An unpleasant silence had spread between you and Joel and the other two men.

While everyone more or less enthusiastically ate their ration, you couldn't help but throw Joel an inconspicuous look over and over again.

He noticed it, as tense as you, and nodded silently. He cleared his throat.

"I don't want to be rude, but may we withdraw for a moment?", he laughed embarrassed. "I absolutely have to get rid of something. It's been burning under my nails all the time."

The men raised their heads sceptically.

"What is so important?", asked the younger one and set his plate aside to carefully reach for his rifle.

You followed his hand with your eyes.

When Joel's fingers twitched, you grabbed them quickly and squeezed as a gentle warning.

"I don't think you wanted to watch us as he helps to care for my wounds.", you pointed with your free hand at your face, which no one had cared about.

The blood had now dried. It felt like a thick layer of wax was sticking to your skin. Itching and burning mixed, causing the desire to scratch your cheek.

But that would have caused infections and would have made it worse than the situation already was. In addition, the icy wind caused burning pain in the wounds.

Briefly, the two looked at each other. Then the older one shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.

"Go ahead.", the younger one looked first at Joel and then at you with a strange look in his eyes. "Wounds should always be treated quickly. Otherwise they get infected."

With a grim feeling in the back of your mind, you nodded and disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.

Joel followed you, with one hand in his pocket. The knife nestled in his palm. It was still your knife, since the first exchange you had forgotten to switch them back.

But neither Joel nor you minded. And he had to admit, you had taken good care of the blade. He couldn't tell exactly how old it was, probably a few years maybe a decade.

But the metal was clean and the edge was still sharp.

With a deep sigh, you settled down on the lid of the toilet and hung your head low.

With the movement, one of the wounds tore open again. Blood dripped down your face, over your nose and finally in thick drops onto the floor.

With a curse, Joel grabbed a towel and checked to see if there was still running water. Surprisingly, he was in luck. Not only was there water, but it was clean.

"Here, let me take a look at that.", he knelt in front of you and carefully began to clean your face.

The touch of the cold water sent a sharp pain through your cheek.

Hissing, you squeezed your eye shut and turned away.
Without reacting, he continued and wiped the dried blood from your neck.

"You were lucky.", he said, and gave you a quick look. "The claws just missed your eye."

You growled. The pain made your lips go numb.

"A stupid mistake.", you hissed. "I should have looked around better."

"A clicker?"

"Yes. Ha, funny. That's the first time something like that has happened to me in years."

"You could have been killed."

You shrugged and took the towel from him to clean yourself in the mirror.

"I don't die that easily.", you assured. "Not unless I get my hands on Abby, that is."

"What if it had bitten you?"

You paused.

For a moment you said nothing. You just stared at the wounds that would leave scars on your face.

"Your Ellie...", you suddenly mumbled. "She's been bitten before, hasn't she?"

Joel's mouth tightened into a line.

"You knew already when Abby took her hostage.", he said.

You nodded.

"It was easy to spot."

"Only if you knew what to look for. How did you know so quickly? Why did you know this was a possibility?"

Again, you paused for a moment.

A heavy sigh left your lips.

"Abby's impulsive and pragmatical. If Ellie would have been like any other, she'd be dead by now. She holds value to Abby, both emotional and physical."

"Abby just wants to take revenge for my past sins."

"She's not an isolated case, you know. Ellie, I mean. I... knew people like her once."

Suddenly he raised his head. Surprise was on his face. And there was something else. There was a gleam in his hazel eyes.

"There are several?", a shimmer of confusion lay in his voice.

Again you nodded. Suddenly something tightened in your chest.

"Back when I was a firefly... they were looking for people like Ellie far and wide. As soon as a rumour about immunity sparked, they jumped onto it.", you threw the bloody towel into the sink to clean it. "They had an entire base. Something like a garden of Eden. They... gathered people with immunity there."

Confused, Joel frowned.

His eyes moved restless through the room. His mind was working.

You knew the state that he was going through. You had been there many years ago.

"That... that can't be.", he gasped. "How do you know?"

You turned to him, sadness of past years shimmering in your eyes.

"My parents were doctors. Friends of Abby's dad. I grew up with her, in the middle of this garden full of people that promised to be our golden ticket."

Joel swallowed. His lips parted.

"What happened?", he asked, his heart beating like crazy. "If all of those people existed... why did they need Ellie back then?"

You bit your lips. Pain chased through your head, tying your throat.

"They didn't make it.", your voice was weak as the memories of piled up, lifeless bodies crossed your mind. "The procedure wasn't safe enough, the doctors not good enough, the supplies too limited. They never made it passt the operation state. The immune tumours, or whatever you wanted to call them, died hours after they were separated from the host."

"So they needed Ellie..."

"Because she was the last one left. At least the last they knew about."