The Last of Us Part II

The Overlook

ABBY'S P.O.V.

I gasp, startling awake from my nightmare. Always the same one.

I find myself sleeping on the mansion's living room floor in my sleeping bag with the rest of the crew as a fireplace crackles nearby to keep us warm. The various mounted animals greet me. Shaky breaths leave my lips with relief for a few moments, closing my eyes again as I place a hand over my racing heart to calm it.

I sit up and brush the cover of the sleeping bag off me, leaning over and resting my arms on my knees. The ache of the unforgiving wood floor echoes through my muscles. Most of the fear has now left my body but I take a few additional deep breaths to be sure. I look around the room to find everyone still sleeping. However, one particular sleeping bag was empty.

My head turns towards the huge wall of windows that display a landscape of snow-covered trees and nearby mountains. Next to it is a familiar figure leaning up against the frames, looking out into the wintery wilderness, already fully dressed in his gear. The rising sun was still dim behind clouds on the horizon. I shakily stand up and stroll over to him. Owen acknowledges my presence as he makes eye contact and nods at me.

"Hey," I whisper, being quiet so the others won't wake up.

"Hi."

I cross my arms over my chest as I can practically feel the unforgiving winter slowly and faintly sneaking in. Frost had creeped on the borders of the windows. Goosebumps uncomfortably rise on the skin beneath my clothes.

He says, "What were you dreaming about?"

"Was I talking?"

"You were doing your... teeth grinding thing."

My face contorts with embarrassment as I shake my head and chuckle. It's good to know that some things never change. My eyes drop to the floor before looking at him again. There are snowflakes on his jacket, still unmelted. Confusion scrawls over my features when I reach my arm out and brush them off lightly.

"Where've you been?"

He looks down at the floor in thought.

"Grab your gear," he tells me, leaning off the wall and walking away. "I wanna show you something."

"What?"

"Trust me."

My eyes follow him skeptically, but I do what he says. Without waking the others, I get my gear on quickly and follow him out. The garage door closes by itself behind us as we venture into the snowy region. Aging footprints on the ground that have almost been covered by the falling snow matched Owen's.

"Come on," Owen motions ahead. "This way."

I walk behind him, following his path. The combination of the cloudiness and the early morning hours contributed to the frigidness, which bites at my face unforgivingly.

"It's cold," I shudder, brushing the falling snow off the back of my neck. "You sure you don't wanna do this when the sun's out and it's... warmer?"

"No... can't wait."

I laugh lowly with amusement. Owen's never like this. What the hell is he hiding?

"And you don't wanna just tell me?"

He turns his head, "You need to see it."

Must be serious for Owen to be this quiet. As we travel through the area, our boots make shallow, messy trails in the fallen snow.

"What are you doing wandering around out here by yourself?" I question with susceptivity, squeezing through a crack between two small cliffs of land after Owen.