CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

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          JOEL MILLER HAD GONE TO SLEEP THE MOMENT HE FELT THAT HE COULD, FALLING INTO A DEEP SLUMBER HE WASN'T EASILY ROUSED FROM. There was no doubt that he needed the rest, perhaps even more than the others. Joel was a worrier, and it was because of the prominent crease between his brows that Lucia knew this.

The winter sun slowly rose from behind the horizon as another morning came round. Lucia's arm was numb from the way she had been laying on it. The sharp edged of a rock dug into her skin through her coat and she tried to roll over onto her back. The woman let out a breath when two strong arm kept her from doing so.

Lucia opened her eyes and could see the embers of the bonfire still burning as she regained her consciousness. Averting her gaze away from the red sparks she blinked up to meet Joel Miller's sleeping face. Though, he didn't seem to be getting the rest he so desperately needed.

He mumbled incoherent words in his sleep, brows pulled together in a permanent frown. Lucia laid on her side, head resting on his shoulder and she couldn't remember falling asleep, nor did she remember getting wrapping up into his arms.

The smuggler had a tight grip on her jacket, legs tangled together on the ground in the safety of the alcove of the cave.

Lucia didn't try to break free from his grip, instead she lazily raked her eyes over his face. The words kept spewing from his mouth but she couldn't understand a single thing he was saying. 

"No, no, no," he mumbled, eyes moving rapidly behind his lids.

"Joel," she muttered, as she pushed herself up on her elbow.

His eyes snapped open with a start, the whites had turned bloodshot, he seemed to be in a state of momentary panic. His gaze found hers and he felt as if he was able to breath again. His heart thundered against his ribcage as he tried to rid his mind of the nightmare. Blood, there had been so much blood and he couldn't take it. Not again.

The feel of her body close to his seemed to get him back to reality as he sat up, untangling his limbs from her own. He didn't seem fazed by her proximity as he rubbed a hand over his salt and pepper beard.

"Are you okay?" she wondered, concern washed over her face.

He gave her a single nod, not wanting to give her any more context on what was wrong with him as he looked around their little camp site. He spotted Ellie standing near the entrance of the cave with his shotgun in her hands. The teen shot them both an amused grin and said to the smuggler, "You still mumble in your sleep."

Lucia raised a brow in her direction and challenged her to say anything. "What are you doing with that thing, kid?"

"I woke up early." she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You were both passed out, so I took second watch."

Lucia felt extremely guilty for having fallen asleep as she never wanted Ellie to be up by herself. It wasn't safe and they were supposed to get her out of harms way, not into it. Joel heaved a sigh as he looked toward Ellie with an annoyed glance.

"You gotta wake me up if that happens." complained Joel, utterly unhappy with the girl as he got to his feet. "You can't do things like this."

"But I can." she mused, rocking back and forth on her feet as she shot them both a grin. "'Cause I just did."

"Ellie, we're responsible for you, okay?" retorted Lucia, as she pushed herself up from the cold ground below. 

"Then you shouldn't fall asleep." she retorted, as she narrowed her eyes at the two of them. "Look, I was quiet, I checked my six, I looked for tracks, I found the high ground, and I kept watch. Like you taught me to. What can I say, man? I am a natural."

"Uhuh," hummed Joel sarcastically as he stepped toward her, holding out his hand. Ellie pushed the weapon at him with a roll of her eyes as he said, "You wake one of us up next time."

"Yes, sir." she smiled. "You two snore, by the way."

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IT HAD BEGUN TO SNOW AGAIN AS THEY CONTINUED THEIR JOURNEY ALONG THE RIVER OF DEATH, AS ELLIE HAD CALLED IT. Crossing it was going to be a challenge if they'd belief the old couple from the day before, which is why they now sat hidden in the tree-line beside the bridge.

Joel pulled the trigger of his shotgun just once as they waited. Waited to see if anything would emerge from the other side. They were far enough away to escape if things went south. The croaks of birds echoed along the water bed.

