𝕺𝖜𝖓 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖙 𝕰𝖓𝖊𝖒𝖞

- CHAPTER FOURTEEN -
SEE YOU AROUND, BILLY BOY

BILL WAS HUNCHED over a bag by the garage door, seething when he saw what was inside it, "Jesus, that's more of my stuff!" Kathy sent him a look when he murmured to himself, "So what? You just...just gonna steal my shit and run off? Is that it, Frank?" he then turned to her, "You should probably search the house. I'm sure there's more supplies."

"That's a good idea." Joel nodded in agreement.

"For once." Kathy grumbled, stalking off into the kitchen. She could still hear Bill in the garage.

"Let me know when you're ready to finish this thing!"

"I'll give you a holler." Joel replied.

Going their separate ways for the time being, Kathy and Joel collected everything they could, meeting up, crafting items and trading ammo a little later. Joel even showed her the note from Frank he'd found. Apparently Frank had hated Bill's guts and she couldn't blame the dead man. Bill was tough company, she couldn't even imagine sticking around him for more than a few days.

They made their way back to Bill who was leaning against the hood of the truck, "Ready?"

Joel retrieved the note from his pocket and held it out to Bill, "Bill, I uh - I found this in there and I...I figured you should have it."

Bill uncrossed his arms and took the note and after reading it he scoffed, "So that's how you feel. Well, fuck you too, Frank. Fuckin' idiot." He sighed and threw the crumpled up piece of paper on the ground, "You ready to go?"

Kathy moved over to Ellie to check on her, "You got this, kiddo?"

"Yeah, not a problem." The teen said, sounding a little nervous.

"You're doing a good job." Joel told her, coming closer to the two. "I figured you should know that."

"Did...Did you just praise her?" Kathy asked in disbelief, though there was a teasing element to it. "Wow. I've seen everything."

"I won't let you down with this." Ellie promised him, pulling the truck door shut as she got ready to do her part.

Joel nodded and went to the back of the truck, pressing his hands against the cold metal, preparing to push. "Alright, Bill, Kathy, let's do it."

Kathy made a noise of agreement and joined him at the back of the truck while Bill pulled the garage door open. As soon as it was open all the way, Bill ran to help Joel and Kathy push the truck, "Put her in first."

"Already did it." Ellie replied.

"Just keep your foot on the clutch and when we get to roll-"

"I know how to pop a clutch!" She interrupted.

"That's my girl." Kathy grinned, noticing Bills shock.

"How the hell do-? Y'know what, I don't care. Just don't fuck it up!"

"Alright, Ellie, get ready." Joel told her as they pushed the truck out of the garage. "Now! Now, hit it. Hit it!" It rolled down the driveway and she tried the ignition. It didn't turn on, but the little moment would have charged the battery a little bit. They just had to keep trying.

"Perfect. Hey - good job, kid!" Bill praised sarcastically.

"Bill. Not helpin'." Joel chastised the man. "Ellie, we're gonna give it another go. Stay focused."

Bill began pushing the car again, "Just keep turning right. Let's get to the hill at the end of the street. Look, if we just make it to the hill. We just get over the edge..."

"On your left!" Ellie warned.

The infected must have heard them in the other houses because they were filtering out and coming straight at them. Kathy focused on the Clicker while Joel and Bill shot the runners.

"We're good. Back to the truck." Bill said, looking around.

"I'm sure there'll be more of 'em." Kathy replied, pessimistically as she helped push.

"We gotta go faster!"

"Keep pushing. Keep pushing."

More zombies appeared, this time from their right and they had to let go of the truck once more to deal with them. The gunshots probably were probably attracting even more of them. Joel wacked the last zombo in the head, "C'mon. We don't have much time. Back to pushing!"

"You have really fucked my day up, you know that, Joel, huh?" Bill grunted. They only made it a small distance before even more infected showed up. Honestly, did it ever end? "We gotta break. Let's get 'er to that hill."

The hill began to steepen and the truck began to roll by itself. "Alright, Ellie, get ready. Start it up!" Joel told her before having to run after the truck. She tried the ignition again, this time the engine roared to life. "You hear that sound, Bill?"

"Yeah, well that means the infected hear it too. Let's get in the fucking truck."

That's all Kathy needed to hear. SHe sprinted to the front of the car, jumping into the passenger seat while Joel and Bill climbed into the truck bed in the back.

