a/n— little late night upload because
i'm so excited for this story to progress!

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JOSIE COULDN'T WAIT TO GET TO BILL AND FRANK'S. The thought of a hot shower, a warm meal, and finally learning how to make her own arrows, she was excited. Though Josie, and Joel too, couldn't help but wonder how Bill would react to Ellie.

They could only hope their first interaction wouldn't begin the same way as it had when Bill first met Josie.

The journey seemed to take longer than usual now that Ellie was with them. Josie ended up having to remind Joel that she was just a kid and not used to making the long journey like they were.

"I've never been in the woods," Ellie looked around as she chewed. "More bugs than I thought."

Josie laughed, "I imagine you haven't been most places".

As Joel and Ellie began to bicker again, this time about Tess and how no one forced them on this journey (to which Joel argued someone definitely did), Josie chose to walk around and explore. But only the immediate area, because she could see Joel watching her from the corner of his eye.

"How much longer?" Ellie asked Josie. It was clear she was done speaking to Joel, at least for the moment.

"Uh, about a— five-hour hike?" She turned to Joel for confirmation, who nodded as he bent down to pick up his gun.

Ellie picked up her backpack, "we can manage that".

A majority of those 5 hours was quiet. Ellie tried to start a conversation a few times, but even Josie was too tired to give anything other than short responses.

"Are Bill and Frank nice?" Ellie tried again.

"Frank is," Josie and Joel answered at the same time. Josie put a hand over her mouth as she tried to contain her laughter.

"How'd you get that scar on your head? What— is it something lame? You fall down the stairs or something?"

Joel gave a heavy sigh, realizing she wasn't going to let up. "I didn't fall down any stairs."

"Okay so what?"

"Someone shot at me and missed."

Ellie jogged a few steps to walk beside him. "See that's cool. Did you shoot them back?"

"Yeah. But I missed too, happens more often than you think."

"'Cause you suck at shooting or like, in general?"

This time Josie couldn't contain her laughter, which she quickly came to regret as Ellie's attention was now on her.

"How'd you get that scar on your neck?"

Joel visibly tensed at the question, and Josie regretted not covering it better.

"Umm, we were on our way back from Bill and Frank's. I got a little careless and was making too much noise. We got attacked by some raiders and they uh— one of them got me."

"Did you kill him?"

Josie hesitated, "let's just say he's not around anymore."

Both Josie and Joel held their breaths, letting out soft sighs of relief when no further questions were asked on the matter. They both hated that story because it was the closest Josie had come to dying. And Joel would say it was the closest she'd come to dying on his watch, because he almost failed to save her.

"So I was thinking since you guys have guns and a bow and arrow, I should probably—"

Josie just gave Ellie a look, while Joel cut her off mid-sentence with a simple "no".

Any further awkward conversations were put to a stop as the trio finally reached Cumberland Farms. Joel tried to get Ellie to wait outside while he and Josie went inside to grab the items he stashed, but she simply ignored him and followed them inside.

Ellie became fascinated with an old broken Mortal Kombat game, and Josie became amused as she watched Joel pretend that he remembered where he last stashed supplies.

"— you guys forgot where you put your stuff."

Josie opened her mouth to respond, but Joel beat her to it. "No, I'm just... zeroing in on it. It's been a couple of years."

"While you guys pretend you know where the stuff is, I'm gonna go take a look around and see if there's anything left to take. Is there anything bad in here?"

"Just you."

Ellie rolled her eyes, "hah. Getting funnier."

Once she was gone, Josie began opening and closing drawers, trying to help Joel once he told her what exactly they were looking for.

"Do you think Bill and Frank will take her? Ellie, I mean?" Josie decided discussing potential upcoming plans was better than silence.

Joel shrugged, "Tess seemed to think so".

"Do you— if they do, do you think we could spend the night there before heading on to look for Tommy?"

Immediately, Joel wanted to say no. He wanted to hit the road as soon as Ellie was in Bill and Frank's hands, and hopefully that'd be hitting the road in a vehicle if the men were able to help him secure one that could run.

But as much as he wanted to say no, he didn't. He needed a decent nights rest and a hot shower just as much as Josie did.

"We can ask them," was the response he settled for. Josie grinned, knowing they'd never say no.

"So... really no idea where you put it all?"

"Shut up," Joel muttered, but Josie could see him trying to hide a smile.

"Hey she thinks we both forgot, and I didn't tell her otherwise. But last time we were here, you insisted I stand guard outside while you and Tess secured the stash."

Joel remains silent, not letting Josie know the only reason he did that was because he thought there might be infected hiding inside, and Tess had insisted on following him.

They're rejoined a minute later, and Josie gives Ellie a high-five when she sees what she managed to find.

