Hello to anyone that's reading this story. First of all, and I cannot stress this enough, this is a sequel to my previous story, Louis and Ellie's adventure. Thankfully, I have a better title for the sequel that doesn't make it sound like an erotic fan-fiction. I would highly recommend reading my previous story if you haven't, because it would help you properly understand this one. Secondly, thanks for all of the positive feedback on my previous fan-fiction! And lastly, thank you to whomever is reading this story. Any feedback would be great. Song is Viva La Vida by Coldplay.

Ellie rummaged through the many drawers of the kitchen she was in. She was searching for something, anything, to keep herself warm. She moved upstairs to the bedrooms and searched each one for blankets or jumpers. The winter season hadn't been good to her; between having to care for an injured Joel and gathering enough food to survive, she wasn't exactly in the best position for a teenage girl. She gave up on the house and backtracked downstairs to the front door. She braced herself and opened the door to the thick blizzard she found herself in. It felt like all this goddamn winter had actually given her had been blizzard after blizzard. She stumbled blindly through all the snow to the next building. She wished Joel was here, and not lying unconscious. She felt like she was growing crazy not having someone to talk to.

She entered the next house, and immediately went into the bathroom. Aside from warm things, she needed to find some kind of medication that she could give to Joel to help with the wound. But, as expected, the entire cabinet had been cleared out long ago. But she did find a lighter on the sink, half-full with lighter fluid. She put it in her jacket pocket and continued through the house. She decided to check upstairs first, just to mix things up on the boring routine of going house to house searching for supplies. It wasn't much warmer inside the houses, but at least she wasn't getting pelted by snow. She found an extra pair of socks in one of the wardrobes, and a crumpled jacket on one of the stripped beds. She almost went downstairs before she heard the front door down there open up and slam shut. It could've been the wind, but she didn't think the wind could open properly shut doors. She could confirm it wasn't the wind when she heard soft footsteps and an indistinguishable voice. She made her way quietly downstairs, and began to be able to make out what the voice was saying. And it seemed familiar somehow.

"One fucking infected. That's all it took to run our truck off the goddamn road and kill the rest of my team. And why in hell did it have to happen here, in the coldest place in America!" the voice said. Ellie got down the stairs and caught a glimpse of the figure the voice belonged to heading into the kitchen. The person seemed alone, so she wondered why they were talking to themselves. She followed the figure into the kitchen and hid behind the table. "You think a group of rebel soldiers would be able to properly prepare for a slippery road. But no! They go and get themselves killed!" Ellie thought this guy was obviously bat-shit crazy. They were talking to themselves! The figure had to be a man, if the voice was anything to go by. A young man by the look of him. Not much taller than her. The man took off his backpack and placed it on the kitchen counter and started to rummage through it. This gave Ellie a chance to sneak up behind him and take him out. She couldn't take any chances. She grabbed the figure from behind and tried to plunge the switchblade into his neck. He grabbed Ellie's arm and tried to fight the weapon from her, smashing her against the table behind them in the process. She pushed the figure away, dropping her switchblade in the process. She scrambled to pick it back up, but the pissed off figure stomped on her hand just as she grabbed it. She let out a pained squeal, and he grabbed her and started to try and choke her out. She bit his finger and got released from the figures grip. She picked up her switchblade, and pointed it at the figure. He put his hands up, and started to speak. "What the fuck are you doing? I'm not a goddamn bandit, you stupid…" He stopped talking suddenly and looked at her. "Wait a minute… Ellie? Is that you?" Ellie kept the knife on him.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" she asked him.

"I know much more about you, Ellie." The figure slid his hood off, revealing his short, blond hair. Ellie stared at him for a few seconds, trying to place a name. She lowered her switchblade when she realized who he was.

"No. Fucking. Way. Louis?" She threw down her switchblade and ran towards him, and gave him a tight hug. He did the same. "I haven't seen you for months, Louis. I thought you had died. I missed you so much." They let each other go and Louis smiled. "What happened? Back in Boston?" Louis was much taller than when she last saw him, now standing a foot taller than her.

"Trust me, it's a long story." He pulled out a Firefly pendant that hung around his neck, and handed it to her.

"Let's go back to my current hideout. Then you can explain yourself to me."

Ellie sat down cross-legged on the basement hardwood floor, where Joel lay next to her. Louis was originally deterred with the man lying unconscious on the floor, but set his backpack down and sat as well. They didn't know where to start. The both of them had had an interesting time these last few months. Louis decided to try and break the ice.

