A/N: Chapter was so big I had to cut into two parts!

The night passed by without interruption, only the whistling sound of the cold winter wind to comfort them and snow that piled the roof up high, offering a secured blanket of serenity.

But as the night faded away, the daylight soon reared its head and rays of sun soon thawed through the cracks of the rundown basement, beckoning them awake from their tight slumber.

Y/N was the first to break from sleep, his heavy eyelids slow to open as pain soon set in, soreness spreading throughout his face and body. Bruises and welts were apparent, with different shades of blue and yellow that greeted him in the light,

"Fuck..."

He rolled over and met the eyes of Ellie staring at him, fresh from sleep and lazily bringing herself up to speed. She focused on his bruised appearance, his echo of pain that spread upon the room like a heavy tension in the air.

"Morning." Ellie yawned, pulling herself up from the floor, she rolled her shoulders, the kinks in her body painfully showing. Sleeping on the floor was not exactly pleasant, "Tough sleep?"

Y/N rubbed at his eyes, groaning as he pulled himself together, "Something like that," He muttered, forcing his legs to move, he found his feet sure enough and stood, stretching as he did.

"Well--"

Stopping in her tracks, Ellie turned around, her own stretching disturbed as the sounds of footsteps and disturbed snow reached her ears. Followed by hushed voices she could barely make out, Y/N heard them too, as Ellie she rushed to the window having climbed the washing machine and pulled the curtain.

Out in the middle of the snow covered street, three men in ragged winter clothing milled about, as more seemed to be coming up the end of the street, half a dozen at least.

"Oh fuck," Ellie climbed down, hands wringing at her side as she looked to Y/N. "They tracked us."

"Shit." Y/N muttered, grabbing Ellie's bag he threw it to her, and turned to his own and hefted it up, "They must've followed the horses' tracks in the night."

Ellie bit at her lip nervously as she caught her bag and placed it on, "We need to draw them away." She watched Y/N check on Joel, shaking his head as he did. "We'll come back for him. Okay? We run and we—"

"No."

Stopping in her pace, Ellie stared at him with a look of bewilderment, "No? The fuck do you mean, no?"

"I'm done running, Ellie." Y/N brought his rifle into his hands and gestured to the stairs, "You go, take Callus with you and try to circle back around. Lose them in the snow."

"I..." Ellie stumbled in her words, and shook her head in disbelief, "What about you?" She was greeted by silence, her friend more focused on his bag. "Y/N?"

Y/N finally looked up and met her eyes, a certain acceptance and willingness in them that was lost before, instead of pushing to run, he was going to hold his ground.

For her and Joel both.

"I'll head to the next house over and cover you when shit hits the fan." Y/N moved to the stairs, and with each step he took pain rocketed through his body, battered and bruised from the day before.

"You don't have to—"

Turning her way, he cut her off, his voice hushed and quiet, "Yes, I do." His eyes drifted to Joel's slumbering body, still unconscious and in a dire state, but slowly recovering. "I need to do this." He looked to Ellie, mouth twitching as he bit at his tongue in a fit of nervousness, "For the both of you."

"Fuck," Ellie cursed as she sent one last look at Joel, a promise in her eyes, before she took to the stairs with Y/N, following his example her voice was kept low and quiet. "You've always got my back, huh?"

A lopsided smile made its way to her lips when Y/N looked away, embarrassed or unsure with himself, but as he forced himself to match his gaze with hers, he found himself nodding with certainty.

"Somebody has to," Y/N barely cracked a smile, not as bright as it had been the night before, but it was one nevertheless, as they reached the kitchen not far from the garage, he gestured to her to head that way, "Now go."

Ellie's smile dropped, her expression turning serious, nodding as she stepped in the direction of the garage. But something stopped her, a nagging in her heartstrings that forced her to reevaluate her course. She turned back to Y/N just as the boy was about to walk off, and suddenly stepped up to him. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in tight.

