"Why are we stopping again?" Ellie asked as Matt began to slow down the car, bringing it to a stop, "I thought we got enough fuel yesterday?"

Joel coughed, "Unfortunately most of the gas has broken down, so its mostly water now," he explained before adding, "Though, sometimes we might get lucky,"

Matt nodded, "Yeah, so, we have to stop pretty frequently to make sure we have enough fuel to keep going,"

The car came to a stop on the side of the road, luckily, there were plenty of cars just abandoned on the roads – However, sometimes there'd be stretches of road that are seemingly void of any cars, working or not.

"Might as well loot some of them while you syphon," Matt said as the three exited the car, making sure to stretch their legs and arms considering how long they had been in the car for.

Joel was the one who held the syphon and walked over to a nearby truck, opening the fuel tank.

Matt watched over him as he circled the area with his weapon drawn, Ellie on the other hand, made herself useful by opening unlocked cars, "Let's see what we've got ..." She giggled to herself as she could be saw crawling into the front seat.

Joel didn't comment as he readied a Jerry Can under the syphon tube, allowing the water like liquid to seep in, "I think we'll fill the Jerry can up three times," Joel said as the Can began to fill, "Then we'll continue driving,"

Matt nodded.

The sun bathed the area in bright light, allowing the group to see what was around them, which was nothing other than dead-browning grass, long weeds, and the occasional tree.

"Man ..." Ellie mumbled to herself as there was nothing in the car, "Nothing ..."

"They probably didn't have much to begin with," Matt told, "I bet most of these cars were heading out of the cities and just left what they couldn't take,"

Ellie hummed as the Jerry can Joel was filling up had become completely full, meaning that Joel had to take it back to the car they were driving to fill up the tank.

Matt spotted an SUV a short walk in front of him. Deciding the group was fine he went to investigate, "Ellie, stay with Joel," he ordered as he turned to look at the teen, who gave him a pout.

The SUV was painted black, but it had began to rust due to the elements it was stranded in. Walking closer Matt peered through the windows, seeing a stack of newspapers as well as various carrier bags in the front and back seats.

Matt opened the door, it was unlocked as most of the cars were due to the sudden nature of the infection and panic.

Moving through the pile of papers he eventually found a comic, CAPTAIN AMERICA, "Huh, a hero comic ..." Matt said to himself as he took it out and placed the comic on top of the SUV, planning on giving it to Ellie.

Matt also took the liberty of taking a few old newspapers, they would be better to clean themselves with than anything else.

The man stuck his head back into the SUV, it finally dawned on his how warm it was in the car, but that didn't matter now. Shifting through the first carrier bag, it was nothing but rubbish, old cans of Coca Cola, Pepsi, and anything else.

Unfortunately, two other plastic bags held the same type of stuff.

Having little hope, Matt walked around the car and decided to check the boot. Again, it was unlocked, thankfully, so it opened with surprising ease, considering the age.

This time, a box.

"Old clothes ..." Matt read the words on it and started messing through the contents, maybe something useful, maybe not.

"Huh ... A few pairs of boxers," Matt said as he pulled out some underwear that men often wear.

After looking through a few more times, most of the clothes were useless, sure, he'd keep the boxers for him, Joel, and maybe Ellie if she wanted a pair.

Then, just as he was about to give up, he found a red flannel with black square patterns painting it entirely, "Won't fit me ... Or Joel," Matt commented as he held it up, "It was for a smaller frame and figure, "Maybe Ellie?"

Matt took what he had looted, making sure to grab the newspapers and the comic and started walking back over to Joel and Ellie.

Joel had just started pouring the Jerry can in the car again, before Matt could announce his presence, "Oh! What did you score?" Ellie said as she ran up to the human as he approached the back of the car.

"Well ..." Matt placed everything into the car-boot that was exposed, it was where they would sleep more comfortably as it had an actual mattress, "I found us some boxers we could have, four pairs," he said moving the boxers away, "Found some newspapers we can use when we need the toilet ..."

Ellie picked up a pair of boxers, "I'll have this one ..." she held it up, "It's the most clean,"

Matt nodded before showing her the comic, "Here, found this for you,"

"Awesome!" Ellie cheered as she took it and read the title, "Captain America! Superhero comic! Even better!"

