(A/N: Hello. I was inspired to write a second TLoU story following different characters. I suggest read in dark contrast along with the TLoU OST.)

(Update 7/8/17: Merged previous chapters 5 & 6, 8 & 9, 11 & 12, 14 & 15, and 30 & 31)

INTRODUCTION

It was about two decades since the Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI) broke out, and it took nothing to destroy everything within the first couple of days. It took over humanity, controlling it wild with fear. People were killed, families were torn apart, and the world slowly fell into chaos. The diverse cultures and traditions that the world had before the outbreak was now all forgotten. To others, the true meaning of this life no longer meant to follow your dreams...it meant to survive. And even though people might argue that the world was always about that before, 'surviving' was a subjective word in this time period. Today, 'survive' brought a whole new and literal interpretation—and that was all. The infection brought people's worst nightmares to life, showing everyone—no matter how wealthy, intelligent, or strong, that all humans shared a common enemy: Their own brain. It seemed like no matter what people did, the infection just seemed to spread more and more, and just as the infection did, so did the corruption of people's minds.

And although the infection was dangerous, humanity was becoming the true threat. The people who were depended on to serve and protect in the past evolved into something completely new. The government appointed the military and FEDRA a totalitarian force, which many civilians opposed. Martial law was imposed and quarantine zones were built from the leftovers of city capitals. Along with the new military, came the formation of the Fireflies—a militia that publicly swore to fight the tyranny and oppression of the new government. However, like every cloud in the sky, there is a silver lining.

James did it. He triumphantly proved it to himself and his instructors that he could become a soldier. During his last years in preparatory school, he believed that he could make a difference. He was fed with the constant, "you'll make a change" and the "this world needs people like you" bull. All that was left to do was to pack his bags and prepare himself for the real deal. It was during the late hours of the night and James just couldn't bring himself to sleep; excitement tended to do that.

"I can't believe it, Al," James said, talking to his bunk buddy.

James laid back on his bed, regularly shirtless. He stared directly out of the window beside his bed. The sky was a deep pasty blue and lightning flashed in the skies with thunders too far off to be heard. The atmosphere was gloomy humid, but it didn't make any difference from a regular day. James felt it almost everyday in this prison, "I'll finally be getting out of here," he'd think to himself.

Al slept on the top bunk, and was dozing off at this point. Al was an average joe just like James, except he wasn't so bent up on leading in the military. He told stories about the Fireflies; stories that sounded like urban legends or things that were too good to be true. Getting hints like that made Al look up to wanting to become apart of something like that. He wanted to be remembered from notoriety and not forgotten like some thrown out puppet. The military would normally refer to Al's current mindset as conspiracy, but it was no reason to sell out a good friend. Besides, he wasn't the only person to think like that.

"Al?" James called out.

"Hm?" He groaned out, opening his blue eyes.

"Are you aslee-?" James slightly sat up and looked directly at the top bunk's frame, "How the hell can you sleep on a night like this?"

"I'm sorry man, you know we-" he caught himself, "Sorry, I have training early tomorrow."

"You mean today," James looked over at the digital clock on their dresser, "It's 12 AM."

Al groaned even louder, rubbing his eyes and turning his body flat on his back. He watched the ceiling, drowsily blinking a couple of times.

"Honestly? Congrats. You're getting what you wanted," Al added.

"I hope you aren't being sarcastic?" James asked with a light chuckle.

"Nah, man. I'm serious," He exhaled, "I know we've only been roommates for a couple of months, but you're a cool dude. It's gonna suck without you."

A smirk appeared on James' face.

"Thanks, man. Likewise."

The earlier hours of the morning finally arrived and it was 6 AM the very moment they both closed their eyes. James thought that since he graduated, it meant no training for him, but apparently he was wrong. Due to his upbringing on magazines, James' grew to have an interest in fitness. With daily workouts being his everyday activity, his body was trained enough for heavy duty school exercises, and it was nothing to him at this point. He was typically and informally described as "beefy" by his mentors, and he preferred looking like a linebacker rather than statue-like or a body builder. One final thing James had over his competitive peers was height and a charming face.

After training was done, James met up with Al for lunch in the cafeteria. It was often annoying, having to sit with other loud and unruly teenagers, but it was something James learned to deal with, especially since the main goal was to be leaving the place. Al, who sat across from James, noticed that James wasn't eating. James not eating was something alarming since James loved food; it was his "source of protein" as he'd always say.

"You haven't touched your mashed potatoes," Al said just before putting his cubed pineapples into his mouth.

