Hello... we just want to talk." He said to us.

"Any sudden moves and I put one right between your eyes." Elliot threatens and I aim my arrow at the other guy. "Ditto for buddy-boy over there." I said.

"What do you want?" Elliot asked the men. "Name's David, this here's my friend, James. We're from a larger group - women, children - we're all very, very hungry." David said. "So are we - women and children - all very hungry too." Elliot said, firmly. 

"Well, maybe we could, ah, trade you for some of that meat there. What do you need? Weapons, ammo, clothes -" David started to say until I said, quickly. "Medicine! Do you have any antibiotics?"

"We do. Back at the camp." David said and he approaches us. "You're welcome to follow us-" he said but we shake our heads. "We're not following you anywhere." Elliot said and David stops moving. "Buddy-boy can go get it. He comes back with what we need, the deer is all yours. Anyone else shows up-" I said and David nods. "You put one right between my eyes." He finishes. "That's right." Elliot and I said, in unison.

David then turns to James. "Two bottle of the penicillin and a syringe. Make it fast." David said as Elliot and I point our arrow at James. "Go on." David said and James leaves then Elliot and I point our arrow at David.

"I'll take that rifle." Elliot said to him. "Of course." David said and he walks up to Elliot, placing the rifle in front of him. "Back up." I threatened as I aim my bow and arrow to him and he walks back a few feet.

Elliot puts his bow and arrow away then picks up the rifle and pulls back the bolt to see it is loaded then aims it at David. There was a long pause as David looks around.  He's probably gonna be a while. You ah, mind is we take some shelter from the cold?" Davi asked and I gesture towards the deer. "Bring him with us." I ordered.
David walks up to the dead deer, grabs it's antlers and proceeds to drag it towards a small barn. Elliot keeps the rifle trained on him and I keep my bow and arrow aimed at him as well.

Moments later. David tends to a small fire as we reside inside the barn. Elliot and I sat a few feet away, Elliot holding the rifle and I holding the bow. "There. You know, you two really shouldn't be out here all on your own." David said as he looks up at us. "We don't like company. Just each other." Elliot said, roughly.

"I see. What's your names?" He asked us. "Why?" Elliot and I asked him. "Look, I understand it's not easy to trust a couple of strangers. Whoever's hurt, you two clearly care about them. I'm sure it's gonna be just fine." David assures us. "We'll see." I muttered but then we hear a cry of an Infected.

The three of us stand up and start checking the windows. A Clicker runs into the room, stopping at the door as it listens for sound. Elliot steps back, causing the Clicker to roar and race towards him. But before I could do anything, a gun fires, two bullets striking the Clicker down. David, holding a revolver, walks up to the wounded Infected, killing it with a bullet to the head.

"You had another gun?" I asked him, shocked and angry. "Sorry." He said then he looks out an empty doorway. He then holds his hand out towards Elliot. "Okay. I'd really like my rifle back now." He said to Elliot. "No. You have your pistol." Elliot said as I put away the bow and I pull out my own pistol.

"I hope you know how to use that thing." David said to Elliot, gesturing to the rifle. "I've had some practice." Elliot said and the three of us ending up shooting a few infected that ran towards us.

We moved around the old warehouse and killed any infected that came at us. At one point, we encounter a bloated but Elliot and I still had some molotov on us and we throw it at the monster, which kills it.

Eventually, we stopped as we listened around and noticed that it was very quiet. Elliot, David and I look around the old warehouse to make sure it was clear. Once we finished looking around, we go back to the shack where the fire was nearly burnt out.

David walks over to it, picking up a stick and begins tending it again. He looks at us as we were sitting across from him, having placed our weapons beside us. "You two handled yourselves pretty nicely back there. Ha, whew. I'd say we make a pretty good team." David said as Elliot and I warm our hands over the growing fire.

"Psshh. We got lucky." I said to David. "Lucky? No, no... No such thing as luck. No you see I believe that everything happens for a reason." David said to us and I scoff at this. "Sure." Elliot said in a mocking tone. "I do. And I can prove it to you. Now, this winter has been especially cruel. A few weeks back, I ah... sent a group of men out - nearby town to look for food. Only a few came back." David said and Elliot and I furrow our brow at him, wondering where this was going.

"They said that the others had been ah, slaughtered by a crazy man. And get this, he's - a crazy man traveling..." he said as he points his stick at us. "...with a little girl and a little boy." He finished and my heart dropped at this as I stare at David with worry. "You see? Everything happens for a reason." David said just as Elliot and I stand up, Elliot standing in front of me, protectively, as he holds up the rifle and aims it at David.

