(A/N): Hello my friends. My absence has been a shock to you all but life's really gotten in the way of just about everything (and I almost ceased being Wandering Letters due to an asthma attack that almost killed me). It was a hectic past two months and it only promises to continue but I managed to salvage some time to write an idea I've been toying with for a while.
As I'm sure all of you know (because you wouldn't be here unless you know about the damn game), The Last Of Us ended up being one of the best games of our generation. As much as I enjoyed Naughty Dog's characters, especially in that of Ellie, I ended up becoming fascinated with the world they created. It always fascinated me as to just how an apocalypse could happen and thus far, this is probably the closest thing to a believable scenario.
With that in mind, I decided to write my own story based in the universe. I might make a few cameos here and there but primarily, this will be a story driven work based on a character I've written up for a book I am currently writing (yes I'm writing a book). If any of you would like to, I wouldn't mind adding a few people into this story to make it a mini sign up style. It won't be on the caliber of my other ones but interaction with my readers is something I value highly.
I hope you guys enjoy this little attempt at doing something a bit more original, which is a departure from what I usually do.
The Last Of The Family
Another cold night in the Washington wilderness passed by quickly as the familiar chirp of the birds filled the air. Loud rustling soon followed as the creature sprinted, hoping to escape from its pursuer. Leaping off of a high ledge, the deer was certain that he managed to escape but primal instinct drove him onward, cutting through the foliage as if it were merely an illusion. Finally, he was satisfied and stopped to catch his breath, approaching the small river for a well needed drink. Mere seconds later, he heard a loud rustle and as he looked, the whistle of an arrow flew through the air until a sharp pain entered his leg. The deer stumbled, unable to get into a sprinting form until a second arrow shot, this time in the stomach. He collapsed to the floor, frantically crying for help but it was no use as his pursuer finally caught up to him. Leaping from the tree he scaled, he approached his prize before looking down at it sadly.
"I am truly sorry,"
He quickly ended the deer's suffering with the stab of his combat knife into the head. He released a breath and was still within seconds. The man closed his eyes, silently praying that the innocent soul he just slew would find peace as he returned to the tree. With the tug of a rope, he pulled down what he called a "salvaging kit" which was comprised of a small sled and some rope. He fastened his kill to the sled before ensuring that the rope was properly tied. Satisfied with his handiwork, he pulled the sled towards his home.
"I should be able to eat fine for the next week if I portion this correctly…now all I need to do is go back to the main river for water,"
Within fifteen minutes, he finally reached his shelter. He removed the deer's carcass before leaving it in the small house. Securing the door with the trap as well as locking it with the key, he quickly picked up another bag and set off for the river, bow in hand. Not ten minutes later, he approached the familiar sound of running water. He sighed softly in relief; it was certainly beginning to feel peaceful after the disaster that was the previous week. A group of looters finally cut their losses and fled the area after having camped there at the start of last week. Kit Matthews knew that he wouldn't know peace until they had finally left his home for good. As he filled his bottles and containers with fresh water, he thought back to the things he did in order to ensure that they left.
For several hours daily for the first three days, Kit followed them through the woods to learn their patterns and luckily for him, they relied on the same water source as he did. Considering that he had spent nearly one year in the area, it was a place that he could find no matter how far he ventured especially with the markers that showed when he went beyond the "safe zone". During one of his ventures outside, Kit found a good number of infected that wandered the area and designated a zone where he would not cross under any circumstance; he hadn't the firepower nor the stamina to battle that many of the infected.
On the fifth day, Kit decided to make his move and pick off the looters one by one until a full group of twelve was reduced to merely three. By the sixth day, the looters were already in full retreat and even though they knew the infected where not far from them, they decided to cut their losses and leave. He gained a great many resources from that group, including the bags that he now placed strategically in trees and around the environment for emergencies. He was also smart enough to take some time to dispose of the bodies, often carrying them near the end of the safe zone to scare off other intruders by using them as would be effigies.
After a few more minutes, Kit was satisfied with the water he gathered and prepared to return home. It was then that he cursed to himself.
