Joel Miller x Reader

Twenty-Seven

Carefully you steered the car through a small forest path, near the base where Abby had taken refuge.

With the lights off, you let the car roll a little further and positioned it so that the rusty red paint was not immediately visible from a distance.

The handbrake clicked.

You looked at Joel.

"We should take advantage of the darkness.", you recommended with a worried look into the darkness.

Headlights lit up in the distance. Small figures, cloaked in black and armed, danced on the high walls.

They patrolled the areas up and down. It also didn't seem unlikely that they might have dogs with them.

A low growl left Joel's throat.

Wearily, he turned his head in the passenger seat to follow your gaze.

"We should check out the area first and familiarize ourselves with everything before going in.", he said, opening the door.

Immediately a cool evening breeze hit you, gentle but also fresh, as if you were inhaling mint.

One good thing that the apocalypse had brought was that nature had reclaimed large parts of civilization. As a result, the air had become cleaner and also richer in oxygen. The difference was easy to smell if one came from a time when that hadn't been the case.

Reaching into the back seat, you pulled the rifle's strap over your shoulder and followed him outside. You didn't have to sneak or hide from the light, the city was still several miles away, just close enough that you could inspect it with the naked eye but not have every last detail show.

With a nod of his head, Joel indicated going to the right.
You followed him, shining the light of a flashlight on the ground.

It was not uncommon for people to secure their new homes with hidden traps to keep the infected at bay. If this group had learned anything from the former Fireflies, they too would have a few surprises waiting for them, whether for zombies or unwanted guests.

Pebbles crunched under the soles of your shoes. The ground was dry as dust, frozen by the slowly melting snow.

Glancing at Joel's footprints, you raised your eyebrows. He seemed to have surprisingly large feet, if he wasn't wearing the wrong shoe size.

He led you through a valley, along the banks of a small river. The lapping of the crystal clear water filled your ears. Your breath rose in white clouds.

"Quite beautiful to look at...", you murmured to yourself as your eyes followed the river mixed with the untouched winter landscape.

Joel hummed in agreement and held out a hand for you to safely cross to the other side.

You didn't expect him to listen to your soliloquies.

He hadn't said a word the entire trip since Sarah was mentioned. His thoughts had tied him up and probably the old pain as well.

You had left him alone. If anyone knew that the deepest wounds only healed with time, it was you.

But now there was that gleam in his eye again as you took his hand and set your foot on a stone in the river.

The surface was so smooth that the light of the flashlight reflected on it. A thin layer of ice had formed on it, wet from the water that bubbled unstoppably. Concentrating, you took a big step and jumped onto the next stone, still clutching Joel's hand.

But this time you weren't very lucky.

You slipped, finding no footing on the stone, and stumbled. Out of reflex, your hands grabbed Joel's arm, you bent over to fall in his direction.

With outstretched arms he tried to catch you. But he misjudged the force of your fall and the sudden weight. His arms closed around you. He, too, lost his grip on the snow-covered shore and stumbled.

Together you both hit the water.

The embrace was so icy cold that your heart skipped a beat. Wetness covered your skin, goosebumps grew over your entire body as the water sucked into your clothes, making everything heavy.

Holding your breath, you squeezed your eyes shut and clutched at Joel's shirt.

He held you tightly, so tightly that you couldn't actually move.

Suddenly a force grabbed you and pulled you back up into the air. You had to take a deep breath, both to regain some warmth and not to suffocate from shock.

Breathing heavily, Joel stood there, holding his arms tightly wrapped around your waist.

Water dripped from the tips of his hair, making him look like a wet dog. Grim because of the icy cold, but somehow amused by your stupidity, he had to gasp.

"Did you want to kill us?", he asked and chuckled.

The vibration of his chest pressed against yours.

Your hands wandered down from his neck to his hands to press them down gently. In that moment you realised how veiny his huge hands and arms were. Under your fingertips you could feel the goosebumps that spread on his skin.

Holding your breath, you stared into his shimmering, brown eyes.

"I- I didn't mean to...", you stuttered, hating yourself for being embarrassed to look at his surprisingly handsome face. "I'm sorry."

He chuckled again and helped you to get back on land.

"Now we need to find a place to rest and dry our clothes, he groaned while pulling himself out of the water. Please tell me you didn't loose anything."

Tapping your pockets, you shook your head.

"Still got everything. But some things might got damaged."

"The map?"

"Hopefully not.", you pulled it out of your pocket only to groan annoyed. "Totally useless now. Fuck!"

Offering you and hand to get up, he shrugged.

"It's fine.", he assured. "We're here and won't have to go further. Now, let's get going and look for a place to stay. I can already feel how the clothes stick to my skin."

Pulling a face at the thought, you jumped up and shook the flashlight to check if it was still working. Luckily, the water did not damage the function.

"That way.", you pointed into a dark spot.

Sceptically, he raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"There is a sign. Museum of arts. Let's just hope the locals don't appreciate modern art."

He huffed amused.