Not sure if warning people for spoilers on is necessary, but I'm doing it anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I loved this game. I've just never experienced such a reaction to a video game as I have with this one. For two days I couldn't sleep and had no appetite after finishing it. Apparently it gave me mental problems or something, because all I could keep thinking about after waking up in the middle of the night (multiple times) was Ellie's face during the ending after Joel lies to her (out of protection I'm assuming), and just the overall feeling I got from this game was something I've never experienced before from any other. It gave me a heavy feeling in my chest for a few days too, I think I actually fell into a depression after playing it. That's why I decided to do something I've never done before, which is to write a fanfic. However, the story will have a very odd, unexpected twist in it, one which will really show how weird my imagination is. =) Anyway, hope you guys enjoy.
Since I'm a newb at this, I don't know if it's required. However;
I don't own any of the characters created by NaughtyDog.
With that, here goes nothing. =D
It's been two weeks since Joel and Ellie made it to his brother's safe haven, and they just couldn't get used to this new life. The concept of living in a private, secluded house together with running water, electricity, and food, seemed too unreal for them to handle. After constantly being on the run, looking out for infected, dealing with cannibals and other twisted human beings, and just trying to survive in general, they honestly felt safe. At least, safer than they've felt in a long time.
It was a beautiful Spring dusk. The lush green color of the trees in the surrounding forests was coming back from its winter slumber. The whole area held this outdoorsy feel to it, much to Ellie's new found pleasure. However, she was feeling pretty bored out of her mind, since Joel was currently on guard duty at the front gate and there wasn't much more to get done today.
"Maybe I'll go for a walk on that trail in the woods, just to pass some time until Joel gets home." she thought to herself. With that, she put down her comic book and left the house, making sure to lock the door before leaving.
When she reached the trail near the back of the settlement, she felt a sense of freedom and safety. As she started moving through the forest, her mind wandered onto these last two weeks and the kind of life she and Joel were adjusting themselves to. She never would of thought she would experience something so carefree and safe, and she often wondered if this was the way Joel lived before the infection.
As if on cue, the photo of Joel and Sarah entered her mind. Maria had shown it to her on their first time around the settlement, but Ellie had stolen it when she wasn't looking. She wanted to give it to Joel, she figured it belongs with him instead of hidden in a night table. She ended up giving it to him on their way to the fireflies, while passing through an abandoned safe camp.
She could remember, in vivid detail, the look on his face after she handed it over. An intense mixture of emotions clouded his face, specifically his eyes. "Well, no matter how hard you try, I guess you can't escape your past. Thank you, Ellie." She recalled his voice, the way it threatened to fail and spill tears instead of words. But more importantly, she recalled the look on his face and how it contrasted to the face on the photo. Joel and his daughter both looked so happy, so at peace. After seeing the raw emotion in his eyes, Ellie wanted to soothe him, to tell him that his daughter was in a better place.
To tell him that she was in Heaven now.
But, she couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to say those words, because she didn't believe them herself. The concept of Heaven was so foreign to her, it almost infuriated her to even think about it. If Heaven was real, why was there so much destruction here? If God really exists, then why is he watching us die? Why isn't he helping us? Why was he watching the human race kill, rape, and tear itself apart until there was nothing left?
Why did Riley have to die? And what about Sam and Tess? Were they in Heaven too, or is it just some bullshit that somebody made up to keep themselves warm in the cold, freezing storm of reality?
Ellie snapped out of her thoughts and realized she had walked quite a ways into the woods without even knowing it.
"Damn, it's dark out already and I'm all the way out here in the woods...good thing Joel is on guard duty tonight or he would've killed me!" she smirked to herself, thinking of Joel's pissed off grumpy old face. She loved teasing him sometimes, as he was such a gullible target. She secretly liked his over-protectiveness of her. It gave her a sense of safety in this hell on earth, even if it was irritating sometimes.
Ellie decided she had enough and it was getting hard to see anyway, so she turned around and headed back towards their house.
"Joel, ain't no point in stayin' on duty tonight. We got enough. I reckon you should go ahead and get home, I know bein' away from her puts an unsettlin' feeling in the pit of your stomach." Tommy said, taking note of his brother's demeanor.
"You sure about this Tommy? You know how I feel about freeloadin'. You gave us a home, the least I can do is contribute my part in all this." Joel responded, slightly laced with guilt that only his brother could hear.
"You know me, brother. If I need ya, I won't hesitate to ask. Thing is, we just don't need the extra manpower tonight. Shit's actually givin' me the creeps seein' as how quiet and uneventful it's been around here lately. We haven't had any run ins since before you two even showed up." Tommy assured him.
"Who showed up before us?" he asks.
"Just some travelers. They must of heard rumors about this place and took their chances. They didn't look too smart if ya ask me, walkin' around without anythin' for self defense but a couple of bats with nails stuck in em".
"Blunt objects, huh? I sure had my dosage of fun with those..." Joel said as he reflected on previous events.
"I bet you did you fuckin' psycho." Tommy said jokingly.
"Tommy, I don't think I ever thanked you properly for... you know... everything. What you and Maria did for us really means a lot. You've given Ellie a home, and that's all I really ever wanted for her, to have a somewhat normal life. She doesn't deserve to live the way we had to live for the past year."
Tommy smiled at this, and understood. He was there when Joel lost his daughter... and he knew that this little girl was slowly breathing life back into his , he often wondered about what happened with the fireflies. Wasn't that their mission? Weren't they supposed to find out how Ellie was immune, and use it to develop a cure? Tommy put the thoughts out of his head, making a judgment call. This wasn't the time or place.
"Joel, you're my brother. You, me, Maria, Ellie... everybody here is family. We want this place to be a beacon of hope for humanity. Like I said earlier, there's always gonna be a place for you here. Now get outta here, you know how I am with this mushy bullshit." he said, saying good night to his brother.
Joel waved him off and headed back to the house, chuckling at his brother's attempt at being mushy.
Well, that's the first chapter. One of the things I noticed about The Last Of Us, was that it was too realistic. Yeah, I know it sounds weird saying that about the apocalypse and walking dead zombies wanting to eat your brains out, but the infected weren't zombies. These were just people who served as hosts to the Cordyceps virus, a nasty fungal growth that I guess kills the host from the inside and then grows mushrooms out of its stomach (or other parts of the insides). As seen from the pictures on google, it only affected insects, but it's easy to believe something like this could happen. The virus mutated and got stronger... and before you know it, humanity is turning into a bunch of mushrooms.
In fact, the realism here is probably one of the many reasons why this game was so deep. This could actually happen, and this game shows exactly what would go down if it did.
Because it's so real, I wanted to add something otherworldly to this story, maybe something that science can't explain. That's all I'll say about it for now. =D
Let me know what you think, ANY type of reviews are welcome.