"Where do I even begin Ellie? What's been happening with you? What have you been doing all this time?" he asked her.

"Nothing really happened until Joel here came." She gestured over to the man. "We've been on quite a ride. We've faced bandits, infected, met some…" She sighed. "People along the way. We had a run in with a group of bandits up at a university. Joel got wounded there, but I managed to keep him alive long enough to get him some medical aid. But I need more to be able to properly patch him up. I just really hope I can get it to him." She looked back up to Louis. "What about you? How did you escape back in Boston?" Louis looked at his pendant he was holding.

"The Fireflies happened to me. Apparently, Marlene knew you Ellie, and she followed us from the mall. She saw my potential as a Firefly. Bravery, sacrifice, she told me that they were the qualities of a 'true' Firefly. So, she saved me just in time from Gerald and took me back to her base. I went through a month and a half worth of training, in which I had to kill military soldiers…" he was still haunted by that first kill. The knowledge that he had sent a man to the grave. It was something that a person couldn't easily forget. "Eventually they made me a soldier, and I was put in a squad. We stayed in Boston for a few months, performing random strikes on the military. But, about three weeks ago, we were sent with another squad to be transferred over to a university not too far from here." Louis spun the pendant around in his hands. "We found them all dead. We were too far from Boston, so we decided to head up to a hospital over in Salt Lake City." Ellie had a look of surprise.

"Really? We were also down at the university, but a group of bandits attacked us. Now Joel has an almost fatal wound, and I'm stuck here for the time being."

"Well I'm not doing much better. We were heading up to Salt Lake when an infected came out of nowhere from the blizzard and drove us off the icy road. I was injured in the crash, but nothing too major." He showed her some of the cuts and bruises along his arms and legs and under his shirt. Ellie wasn't prepared for him to lift up his shirt, revealing his muscles he had gained from those months of hard exercise in Boston. She blushed a little, but hid it from Louis. "I lost one of my squad just in the crash, and a couple others that suffered bad wounds. There was only one other person in my squad that might've survived. A boy, a couple of years older than me. He managed to walk out into the blizzard before I could catch up to him." Louis felt a mix between anger and sadness all of a sudden. "All because we had to keep going through the fucking blizzard. The squad leader was an idiot to not wait it out!" He calmed down; knowing where letting his emotions go wild led him. "At least I got one good thing out of this. I finally got to see you after all this time. You know, it's kind of weird. All I thought about was you and how I could, some day, see you again. But now that it's happened, I don't know how to feel about it. I feel a mixture of happiness, longing, and fondness for you, Ellie. You haven't changed since I last saw you, Ellie."

"I can't really say the same for you. You've grown a lot taller."

"Yeah, I have. I started growing when I turned fifteen a couple of months ago." Louis smiled at Ellie, but she just looked down and sighed.

"Louis, back in Boston, it can't happen again. Especially now, when I have too much on my mind." Louis sat awkwardly now, and cleared his throat after a few seconds.

"I'll remember that. Changing the subject, why are you going to Salt Lake? Why have you come all this way?" Ellie knew she couldn't tell Louis the truth. He wouldn't believe her, and even if she showed him the bite, he still wouldn't believe that it was months old.

"I really wish I could tell you that Louis. But that's between me, Joel, and the Fireflies to know," she replied.

"The Fireflies must find you important then. I'm a little curious, but I won't dwell on it." Louis got his backpack and set it down. He started to rummage through it, and eventually looked up at Ellie. "I grabbed a few things from the truck before I left it. You hungry?" He pulled out a couple tins of peaches and a can opener. Ellie spotted a violin in Louis's backpack, and remembered how good he was at playing it.

"You still play violin? Or have you become too tough for that?" Louis opened one tin of peaches and handed it to her.

"No, I still play it any chance I get. Between fighting the military, exercising, and getting yelled at by my squad leader, this was a great way to entertain myself, along with the rest of the squad. I've gotten really good, if I do say so myself." He placed down his half-eaten tin of peaches and got out his instrument. Custom made by his father before the Cordyceps had even started. He cherished the thing like he would his life. He risked his life just sneaking into the military institute he used to go to, just to get it back.

"You were good, though. I'd like to hear you play again Louis. If that's okay with you?" Louis nodded.

