The Last of Us: Life Goes On

By: The Otaku-Metalhead

Chapter 1: Anesthetic Nightmare (Ellie)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Last of Us, or anything from the game. This work is written purely for fun, and I am not profiting from this in any way.

I was floating in a black void, completely weightless. Shakily I came to my feet as I struggled to remember how I got there. We were in the flooded tunnel, and Joel was pulled under trying to pass through a bus. I rushed in to save him, but was swept away by the tide. Unable to swim I went under, and then... I was here. Was I dead? Was the past year a waste? Running across the fucking country? All the people who died? Riley? Tess? Sam? Henry? The horror that was this past winter? Was all of it a gigantic fucking waste of time? And Joel? Was he even alive? I took my first unstable steps forward into the abyss, brushing strands of auburn hair out of my eyes, as I heard a familiar voice call from the blackness.

"Ellie? Ellie!?"

"Joel! I'm here!" I shouted back. "Joel!" As I rushed forward to find him, I felt two hands wrap around my chest.

"Hello, Ellie." A chillingly familiar voice whispered into my ear "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?" A black girl's face appeared over my shoulder, covered in bulging veins and boils. She smiled, revealing bloodied teeth as she dragged me back into the abyss.

"Don't fucking touch me! Let me go! Joel! JOOOOOEEEEL!" The demented Riley, seemingly fed up with my struggling threw me onto the ground, where a boy around my age was standing in front of me.

"Why is it you got to live?" He asked "Why you?" I got up and frantically crawled back hyperventilating, and my back touched a pair of legs.

"Why you?" A woman's voice asked "All you do is make trouble for Joel, you little bitch!" All three of these apparitions closed around me as I desperatly tried to look for a way out, but they had closed off all exits. As they came, closer and closer, my mind once again disappeared into blackness.

"..lli... Ell...e"

"...Baby girl... got you..."

"...Can't... her..."

"... Click... Raped and murdered..."

"...Ain't... decide..."

"...Chance... Right thing..."

"BANG!"

"...You'd only come looking for her."

"BANG!"

I came to in the back of a truck. The first thing my rapidly clearing eyes noticed was movement outside of the windows, we were driving? I quickly glanced down and saw a green gown wrapped around me.

"What the hell am I wearing?"

"Take it easy." A gruff, yet gentle southern drawl said from the front seat."Drugs are still wearing off."

"What happened?"

"We found the Fireflys." Joel began. "Turns out there's more like you. Dozens, in fact. Ain't done any damn good though. They..." he paused for a moment "...They stopped looking for a cure."

Perhaps if I wasn't still recovering from anesthesia, I would've of argued. I knew Marlene better than this. I knew she would've never given up. I knew Joel was feeding me bullshit. But I was too tired, and too stressed from the dream still fresh in my mind to pipe up. So I just turned to the back of the seat. "I'm sorry." Joel said, and I went to sleep.

About a week later in Wyoming, the car broke down. Joel got out to check the engine and deciding it was a lost cause said "Looks like we're walking from here." He led me into thick woods, where are every step was surrounded by the songs of birds looking for mates. Light filtered through the trees in radiant streams that made it look like God himself was waiting at the end of the road. I walked in silence, Joel trying to make conversation by telling me how he and his late daughter, Sarah, used to hike in the woods all the time. And how me and Sarah would've probably been good friends, had I ever met her. We climbed up onto and outlook and found our destination, Jackson City, down below. "Ok, let's go." he said.

"Wait a second." I called after him, it was now or never that I told him everything I had been holding in for the past week. I took a deep breath and began "Back in Boston, when I got bit, I wasn't alone. My best friend was with me, and she got bit too. We didn't know what to do. She says 'Let's be poetic about it. Let's lose our minds together.' I'm still waiting for my turn."

"Ellie-"

"Her name was Riley. And she was the first to die. Then Tess. Then Sam."

"None of that is on you."

"You don't understand."

"Ellie, I've been strugglin' with survivin' for a long time. And no matter what you keep findin' something to fight for. I know that isn't what you want to hear right now, but it's-"

"Swear to me, Joel. Swear to me everything you told me about the Fireflys is true."

For a second, guilt flashed across his face as he looked at me. I knew it, he was lying. But he righted himself and said "I swear."

I stopped for a moment, my mind a mess of thoughts. I knew Joel was lying, but what was he hiding? And why? I knew better than to try to pry it out of him. So I said the only word that came to mind "OK." And with that we descended to Jackson in silence.

Pretty short chapter, but I figured I'd use this as the prologue. It's been five long years since I last wrote a fanfiction, but I figured a game like The Last of Us with it's incredible characters and open ending deserved it. Reviews and constructive criticism are not only welcomed, but encouraged. Thank you for checking out my work, and I will update shortly. Next up: Joel confesses to Ellie. Until next time, endure and survive.