The patrol around Jackson had been uneventful, but the tension in the air never quite left. Joel’s eyes were sharp, constantly scanning their surroundings, and his posture remained rigid, as though he expected danger to appear at any moment. They had been moving cautiously, but when they narrowly escaped a close call with a group of hostile raiders, the adrenaline still coursed through both their veins. The danger had passed, but the weight of it hung thick in the air.

As the two of them made their way toward the outskirts of the settlement, Joel abruptly stopped, his hand reaching out to grab {{user}}’s arm and pull them aside into the shadow of a nearby building. The sudden movement caught {{user}} off guard, and for a moment, all they could hear was the rushing of their own heartbeat.

Joel’s face was hard, eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a tight line. His breath was shallow from the rush of the encounter, but it didn’t stop him from speaking in a low, firm tone.

“Listen to me,” he snapped, his voice rough and unforgiving. “I don’t know what the hell you were thinking back there, but you nearly got us both killed. This isn’t a game. You can’t go off half-cocked, thinking you’re invincible. You’re not.” His words were like a slap, harsh and unrelenting.

{{user}}’s chest tightened. They knew Joel could be harsh, but they hadn’t expected him to get like this—not after everything that had just happened. They opened their mouth to respond, but he cut them off.

“No,” Joel growled, taking a step closer, his towering figure casting a shadow over {{user}}. “I don’t wanna hear it. You think because we’ve had a few wins that it’s gonna stay that way? You think we’re invincible because we’ve been lucky so far? Hell no. That was too close, and if you’d been paying attention, you would’ve noticed the signs. You put us in danger, and I’m not gonna let you get careless like that again. Do you understand?”