A/N: I don't own TLOU or "My Blood" by Twenty One Pilots.

XXX

Surrounded and

Up against a wall

I'll shred them all

And go with you

XXX

The storm had trapped Joel and Tommy at the lookout overnight, but they were packed up and ready to go by dawn. Joel wasn't usually too much of an early riser anymore, at least not if he had his druthers about it, but it didn't feel right sleeping so far away from Jackson. An uncomfortable feeling in Joel's gut reminded him that, if it hadn't been for the storm keeping him away, Ellie would've been waiting for him back home so they could watch one of those flashy action movies he used to like. He'd even found one of those cards she liked to collect in an abandoned house while he and his brother were out on patrol.

Even though they'd been pummeled with snow the day before, the air was clear today, almost like the day was gearing up for sunshine. In Wyoming, that's just how the weather was sometimes.

As they rode back to Jackson, Joel took the lead, while Tommy followed close behind.

"You think anybody else got caught in that storm?" Joel asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the path in front of them.

"Even if they did, we've got lookouts and hideouts all over the place," Tommy replied. Joel could feel Tommy's eyes on the back of his head. "Especially on that route you put Ellie on."

"Yeah, well, nobody's cleared most of those buildings in a long time."

Tommy snorted and shook his head. "It's a good thing you've still got your sense of humor, big brother, or this'd be a long ride home."

It sure as hell felt like a long ride back to Jackson. Thanks to the previous day's snow, the horses' progress was slower than normal when it came to hills. The uneasy feeling in Joel's gut grew with every passing minute.

Before long, Tommy gave up trying to talk. Joel didn't complain. Sometimes, especially on days like today, Joel liked his brother better that way.

Over the sound of his horses' hooves, Joel heard the sound of another horse approaching along the path. He sat up straighter, hand automatically dropping to his gun holster.

"It's me," a voice called, just before Maria rode into view. "I was hoping you'd be on your way back."

"What are you doin' out here on your own?" Tommy asked. "You didn't get yourself a patrol partner?"

"Didn't need one," she said. "I'm not looking for Infected."

"Doesn't mean they won't come looking for you," Tommy said, his voice taking on the same stubborn edge Joel used to hear when they were kids.

Ignoring her husband, Maria turned to Joel. "You two run into anybody out here, by chance?"

"No," he said, uneasiness growing. "Who you looking for?"

Maria pulled up her horse to stop in front of them on the path. "Besides you two? Ellie and Dina."

"Goddamn it," Joel said, barely under his breath.

"Bet they got caught up in the same storm we did," Tommy said. Joel could tell his brother was trying to sound reasonable, but he heard the edge in his brother's tone. Tommy didn't like the idea of Ellie and Dina staying out any more than he did.

Joel steered his horse around Maria's, continuing along the path. "Anybody seen them or heard from them since they left town yesterday?"

"No."

"Who else you got out looking for them?"

"Just Jesse for now." Maria must have caught the look on Joel's face, because she quickly added, "We didn't want to mess up the patrol schedule. Ellie and Dina probably just fell asleep waiting out the storm. But everybody's keeping an eye out for them on their routes, too."

"I sent 'em up to the Overlook. Got anybody on that route to replace them yet?"

"Nobody's scheduled to head out that way for another hour or so, but I pointed Jesse in that direction."

Rubbing a hand over his face, Joel urged his horse to speed up. He heard Maria and Tommy following just behind him, but he sure as hell wasn't interested in making conversation with either of them.

Their trio were just passing by the old mansion on their way to the Overlook when Joel spotted a horse tied to the mansion's porch. He switched directions so fast that his horse nearly slipped on a patch of ice.

A moment later, Joel spotted Jesse on the porch, breaking a window with the butt of a long gun. Then he spotted the charred remains of what had to be at least a dozen Infected, just out front of the gate, most likely taken out by some kind of trap or bomb. It sure looked like Ellie's handiwork to Joel. That made him feel a little better.

But where the hell had all those Infected come from?

Speaking of Infected—if there were any left nearby, the sound of the window breaking was sure to get their attention.

"Shut the gate before we get any visitors," he instructed Tommy over his shoulder before hopping off his horse before she could even come to a complete stop.

By then, Jesse had climbed through the window and unlocked the front door from inside. It swung open.

Along the slats of wood under his feet, Joel noticed a stream of dried blood that led into the entryway. Someone had either gotten hurt at the house, or the snow had already covered the rest of their bloody trail.