"The River of Death." muttered Ellie. "Still no people."

"Fine," sighed Joel, getting to his feet after the teen's third time to convince them of there not being anyone on the other side. "let's go."

They weaved their way through the trees, snow sticking to their hair as they reached the bridge. Lucia was on edge and she hated it, she swallowed away her hesitation. Those words had sunk in and the thought of a large group of people just waiting for them on the other side made her grip her gun a tad tighter.

If they weren't so on edge she might have enjoyed the view. The river was long and time passed by quickly as Joel led them along the nearly frozen over water. 

Lucia glanced back at Ellie as she blew quick breaths from her mouth. The woman gave her a weird look as the teen placed her thumb and middle finger between her teeth, blowing out air more forcefully. Even Joel turned to see what on earth she was doing.

"I'm learning how to whistle." she offered and repeated what she had been doing seconds before.

Lucia raised her brows at the girl as she waited for her to catch up with them. "You don't know how to whistle?"

"Does it sound like I know how to whistle?" she shot.

"No," mused Lucia.

The teenager caught up with Lucia and Joel and threw up her arms in exaggeration. The girl was cold, annoyed and hungry as she grumbled. "Seriously, though, how the fuck do you do that?"

"Talent." Joel called, keeping his eyes on the tree-line.

"Whatever you say." The Williams girl rolled her eyes at the smuggler as she slid her hands into the pockets of her coat to shield them from the bitter air. "You should teach me how to hunt."

"Huh," he hummed.

"'Huh.'" Ellie mocked and continued as she tried to mimic his voice. "'She's a girl. She can't handle it.'"

"You can handle the shootin'." shrugged Joel, lips quirking into a barely noticeable grin. Ellie was good with a gun, a natural learner and she knew it. The girl hit the targets when necessary and Joel felt a bit more comfortable with her carrying. "Not so sure about the dressin'."

"What's the dressin'?" she questioned.

Joel met Lucia's gaze with a grin and glanced at Ellie over his shoulder. "The part where you take the guts out."

"Oh, yeah." Ellie chimed, not too bothered by that. "Why do they call it dressing? It's like, you should call it undressing. 'Cause it is. It's like undressing from the inside." A moment of silence passed and she muttered. "Still interested, though."

Joel came to a stop once they reached the edge of a small cliff, overlooking a large pond of water that led into the river. It was an old abandoned dam that still seemed to be working by the way the water passed through the gates and into the pond. 

Large pine trees covered the area beyond and a calmness radiated of the sounds of the water.

"Dam," grinned Ellie.

Joel huffed out a breath. "You're no Will Livingston."

"I actually thought that was quite funny." shrugged Lucia and Joel shot her a glare in return. The brunette smiled up at him sheepishly.

"See?" commented Ellie. "Lucia always has my back, unlike you. So, that dam used to make electricity?"

"Yeah," nodded Joel and held up his hand when the teen was about to open her mouth again. "Don't ask me. I don't have a clue."

"You know, you could've just made something up." called Ellie as they continued down the path and toward the river to their right. "I would have believed you."

"You're awfully talkative today." grumbled Joel.

"And you're awfully grumpy." retorted the girl as Lucia snorted. "But that isn't just today, you're always grumpy."

The smuggler peered down at the brunette and shook his head as if to say, 'you always pick her side'. Lucia squeezed his wrist with a grin as Ellie ran forward toward the water. "She's not wrong."

"Look at that river. It's crazy blue." admired Ellie, trying to see beyond the beautiful landscapes in front of them. The girl wished she could grab her sketchbook and draw every view she saw, but there was no time so she stepped away from the river bank before she came to a halt, contemplating. "Hey, guys. What if this is the River of Death?"

Joel and Lucia stop walking and turn to look at her before peering at the river. Joel pulled his brows together and took the map from his pocket. Lucia leaned closer to him to get a good view of the piece of paper in his hands. The smuggler cursed underneath his breath.

"Did we get it wrong?" she muttered, eyes following his finger as he followed the line of blue on the map.