"I can't. I'm a nervous wreck right now," James ironically admitted, finally removing his spork from its plastic.

"You sounded so nervous last night," Al laughed after getting a shrug from James, "You have nothing to worry about. Just go in and don't make an ass of yourself."

After lunch, James was in his dorm with Al. There was more training to be done, but James was already advised to not attend because he'd be getting picked up by soldier soon. Al helped James pack his duffel bags and there wasn't much clothes to go around in times like this, so it was normal for people to travel lightly. Not only was it normal, but it was entirely recommended. Giving a sharp exhale and folding his arms, James looked around to see that all of his belongings were securely packed.

"Thanks, Al..." James said sounding different than his usual self. James playfully slapped Al on the shoulder, "I guess I'll be seeing you on the other side, huh?"

A bit confused, Al looked up at James.

"When you're a Firefly?" He whispered jokingly.

Al chuckled. Just within those last moments, Al opened their dorm door to three knocks. Awaiting outside were two armed soldiers, one man and one woman.

"Uh, James?" The man questioned, looking up from a clipboard.

Dressed appropriately for the slightly breezy weather, James placed on his black cap and gave Al a friendly nod before exiting with the soldiers. Walking into the hallway with the soldiers, James turned to one of the soldiers to greet him with a handshake. Completely ignoring James, he turned around and walked off. James was a little embarrassed but ignored it and continued followed after them. James examined the soldiers' gear and clothing and he could already see himself in it, imagining that he would look extremely well in army attire. But as James followed the soldiers, he realized that their attitudes were a lot different than he expected. He didn't receive a proper greeting nor a congratulation from either of them. He didn't need one, but he thought it'd be assuring to get some kind of support from people he'd soon be calling his new family. Finally, James was hit by the dim lights of the outside once the heavy double doors were pushed open.

Exiting gates of the military school, James saw a military transport truck waiting outside for them all. Stopping to turn around and look back at his former school, James heard one of the soldiers speak behind him.

"Hurry up, newbie! We gotta move."

James turned around and walked to the transport vehicle to climb in through the back. As he opened the drapery covering the entrance to the back he noticed about five other men and women, all tough and miserable looking. There were some that looked about his age, some looked much older. Something James could instantly pick apart from this bunch and himself is that they all looked the part. In times like this, James took the time to look presentable, whether it was a simple shave or a smile. These guys, on the other hand, did not have one smile on their greasy faces. The back of the vehicle reeked a of perspiration and the group in the back were clearly uncomfortable. Considering some of their sizes, they were hunched up against one another. James proceeded to climb in and took a look at one spot—assumed to be saved for him. The vehicle immediately started up and sped off out of the zone and into the streets before he could even get comfortable.

The ride to the military base was uncomfortable and long. It was bumpy and really awkward. Turning over to a man who sat beside him, James asked a simple question he was sure he'd get an answer to,

"Do you know where we're going?"

Silently the man just shook his head and, frankly, didn't seem to care. There were times where the others in the back of the truck would make eye contact, but James knew that engaging in long eye contact usually meant wanting a fight, so the moment James eyes met another's he'd turn away. The ride took hours, and from what James noticed, the group would stop at different quarantine zones to make sure everyone went to the bathroom. Eventually, they were all fed, but it wasn't too long before they were right back on the road. After dozing off, James felt the vehicle finally came to a stop. Becoming alert again, he kept his head up, listening to both the driver's and passenger's door slam. Instantly, the drapery in the back of of the cargo truck was pulled back. It was the female soldier.

"Get out. We're here," she demanded.

Since James was at the end of the seat, he was quick to grab his bags before exiting the vehicle. Landing firmly on his feet upon his exit, he looked at one of the soldiers,

"Where are we?" James asked.

"Boston," she answered, quite annoyed.

Boston? They transported James from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts without even telling him. It wasn't like he had family back home or anything, and he was pretty sure that was the reason they didn't bother informing him in the first place. His district within the Boston quarantine zone he was in particularly wasn't that big than the last one he last lived in, but he knew it'd take a while to get use to. There was nothing out of the ordinary; the streets were trashed and there was no trace of vegetation anywhere. Leave it to humans to tear down mother nature, which only made sense why the rest of the uninhabited places in the world had plants growing freely. James took it all in, looking around at the civilians who glared at him as if he were fresh meat–they could tell a fresh face when they saw one. The chatter in the area was minimal, but swearing and arguing could clearly be heard in all parts of the district. James looked over at the security guards patrolling the outside of their base.

