Remi walked beside Joel and boy while Clyde and Minnow walked ahead of them. It was now day time and the sun was shining bright. It was quiet and peaceful, a nice change from last night. The only noise was Boy's panting and the sound of their feet hitting the ground. They stopped a few times to get Joel to have more practice with his crossbow. Minnow had used the lipstick to draw a target on a tree and where she draw the target kind of made it look like a face.

"'Roar! I'm gonna kill you, Joel Dawson! I'm gonna eat you like broccoli!'" Minnow shouts as she imitates a growl, pretending as if the tree was a monster. "'Aw, I'm Joel, and I can't protect my girlfriend because I'm useless and insecure and an awkward little teenager.'" She imitates Joel and then she imitates Aimme. "'But I need you to save me! I thought you loved me!'" She then went back to imitating Joel. "'But I can't because-'" Then she pretended to get eaten by a monster and shrieks. 

"What?" Joel questioned, looking confused.

"That's your girlfriend dying." Minnow replied. Remi had been watching the two nearby where she stood by Boy, an amused smile on her face. She couldn't help but giggle. She found Minnow's antics amusing, the tension from the night before slowly dissipating with each playful jab at Joel. 

"What?" Joel repeated, furrowing his eyebrows.

"That's your girlfriend dying." Minnow replied. Remi had been watching the two nearby where she stood by Boy, an amused smile on her face. She couldn't help but giggle.

"What?" Joel repeated, furrowing his eyebrows.

Remi chuckles. "That wasn't really helpful, was it?" She steps forward and walks past Minnow and over to Joel. "Minnow, could you go hang out with Boy for a bit? He looks lonely."

"Okay." Minnow nodded, perking up and immediately heading over to the dog laying on the ground, who lifted his head and his tail started wagging at seeing her walking to him. Minnow grinned and knelt by him, petting him.

Remi turns her attention back to Joel. "Come here." She gestures for him to follow her and she heads a few feet away, Joel following after her. "Okay. So, the trick is to relax. Try not to think too hard. 'Cause the more you overthink it, the more you'll hesitate," Remi advises Joel, her tone encouraging. "And hesitating can cost you your life out here." She adds, placing her hands on her hips. "You've got to trust your instincts and act swiftly," Remi continues, her gaze firm but supportive. "Imagine the target is a real threat to someone you care about. Visualize protecting them. Let that focus guide your aim."

Joel nods, absorbing Remi's advice as he adjusted his grip on the crossbow. "Okay, I'll try that."

Remi smiles reassuringly. "Good. Now, take a deep breath, and when you're ready, go for it. And it helps to remember like a needle through water. " She stepped back, allowing him to have his space and give him encouragement. 

"A needle through water. Needle through water." Joel muttered to himself. Joel took a moment to center himself, then aimed carefully at the makeshift target on the tree. He exhaled slowly, letting his instincts take over, and released the bolt. It hit the target spot-on, right where Minnow had drawn the "face."

Remi's face brightens up with a grin and she let out a happy laugh. "See! You did it!"

Minnow cheers, smiling wide at Joel. "Yes! See? Bull's eye!" Joel stumbled back, grunting at the sudden impact when Minnow practically tackled him in a hug. He blinked in surprise, not expecting the sudden hug but he hugged her back.

Remi chuckles and walks over to the pair, kneeling by the tree and retrieving the bolt. "Good job, Joel. I knew you could do it." She sent him a proud smile, causing him to smile back at her shyly.

"Thanks, Remi." Joel replied. 

"Got yourself an admirer there, huh?" Clyde notices with a small smile. Remi couldn't help but smile a little as well, finding it sweet how excited Minnow was for Joel and that she hugged him. "Hey, we gotta get going."

"Come on, Boy." Remi glanced at her dog and Boy stood up, stretching and yawning. Remi smiled, leaning over to rub his head when he stood by her side.

"Uh, okay." Joel said, between Clyde and Remi and then back at Minnow with furrowed eyebrows when Minnow didn't let go of him. "Come on. Come on. We gotta go. We-" As he started walking, Minnow still didn't let go of him. "Minnow? What are you doing?" Remi chuckled softly as she noticed this, shaking her head with a smile. She followed them along with Boy while they continued the journey.