Freezing on the spot, Y/N didn't move. It wasn't like yesterday, that hug had been in the heat (or cold) of battle, adrenaline and exhaustion sweeping through their bodies.

Now, it was tighter, full of meaning, different in a way he couldn't describe. After the weeks they had, a part of him wanted to indulge, to wrap his own around her, and savour the moment. To breathe in her familiar scent he had gotten so used to these past months.

"Be safe, I'd hate for you to die after everything..." we've been through.

Ellie herself, indulged as much as she could. His scent flooded into her system, shuddering against the cold as she pressed herself against him. Her head against his jacketed chest, the beating of his heart flowing through her ear that comforted her for reasons she could not explain rather than that of her only friend left in this cruel world.

She had already lost her best friend before, Riley... She wasn't going to lose this one.

"You too," Y/N pulled away, his hands still at his side, as much as he wanted to, something inside held him back. Instead, he smiled and urged her to go.

Leaving him behind, Ellie broke off and headed to the garage, gazing one last time at him before the door closed behind her. Shuddering out a sigh, Y/N cupped his hands together and made for the kitchen, stopped by the back door, he looked outside.

Sure enough, there was a squad of raiders, all winter clothed and armed, searching through the streets and houses. They were lucky enough that the snow from last night had covered up which house they had chosen to shelter in.

"Fuck, c'mon, you can do this." Y/N opened up the back door and made his way out, crouching as he did. Heading around the back fence he made his way to the neighbour's house through the back garden. "Up and over," He whispered to himself, and vaulted over the fence, "Ow, shit." He dropped to the ground, cursing as his ribs flared up in pain.

'Can't believe I went down that cliff for fucking nothing.'

Picking himself up, Y/N headed into the house and listened out. It was empty from what he could tell, they hadn't gotten too far up the street yet. Pulling out a nail bomb from his bag, he placed one by the backdoor and then another at the top of the stairs.

After setting the traps up, he moved into a second floor bedroom, and opened a curtain window up slightly and got a good view of the street, they were getting closer to the house.

From here, he could just make out Ellie near the garage, if he could, they would sooner than later. Quickly he opened up the window, and braced his rifle against the lower wooden frame, and exhaled.

"Alright..."

Back with Ellie, the girl shuddered as she closed the garage door slowly and turned to the two horses, Callus and Nightwing huddled together, as the snow chilled them. 

"Okay," Ellie whispered as she climbed up onto Callus' saddle, "Don't worry, Nightwing, Y/N won't leave you." She turned forward as the horse neighed at her, not worried at all, "Go."

Callus took a slow stride at Ellie's command, treading through the snow as she tried to make herself as small as possible. She could see two raiders with their backs to her, talking between them as they watched one of the houses.

"Are we even sure they're here?"

"Man, there were horse tracks down the fucking street. They're here."

Ellie turned her gaze away from them and focused on the path in front of her, snapping the reins she urged Callus forward, only to then feel the harsh hands of a raider grabbing her from the side.

"Hey, I got her!" Ellie struggled against his grip, the man's hands digging into her arm. "Get your ass over-"

She quickly reached for her pocket knife with her right, and immediately plunged the blade into the raider's throat. He gurgled on his own blood and dropped dead to the ground in a thud.

It was then she noticed the two men had pulled their weapons, and the only one with a gun was hesitating.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot her!"

"But David said—"

"Fuck David! Shoot her n—"

The man's head suddenly caved in, a bullet through the back of his head, spewing blood all over on snow and his friend, who panicked.

"Sniper!—"

Ellie snapped the reins harder and urged Callus into a sprint as the second man was gunned down just as fast, a bullet in his torso. All of a sudden raiders in the dozens appeared, rushing out of houses and up from the street as she retreated down the road.

"Fuck," Y/N pulled the bolt of his rifle back and chambered his next round, "How many of these bastards are there?" He fired at another that rushed at Ellie's horse, attempting to grab her from the saddle. "C'mon, Ellie, c'mon..."

