CYOA Page 12
Upon closer inspection, you're pretty sure you don't know this kid. He kind of resembles someone from Jackson, but you can see that it's definitely not him -- and why would a kid from Jackson be out this far away from town anyway? There's something about him that's distinctly... not-Jackson-like. Not just his long, shaggy hair and disheveled appearance... it's like, his attitude or something... even though he's only said two words?
"What's your name?" you ask him, since Joel is too busy looking around to bother with conversation.
He doesn't answer. He does start slowly lowering his hands, though.
You move forward and waggle your gun a little. "Keep 'em up. If you reach for that gun, I'm gonna have to shoot you," you warn him. You're not even sure he has a gun, but he definitely has something on his hip hidden under his shirt.
"It's not loaded," he says sullenly.
"I don't care." It probably isn't, since he could've drawn it on you and Joel already. "What are you doing out here?"
Again, he doesn't answer. Oh, Joel's just going to love this kid...
Joel hasn't gone far enough to be out of ear shot. He leaves his horse loosely tied to a tree and approaches the boy on foot from the other side, gun still pointed at him. "Lemme see that gun... just lay it on the ground real slow-like, all right? An' kick it over here."
The kid hesitates, but after glancing between you and Joel and your guns a couple of times, he decides to comply. You're pretty sure Joel wouldn't shoot him unless provoked -- like, really provoked -- but you're also pretty sure the kid finds Joel to be a bit scarier than you. Who wouldn't? Still... the boy seems more angry than scared. ...Because we fucked up his thieving plans?
The gun looks similar to your 9-millimeter, though it might actually be even smaller. Joel inspects it, and apparently finds it unloaded because he holsters his own gun and hands the thing back to the scowling boy, who hastily tucks it back into his pants.
"He might have a knife or something," you point out reasonably. "And bullets he hasn't loaded."
"I ain't gonna search him. You live around here?" he asks the kid -- and gets the same response that your questions did.
"Why were you following us?" you try, even though you can answer this one yourself. "You were gonna try and rob us? Huh? People who fuck with us end up dead, you know."
Joel seems a little surprised at your words. Yeah, okay, maybe I could be a little nicer... USUALLY I'm nicer... but there's something about this kid! The boy's expression hasn't changed... and you find yourself thinking he's almost like a young Joel, with that perpetual frown. You stifle a giggle, and Joel gives you another odd look before turning back to the kid. "Stay here. We ain't done with you yet. Ellie..."
You can see he wants to talk to you privately. You dismount, keeping the reins in your hand as you move a little farther away; you weren't all that close to begin with, and if you speak softly, he won't be able to hear you. Joel positions himself so he can keep an eye on the boy. "You don't seem to like this kid," he observes quietly.
"No. I don't. Do you?!" That would be a first, if he liked a new person and you didn't...
"No."
Okay then! "So what should we do?"
"Don' know. Wish he would give us somethin' to go on." Joel looks at you... with something like pride on his face. "You get a bad vibe off him too?"
"Yeah. I guess." Am I becoming more like Joel that way? He always says he LIKES that I'm nicer or whatever than he is... except he worries it'll get you into trouble. Between the two of you, Joel is way slower to warm up to people than you are, and you've had more than a few debates over the trustworthiness or virtues of various individuals in Jackson, with you always assuming the role of defender. You don't feel inclined to defend this petulant little shit, however. "I don't like that he won't answer our questions, and he doesn't even seem scared of us, really. He's prob'ly seen worse than us. But... if he's out here on his own, just trying to survive... we can't really expect him to, like... be all smiley and happy and conversational, right?"
"...No, I s'pose not. He's too young to be out here by himself, though..."
"Hey!" you holler to the kid, because you can practically see the wheels spinning in his brain while he looks at Joel's horse. "Don't even think about stealing that horse or we will shoot you!"
In response, the boy sits down on the ground.
You turn back to Joel. "You're not thinking about trying to help him, are you?"
"Well... I don' know. He ain't actin' like he wants our help. I'd like to know where he lives... where he came from."