David dismisses it, tending to the fire again. "Now don't get upset. It's not your fault." He said as he looks at the doorway then at us. "You're just kids. James, lower the gun." David said and Elliot and I turn and see James aiming his gun at us, both of us do the same.

"No way, David. I'm not gonna let them go." James said, angrily, as he glares at us. "Lower the gun." David insisted. After several seconds, James complies albeit reluctantly. And David turns back to the fire.

"Now give them the medicine." David said and James enters the room, taking out a bag of penicillin. "The others won't be happy about this." He said as he tosses the bag at our feet. "Yeah, well that's not your concern." David said to him.

I reach down and pick the bag up, while Elliot was still aiming at James. Once I get the bag, both of us begin edging towards the door. "Move the fuck out of the way." Elliot growled and James complies, moving towards David although he keeps watching us as we reach the doorway, still aiming at him. "You won't survive long out there. I can protect both of you." He said to us. "No thanks." Elliot and I said and we run off.

We run off in the snow, stop for a moment, looking back briefly before continuing. Eventually, we reach Callus and Fiona, both still hooked to a branch. "Let's get out of here." Elliot said to me as we remove the reigns off of the branch. "Agreed." I said and we mount the horses and race off.

Once we make it back to this small town, we dismount the horses, pulling them towards a house. We enter the garage, where Elliot shuts the door. We briefly stand with Callus and Fiona before heading into another room. We run down a flight of stairs into a basement and stop in front of Joel, who was lying on the floor with a blanket over him, shaking.

"Joel?" We said as Joel let's out a breathe. We bend down next to him as Elliot said. "We only managed to get a little bit of food. But..." He removes the penicillin from my bag. "We did get this." He said as I pull back Joel's blanket.

"Move your arm." I instructed and be does so and I pull up his t-shirt, revealing his stitched up wound on him torso. "Oh..." I whispered as Elliot prepares the penicillin. "Here we go." He said and he injects it into Joel, causing him to grunt in pain. He removes the needle then said. "Sorry. All done."

He puts the syringe away and I pull Joel's blanket back over him. We lay down beside Joel as he shivers intensely. "You're gonna make it." I whispered as Elliot rests his head on his bag and I curl up to him and both of us go to sleep.

"(Y/n)...(y/n)!" I hear Elliot said and I wake up to see him standing over me, a worried look on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked him, groggily. "Those people from David's group...they found us." He said and I sit up, immediately. "Oh fuck! Really? How?" I asked. "They tracked us." He replied then he looks over at Joel as I get up and grab our bags. "We're gonna draw them away from here. We'll come back for you." Elliot said to Joel and I hand him his back and we run up the stairs, leaving Joel behind.

"Okay, c'mon." I said to Elliot, once we got outside  and he mounts Callus and I get on Fiona. We get away from the house to see a few hunters nearby as they look around the houses. "Are you even sure they're here?" A man asked. "Man, there were horse tracks down the fucking street. They're here." Another man replied and we try to get around them but then I felt someone grab my arm.

"Hey! I got her! And she's not alone!" The hunter said and I stab him in the throat. He let's got and falls down as we look over to see the hunters looking at us. "What are you waiting for? Shoot them!" A hunter ordered. "But David said--" the second hunter muttered but the first hunter talks over him.

"Fuck David. Shoot them now!" And they start to fire at us.

"Go!" Elliot yelled at Callus as I snapped Fiona's reins and we start to gallop through the resort. The hunters fire at us and miss as we steer our horses to avoid any of the hunters that try to grab onto us.

"Shit! They're running away!"

"They're getting away!"

"Shoot the horses! Shoot the fuckin' horses!"

We almost got away but then Callus and Fiona get shot, and throw us down a bank. We tumble down the hill and land at the bottom, just behind an old cabin. "Oh man...No..." I whispered as Elliot looks over and we see that Callus and Fiona were shot through the head. "Oh shit. Okay..." Elliot muttered as I look up at the cliff then I take Elliot's hand and we run into the cabin.

"They fell down the hill somewhere. I don't see them though." A hunter yelled as we jump through the window and hide in the cabin.

"Are we really killing them? David said he wants the kids alive."

"He doesn't get to make that call. James told me it's the kids from the university. How many of our guys were killed there?" 

"Oh shit. I didn't know that was them. Screw David, then. I ain't taking a chance with this."

"I just want to finish up and go home. I'm freezing my ass off."

We hear the men talk among each other as we make our way out of the cabin and hide behind various buildings and then shoot them. After killing all of them, we make our way to an exit on a broken cliffside. "Look, (y/n)....Nature track..." Elliot said as he points out the trail. "Okay, that should get us out of here." I told him and we follow the trail then we had to shimmy against the cliff, to avoid falling into the freezing water.

