(A/N): So I'm back again my friends! I'm sorry for my long absence but I needed some time to find myself and what I want to do with my life. Now that I've sorted it out, I decided to undertake this project for a Facebook group that I'm a part of. I've made very good friends from this group and this is my way of showing my appreciation. This will be set in The Last Of Us universe but apart from Falling Hopes, which is my other story. I hope you all enjoy this!

Prologue: The World As We Know It

Radio Broadcast From Gilfer's Sanctuary

Attention all survivors.

Know that you are not alone out there. There is a place you can go to and we welcome all. We have shelter, we have a renewable source of water and we have electricity. We have doctors on hand and we can provide security for you and your family if you are travelling with them.

You don't have to go through these harsh times alone. We are situated just on the border of Glacier National Park. Please, do not be afraid. We are here to help you all!

Somewhere Near The Border Of Canada- 2 PM

"Did you make sure that the cinders burned out?"
"Sure did!"

I smiled as I ruffled her hair.

"Let's get going then,"
"Are we almost there?"

I looked down to see that she had a disheartened expression on her face. I smiled and knelt down to look at her.

"We're almost there; we can get the radio signal now so we can't be too far," I explained.

Those words seemed to breathe new life into her expression as she smiled at me.

"Lead the way!" she said.

I slung the backpack over my shoulder as I did just that.

I couldn't believe a full year passed since we set out from Florida. We were very lucky to have made it this far and it was by no means an easy journey. Most of the time was spent hopping from settlement to settlement, begging for food or providing for ourselves. I had luckily managed to procure a bow, a machete, a crowbar and a large backpack for us to use. My little sister Flora had her own pack in which she stored all of the food and perishables that we had, insisting that it was safer with her due to my tendency to scout ahead to ensure the path was safe. I had to do this now…because the last time I didn't, it nearly cost us everything…

Three Months Ago- The US Highway

"COME BACK HERE YOU FUCKING THIEVES!"

I ran behind the cars as Flora followed me, shouting the locations of our pursuers as we stopped to catch our breath. I handed her the bow and took out the pistol I had just managed to steal.

"You know what to do," I said.

She gave me a confident nod as I sprang to my feet and ran forward, taking cover behind the van in front of me. I knew that despite her age and small frame, Flora was a much better shot with a bow than I was and I had no idea how much ammo was left in this pistol I had managed to take from a car. Evidently, it wasn't abandoned when two men followed us back and attempted to kill us.

I looked around frantically for them and much to my surprise, they had disappeared.

"JORDAN! BEHIND YOU!" she screamed.

I looked only to be met with a fist. I fell to the ground but quickly recovered and raised the gun to the man, only to have my arms grabbed and my body collide with the van. Before the man could remove the gun from my hands, Flora shot an arrow and clipped the man in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and I took the chance to slam the butt of the pistol into the side of his head, stunning him. I then fired a kick, connecting with his left leg which caused it to give out, sending him to the ground like a sack of bricks. A gunshot ringing out and the ear-shattering sound of bullet meeting metal snapped me from my thoughts as I looked behind me to see the second man, aiming at Flora. I looked at her and she had no idea he was aiming her up as her attention was on the man I just kicked to the ground. I sprinted as quickly as my legs could carry me before tackling her to the ground as another gunshot rang out. I could feel the bullet connect with my arm and once I landed, I immediately rolled to the side and fired a shot beneath the undercarriage, startling the man and forcing him into cover.

"Are you okay!" she said.
"This is nothing…we have to get that guy," I said calmly.

I was in a tremendous amount of pain but I knew if I faltered now, she would lose hope herself and that was not something I could afford to let happen right now. Sucking in a deep breath, I rose to my feet as I looked around for him. I looked towards a side mirror and my eyes widened as I noticed him sneaking around to our left flank. I leaped over the car and moved behind the van, silently telling Flora to duck behind the car. She obeyed me and held a brick in her right hand that she pulled from her bag. I looked at her and knew immediately what her plan was. The moment the man popped out of cover, Flora threw the brick as hard as she could and it connected with the man's forehead. I took the chance and leaped over the car's hood and tackled him to the ground. I ended up sprawled beside him and before he could reach for his gun, I kicked it away and managed to grab onto his neck with my good arm. I squeezed tightly and used my legs to make sure that his couldn't move. He squirmed in my grip, trying desperately to escape the grip but it was no use once my legs locked into place. His struggling soon began to slow down and after a short while, it ceased altogether as he exhausted himself. I wasn't able to apply enough pressure to close his windpipe so I did the next best thing…I violently jerked my arm to the right and snapped his neck loudly.