"Go! Go! Floor it!"

Ellie put the truck into gear and slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, narrowly missing the infected that had almost reached the truck.

Once a safe distance away, Bill patted the side of the truck to gain Ellie's attention, "Alright, this'll do. Stop."

Ellie pulled the car over, letting Joel and Bill hop out the back. The smuggler told the teen to keep it running. She and Kathy listened to the men's conversation from inside the truck.

"That girl nearly got us killed." Bill groaned.

"You gotta admit - she did hold her own back there. Both of 'em." Joel defended his girls. Yeah that's right, I called them his girls. 'Cause let's be real here, Kathy and Ellie had him wrapped around their fingers.

Bill chuckled breathlessly, "You ain't gonna make it." He put hi backpack down when he suddenly remembered something, He threw it to Joel.

The smuggler stared down at the thing he now held in his hands, "What's this?"

"You'd be amazed at how many cars still got gas in 'em."

"Appreciate it." Joel thanked, "Look, Bill, about your buddy back there. Uh...That's a tough deal. And I'm ah..." he trailed off, not really being able to find the words. He empathised with Bill, the whole situation being too similar with what happened to Tess.

Bill sighed, understanding what Joel meant to say, "We square?"

"We're square."

"Then get the fuck out of my town." Bill remarked, turning and walking away.

Kathy leaned over Ellie to shout out of the driver's window to Bill's retreating figure, "Well that was fucking rude! See you around, Billy boy!"

"Fuck you too, Kathy!" Bill shouted back, throwing her the finger over his shoulder without looking.

➸ ➸ ➸

They drove all night and into the next morning, Kathy and Joel had taken turns driving to let the other have some rest while Ellie laid sprawled out in the backseat. The brunette gazed out at the passing scenery while Joel drove. She was meant to be sleeping, but her mind had went elsewhere.

Joel glanced at the brunette out of the corner of his eye, momentarily admiring how at peace she looked, no stress evident on her features as she looked out of the window. The silence was nice and when the sun peeled out from behind the grey clouds and hit Kathy's face, he couldn't help but think that she was beautiful. He'd never really had the time to notice before, they were always running for their lives.

"Oh, man!" Ellie's voice caused him to look away.

He looked at the teen through the rearview mirror, "Hey, what happened to sleeping?"

Ellie sat up, showing him the comic book she was reading, "Okay. I know it doesn't look like it, but this here is not a bad read. Only one problem. Right there. To be continued. I hate cliffhangers."

"Where did you get that?"

Ellie looked like a deer in headlights, "Uhh, back at Bill's. I mean all this stuff was just lying there."

Joel sighed in defeat, he should've expected that, "What else did you get?"

"Well..." Ellie retrieved a tape from her backpack and handed it to him, "Here. This make you all nostalgic?"

He looked at it, "Y'know, this is actually before my time. That is a winner though." He put it in the truck's tape player and soon music filled the air, pulling Kathy from her thoughts. "Oh man..."

Ellie shrugged at the tune, "Well, better than nothing." she riffled through her bag again, "Oh, I'm sure your friend will be missing this tonight." She pulled out a male magazine and flipped through the pages, "Light on the reading, but it's got some interesting photos."

Kathy watched amused as Joel's head shot up in realisation, "Now Ellie, that ain't for kids."

"Whoa. How...how the hell would he even walk around with that thing?"

"Get rid of that-"

Ellie pulled it away from Joel's reach, "Hold your horses. I wanna see what all the fuss is about. Oh. Why are these all stuck together?"

Kathy couldn't help but burst into laughter at Joel's expression that he made. He just looked so awkward, even more so when he realised that Kathy had been awake for the whole time.

"I'm just fucing with you." Ellie laughed along, throwing the magazine out the window. "Bye bye, dude."

"So, Bill's into gay porn. Who woulda guessed." Kathy chuckled, leaning her head back against the head rest. Joel released an amused sigh. It wasn't a laugh, but she would take it.

Ellie leaned in through the front seats, "You know what? This isn't that bad." She reached for the volume and turned it up.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep, alright?" Joel told her.

"Why, so that you can flirt with my aunt while I'm passed out?" Ellie retorted with a knowing grin. Joel and Kathy traded a look of surprise before quickly looking away. Ellie's grin grew even wider. "I'm not even tired."

❝IT'S NO SURPRISE TO ME, I AM MY OWN WORST ENEMY❞