Once they've been walking a somewhat decent amount, Ellie's questions start up again. This time, she's curious about Cordyceps. Specifically, how the infections started.

"No one knows for sure, but best guess, Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. Certain brands were sold everywhere. Across the world. Bread, cereal, pancake mix. You eat enough of it, it'll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the shelves in stores around the same time Thursday. People bought it, ate some that night, or Friday morning. They start to get sick, getting worse as the day went on. Then the biting started. Friday night September 26, 2003. By Monday everything was gone."

In Josie's mind, she's temporarily transported back in time. She'd heard rumors about exactly how it started, but this was the first time she heard Joel tell it.

On Friday morning, Josie and Pietro left for school an hour early so they could meet their friends at a diner down the street. They ended up just having bacon and eggs, and Josie distinctly remembers their waitress apologizing for the lack of pancakes. She'd explained that the delivery truck came yesterday and there wasn't any flour.

Unbeknownst to the twins, their parents both had a rare Friday off and ended up going to a different diner. There, they split a side of bacon and a large stack of pancakes.

"We'll cut across the woods here."

Josie is pulled from her thoughts, her breath catching as she realizes exactly where they are.

"Isn't the road easier?"

"Yeah it's just— there's stuff up there you shouldn't see. I'm serious, Ellie."

"Can it hurt me?"

"No."

That was all Ellie needed to hear as she picked up the pace. When she came upon what Joel was talking about, she stood frozen. As Joel told Ellie the story of how all those skeletons ended up there, Josie walked forward a little as a rainbow blanket caught her eye.

The rest of the journey passes by in a blur. Joel can tell seeing that mass grave upset Josie, and he's beating himself up for not making them all cut through the woods like he originally mentioned. It was for Josie's benefit just as much as Ellie's.

When they finally reach the gate to Bill and Frank's neighborhood, something is wrong. Every time they've come, Bill would already be watching from the window.

Then when he'd see them, he'd come outside, gun in hand. Not to shoot them, of course. He'd say it was incase they were being followed.

Josie's worry only increases as they walk in past the gate and slowly make their way to Bill and Frank's home.

She spots the dead flowers, and her heart sinks. Frank loved gardening, and even though he'd been in a wheelchair for a few years, Bill always made sure the plants were taken care of.

The door being unlocked further increases the tension in the air. Joel is now on high alert, making sure he's first to enter the home.

"Bill?"

"Frank?"

Josie mumbles something about going to check the kitchen, while Joel tells Ellie to stay put and to yell if she hears or sees anything.

"What if they're gone?"

Everything being covered in a thin layer of dust tells Josie something, but she does her best to ignore it. Besides Joel, Bill and Frank are all she has left.

"Hey guys?" Ellie calls out.

Joel rushes from upstairs, while Josie returns from the kitchen. They find Ellie holding a piece of paper, and Josie swears she can feel her heart breaking.

"It's from Bill. There's one here with different handwriting on the envelope, I guess it's from Frank," she reads the front of Joel's envelope. "To whomever, but probably Joel. I figured I fell under whomever. Came with this key."

"So they're dead?"

"Mhmm. Do you wanna—" Ellie holds the paper out towards Joel.

When he shakes his head, she begins to read.

𝒜𝓊𝑔𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝟤𝟫, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟥 —
     𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈, 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝒹𝑜 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒹𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂. 𝒲𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝒶 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹𝑜𝓌 𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓈𝓂𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝐼'𝓂 𝑔𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒥𝑜𝑒𝓁, 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹'𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓇𝑜𝒸𝓊𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓊𝓅 𝒷𝓎 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓅𝓈. 𝐻𝑒𝒽𝑒𝒽𝑒𝒽𝑒𝒽𝑒𝒽𝑒.
     𝒯𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝓃𝓀𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝑜𝒹𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝒹𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑒. 𝒜𝓃𝓎𝓌𝒶𝓎, 𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁, 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓌𝑒'𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈, 𝒶𝓁𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒮𝑜 𝐼'𝓂 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹. 𝐼 𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝑒𝒹. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔, 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝒹𝒾𝒹. 𝐼 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝓂. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒𝒸𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝓂.
     𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝓂𝑒𝓃 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒, 𝓌𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝒿𝑜𝒷 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑜. 𝒢𝑜𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓎.
     𝐼 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓅𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑒𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓅𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉. 𝒰𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝒥𝑜𝓈𝒾𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 —

When Ellie pauses, Josie and Joel hear Tess' name as if she'd still spoken it out loud.

"Stay here," Joel speaks to Josie and Ellie, not bothering to wait for a response before going outside.

"Umm, here," Ellie holds out the unopened envelope. "Figured you might want to be the one to read this."

Josie takes the envelope, and it's when she reads what's written on the front that the tears finally start to form.

To whomever — (Hi Josie)

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