"Hey," Jesse greeted, jogging toward the staircase. "They're in one of the rooms upstairs. I think I saw Dina in the window."

But not Ellie, Joel couldn't help but think. And the trail of blood didn't lead upstairs.

"You go ahead," Joel said, choosing to follow the blood instead. "I'll be up in a minute."

The trail led to a couch, which was stained with a much larger patch of blood. The metallic scent still lingered in the room.

"Shit," he said, just as he heard Tommy and Marie entering the house.

"You find anything?" Tommy called, and Joel doubled back to meet him in the entryway.

From upstairs, Jesse called, "Joel! Come give me a hand with this."

Joel moved up the stairs while Tommy and Marie split up to explore the first floor of the house. Joel noticed that Tommy was starting with the trail of blood, the same way he had.

Jesse was standing in front of a bookcase, face dripping with sweat. "Somebody blocked the door," he said, before he raised his voice to speak to whoever was in the room. "We've got you. Give us just a minute and we'll get you out."

Together, Joel and Jesse pushed the bookcase out of the way. As soon as the doorway cleared, the door burst open so fast that it hit Jesse in the side. Dina emerged from the room, a streak of dried blood down the right side of her face. She'd tied some kind of shirt around her head, presumably to stop the source of the bleeding. Beneath the cloth, Joel could see that her cheek was swollen and dark with a bruise.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jesse asked, then he seemed to notice the stricken look on Dina's face. "Where's Ellie?"

Dina looked at Joel, and he felt his shoulders tense, like his body could brace itself for whatever she was about to say.

"We ran into a group of people wandering through. They took her. I think they're headed further out west."

"Where out west?" Joel asked, his voice a low drawl between his clenched teeth. He heard his knuckles crack as his fist clenched at his side. Instinctively, he'd reached for his gun, but that wouldn't do him any good now. At least not yet.

"I overheard them say something about Seattle."

When Dina vacated the doorway, looking a bit unsteady on her feet, Joel couldn't help but check the bedroom behind her. Like he thought Ellie was going to pop out from underneath the bed, telling him the whole thing was payback for him missing their movie night.

It was a damn stupid thought, but it made more sense than whatever Dina had just told him.

Before he could demand an explanation, Dina said, "We saw a couple Infected from the Overlook, so we went out to clear them. We wanted to sneak up on them, so we left our horses tied up."

"Yeah, I found the horses up there," Jesse cut in. "We're lucky the Infected didn't find them."

Joel was just about ready to tell Jesse that he didn't give a good goddamn about the horses when Dina continued her story. "One minute, there were just a couple Infected. Nothing we couldn't handle, but then I shot a clicker. It was only one shot, and then Infected were everywhere. Dozens of them." She paused to take a breath, then continued, "We ran for it. Ended up finding a building to hide out in, but there was already somebody there. A runner was about two inches from throat when we found her. She told us she had some friends nearby, and they'd secured a safe place to stay."

Joel's jaw clicked as he ground his teeth, and he ran a rough hand over his face. "So then you went with 'em?" It didn't sound like Ellie. He'd taught her better than that.

"We didn't have much of a choice," Dina said sharply. Joel met her eyes, and for a minute, they just stared at each other. Dina looked defiant, like she wasn't about to apologize for surviving, but he saw a flash of guilt cross her face before she looked away. So, it hadn't been Ellie's idea then. Maybe that ought to make him feel better, but it didn't change a damn thing.

Before Joel could reply, Tommy spoke from behind him. "Any of us would've done the same," his brother said. Joel turned to find Tommy and Maria had joined them at the top at the top of the stairs.

Dina nodded slowly at Tommy's words. "Ellie injured her leg. She barely made it this far. She said she cut it on a piece of glass back at the building, but…" She trailed off, swallowing. "One of the strangers thought it was a bite."

Joel stiffened, his stomach dropping down to his toes. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

"Oh fuck," Jesse breathed.

Maria approached the group. "Was it?" she asked. "A bite?" Her voice was steady, but Joel knew her well enough to pick up on the little tremble in her tone.

"I never got a good look." Dina said. She absently scratched at the dried blood on her cheek, looking away. When she continued, it was almost like she'd forgotten anyone else was there. "There were a lot of them. But I wasn't about to let them shoot her."

Dina looked at Joel again. The two of them didn't talk much back in Jackson, especially not since things had gotten so strained between him and Ellie, but he recognized the expression in her eyes. Joel knew that he was looking at the only other person in the world who would take on a room full of strangers just to give Ellie a fighting chance. Even if it made no sense, and Ellie didn't want the help, and it meant they were most likely going to die for it.