I heard the sound of metal plunging into flesh and I could only conclude that Flora had chosen to finish off the other man with her knife. I sighed in relief as I released the dead bandit in my arms and rose to my feet, wincing in pain at the wound in my arm. I picked up his gun and searched his body to find an extra clip as well as some painkillers. I approached Flora and she had already searched the other man, showing me a bandage.

"The bullet is still inside?" she asked.
"I think it just grazed me," I replied.

She cut the sleeve from the shirt to expose the wound and thankfully, I was right; there was a deep cut but there was no bullet inside.

"When's the next stop?" she asked.
"About two hours from here," I replied.
"Not taking the chance, sit down and let me patch it up," she ordered.

I knew there was no way I was going to say no to her when she spoke to me in that tone so I obeyed her. She took out the first aid kit and immediately set to work. I guess I was thankful that she actually bothered to read so much into first aid In addition to letting our mother teach her about it; it's come in handy more than once. She expertly applied the hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the wound before looking at it carefully, most likely looking for any shrapnel or foreign objects. Once she was satisfied, she removed the ointment from the box and applied it thoroughly. She then wrapped a bandage securely around my arm before putting the kit away. I removed my jacket from my bag and put it on, knowing full well that exposing my injury would only encourage more encounters like this one.

"Does it hurt a lot?" she asked.
"I'll manage," I replied.

She secured her bag on her back once more as we began to walk. I swallowed hard.

"I should've looked ahead…then we wouldn't have gotten ambushed like that," I said.

She held my hand.

"You couldn't have known they were hiding…you can't see everything," she said.

I looked down at the ground, thoroughly disappointed in myself.

"Don't be so hard on yourself…it worked out in the end because we got more ammo and painkillers that we could use sometime later," she said.

I nodded slowly but made a note to myself to never make that mistake again because the next time I was careless, it could very well be our last.

Present Day- Later That Evening

"Are you tired?" I asked.

Flora nodded as she sat down on the log. I removed my pack as I took out the machete.

"I'm going to get some firewood," I said.

She nodded as she kept a pistol in her hand. I quickly found a suitable tree and removed some of the branches. Once I was satisfied, I gathered a few rocks to isolate the flame and I laid it all out to form a small fire pit. I then rubbed two of the sticks vigorously until much to my delight, it ignited with the small amount of lighter fluid I poured onto them. The fire soon became self-sustaining as I removed the sleeping bags from our packs. Flora had already started getting dinner together; opening the two cans of beans and removing a large loaf of bread from her pack. She quickly set up the tripod and placed the two cans over the fire to allow them to warm as she neatly tore the bread in half and handed me one of the pieces. I smiled at her as I began to dig in. I handed her a bottle of water and she accepted it with a smile.

"We're almost there…" she sighed.
"Yeah…I really hope so," I replied.

She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I'm tired of walking…I really just want to sleep for a while…" she groaned.

This was not the life a fourteen year old girl was supposed to be living but ever since the spread of the Cordyceps Fungus, everything's been plunged into chaos. I had no idea how this thing managed to mutate to the extent where it could infect humans rather than just ants but after our parents turned, I did not think twice about taking her with me to protect her. We didn't share the same father but we shared the same mother; my father was killed in a car accident when I was younger and my mother married another man. When I was 8 years old, Flora was born. From the moment she was able to walk, we bonded quite well and any person looking from the outside would never be able to tell that we were only half siblings. I decided to keep my father's last name while she kept her father's. Our mother was infected because she inhaled some of the spores from a corpse and I knew that if I didn't decide to stay home that day instead of going to work, Flora probably wouldn't be alive right now as she attacked her. It tore me apart when I was forced to kill her…but there was no way I was going to allow Flora to be torn limb from limb.

As we settled in for the night, I held her close to me as my eyes shut down.

I really hoped we were coming to the end of our journey…because even I don't think I can keep this up for much longer.