"Yeah. If he decides to talk to us, he could just lie, though. It would be easier to just shoot him." ...Yep, expected Joel to look surprised at that, too...
"He's still just a kid," Joel hisses.
"A kid who wants to steal our shit. Maybe he hasn't eaten in a week and he's desperate to get his hands on our food, our guns... kinda hard to hunt with a tiny unloaded gun and all."
Joel tucks a lock of hair behind your ear, and gives you just a hint of a smile... a sad one. "You ain't wrong. But..."
"But what? He's a threat."
"I know, but... he's a kid. Like you."
"I'm not a kid!" you cry indignantly, and you don't care that you've raised your voice a little. "And I'm not--"
He shushes you by placing his hand over your mouth. "Not as young as him, but yes, you are," he says with a chuckle.
You pry his hand off your mouth and close what little gap remains between you, smiling wickedly. "Would a kid do this?" You half expect him to stop you when you pull his face to yours and lay a big fat kiss on him -- it's not like he can't see it coming -- but he doesn't stop it!
You can't resist sneaking a glance at the kid to see if he's watching you... and he is! Ha! You start to deepen the kiss, wrapping your arms around Joel's neck, but that's where he stops you. He slides your arms back down to your sides, though he does keep hold of your hands, at least. "What was that for?" he asks.
"I was just proving my point -- that I'm not a kid," you answer, stifling a "duh!" because you realize that would not help your case.
"In front of him, though?"
"Why not? Not like we're ever gonna see him again. And who's he gonna tell?"
Joel drops your hands to cross his arms over his chest while he stares at the kid... with that 'thinky' expression he gets sometimes. "We need to decide what to do with this kid. If we just ignore him, he could follow us until he gets another chance to steal somethin'."
"So we should... threaten him?" Other possibilities flit through your mind... shoot him... break one of his legs so he can't walk... fuck, he's not an ENEMY! You know the rules are different out here than they are in Jackson; he could be considered an enemy. Because he's not me or Joel.
"Or... find out where he lives. Take him back there." Joel frowns. "I don't really like that either though 'cause who knows where he'd lead us, if he'd even do it... an' if we take him with us--"
"No!" you protest loudly.
"Calm down. I was gonna say we can't trust him, so we'd have to keep an eye on him at all times... sleep in shifts... no, we ain't takin' him."
"Good! Fuck, you scared me for a second there." Tommy's talked about what Joel was like before he met you, and apparently, you've 'softened him up' quite a bit -- you observed some of that yourself, on the trip from Boston -- but you're glad he's not soft to the point of being completely stupid.
"Threats won't even be necessary," he decides. "We're on horseback... we can put enough distance between us if we set off from here at a faster-than-normal pace."
"Okay."
"We'll make him walk out of sight first... in case he's got ammo in his pockets or somethin'," Joel adds.
"Okay. Let's go." You tug on your horse's reins to turn him around and follow Joel back toward the kid. You wonder if he's going to make any remark about the kiss (which, surely he found disgusting? Being so young and all...). He has the same sullen expression on his face as before... it's impossible to tell what he's thinking.
Joel approaches him. "All right, kid. Here's what's gonna happen. You go on back to where you came from an' forget you saw us... an' we'll do the same. If I catch you followin' us again..."
The unfinished warning just hangs there... well, unfinished. So much for no threats! you snicker to yourself. "Trust me -- you do not wanna mess with him," you finish for him, in case the kid doesn't understand the implication.
The boy looks at you and nods slightly. He glances at Joel... then back at you... kind of looking like he might want to say something? But he doesn't. After a few awkward moments, you mount your horse, and Joel starts walking back to his.
"Wait!" says the kid, dropping the frown as he looks at you beseechingly. "Do you have any food? I can maybe trade you something for it?" Joel turns around at that.
You snort. "What do you have to trade? That gun?"
"No! I have... stuff. At my spot."
"Your spot?" Joel parrots, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I'll show you."
Joel looks at you... and you read the look as I'm-game-if-you-are. It could be some kind of trap... but you are curious...
If you go with the kid, turn to page 20.
If you think "fuck that" and leave, turn to page 23.