****

Along the journey, they continued to teach Joel more things. For example, lesson three was don't take short cuts. They had to travel through a swamp area at one point. Lesson eight was target practice every day. Remi had to admit she was proud of Joel for how far he's coming with the crossbow, he's getting much better. Lesson ten was keep your socks dry. Remi noticed Joel was struggling with lesson two, no sleep and a good meal, only one of the two. She didn't blame him, sometimes it was hard to choose between the two.

"Alright, a lot of things out here you shouldn't touch or eat, but, uh, ferns like these have an antivenom." Clyde explains, pointing at a nearby fern. "Good in a pinch for snakes, slugs. Great entry for your book."

Joel nods, pulling his book out and began writing it down. "Yep, got it."

"The insect-looking ones got no peripheral vision." Clyde added, leading the group past the trees.

"No peripheral-" Joel stopped his own sentence when he was suddenly pulled to the side. He looked over to the right where he was pulled, realizing Remi had pulled him out of the way from hitting a tree. He hadn't been paying attention since he was writing these things in his book.

"Be careful." Remi warned him. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt, now, would we?" She teased, giving him a small smirk.

"Yeah, thanks." Joel murmured, sending her a thankful smile and she nodded in response, her smirk turning into a soft smile.

"The lizard-looking ones can't climb for s**t." Clyde continues. "The amphibian-looking ones like to hide, lure ya in, eat ya whole." Minnow pretended to act like she was biting something as Clyde said that. Remi continued to keep an eye out for Joel, pulling him out of the way if he got to close to a tree.

"Then there are the Sandgloblers. Those guys are bada**es." Clyde commented.

"Bada**es." Minnow agreed.

"Yeah, I know." Joel sighs. "I fell into their hole."

"What you saw were worker bees. What you wana avoid under all circumstances is a queen." Clyde told him.

Joel sends him a confused look. "How do I know if it's a queen?"

"Well, your first clue would be a giant fin slicing through the earth," As Clyde speaks, Minnow makes the action of a fin slicing through the earth. Remi couldn't help but smile at her. "Following every single sound and vibration you make. You howling in pain..." Minnow let out a quiet shriek and Joel glances at her with narrowed eyes as Remi had an amused look on her face. "As you're being ripped in half will be your second." Minnow pretended to be ripped in half and groaned in pain.

"Copy." Joel slowly nods, looking a bit scared. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, we're getting close to where our paths diverge." Clyde notices as they came up to a sign. There was a wooden sign up ahead, it had three arrows pointing in different directions. It had the name of the place they were pointing at and how many miles they were. "You're gonna wanna go west to Jenner, the beaches. Or, you can be sensible, come with us to the mountains. You too, Remi." He added, glancing back at Remi with a small smile.

"Thanks, but I'm still going to find my sister." Remi told him.

"Yeah, um, I think I've been sensible all my life, and it's really gotten me nowhere." Joel admitted.

"Come with us." Clyde suggests. "Both of you. Remi, I know you're set on finding your sister, but strength in numbers, you know? Besides, think we'd make a good team."

"No, I think so, too. I just, uh...It's just something I gotta do." Joel admitted.

"Same here." Remi agrees. "My sister's all I have left. She's the only family I have. If there's any chance of finding her, I'm going to."

"It's not fair." Minnow spoke up and when Remi looked over at her, she was surprised to see tears in her eyes. She frowned as concern filled her eyes. Joel noticed Minnow's reaction too his eyes widening slightly and then he looked concerned.

"Wh-Hey. Wha-" Joel glances over at Clyde, silently asking him if he knew what was going on. Clyde just shrugs in response. Joel goes over to Minnow, kneeling in front of her. "Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah. Woah, woah. What's going on?" His heart ached at seeing Minnow crying.

Remi watches Minnow cry with concern, her heart hurting. She didn't want her to cry. "Why do you gotta go?" Minnow frowned.

"'Cause this girl, she means a lot to me. You know? Come on. You know I gotta do this. We talked about this." Joel pauses, staying silent for a moment as he stares at the ground. "Hey, you know what? I got something for ya. I don't even know if you'd know what this is, but-"

"Lipstick?" Minnow gasps, taking it from Joel. She laughs as she looks at it. "What?"