Matt and Joel smiled at each other because of the reaction Ellie gives to certain things, it was adorable, "Oh, and then there's this," Matt said as he knelt down to Ellie's height and held out the red flannel, trying to see if it would fit her well enough, "Might be a bit big, but, I thought you could have something to change into,"

Ellie smiled as she placed the comic in the car and then took the flannel, it reminded her of the red shirt she always wears, "Its red too!" She cheered, "Can't go wrong with an extra set of clothes,"

-------

"Motel 6 ..." Joel said out-loud, as he was driving the car in order to give Matt a break, "If its clear, we'll stay here for the night,"

Matt nodded as he turned to see Ellie napping over the two seats in the back, the red flannel sat on top of her to act as a make-shift blanket.

The car still had a lot of gas to keep going through the night, but fighting at nighttime can be too dangerous, especially if you can't see who you're firing at.

The Motel was decently sized, but it was pretty clear that it was not supposed to be used by everyone on the road, it was simply too small to accommodate. It only had one level of rooms and the building itself was built in a 90 degree angle with rooms all across it.

The car park was small, but still had a few abandoned cars left to rot like everything else.

Carefully, Joel pulled up in front of a parked car, and reversed into the bay next to it. It would save them reversing out later if they needed to get away.

"Alright, we'll clear the rooms one by one," Joel said as he and Matt readied their weapons, "Let's start at the reception,"

Matt nodded as the two men exited the car and quietly as they could in an attempt to prevent Ellie waking up.

The sun had just begun to set, so it covered the motel and the surrounding plains in an orange-redish hue, "Quietly now," Matt said as the two approached the reception, a large sign with arrows pointed to the door.

At first glance the Motel seemed safe enough, nothing ran out as soon as the car parked up.

Joel held the knob and opened to peak in, it was dark, but bright enough to see, "Its clear," he said confidently as he opened the door wider to fully see the small space that was used as the reception, "Have a look around before we check the rooms,"

Matt nodded as he entered the small room just after Joel. There were a few boxes on the nearby chairs that Joel started to search, but Matt's attention was brough to a beer cooler that sat behind the desk. Taking a closer look, Matt walked past the desk and bent down to open the lid, of course there was no power to the cooler, but it still held a few beers they could enjoy.

"Fuck yeah," Matt commented, "Joel, you dying for a pint?"

Joel looked over as saw Matt holding a four pack of beer, unopened, "Jesus, now that is a beautiful sight," he told, "As soon as we've cleared this place, I'll take one off your hands,"

Matt smiled, "Course,"

The two finished up in the reception, nothing of note was left laying about, but before they went to check out the rest of the rooms, Matt made sure to take a handful of keys that had numbers on them.

"It would be easier then breaking the damn doors down ..." Matt shrugged as Joel raised his eyebrow at him.

As they exited the reception, Matt headed back to the car and placed the beers in the back, "How do you wanna go about this?" Matt asked as he regrouped with Joel.

"We need to do this fast," Joel answered as he looked at the setting sun, they had about an hour before things began to get dark, "We'll split up, the rooms ain't big, so it won't take long,"

Matt nodded, "Alright, I'll look through the rooms on the far side," he pointed to the other end of the motel, "We'll meet up in the middle,"

"Any trouble, just holler," Joel told, "Let's try and keep things quiet as well,"

Matt gave a thumbs up before he headed off to the opposite side of the motel. Joel had become more friendly with the two of them, maybe it was just one of those days, but even Matt could tell that something in Joel was beginning to change.

Eventually, after walking a short distance, Matt stood outside of room 20.

Trying the knob, the door opened with ease, but the hinges creaked and whined due to rust and ware. Walking forward it led directly into the bedroom, all messed and trashed. The walls were mouldy, the roof was leaking, and moss had begun to grow.

Matt checked the onto suite bathroom all rooms had, it was a side door that was connected to the bedroom. The bathroom itself was small and no longer operable. Scanning the room there was nothing of value, it was all to destroyed.

He left the room 20 and moved down to room 19.

Not surprisingly, room 19 was in the exact same condition as the previous room and still no loot.

Room 18 ... Room 17 ... Room 16 ... Room 15, all of them were complete wrecks, Matt could only hope that Joel was having better luck then him.

With a sigh, Matt opened the door to Room 14, it was unlocked, perhaps they were being used before the world went to shit?