"I think that can be arranged." He pulled the violin bow out of his backpack and recalled his favorite song he liked to play.

[Louis]

I used to rule the world

Seas would rise when I gave the word

Now in the morning I sleep alone

Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice

Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes

Listen as the crowd would sing

"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key

Next the walls were closed on me

And I discovered that my castles stand

Upon pillars of sand and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing

Roman Cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain

Once you go there was never

Never an honest word

And that was when I ruled the world

Ellie felt shivers down her back as he played the song. He was even better than when he last played for her.

It was the wicked and wild wind

Blew down the doors to let me in

Shattered windows and the sound of drums

People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait

For my head on a silver plate

Just a puppet on a lonely string

Oh, who would ever wanna be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing

Roman Cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain

I know Saint Peter won't call my name

Never an honest word

But that was when I ruled the world

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing

Roman Cavalry choirs are singing

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain

I know Saint Peter won't call my name

Never an honest word

But that was when I ruled the world

He finished up his song and laid the violin in his lap. He remembered his squad, and remembered the way they used to enjoy him playing for them. He placed his violin back in his backpack and got up.

"Your friend there need medicine? Well, we had some antibiotics in the truck before we crashed. I could take you there to see if they weren't destroyed in the crash. I need to see if my friend made his way back there anyway." Ellie was surprised by the sudden burst of this idea, but stood up with him. She took the woolen jacket she had gotten earlier and put it on, and then she crouched down next to the unconscious man and whispered something to him. She then stood up and headed to the door.

"I hope you still have that medicine," she told him.

They made their way down a small hill, where the crashed truck stood at the bottom, upturned from when it crashed. Well Louis, remember this? That moment you woke up to find most of your squad dead? At least it wasn't as bad as that first kill. But you didn't see it, did you? You only saw the 'after' picture of the man. His bullet ridden body from the twenty or so bullets you had put into him. It was a bit overkill, wasn't it? It's understandable, considering that you saw him as a bigger threat than he actually was. Louis ignored his 'conscience' and continued down. He spotted the three members of his squad that had died in the crash.

"Ellie, I think you should stay here. The men are pretty mangled from the…" Ellie cut him off.

"I can handle myself, Louis. You're not the only one that's killed a man." She moved to the truck in front of Louis, stepping over the dead men. He followed her up to the back of the truck, only to find that everything had already been looted from there.

"Goddamnit!" He kicked a small tree next to the truck, causing some of the snow to fall from the tree. He looked back at Ellie. "Some bandit must've got here before us. Everything's gone." He heard footsteps come from the top of the hill.

"It wasn't bandits that took all the stuff, Louis," a voice said. He looked up to see who had said it, and felt joy to see who was standing there.

"Shane? You came back!" His friend slid down the hill, and they bumped fists. "I'm glad to see you didn't die at the hands of our incompetent squad leader. Where'd our stuff go?"

"I came back to look for you when I found help. But you were gone, so I took all our stuff to keep it safe." Shane finally noticed a girl standing next to Louis. "Uhhhh, who's your friend over there Louis?" Louis had almost forgotten about her.

"Shane, this is Ellie. Ellie, this is Shane, the only person in my squad that I actually liked." Shane shook her hand, and stood back. "Wait a minute, what do you mean by help?" He heard a man clear his voice at the top of the hill. There were two men stood up there, one looking in his thirties, the other in his twenties. Shane gestured for the men to come down the hill, where they complied.

"These are the guys that helped me. They have a community not far from here. They agreed to help me if I split some of the supplies with them." Louis studied the two men.

"So you gave our supplies to complete strangers?"

"No, no, no, no, we can trust them. I've seen their town, and they have women and children there. Bandits don't have women and children, Louis." Louis wasn't sure about that. He lived in a bandit group for ten years, and they had women and children. But they didn't attack Shane, so they might not be bandits.

"Where'd you find these guys, Shane?" One of the bandits, the older looking one, decided to step forward.

"If I may intrude here, I think we should formally introduce ourselves. I gathered your name was Louis. What about your friend?" Ellie didn't trust the man, but he seemed friendly enough.

"My name's Ellie. I've got to ask, do you have any medicine?" The man smiled.

"Only what the boy gave me, Ellie. He gave me more than enough, so I'd be willing to spare some. But only if you come and get it, back at the town. Where are my manners though? My name's David, and this is James. It's a pleasure to meet you two."