"Getty-up!"

Ellie exclaimed to Callus, pushing him to the limit as they raced down the street, raiders in her path and closing, all running out from the woodworks.

She looked by and barely noticed the muzzle flash and gunfire that echoed out into the air, the bodies that dropped all around her.

'Good work, Y/N.'

When she made it to the end of the street she was forced off the road and down through a narrow pass between two rock formations, the street having been blocked off by a van.

"Over here!"

"She's getting away!"

Ellie distracted them and was doing a good job, drawing them away from Joel. The raiders were none the wiser, as Y/N cut them down from up high, and Ellie pushed them away. Through the rock formations she passed more houses and rundown vehicles, all of David's men converging on her.

"Shoot the horse!" Ellie could see the exit, a gate of sorts leading out of the neighbourhood. "Shoot the fucking horse!" She just needed to get out and circle back around—

Bang!

A pained scream pierced through her ears, blood spewing from the neck of Callus as a bullet collided against the horse's neck and sent Ellie flying off the side of the road.

Tumbling down a steep fall of rock and snow, smacking against it's rough surfaces. When she hit the ground, her body burned with pain, bruised and her right cheek cut up.

Fighting against the pain, she picked herself up and staggered over, the body of Callus not far from her, dead from the bullet, "Oh man... No, oh shit."

"Where is she!?"

Ellie broke off from Callus leaving him and her grief behind, as she rushed down the hill, the rest of the raiders took to the chase.

"Down there!"

"Shit!"

Having escaped beyond the wilderness and fought her way through countless of David's men, Ellie made it to a winter resort. Sheltered from the cold she pushed through a building past a bar and out into a wider room. At the end, she spotted a double door leading out, an exit.

Rushing to the doors, she pressed a shoulder against it and pushed what was blocking it in place. Summoning what was left of strength she managed to push it open, and stepped out into the light, only for a hand to grapple her from behind.

Grabbing her pocket knife, she unleashed the small blade and struggled to guide it to her attacker, their arms wrapping around her neck, squeezing and blocking out her air, no matter how much she tried to fight or breath.

"Relax..." The voice of David whispered into her ears, "Keeping you alive here." She pushed back against him, losing her grip on the knife, "There you go," Her eyes blurred and spots appeared in her vision, as her hand went limp, dropping it from her reach. "I got you now..."

The last thing she saw or heard was David's oily voice in her ear, and the exit and daylight of her escape, now gone forever...

But now that she was out of range, thrown from her horse and left to fend for herself, and captured. Y/N had been left to deal with a fuck ton of left overs, and a pained rage filtering through his very core.

"Shit!" Y/N moved his scope from where Ellie had fallen out of sight, and to the nearest hostile that had stopped, and pulled trigger. The raider went flying into the snow, a bullet between his eyes.

Boom!

"That's one bomb down," Dropping another bandit, Y/N pulled the empty magazine from his rifle and dumped, before quickly swapping in a full one. At this rate he was gonna run out of ammo before he made any real dent. There were a lot of them. "Fuck, time to relocate." He pressed his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly, before picking up and heading out to the stairs.

"There he is!" At the bottom of the stairs, more raiders rushed in from outside, some shocked by the blood and guts staining the floor, the mess of dead missing half their bodies and limbs. "Get him!—"

Y/N quickly kicked his second nail bomb down the stairs, and it rolled, bouncing off the steps before it collided against the freezing flesh of the first raider it touched, exploding in a ball of shrapnel and fire. The packed together raiders joined their comrades in eternal death and gore.

Rushing out the backdoor, Y/N sprinted as best as he could and made it to Nightwing as the horse pulled up at the house. He went to grab the saddle and climb aboard but was suddenly grabbed from behind.

"Got him!" Y/N reached for his knife and stabbed the man in the leg. "Ah!" He let go of him, and Y/N turned to plunge the knife into him, but the raider reached out, grabbing his hand with both of his own.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw a couple more rushing his way.