"I forgot to reset the traps by Sector G…I'd better go do that before the sun goes down,"
He packed his bag before taking the water back to home. He quickly grabbed a compass that he took from one of the looters and a small bag that contained some tools before setting off towards his designated zone. That particular zone was a great place for hunting as dear often came there for the more plentiful grass. It was also a great place for Kit to lose pursuers as the trees were easy to scale in order to lose them in the foliage. Upon arriving 20 minutes later, Kit was horrified to see more people. Putting the hood of his jacket over his head and pulling the mask up from his shirt to hide his mouth, he placed the bag down before scaling a tree and making his way over to the group as silently as he could. He paused upon reaching a firmer tree and looked down at the intruders. Much to his surprise, it was a woman with two men trailing behind her. Her hands were bound and the men had wicked smiles on their faces.
"Glad this one escaped huh?"
"She's a looker I'll tell ya,"
Kit had to agree with them; the woman was very beautiful indeed albeit with a few cuts. He could only imagine what the men did to her to make her limp away so helplessly.
"We've been following her for a few kilometers now Martin…maybe it's time we just let her go?"
The taller man shook his head.
"She knows the location of the camp…no way can we let her live," he said.
Kit's eyes widened as he saw the taller man raise a revolver.
"Come on man…who the fuck's she gonna tell? Ain't no one out in these parts," said the shorter man.
"Just because she's pretty don't mean she should be treated any different Fred," he snapped.
Fred cringed at the suddenly violent tone and the angry look on Martin's face.
"We can't let anyone know about that place…there's too much hard work put into it and we had to rob a lotta wanderers to get that shit…ain't no way I'm riskin' my shit just cause a pretty face is helpless," he snapped.
Kit clenched his bow and prepared to leave until he caught a glimpse of the woman's face. She was shedding tears and with her mouth covered with duct tape, she couldn't even call out for help. Kit knew that if he didn't help her, she was as good as dead…but what would he gain by doing that?
"Sorry girly…end of the line," said Martin.
The woman turned back and shut her eyes tight before letting out a muffled scream. The shot however never came and she looked up only to see an arrow in the chest of Martin. Fred cursed loudly before grabbing his friend and taking cover behind a tree. Martin cursed and removed the arrow, thankful that it did not find a fatal location.
"Whoever the hell made these things…knows how to carve," he said.
He looked around, trying to find the source of the shot until a second one met his knee and pierced right through it. He yelled loudly in pain and fell to the ground. The woman looked around in the trees, noticing them rustling loudly and seeing a black figure moving rather speedily through them. Martin looked around, desperate to find his assailant until a third arrow met his shoulder. He dropped the gun, feeling almost nothing in his arm as Fred rushed to his side. He picked up the gun and scanned the trees but found no trace of the assailant.
Suddenly, a black figure fell from the tree and landed on Martin. The impact of the drop made Martin's good leg make an audible snap, indicating that there was no way he could walk. Before Fred could even pull the trigger, Kit kicked the gun out of his hand, sending it flying into the tall grass and out of sight. Fred threw a punch at him but Kit caught the blow before striking him in the chest, knocking the wind clean out of his lungs. As Fred tried to recover, Kit swung his leg around and collided with his temple, knocking him to the ground. Fred looked up, dazed until he saw his assailant.
Fred attempted to reach for the revolver in his belt but the whoosh of a knife went through the air until the sickening sound of steel cleaving flesh was heard. Fred screamed in agony as the knife lodged itself within his shoulder. Kit looked down at Martin who was still in agony from his broken leg before abruptly snapping his neck. Kit closed his eyes as he turned to Fred who was trying desperately to remove the knife from his shoulder.
"If you remove that knife, you'll bleed to death," he said.
His tone was almost deadly.
"I have no interest in why you chased this woman out here but you're in my territory and I don't allow unwanted visitors," he snapped.
Kit approached him, murder clear in his eyes.
"Does anyone else know that you're out here?" he asked.
