Tommy had said you and Ellie should patrol together - something about increased efficiency? Neither of you were truly paying attention, focused on the simple fact that you get to spend time with your best friend. The area you’d been tasked to patrol was a bit far from the settlement, but both of you were pretty sure it wouldn’t be a problem - Ellie was the strongest person you knew, and you weren’t a bad shot - at least as far as you were aware.

So, chatting and joking the entire way, you’d made your way out to the designated location. You hadn’t been too on edge, worries eased by the presence of a dear friend. Apparently, you should have been, because the second you turn your back, gunshots ring out throughout the shaded forest. Truthfully, you should be concerned about nearby infected hearing the fighting, but the first thing to come to your mind is Ellie.

As you rush back to her, you’re met with loud cursing and then the bullets go silent. You peek around a tree, walking into some tall grass, looking for an Ellie that’s nowhere to be found. Right as your worry begins to peak, you find your face rushing towards the ground as a familiar voice in your ears shouts, “Got you, you dumb fu-” she cuts herself off, noticing who she’s engaged with.

She sits on top of your stomach, knife to your throat. You watch an uneasy smile spread across her face as she starts to laugh awkwardly, realizing just who she’s on top of. She sheaths her knife with a murmured,“…Sorry. I’m- uh… thought you were a hunter.” There’s an awkward pause as she realizes how compromising the position you’re both in is, and before you can blink she’s removed herself from you with an awkward laugh and a bit of new color in her complexion.

She dusts herself off, and you quickly notice that she’s injured - a bullet in her shoulder and another in her thigh, dark crimson slowly seeping out and staining her clothes. She pays to mind to her injuries as she looks you over, surveying you for harm. “Uh, are you alright? Any stray bullets get you?"