'Fuck!'

Fighting for his life, Y/N thrashed in his grip, before kicking at his leg, it caused the raider to scream out, he kicked again, and finally he doubled over. Knife into his throat, Y/N pulled it out, breathing heavily, just in time to feel a metal pipe to the back of his head.

Collapsing to the floor, Y/N groaned and squirmed, breathing out in pain as his vision swam and blurred.. "Mother — fucker." He reached for his pistol and aimed, he managed to fire off a round that was quickly sent wide as another raider knocked it from his hand with a bat.

Nightwing himself neighed loudly, rising on his hind legs in panic at the numbering hostels, until he relented and stumped forward, a raider rushing up behind him.

Y/N was wretched to the ground, his barely conscious eyes watching, the man was killed instantly. Nightwing's leg kicked backwards in fright, sending the man flying into the snow with a caved in face, and a broken neck.

"Shoot it!"

The last thing Y/N saw before darkness was Nightwing's brains splattering the ground with a shotgun blast to his head which collapsed him to the ground.

And lastly, the raider's black boot that sent him under...

—

When Ellie awoke later, she found herself locked in a cage, imprisoned as she slowly rose up from the ground. There was just enough sunlight coming through a crack in a window outside of her cage, and that revealed to her a horrid sight.

James, the one that had gotten the medicine for them, was stood before her, a butcher knife in hand as he skinned and butchered a corpse on a chopping table.

A human corpse.

Slicing half way through the arm of the body, James discarded the arm to the floor like it was just another piece of scrap meat nobody wanted...

"Oh..." Ellie stumbled back, bile rising in her throat as she held back the gag of puke that wanted to release. 'You people are insane.'

Hearing her awake, James turned to her, looking her up and down before he smirked and left the room.

Leaving Ellie alone.

Immediately she attempted to escape. It was a small cage, covered by chainlink, but the gate in front of her was metal, and locked tight by a lock and chain. She reached out through the slits and felt for anything to get out, pulling at the chain desperately.

She had to get out.

And fast.

"How are you feeling?"

Pulling back from the gate, Ellie kept her guard up, as David stepped on into the room and right up to her, a tray in his hand.

"Super."

David simply ignored the sarcasm as he placed the tray on the floor and slid it through the opening for her, "Here." It was a plate of food, a meat dish if anything from the look or smell said anything. "You should eat." But meat? She didn't trust it. Not from these assholes. "I know you're hungry — been out for quite some time."

"What is it?"

"It's deer."

Ellie looked down at the dish, to the dead corpse, and back at David, her face nervous but biting, "With some human helping on the side?"

"No, no. I promise. It's... just deer meat."

She felt her stomach grumble. It had been days since she had eaten. They had caught a lucky break with those rabbits and that deer, but medicine had been more important.

"You're a fucking animal." Ellie knelt down and began eating at the food, shaking hands gulping up the meat. It did... taste like deer.

"Oh, that's awfully quick to judgment." David joined her by the floor, his face cold but eyes warm with forced kindness. "Considering you and your friends, that—" He chuckled, "—guardian angel? Killed how many men?"

"They didn't give us a choice." Ellie glared.

"And you think we have a choice? Is that it?" David looked away, shaking his head. "You kill to survive. And so do we. We have to take care of our own. By any means necessary."

Ellie scoffed, finished with her food, "Now what?" She kept her fear hidden with her sarcasm, "You gonna chop me into tiny pieces?"

David smiled, "I'd rather not." He got up, gestured to James with a hand, and the man went outside. Ellie could hear protests and shouting, followed by a hard thud to the ground. "We need you. We need both of you."

"You won't find him," Ellie narrowed her eyes at him, sliding the tray back through, "If anything he'll find you." She grappled at the gate keeping her locked in. "With a fucking bullet with your name on,"

"I don't doubt that," David's smile widened. "He put up a big fight, killed a couple dozen of my men out there." The shouting got closer and Ellie's hands shook in response, "It's a shame, I know his name. Y/N? But I still don't know yours." He picked up the tray and placed it off to the side, "Maybe he'll tell us?"