After a moment, Dina's eyes narrowed at him, almost accusingly. "She told them she's immune, like she can't get infected."

"And they believed her?" Jesse asked.

"I guess so. They tied me up and stitched her leg. Then they knocked me out and tossed me in that room," Dina said, nodding toward the room they'd just freed her from. "By the time I came around, everybody was gone."

Maria propped her shoulder against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's a wonder they let you go."

"I know. It doesn't make sense," Dina replied. "They even locked me in there with enough food and water for a couple days. And they let me keep my gun."

Joel knew everything he needed to. He didn't care much about the particulars, not when every passing second meant Ellie was slipping further out of his grip. If he waited around much longer, the fear might set in. And that'd only slow him down.

"You said you think they're headed to Seattle?" he asked.

"Yeah. Definitely somewhere out west, based on what's written on the canteen they left."

"Well let's get goin' then," Joel said simply, turning and heading back down the stairs without another word. On his way down, his hand formed a fist on its own accord. He struck the wall at the bottom of the stairs, leaving a dent of crumbling drywall in its wake.

He didn't even feel it. Not the stinging of his knuckles, or the blood that began to seep down his hand. His hand might've cracked upon contact with the wall, but he didn't hear a sound

"Joel," Maria called, the first to follow him downstairs. She caught up to him before the front door could slam shut behind him. "We've got to get Dina checked out back in Jackson. If they knocked her out, she's probably got a bad concussion. And somebody best check out that hand now, too."

"Y'all can get back to Jackson fine without me," he said, wiping his bloody fist on his shirt.

"Joel," she repeated, firm. "You know you can't just go out on your own. You've got enough supplies for a patrol. Not a trip across the whole damn country."

Ignoring her, he hopped up onto his horse. Maria snagged the reins, effectively halting him in his place. She continued, "A couple hours won't make much difference. And you're no good to her if you end up getting killed by an Infected because you didn't bring enough ammo and you couldn't throw a punch with a broken hand."

Joel looked down at her, trying to snatch the reins from her hands. She didn't let go. He felt rage prickling just under his skin like a sickness. "All due respect, Maria, but do you have any idea what I've had to do to stay alive this long? To keep that girl alive this long?"

"Hey, hey," Tommy said, moving to stand between them. Joel felt his horse shift uncomfortably at the tension and proximity of all the people. Tommy took the reins from his wife. "Quit it, both of you. We'll figure somethin' out."

"You best get the fuck out of my way, Tommy," Joel said.

"Maria's got a point," Tommy returned. "You're so bullheaded you'll get yourself killed before you get out of the state. Just give me a couple hours and we'll head out together."

Maria's head snapped to the side so that she could look at her husband. "We need to talk about this."

He shook his head. "Ain't nothing to discuss, Maria."

"For all we know, she's gone," Maria said. She looked at Joel, her expression softening. "Even if they believe her now, how long will it be before they realize she was lying to them? Even if you do find her, and even if you do manage to get her away from those people—it sounds like she's got a bite."

"So you're saying we should leave her?" Tommy asked, before Joel could tear into her.

"I'm saying we need to talk about it. Before we all go do somethin' stupid that won't do Ellie one bit of good," Maria replied. Joel heard a growl coming from his chest, and she looked up at him again. "Don't you look at me like that, Joel Miller. You know that girl is like family to me."

Just then, Dina and Jesse exited the house. They seemed to be arguing, too, but Joel tuned them out. The last thing he needed was anybody else slowing him down.

Before he even had a chance to think about it, his hand was diving to one of his holsters and drawing his pistol. He held the weapon against his leg, the warning clean enough. "Get your fucking hands off my horse, Tommy."

They stared at each other for a beat. Then his brother let go, taking a step back and tugging Maria with him. "You know this ain't a one-man job," Tommy argued, but his tone said he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

"Jesus, Tommy," Joel said, pocketing his gun and taking the reins. "Don't you know who the hell you're talkin' to?"

With a last withering look at his brother, Joel nudged his horse into gear. The pair shot off into the trees.

XXX

If you find yourself

In a lion's den

I'll jump right in

And pull my pin

And go with you

XXX

A/N: Thanks for reading! Joel's the hardest character for me to write (*cough* especially since we got so little of him in TLOU2 *cough*), and he's my favorite character, so reviews/feedback on this chapter are especially welcome.