Set Me Free ▪︎ Joel Miller ▪︎

▪︎○ Twelve ○▪︎

Gunshots ring out, echoing in the open space as Olivia and Joel continuously fire off shots at the overwhelming amount of infected charging towards them. They don’t have time to hesitate or slow, even when reloading because for every one infected they kill, another two take its place.

Olivia had to admit, she was impressed with Joel’s ability to aim whilst hanging upside down. Dare she say it was attractive, especially when he effortlessly caught the box of ammo Ellie had tossed towards him.

Who knew the older man could be sexy in a moment such as this one?

“Keep focused on cutting through that rope!” Olivia tells Ellie.

“Okay,”

“The quicker we get you down, the quicker we can get the fuck outta here.” Olivia mumbles to Joel as she turns swiftly to shoot at a clicker getting too close to the smuggler for comfort. She fires off two clean shots to its head, killing it instantly.

“Ellie, how’s it lookin’,” Joel called out the question between shooting at a runner.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” the teen snaps back with frustration.

“You’re doing good, just keep at it!” Olivia encourages gently before she growls and tucks away her now empty gun, completely out of ammo. She turns her head, searching for some type of melee weapon she can use to defend herself when she spots a large hammer. She runs towards it, managing to take down two more runners with her fists alone on the way before skidding along the floor and gripping the hammers wooden handle.

“Ellie?!”

“Just give me a second!” the teen grits out as she works faster, running her blade continuously against the thick rope as Joel shoots at the horde of clickers.

Olivia's breathing grew heavier, her muscles burned and her forehead was lined with beads of sweat. She was running on fumes and she knew it. But with her remaining strength and resilience, she continues to fight off the infected, swinging the hammer at their heads or kicking them down to the floor.

She is just about to once more call out to Ellie when a crash is heard. She shifts her attention to the teen in a panic, screaming her name as she watches a pair of runners surround the girl.

She curses under her breath as Joel is strung higher, the fridge having now been knocked on its side by the infected attempting to swarm Ellie. She pulls out a throwing knife, bringing it up to her line of sight and with a flick of her wrist, she sends it between the eyes of one of the groaning runners.

“Fuck you!” she hisses whilst storming forward and swinging the hammer against the other runners head, sending it to the floor on its back long enough for her to bring the hammer down once more, caving in its skull with a loud crack.

She pushes Ellie protectively behind her as three clickers approach them, her panic intensifying upon realising that she was left unarmed – the hammer having snapped in two when taking out the previous runner.

She reaches for her knife, determined to protect Ellie even if it costs her life to successfully do so. She steps forward but before she can make any move to attack, three steady gunshots echo through the air, sending the three clickers falling limply to the ground, dead.

Olivia doesn’t need to turn her head to know that it had been Joel who had fired the shots, she knew him well enough to know he would have sooner protected the two than hung idly by.

“Thanks, Cowboy.” she calls appreciatively over her shoulder, her playful tone weaker than it had been previously.

She just wanted out of this damn garage. “Ellie, the rope.” she urges and immediately the girl nods and climbs back atop the now toppled fridge but not before turning and handing Olivia a handful of loose handgun ammo causing the woman to give her a questioning look.