James and another raider came through the back, cold air and snow blowing through before closing it. In their grasps, dragging along the floor, was a badly beaten Y/N. Bruised black and blue beyond recognition, other than for his familiar clothing and the eyes that stared at the floor.

"Y/N!"

David clapped his hands together in a single motion, a smile on his face, "Thank you, James, you may go." James and the other raider left, door closing behind them. He stared down at Y/N, the boy barely conscious, "I hope they didn't treat you too harshly?"

Ellie was glaring daggers at the man, before her gaze switched to Y/N and softened. He looked like death. Face pummelled in bruises and cuts marked his cheeks, and his left eye was swollen over.

It was fair to say, he felt like absolute shit. Pain coursing through his every being, exhausted and broken on the floor. He hadn't slept too well, at all, beaten to consciousness he was barely up as it was.

Still, he wasn't going to give the fucker any satisfaction.

"F—" Y/N coughed up, face planted on the cold floor, legs like jelly and hands frozen. "Fuck y-you,"

It hurt to even speak, let alone move, as his only working eye at the minute stared at David's towering from, before looking to Ellie, who stared back, eyes full of concern.

"That's not very nice, Y/N." David grabbed him and hauled him up, causing him to scream in pain. He couldn't fight it, and he hated it. "You oughta watch your words around here, it's not very polite." He roughly guided him into a chair and left him there, dragging him to the front of Ellie's cage so she could watch.

"The fuck are you doing?" Ellie questioned, glaring at David as he knelt besides Y/N who laid in the chair, his breathing slow and vision blurring. David smacked the kid on the head, abet gently, it still caused him to yelp in pain, "Leave him alone!"

"He just needs to wake up, that's all." David assured her, "I won't kill him. After all, we need you, both of you, isn't that right, Y/N?"

Y/N felt the trickle of blood rolling from his scalp, his muddied hair mixed in with sweat, snow, and his own blood, "P-pussy..."

"What's that?" David leant down to him, an ear pressed close to him. "I didn't quite catch that."

Breathing in a large gulp of air, Y/N coughed, propelling his body forward which only served to cause him further pain.

"You're — a... pussy—Ah!"

David yanked at Y/N's neck, bringing him face to face with him, staring up into unrelenting eyes that soon turned from warm to cold in an instant, and back to warm, as he reeled himself into the persona he crafted well.

"I'm sorry, the boys were a little too rough with you." Y/N ignored the way he smiled at him, wishing he could wipe it off. "Now, I know your name, Y/N, but not your friend here."

"Y/N—"

"Don't... tell him — a fucking thing." Y/N rasped out, the grip on his neck tightening despite the friendly appearance David showed them. "He'll..." He coughed, harshly, his ribs flaring in pain as he did. "..."

"Cat got your tongue?" David removed his hand from his neck gently and let him ease back in, lowering his head immediately. It hurt to even look up. "It's alright, I can understand, I don't blame you." He looked at Ellie. "He can't help it. But you? I know I can count on you."

Ellie picked herself up, grabbing onto the bars as she glared at him, "You're so full of shit."

"On the contrary," David stepped forward, leaving Y/N to rest in his seat, "I've been, ah... quite honest with you. And now, I think it's your turn," he actually pleaded with her. "It's the only way I'm gonna convince the others—"

"Hahahaha..."

The two of them turned to Y/N, eyes puzzled for different reasons as the older teen began to wheeze out a laugh, hands shaking as they dug into the metal chair's handles.

"What's so funny, Y/N?"

Y/N, who by now, had been served the grand prize as far as bullshit stories go, couldn't keep it in him any longer, "He wants us — to j-join him..." He wheezed out another laugh, this one less subdued as laughing hurted him more and more. "What a — what a fucking.... Joke."

