Okay. Had to get this out there, because the "secret ending/epilogue" was eating away at me! I took a more negative aspect from it, that the whole father-daughter thing was pretty much a front, after what had happened in Salt Lake. But, that's me. Anyway. Hopefully, if I get a decent reception, I will turn this into a full-fledged fic, complete with actual chapters! Haha. Thanks for clicking, and I hope you enjoy.

Please leave me a comment, either way. If you totally hated it, amd think I'm a God awful writer, I would surely like to know.:) :) :)

She crammed everything in her bag, as quickly as she could. Socks, pants, shirts, there was something she was forgetting.

Ellie fumbled through her dresser, trying to find it. Her tape player laid in the last drawer. She picked it up. She had amassed quite the collection, from smooth jazz, to southern rock.

Her eyes fell to a familiar tape. Hank Williams. She remembered it well. How many times had they listened to it on the road? She loved hearing Joel sing along, even though he never sang the right words. The sound of his gravelly voice, contrasting, harmonizing with the other's. She could feel a lump starting to form in her throat. She missed those days. When she could trust completely.

A part of Ellie loved Joel as a father. But, there were too many lies, built upon a rocky foundation from the get-go. Even when confronted, Joel would skirt away from the topic. He could never look her in the eye when they talked about it. Ellie knew what went down, she wasn't stupid. She knew he was looking out for her, being a completely selfish asshole, but, in some way, he was the hero.

He loved her. Wasn't that what life was about? To protect the ones they cared for? To be happy? To do the right thing? The Fireflies pretended to stand for that, but they were ruthless and unfeeling.

Ellie was just another girl. Someone else would come by. Ellie had tricked herself into thinking that Marlene cared. And what if there was no cure? She hadn't heard anything about the Fireflies. Were all the tests and trials in vain? Was the Cordyceps just something from God, a curse on humanity, punishment for the evil sacks of shit they all were?

"There are no heroes. Only survivors."

She put the tape deck back in the drawer. Time to leave the past behind, she thought. I'm a new woman, now.

Ellie grabbed her knife.

She wasn't going to risk going down the stairs. Surely he'd hear that.

She imagined him in that stupid tuxedo Tommy found. She imagined him, smiling as Esther walked down the aisle. Of course, Esther would be beaming. Ellie wondered if that relationship was built on lies.

No, it was time to forgive and forget. Ellie would be the better person.

She unlatched her bedroom window. Frost had begun to creep in upon the valley. She kept her sights on the Tetons, as she slinked her way down the roof.

I'm a new woman now. I'm a new woman now.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!