The neighing of horses reached their ears and Lucia snapped her head toward the small hill on their left. There were a lot of them, all on horseback with shotguns in their hands. Yes, they definitely got it wrong.

The woman got pulled back as the group made a move down the hill. Joel tugged on her hand, keeping a tight grip on it as Ellie clung at their back, eyes wide. There was nowhere to go, they were surrounded by the strangers, weapons trained at them.

Lucia tensed, going straight to survival mode at the sight of them. The three of them raised their hands up, to show they were unarmed. There was no way they could take a group that large without getting hurt themselves. 

"We're just passin' through." called Joel, making sure to shield the two girls as best as he could. "We ain't lookin' for trouble."

The one closest to them, bandana covering the lower half of his face demanded, "Drop the gun."

Joel did ever so slowly as he slid the strap from over his shoulder and let the weapon fall to the snow covered soil. Lucia counted eleven of them and kept her gaze on a woman to their right, noticing how she was a bit further away from the rest of the group. Lucia didn't trust her, she didn't trust any of this.

"You two," called the man and Lucia tore her gaze away from the woman and back to the man who had spoken. "take five steps back."

"How 'bout we just talk this through?"

"How 'bout you shut the fuck up?"

"Okay, easy." tried Joel, feeling that familiar pain within his chest from yesterday morning. He turned to Lucia and Ellie and gave them both a nod. "You'll be okay."

Lucia clenched her jaw and took in a deep breath, slowly taking a few steps backward as Ellie stayed at her side.

"You been near infected?" questioned the man. 

"There's no infected around here." said Joel, not daring to lower his arms in case they'd aggravate the strangers even more. Had this been the group the old couple had been talking about? The one that left a trail of bodies through Wyoming?

"The hell there ain't." he countered, letting out a whistle as he called for the dog that was pulling on its leash to get to them. He barked loudly, and Ellie flinched. "Last chance for a bullet. If you've been infected, he will smell it and he will rip you up."

The owner took off its leash and the dog rushed up toward Joel, sniffing at his feet. Lucia swallowed away the sudden fear that washed over her as she thought about the girl hiding behind her. There was no way the dog could smell the old bite on Ellie, but she wasn't so sure. 

The dog trotted back toward the man and Joel let out a breath. "Like we said, we'll just move on."

"Now them." instructed the man who spoke earlier.

The dog lowered himself to the ground and growled at them, slowly making his way toward the woman. Lucia met Joel's gaze and saw the terror in his eyes as it sniffed at her the same way it did him. 

The smuggler averted his gaze away from them. He couldn't do this. He wouldn't do this. His heart was going quicker than it had ever gone before and the sharp pain within his chest almost became unbearable at the thought of either of them getting hurt. 

His ears were ringing, he couldn't hear anything else but the sound if his own heavy breaths. He physically flinched when the dog behind him barked and he knew that this was the end of it. There was nothing he could do as they'd shoot Ellie on the spot.

The only reason he snapped out of his panic attack was when he heard Ellie giggling like a little girl and he turned his head. The teenager was on her knees, petting the dog happily while Lucia still stood somewhat stoic beside her. 

"You just brought yourself ten more seconds." The man on the horse said, as the dog made his way back toward his owner. "What are you doin' out here?"

Joel took in a long breath, trying to rid himself of that feeling of dread. "I'm just lookin' for my brother. That's all, nothin' more."

Lucia tensed when the woman she had been watching earlier made her way toward him on her horse. She too, had a cloth covering the lower half of her face. Her dark gaze raked over the smuggler and she tilted her head to the side.

"What is your name?"

"Joel," he hesitated.

The woman takes in his appearance thoughtfully before moving her gaze toward Lucia and Ellie. It was then that she decided they had to come back with them.

sorry long time no see, my wifi was down. I am so excited to meet tommy next chapter it is going to be amazing!! also excited to write lucia and joel while in jackson because i have so much planned that will set the future for them <3