Set Me Free ▪︎ Joel Miller ▪︎

▪︎○ Forty Six ○▪︎

Olivia tightened her hold on Tempest's reigns; curling her pale fingers around the leather material with a cautious and unsettled look in her bright emerald eyes. She glanced back through her swaying hair, convinced that the two men they had encountered earlier were somehow trailing after she and Ellie.

She couldn't explain it but there was something very off about that David guy. His eyes were darker than dark; a deep twisted abyss that had shook her to her core and rose goose bumps along her petite body.

He was not a good man, not in the slightest.

"You think they followed us?" Ellie asks when the pair come upon the cabin Joel was currently resting in.

"I don't think so," Olivia shrugged with a small smile, "there is no way they could have kept up with the horses on foot. Besides, the snow will cover our tracks through the night so unless they are out following out tracks right now, I think we're good." she reassures with just the inkling of worry lingering in her heart.

"They were pretty weird, huh?" Ellie commented while watching Olivia hop down from Tempest and move towards the garage door, eventually pulling it open with ease.

"Creepy for sure." Olivia agrees with a nod as she gently guides the horses into the slightly warmer garage and out of the snowfall outside. She works silently to tie them up before moving over to remove the small dead animals she and Ellie had managed to hunt and hang on the saddles earlier in the day. Sure, it was only a small amount of food - barely enough to see them through the next few days but even then, it was better than nothing and giving up that deer meat was certainly worth it to get the medicine Joel needed.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you left them alive."

Again, Olivia shrugged passively. "It wasn't worth the loss of ammo. That James barely knew how to hold a gun." she explained, "I mean, did you see the way his hand trembled? That kid was angry but afraid. I guess what we did to their guys back at the university shook him a little."

Ellie frowned in thought, contemplating Olivia's words and trying to understand how on earth the older woman had noticed such a small detail she herself had not. After all, when James had been pointing the gun at them, her focus had been on her own gun and keeping it trained on him. At no point was she studying the movement of his hands.

"I can finish up with the last two." she offers while stepping up to Olivia with an understanding smile. "You should go check on Joel and give him that medicine." she suggests as she takes the dead rabbits from the woman's grasp and gestures with her head in the direction of the basement where Joel currently lay.

"You sure?"

"Positive." Ellie insists with a grin.

"Thanks, El." Olivia mumbles with a grateful smile as she lifts a hand to rest on the girl's shoulder in a manner that was intended to convey just how appreciative she was. Then, with a deep breath taken, the young woman turns and makes her way towards the worn basement door, her heart consumed with an eagerness to see Joel and give him the antibiotics.

She moved quickly; pulling open the door and jogging down the creaky set of stairs until her soft gaze fell on the man her heart loved to its core. She frowned at his pale complexion and the barely visible breaths he was taking. He truly looked on the brink of death and that alone broke her heart and soul. It was not an image she wished to see nor remember in future.

"Joel?" she breathed his name desperately, though as expected the only response he offered was a weak groan and the slightest tilt of his head in her direction while his hazel eyes stayed closed and his chapped lips parted.

Immediately, her feet moved instinctively closer to him, kneeling at his side and lifting a cold hand to his forehead; checking his temperature. Again, she sighed and her frown deepened. His temperature was no better, his was still hot to the touch, yet his body shivered as though freezing. "It's okay, baby." she murmured while allowing her lips to tip up at their corners when his head turned, clearly trying to lean into her loving touch for comfort. "We only got a little food but we did manage to get this from two creeps in the woods," she admits while pulling her hand back to scoop up the medicine pouch from her pocket just as Ellie came jogging down the stairs behind her.

"How is he?" the teen asked with a concern driven dip in her dark brows.

Olivia shook her head while glancing to the girl knelt opposite her, just on the other side of the barely conscious southern man they both deeply cared for. "No different," she tells her honestly with a soft exhale.

"Shit," Ellie mumbles as she too lifts a hand to check his temperature before her curious gaze shifts to watch Olivia open the pouch and retrieve the antibiotic vial and syringe.

"Ellie, pull back the blanket please."

"Okay," the teen reaches down, curling her cold fingers around the rough material and pulling it back to reveal Joel's clothed torso. She breathes in deeply and flicks her gaze up to Olivia who offers her a reassuring smile before handing Ellie the medicine and reaching out to lift up his shirt, exposing the stitched infected wound beneath it. "Move your hand," she instructs while sliding Joel's arm aside gently.

When he groans, her heart snaps but again she pushes through it, determined to care for him with a brave face. Even if the sight of his swollen and purple stitches left worry coursing through her veins. "Here," Ellie holds out the antibiotics and syringe, offering them to Olivia who frowns at the idea of injecting Joel with it. What if she did it wrong? What if his body reacted negatively to the medicine and that in the end was what led to them losing him?

"It'll be okay." Ellie speaks up reassuringly upon having noticed the self doubt and worry ingrained in the older woman's stormy eyes. "He is tough and this'll only help him recover quicker." she adds with the hint of a smile on her lips, intending to bring comfort to not only Olivia but also to herself. After all, Joel was not just a travel companion now. He was a friend, a protector... a father figure. She couldn't lose him; they couldn't lose him.

"Yeah," Olivia half-heartedly agreed while filling the syringe with the clear medicine and glancing down at her partner's abdomen. Then, with a short look shared with Ellie, she lowered the syringe and carefully pushed the needle into his skin, piercing it.

The moment she did, Joel let out a weak pained cry and shifted uncomfortably causing Ellie to place her hands on his shoulders tenderly. "It's okay, Joel." she comforted while flicking her gaze to the needle; watching as Olivia pushed the plunger down, sending the liquid into his system.

"There we go," the brunette woman exhaled with a calmer smile as she pulled the needle out and set it in a small trash can off to their side. Meanwhile, Ellie fixes Joel's shirt and covers him once more with the blanket in an effort to offer him warmth and relief from the shivers plaguing his body.

"He's gonna make it," she says out loud with a firm nod, as though attempting to convince herself.

"Yeah, he better. He promised." Olivia remarks with a small forced smirk as she shuffles to lay at his side, resting her head on his firm chest and entwining her fingers with his. She sighs contently while smiling when Ellie lays at his other side and rests her own smaller hand across Joel's shoulder, resting just about on his chest due to her shorter arms.

"Goodnight, El. You did me proud today." Olivia mumbles tiredly.

"Thanks Mo- Olivia." the girl corrects her slip up mid sentence with a widening of her eyes and an awkward clearing of her throat. Then with a redness rising in her cheeks from mild embarrassment, she mumbles a short response. "Goodnight."

▪︎○▪︎○▪︎○▪︎○▪︎○▪︎

Author's Note

Hi!

I know this chapter is shorter than my usual and is more focused on Ellie and Olivia but I feel it has helped me return to this story and is like the calm before the storm that is coming in regards to David.

Hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Feedback always welcome!
Apologies if my writing is awful in this one. 🙈

▪︎○▪︎○▪︎○▪︎○▪︎○▪︎