Fireflies

Spoilers for The Last of Us.

Based on the death scene if Joel fails to save Ellie from the Fireflies.

"C'mon, baby girl." Joel murmured, Ellie aloft in his arms. The light of the Fireflies weapons danced nearby as he ran to save all that he cared about. He sprinted through the wards of the Firefly - occupied hospital.

'You're a fucking animal!' The nurses words returned to Joel, and hit him like a hammer blow. 'Those were my friends you killed, asshole.' Another blow. Joel almost staggered.

'I wisened the fuck up.'

'Make this easy for me.'

'Its all your fault!'

'You shot him...'

It was Sarah's voice. Joel stopped for a brief second, his heart hammering. A flashlight shining onto the wall in front of him alerted him to how close the Fireflies were. He ran again, even faster.

'Joel, you've got to tell me what to do...'

'We'll take it as far as it needs to go!'

'You keep babysittin' and its gonna blow up in your face.'

'For what it's worth, I'm glad we spotted you.'

'You remember how to kill, right?'

Joel's heart was hammering. He looked down at Ellie, so peaceful in his arms.

'Joel, he tried to...'

'No, you scared the shit outta me!'

'I used to be addicted to soap, but now I'm clean.'

Ellie's joke made Joel smile.

But Tess came to the front of his mind.

'We're shitty people, Joel, its always been that way.'

'Oops, right?'

'I will not turn into one of those things!'

Then Bill...

'This goes on record as the worst fuckin' job you've ever taken.'

'Maybe it does, Bill,' Joel thought. 'Maybe.'

'You ought to be thankful you're still drawing breath.'

'Its a damn Bloater!'

Joel chuckled inwardly at his brain having put the quotes next to one another. He'd had a recurring nightmare about being torn to shreds by one of the things.

Then Henry...

'You're gonna be glad you didn't kill me.'

'S - Sam... Sam?'

Joel remembered a note he had collected. It was a child's drawing, rough crayon lines. It depicted two men carrying guns. 'Our protectors. Danny and Ish.'

Ellie... The lines began to blur in a horrifying way in Joel's mind. 'My protector. Joel.'

Danny and Ish were probably dead.

Joel tripped. Ellie fell from his arms and time slowed.

Joel tried to scramble back up, but a Firefly seized him. He held Joel on the floor. Joel managed to grab Ellie's hand. Joel kicked out violently but the Firefly held him down steadily. Another scooped up Ellie, his world, all he had worked for in the last year.

"NO!" Joel bellowed. Her hand was gently taken from his and Joel screamed, a terrible scream of pain and dismay. Joel furiously shook, a terrible mixture of sadness and anger building in him. "Let go of her!" "LET GO OF HER!" A light was shone in his face. His own words echoed back to him.

'Please don't.'

He never heard the crack of the gun.

Tell me what you thought if you've got the time.

Maybe I should write a series of these... 'Deaths Rewritten.' If you have a suggestion, DO NOT REVIEW TO TELL ME IT. Send me a PM. Only review to give me feedback please!

Giratinastories