Greeted by the same brown décor that decorated the previous rooms, the lay out was the same, this time on the bed was two skeletons holding onto each other.

"Jesus ..." Matt commented, it was clear the two were lovers of some sort, or maybe just family members that were scared.

Matt didn't know, but there was a note on the bedside table.

'The world has gone to shit ... I never thought I'd live to see the day ... I hoped I never had to.

Me and my Emily. We got out of the city. We drove and we drove. Those things are everywhere.

All the communications are down. We don't know where to go. Emily wants us to go to a QZ, but ... We'd have to walk, car is out of gas ... Barely any food left.

We're sitting ducks.

This is it I suppose. At least we can hide up in this Motel, it was abandoned when we got here. No clue where everyone went.

We're going to take some pills. A lot of them. At least then it will be painless, almost like going to sleep.

I don't know what death holds for us, but I know it'll be better than this shit ...

May God have Mercy on us all.

"More suicide ..." Matt sighed as he placed the note back on the bedside table, "They've been like this for 20 years ... Almost romantic in a sense,"

Taking another look at the couple, Matt turned and left the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

--------

Joel and Matt managed to clear the motel just before the sun fully disappeared below the horizon. It was that chance, while Ellie was still sleeping, that the duo would enjoy a 20 year old beer in front of the sun set.

"Most of the rooms are completely fucked," Matt told as he and Joel at on the hood of the car, looking out into the distance as the sun slowly set.

Joel handed Matt one of the beers, "Yeah, I did find one that would be good enough to stay in," he told as he opened the can, "But not much else,"

Matt followed suit, opening the can and taking a sip, "Fuck me," he said, "That's pretty good for being 20 years old,"

Joel let out a satisfied grunt, "Damn right," he said, taking another swig, "Can't remember the last time I had a good beer,"

The duo relaxed, a rare chance for them to do so while out in this god-forsaken world.

Soon as a comfortable silence set in, the car door opened, revealing Ellie walking up to the front of the car, "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked as she looked at the motel they were parked in front of, "Is it safe?"

Joel nodded to the girl, "Yeah, we've been here about an hour now," he told as he took a sip of beer, Matt doing so as well, "We've checked it all out, clear, nothing inside or out,"

"Huh ..." Ellie said, somewhat annoyed that she missed out on doing something active, but she soon looked at what they were drinking, "What's that?"

Matt held up the can, "Beer," he said drinking some more, "Want a sip?"

"Matt she's too young," Joel chastised.

"Joel! I've killed some infected!" Ellie whined, "I feel like I'm old enough to try some beer,"

Matt shrugged, "Well to be honest, back in Britain most people ended up trying some alcohol before they were 12 ..." he said as he offered the can to Ellie, who took it and slowly took a sip.

Her face scrunched up at the taste, it was new and it was very unexpected, "Does it always taste so ... Bitter?"

Matt shook his head, "Nah, you can get different flavours and stuff," he told as he took the can back.

Ellie patted her hands on her legs, trying to think about the possible flavour combinations out there, but before she could say any combinations, Joel interrupted her as he finished what was left in the can, "Let's get inside, room 5 is clean enough," He said as he stood up from the hood of the car with Matt following shortly after, "We'll sort out something to eat,"

"Awesome!" Ellie cheered but then pretended to tip a top hat off her head, "I must say, I am rather famished dear," she said in a posh way to imitate how Matt speaks.

Matt chuckled, "We need to find you a circus,"

Ellie looked at him puzzled, "Why?"

"Cause you're a clown," Matt answered as he started walking after Joel, who had just disappeared into room 5.

Ellie's mouth opened to form an 'O' shape, "Yeah ... Well ... You're a posh cunt!" She swore, but still giggled like a school girl.

"Takes one to know one," Matt shrugged, feeling like a teenager for using a comeback like that.

"Now that was low," Joel said as he popped his head out of the door, "You two best get in here or I'll drag you in,"

Ellie saluted as she caught up with Matt, the two of them following Joel into Room 5, where they would stay the night. It beats sleeping in the car again ... Or on the car, or, well, anywhere near the car.

But the best part of the motel was they could use the toilets! They didn't work of course, but they wouldn't come back here anyway. Better then pissing behind a bush.

That's for sure.

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