Prologue

Ellie kicked another rock into the water as she watched it rush to the small waterfall the river created. The current looked pretty strong, but it had recently rained in the days before now. She hadn't felt so pissed off or betrayed in her entire life.

She'd known from the beginning that Joel had lied to her. She'd only said 'okay' like she had in the naïve hope that he might cave and tell her the truth. No such luck. She had to hear it from whispered words through a shut door.

Did he still think of her as a child, not old enough to understand or make her own decisions? She was fourteen, damn near fifteen, and she could make decisions for herself. Both Joel and Marlene seemed to have forgotten that back there. She wasn't some fucking little kid.

Ellie picked her way through the few people on the streets as she headed towards Tommy's house. Joel had gone to visit his brother and talk to Maria, and he'd told her to come around noon then they'd all have lunch together.

Tommy and Maria treated her like family, so she just walked into the house. "Joel?!" She called, looking around the foyer and into the living room and not seeing anybody. The only things in either room were the occasional decorative item, lamps, or a sofa. She shut the door behind her and started wondering around the house.

"Joel, you do realize that you're going to have to tell her the truth at some point, right?" she heard Maria ask gently.

"I know, but I don't wanna do it in a way that Ellie won't understand why I did what I did," Joel replied in a near inaudible to her whisper.

"You killed Marlene. She was a mother-figure to Ellie almost after her own mother died. It's going to hurt her a lot either way. You also killed the Fireflies in the hospital. You can't expect her to immediately understand at all. You're going to have to tell her, then she'll need time to process it all. I'm sure Tommy would be perfectly happy to have Ellie here while she cools off. It's going to take time, but you need to tell her."

Ellie pushed the door open and glared at Joel. "Don't bother. I heard everything."

"Ellie!" Joel jumped out of his seat and his eyes flicked quickly to the clock.

"I can't believe you!" She shouted before turning on her heels and running off.

Ellie picked up a jagged rock and threw it as hard as she could into the water. The water splashed up, spraying a little bit on the rocks at the side of the river. She felt betrayed by Joel and Marlene. Neither had treated her like it was her life. She wasn't given the ability to make the choice for herself. Each had decided what they wanted without her and had acted upon it without further consent from her. It was her life! She got to make the decisions for it! Not them!

She knew immediately when she heard the rocks crunching beneath someone's feet that it was Joel, come to take her home.

"Ellie, I-" he started, but she cut him off, the anger rising inside her.

"Did you kill Marlene?" Ellie asked, the venom practically dripping from her voice.

"Yes, I killed her. I killed nearly ever Firefly in that damn hospital."

Ellie turned toward him and glared. "So then why did you lie to me, Joel?! Why didn't you tell me the fucking truth instead of lying to me?!"

"I wanted to protect you, Ellie," he said calmly, stepping closer to her.

"From what?! If you'd told them to wake me up, I would've told them to do whatever they needed to do to get the vaccine! It was finally my turn to die, Joel! I should've died back with Riley! Tess shouldn't have had to die and neither Sam nor Henry should've died either! They all died because of me! It was my turn to die for other people! To die so you, Tommy, Maria, and others won't have to suffer anymore!" Ellie shouted, her elevated voice scaring the few animals around them which in turn threw the trees and bushes around them shaking.

She threw a rock as hard as she could into the water and watched it sink as the water splashed with the force of her throw, showing her anger in a physical manifestation. "I'm leaving, Joel. I can't trust you anymore, and there's nothing for me here. The day you lied to me was the day you destroyed anything we had." She spun away from Joel, and some loose rocks slipped from beneath her feet as she did, causing the auburn haired teen to fall into the water.

"Ellie!" Joel shouted after her, searching around for a sturdy tree branch he could use. He quickly grabbed a branch that was a good size and length and put it where Ellie could reach it.

She frantically grabbed for it, knowing full well that it was probably the only chance she had at living at this point. She couldn't swim and was already having issues keeping her head above the water. If she fell over the waterfall, she wouldn't be taking another breath. She missed the branch at the last second and kept careening toward the top of the waterfall, her body unable to fight against the current the water presented. Each time her head came up for those few precious seconds, she took in a gulp of air and saw Joel chasing after her. They both knew that if he didn't reach her soon, he'd lose her to the rapids.

He quickly but steadily climbed down the rock face that lead to the lower embankment and searched the area for Ellie in the water, but his search was fruitless. He started jogging down the lower side of the river, scanning the water for the teen. He jumped in as soon as he spotted her splayed against a large rock that sat about three quarters of the way away from him, her eyes closed and face towards him. He waded over, fighting the water for each foot he gained. It was still fairly close to the small waterfall, so one misstep could lead him farther from Ellie and stuck in the rapid's grasp himself. Once he finally reached her, he saw the cuts and bruises the rocks at the bottom of the river had given her. Gingerly, he pulled her from the rock and walked back over to the side of the river.

Joel came to the edge where the waterfall as Ellie zoomed on by and downward. He quickly and carefully picked his way down to the lower embankment and search the area for the auburn haired teen, analyzing each area he could only for a few seconds before scanning a new area of the small river. He started jogging, following the rivers path. Still no sign of Ellie. He silently cursed to himself as he scanned the new area of the river, never ceasing to move. He jumped into the water, not caring when it hit him, to get to the rock that Ellie was now splayed against back first. She was covered in little nicks and bruises from where the smaller pebbles in the riverbed had hit her. He carefully pulled her from the rock and, carrying the teen bridle style, went back to the other side of the river.

After Joel caught his breath, he looked over and realized that Ellie wasn't breathing. He quickly got next to her and started chest compressions, pushing over and over again on her chest with as much force as he hoped the teen could handle. He knew it would take too long to get back to Jackson without her having some serious brain damage, so this was his only hope. "C'mon, Ellie," he grunted as he pushed on her chest, hoping that she would cough up the water she must've inhaled.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she coughed, spewing water from her mouth. He turned her on her side so that it wouldn't suffocate her and waited till she stopped coughing to pick her up. It was going to be a long walk back to the Jackson….

A/N: And there you have the first chapter. I'm hoping to update at least once a week, if not more, if inspiration really hits me. I'd like to give a special thanks to BlueSky509 for beta-reading this story. More to come soon!

~MoonlitxAngel