Consequence

Chapter Sixteen

Ellie took in the fresh air and beautiful landscape that stretched for miles in front of her. The sound of the trees gently swaying in the breeze, the birds chirping as they flitted from branch to branch and back again. The vista was breathtaking, the mountains and the forest; the streams that lazily ran through the endless valleys and fields. Even after years of living in Jackson, she didn't think she'd ever get used to it. She felt lucky to live in such a place. To be able to walk around these grounds with no restrictions. No walls, no crumbling ugly skyscrapers that scarred the heavens. No broken roads or rotting corpses. At least not for a few miles anyway. It was the closest she felt to nature without actually being in the middle of nowhere. She'd spent the morning checking the ridge out with Tommy, taking out a straggler or two before hiding back towards the ski lift outpost where Joel was waiting for them.

The teen smiled as they walked through the door, watching as Joel strummed a few chords on the guitar he'd gifted her when they'd first arrived and settled in town. When he'd talked about the strings being changed, she'd genuinely felt confused about when the last time it'd been done. She didn't even know she was supposed to.

It's been Tommy's idea to head out to the old music store further into the town. She pulled gently at Shimmer's reins as she followed Joel on horseback through the woods. She'd only been half listening to him until he'd brought up Jesse's praise on how well she'd been handling the group patrols. Even going as far as recommending her for paired patrols; it was something Ellie had wanted to do since coming to Jackson. She was a better shot than almost all of the others and had more experience than some people twice her age. She knew she was more than capable but both Joel and her mother had voiced their concerns for her safety and had held off letting her go. Her eyes perked up at Joel's tone the more he spoke about it.

"Your mother and I have been talkin'." He explained. "We still think you're a bit young. But if you think you're ready...we trust you." Ellie beamed, a happy sighed lifting the weight on her chest at the thought of them saying no again. "Okay, thanks." She smiled; urging Shimmer into a trot to catch up with Joel and Duke.

"Just do me a favour..." He asked. Ellie rolled her eyes. Here we go... The teen thought sarcastically to herself. Of course there was a catch, what had she expected with how overprotective Joel and her mom were. "Just start with the shorter routes for now, for my sake and mostly for your mother's? Y'know...Just see how you handle them." Huh that actually hadn't been a big of a catch as she was expecting. What she had been was one of them insisting on going with her as her partner. Pick your battles she supposed. And it seemed this time, she'd actually won one.

When they reached the road it was easier to go on foot, they decided to leave the horses by the water side while they ventured further into the town. Ellie followed Joel's line of sight as he pointed to the music store in the distance; stopping abruptly when she saw their usual path was now blocked and the water too shallow. There's no way to swim across anymore. She turned on her heel as the two split up to look for an alternative route instead. She glanced across at Joel looking around for a ladder or plank of wood to help them get across, a smirk slowly inching across her face as she strolled over towards him.

"So..." She started mischievously. "You really think we'll be able to find anything in the music store?" Joel didn't look up, his eyes cast into the grass and under the cars for any sign of leftover debris that could prove useful. "I don't see why not..." He replied nonchalantly. "That's where I got the stuff to fix up your guitar in the first place and I don't see anyone else having any use for the stuff in there." She nodded, her eyes never leaving him as she leaned back against the frame of one of the old cars, left to rot and rust away on the broken remains of the tarmac of the old road. " Okay. Hey...maybe you could find something for my mom? Another record or something.." The older man just hummed in agreement, still not really paying much attention to her, which only seemed to add to her amusement. "Yep you could find something really nice to give to her." She grinned. "Maybe even something to wrap as...say...I don't know? An anniversary present?"