"It's no joke, trust me." David said, eyes focused on Y/N, before switching to Ellie, "You have heart, deep down inside the both of you. Yes, even you." He spared a look at Y/N, and then to Ellie, who trembled, as he reached out to her.

"Don't you... fu-fucking touch her."

Turning back, David kept that same look on his face, kind and smiling, it made them feel sick to their stomachs, "You're close," He patted him on the shoulder and held his grip, causing him to flinch. "Lord knows, anyone that survives out there together as long as you two have, they get close. But how close?"

David grabbed something from the table next to him. "Enough to kill for each other?" Ellie saw it as soon as it came into view, and quickly breathed out a tremble. "Perhaps, even die for each other?"

Y/N soon caught the object out of the corner of his only working eye, and stiffened. He had to stay calm.

He had to.

He couldn't show fear.

Not to him. Not to his friends. Not to anyone.

Never again...

"Don't you fucking touch him!" Ellie snapped, hands tightening around the gate as she shook with fear and rage.

"It's... okay." Y/N focused his one good eye on her, showing off a fully fleshed out smile with bloodied teeth and all for the first time in... years. "This asshole... isn't gonna do shit— AHH!"

The base of the kitchen mallet swung down hard, cracking against Y/N's left hand. A blood curling scream left his tired lips, echoing loudly throughout the room as Ellie's own shouts and curses followed out of their own volition.

"You motherfucker!"

"Isn't that much better?" David said sweetly, kneeling down at Y/N, mallet in hand as he squirmed in his seat. "You're loyal, very loyal, and so is she." he dragged it along the base of Y/N's hand, coaching out a bitter and pained whimper from him. "I admire you both, willing to go to such lengths." he patted the mallet on the base of his hand, and trailed it down to his index finger, "It's rare, real rare, to see in person."

"I'm..." Y/N wheezed out, tears in his eyes, the pain unbearable as he felt the finger pop, it had been broken on impact, "...gonna kill you — all." David pressed the mallet deeper into his broken finger, causing him to cry out.

"Stop! Just fucking stop!"

David stopped, bringing the mallet up and placing it away, Y/N breathed easier as the pressure was removed, "You hear that?" He asked him, "I only stopped because of her." He got up and called out to James and the others, they came walking in. "Loyalty, such a precious thing... Take him back to storage, let him think about what we discussed."

They carted Y/N out of there, dragging him in the chair as Ellie watched on hopelessly, calling his name as he was taken from her yet again.

"Believe it or not, I like him." David told her, approaching Ellie once again. "He's tough, he'll die before he breaks. But you, you're different." he reached out and cupped Ellie's cold hands through the gate. "And special." a sickening sweetness in his voice and face that exposed something far sinister.

Ellie smiled falsely, and faked a softening of her face, before it turned dangerous and lethal.

"Ah!—" David screamed out in pain as she broke his finger in return and tried reaching for his keys in his pocket jeans.

But she only found trouble.

David grabbed her and slammed her into the gate, once, twice, a third time, causing her to fall to the ground, face bruised.

"Oh fuck..."

"You stupid little girl." David rasped, the real him revealing in all it's creepy and terrifying image. "You're making it very difficult to keep either of you alive." He huffed, "What am I suppose to tell the others?"

"Ellie."

"What?"

Ellie found her courage, spitting towards him as she spoke, "Tell them that," Her voice full of venom, "Ellie, is the little girl that broke your fucking finger!"

Sighing, David looked to the chopping table, and back to Ellie, "How did you put it? Hmm. Tiny pieces?" He walked away, a stride in his step. "See you in the morning... Ellie."

She watched him leave, glaring at the back of his head as he left out the door. Before her eyes softened, turning to the mallet that was left on the table with the corpse, and curled in on herself, shaking at the thought of...

'Y/N. Hang on. Please...'

A/N: Next chapter will be out very soon. Hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you in a few hours :)