Fred's eyes were desperate.
"No one knows…please…don't kill me," he begged.
Kit closed his eyes
"You lost your right to live the moment you pulled a gun on me," he replied.
Fred tried to throw a punch but Kit caught his hand and twisted his wrist.
"I'm going to ask you one more question…why were you chasing that woman?" he asked.
"That was Martin's idea! He wanted to fuck her brains out but he got carried away! He's one of those S&M type guys man!" he shouted.
"Then why did you follow him?" he asked.
"He saved me from the infected…but he dragged me along with him wherever he went because he wanted a lackey…" he groaned.
Kit's eyes narrowed.
"Please man…I didn't want to hurt her…I was just doing what I was told," he groaned.
Kit looked at the woman only to see that she had fainted. He closed his eyes.
"With that knife wound…there's no way that you'll make it back to your camp…I'm sorry," he said.
Fred began to shed tears.
"I shouldn't have followed Martin…I should've just left when I had the chance," he cried.
Kit looked down at the man and released his wrist.
"I can end it quickly for you…you don't have to suffer," he said.
Fred cried softly.
"I had a girlfriend back before the outbreak…things were supposed to be great…until she turned," he cried.
Kit could feel his heartstrings tugging away.
"I guess I can be with her now…" he said.
Fred let himself fall to the grass before he looked at the woman.
"That girl was a joy to have at the camp…she was so pleasant and nice to everyone…can you do me a favor and take care of her?" he asked.
Kit looked at her before looking back at him.
"I know you're probably thinking it'll be easier on your own…but you need people around or you'll lose your humanity…" he said.
He then looked at Martin.
"You'll be no better than him…or those things that eat folks," he said.
Kit closed his eyes once more.
"You don't have to listen to me…but you're a good man…no one offers a mercy kill to someone they just met unless they have a good heart," he said.
He coughed up a small amount of blood.
"If you won't let her stay with you…at least nurse her back to health…Martin beat her so much that I was amazed she made it this far," he said.
Kit nodded and Fred smiled. He nodded at him as Kit removed his combat knife from the wound before quickly striking a fatal blow to his heart.
"Thanks kid…"
His body soon went limp. Kit let out a breath of sadness as he shut Fred's eyes. He removed Fred's bag from his back and salvaged everything he could use from it, taking the radio, walkie talkie and the bandages he had as well as the bottle of whiskey. He did the same to Martin and took his map of the area as well as a small bunch of medical supplies. He holstered both revolvers in his jacket as he returned to the woman who was still not conscious. He sighed softly as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to a tree and leaned her up against it.
"No way I'm gonna be able to carry her back to the camp with this load…I better reset those traps and wake her up,"
Kit quickly set to work, resetting the snare traps as well as covering the bear traps that he had hidden beneath the foliage. Once he was satisfied with his work, he quickly removed a bottle of water from his bag and returned to the woman. She was still not conscious, even after 15 minutes of leaving her to recover. He gently nudged her until she finally stirred. She looked at him in horror and screamed into the tape on her mouth. Kit raised his hands in defense.
"I'm not going to hurt you…I just want to give you some water," he said calmly.
He removed his hood and lowered the cowl from his mouth. The woman seemed to calm down slightly as he placed his hand on the tape.
"I'm going to remove this," he said.
She did not respond as he carefully removed the tape, slowly enough to not cause her pain. He then used his second combat knife to remove the bindings on her hands. He then handed her the bottle of water.
"I'm sorry that you had to see that…" he said abruptly.
She quickly took the water and began to chug it down. Once she was finished, she let out a breath and handed it back to him.
"Fred was a good man…I'm sorry it had to end that way for him," she said.
Kit turned around before looking at the sky, realizing that it was nearly sundown.
"We need to get back to the shelter…can you walk on your own?" he asked.
The woman nodded as she rose to her feet, limping on her left leg.
"I'll manage," she said.
"It's not far but stay close…the wolves like to come out at night and your injury paints yourself in red for them," he warned.
She nodded as he led her towards his home.