We get around that then come upon a blocked culvert. "Okay, Elliot...let's move this." I said and both of us move the junk out of the way and we crawl through the culvert. We get out on the other side and run for a bit until we see a large lodge house on the riverside. "That's the way back." Elliot said to me and I nod. "Hang in there, Joel." I whispered as I head to the lodge.

"Cover the grounds! Make sure they're not hiding somewhere over here!" I hear one of the hunters yell and a group of them start to come out as Elliot and I duck down behind some crates. "How many of these fuckers are there?" I asked him. "I don't know, but I'm getting annoyed by it too." He said as I pull out a nail bomb and throw it. They react to the sound it made once it hit the grounds and they run over to it, only for it to blow up in their faces.

"That thing is really handy." Elliot mutters to me. "Yeah..." I said as we get up to the side of the lodge. "Look, we can go through there." I said as I point at the large hole towards the roof. "Okay." He mutters and I go over to the dumpster and both of us pull it towards the wall. We get it up against the wall and both of us climb up it then he goes through the hole first then I climb in next.

"Where's the way out?" Elliot asked me and I shake my head. "I guess we'll find out together." I whispered as we make our way through the lodge. "They're on this side of the lodge!" A man yells and a few men started running towards us.

We fire at them and fight our way through the lodge until we reach the front door. "Oh great, it's blocked." Elliot muttered as we see a bunch of debris in front of the door. "Help me with this." He said to md and both of us shoulder charge the door a few times until it finally opens. "Yes." I whispered but then suddenly I was grabbed and so was Elliot.

"Relax... Keeping you two alive here." David's voice said as he had a hold of me and his friend had a hold ofElliit. "There you go." He said as we struggled to fight but the hold around our necks made it hard for us to breathe and I blackout.

I open my eyes to see that I was in a cell. I groan in frustration as I sit up and see Elliot was next to me as he started to come to. Before either of us could speak, we heard what sounded like something being chopped up. We looked out of our cell and saw a man chopping up a corpse in front of us.

Both of gasp in fright as we see a disembodied arm fall off the table. Then David walks up to our cell carrying a tray with two plates. "How are you kids feeling?" David asked us, softly, as we glare up at him.
"Super." Elliot and I replied, sarcastically.

"Here. You two should eat. I know you're hungry -- been out for quite some time." David said as he slides the tray through the hole at the bottom of the cell door. "What is it?" I asked him, both of us not touching the tray. "It's deer." He replied. "With some human helping on the side?" Elliot asked him, snarkily.

He chuckles and said. "No. No, I promise. It's...just the deer meat." Elliot and I glare at him as Elliot said. "You're a fucking animal." Then we begin to eat the meat as he was right, we were hungry.

"Oh...you're awfully quick to judgment. Considering you two and your friend killed how many men?" David asked us. "They didn't give us a choice." I snapped at him. "And you think we have a choice? Is that it?" He asked me as he and I glare at each other. "You kill to survive...and so do we. We have to take care of our own. By any means necessary." He said to us.

"So now what? You gonna chop us up into tiny pieces?" Elliot asked him. "I'd rather not. Please tell me your names." He said as he looks between us. We glare at him until I shove the tray out of the cell and growled. "You're so full of shit."

"On the contrary, I've been, ah, been quite honest with you two here. Now I think it's your turn. It's the only way I'm gonna be able to convince the others." He said as all of us stand up. "Convince them of what?" Elliot and I asked as I place my hand on the bars. "That both of you can come around." He said then he looks over at me and said. "You have heart. You're loyal. And you're special." He said to ms as he runs his hands over mine, which made me feel uneasy.

"And you, we could use a young, strong man like you around our camp." David said to Elliot, who glares at him. "Oh...." I mutter as I look over at David and noticed the keys attached to his belt. Elliot glances at me for a moment and I nod at him. I look back up at David and put my hand on his, then break his finger.

Elliot tries to grab his cell keys, but David knocks both of our heads into the cell door by grabbing our arms and slamming us against the bars.

"Fuck!" I growled as both of us fall back in the cell as he let's go of our arms. "You stupid kids. You two are making it very difficult to keep both of you alive. What am I supposed to tell the others now?" David asked, angrily, as he holds his broken finger.

I felt something warm running out of my nose and I lift up my hand to find out that it was bleeding, Elliot was the same way. David starts to growl and walk away until I speak up.

"(Y/n)." I said to him.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Tell them that...(y/n) is the little girl who broke your fucking finger." I growled at him. He smirks as he stares at us. "How did you put it? Hmm? Tiny pieces?" He asked me and both of us stare at him in shock. "See you and your friend in the morning, (y/n)." David said as he and his butcher friend walk out of the room.