"Yeah." Joel nods while Minnow giggles, smiling wide at the lipstick. "Yeah, it's lip-Aw." He smiled softly, a bit surprised when Minnow suddenly hugged him and he hugged her back. Remi smiled softly as she watched this interaction, finding it cute. She felt like her heart was warming at seeing Minnow smile and laugh. And she found the way Joel acted with Minnow was sweet.

"I take back what I said before. Aimee's gonna love you." Minnow admitted, smiling at him.

Joel chuckles softly and smiles. "Thanks, Minnow. You got some snot." He noticed and wiped it away. Minnow laughed and nodded as she sniffled.

"Alrigt, come on." Joel smiled a little and stood up, following Clyde.

Minnow sniffles, wiping her tears away. "You're gonna be okay, Minnow." Remi reassures her in a soft tone. "You're brave and tough. You got this." She's surprised when Minnow hugs her but she gladly returned it, hugging her tight.

"You're cool, Remi." Minnow said, smiling softly and Remi chuckled a bit, smiling a little.

"Thanks, Minnow. You're cool, too." She replied.

"I really like your puppy too." Minnow added, letting go of her and looking at Boy, who sat by them.

"He likes you too." Remi admits, leaning over to pet Boy, smiling as he leaned into her touch. When Minnow started petting Boy, Boy licks Minnow's hand, making her smile and she giggle. "See?" Remi tilted her head to the side, smiling at Minnow.

"Thanks, Boy." Minnow said, leaning over to rub his head. "I'm gonna miss you both."

"We'll miss you too, Minnow." Remi tells her, giving her a sad smile. "Come on." She said softly, starting to walk over to where Clyde and Joel stood at a clearing. Minnow and Boy followed her.

"Final lesson. Listen to your instincts out here. They'll keep you alive." Clyde informed Joel.

"Yeah. What if I have, uh, terrible instincts?" Joel questioned.

"Then it's a good thing Remi will be with you, right?" Clyde jokes, making Remi smile a bit. "Listen, man, good instincts are earned by making mistakes. If you're lucky enough to survive a few mistakes, you're gonna be okay out here." He hands Joel a grenade. "This might come in handy too."

"Wow!" Joel gasps, his eyes wide. "Oh, that's great. Do you have, um...Do you have any more that we could have?"

"You get one. Pull the pin, count to five. Not four, not six." Clyde responded.

"Five." Joel repeats as he nods. "Got it."

Clyde puts a hand on his shoulder. "You're gonna be okay." He glances at Remi with a small smile as well. "You too. Minnow?" He calls out, glancing over at Minnow. "Let's go, kid." In response, Minnow leaned over to pet Boy one more time and she even gave Remi a hug before walking after Clyde. Remi smiled a little when Minnow hugged her, watching as she walked off.

"Hey, man, you made it all this way from Fairfield. What's another thirty miles, huh?" Clyde calls out to Joel. "And with Remi with you, you'll be just fine."

Remi followed Joel out into the clearing, noticing Boy looked at her and looked back at Clyde and Minnow with a small whine. She knew he wanted to say goodbye to Minnow again. She nodded, smiling at him and letting him know he can. He let out a small happy bark, his tail wagging as he ran over to Minnow and Clyde.

"Uh oh, here he comes." Clyde teased when he saw Boy.

Minnow grins, kneeling down to greet the dog. "Hi." She said, petting Boy's head and rubbing his stomach as he laid down, wagging his tail. She then hugged Boy's neck before she stood up. She then waved at Joel and Remi, both waving back with small smiles.

Remi and Joel watches as they left, Boy going back over to Remi's side and whines, watching them walk off. "I know." Joel sighs. "I'm gonna miss 'em too."

"Me too." Remi admits, looking back at Joel. "We should keep going." She suggested and Joel nodded.

"Alright. Let's go." He agreed and together, they started to walk across the clearing with Boy following them. 

And with that, Joel and Remi continued their journey, their footsteps echoing through the quiet, sunlit forest. Boy padded along happily beside them, a loyal companion in their adventure through the unknown wilderness.