"Who the fuck are you lookin' at?" One of the soldiers said. Shocked, James looked up to realize that the soldier wasn't speaking to him. Following the soldier's gaze, James ended up looking across the street, seeing a group of teens exchanging dirty looks at the soldiers, "You think I'm afraid to waste these three bullets on you pieces of shit?" He spat again.

The teens got the message and instantly took off running. The exact same soldier briefly looked up at James and took a double take. James, who stared back was a little intimidated until the same soldier gave him a smirk. All James could do was look away after that. It wasn't a friendly smirk, but more like a condescending one especially since it was followed by a scoff. The smug look on all of their faces were drunk—with a lot of power.

Before departing, recruits were rounded up and all was explained that there would be orientation the next day and that one of the reasons they needed to recruit six soldiers was because ten died within the last month. They lined up, grabbed their uniforms, and were explained to that their shifts would sometimes be unorganized. Like every person who works on the force, trouble can pop up at any time, so you always had to be prepared, and James was prepared for that. It wasn't too long before James was given a pamphlet and directed to his apartment that he'd be sharing with another soldier. The floorboards never stopped creaking until you reached the hard tiles in the bathroom and kitchen. It smelled a little musty although most of the windows had holes blown in them. James rested his bag on the nearby sofa and looked over at the soldier he would be sharing the raggedy apartment with. He extended out an arm and looked at him.

"James," James introduced, offering a handshake.

"Hadeed," he replied unenthusiastically. With a lack of interest, he shook James' hand and walked away, locking himself in one of the bedrooms.

In the meantime, James threw himself back on the couch and laid back to relax.

Ever since arriving to Boston and becoming an official soldier, four days passed by James in the blink of an eye. He gained all he needed to know. He met the captain and lieutenants and was actually exchanging words around the base. His life was literally wasting away by this point. Being a military soldier was probably not what James expected. The others on the other hand, had a great time harassing the civilians within the zone. It was annoying sometimes, and no matter how James tried to become friendly with the people and families around him, he was always shunned. Like every other day, James was ordered to stand patrol outside the facility with four other soldiers. He was armed with an assault rifle and pistol, and hadn't used a single bullet yet.

Scanning the area with it's damp atmosphere, he looked over at one particular officer who would he would often catch staring at him. She was a brunette, pretty average looking with very pale skin and dark eyes. She would be considered your all-American beauty. As James looked back, he naturally smiled at her. As she stared back at James a little while longer, her smile began to crack. Suddenly, her attention was grabbed by the checkpoint of the quarantine zone. The large gates, from where they stood, could be seen flying open and being sealed shut. According to their captain, that was their most important sign on any day.

It was two much older men with both their hands on their heads, being escorted by two officers—one was dark skinned accompanied by a bearded, pale man.

"What's wrong with these two?" A soldier on James' party asked.

"Caught these two outside of the quarantine zone,"

"Fuck. Again?"

Placing them within the perimeters in which James and the other officers did, the soldier's handled the stragglers quite roughly, kicking them to their knees. They screamed and shouted back, but it didn't make anyone sympathize with them more.

"Hey," the dark skinned soldier shouted, "New kids."

James and the girl turned around.

"Time to learn how to check for infections."

James stuttered at first but the words eventually got out,

"Th-they never gave me a scanner."

"Use mine," the bearded one said, "Pulling the scanner from his side."

James grabbed the scanner from his cold hands as he continued to be instructed on what to do. But what James didn't know was that this was a topic that military school never covered. James did as he was told and softly placed the scanner around the base of the civilians head, who was shaking uncontrollably. After a beep was heard, James pulled back his arm and looked down at the scanner that read "INFECTED" in large red letters. The feeling in James' stomach was a feeling he had never experienced before. His pupils dilated and his heart began to pound. That's when he came to an understanding—he had to kill this person, he had to kill him before he turned and possibly infected everyone else in the zone. He looked over at the man with the scanner with his eyes widened. James then looked back down at the terrified civilian, shaking endlessly while on his knees.

"Do it!" the dark skinned one shouted.

Within that second, the infected man jumped to his feet and began to push through the circle of officers. James watched as the man ran for his life, but it all ended when a loud gunshot popped all of their ears. In that moment, the man fell to the ground as the bullet made it clean through the other side of his head. As he hit the ground, blood poured out his head, creating a dark pool around him. Overcome with dread, James began to stumble backwards, breathing heavily as if his lungs became narrow in his chest. Once the next civilian was scanned, positive for infection James turned away and closed his eyes until the final gunshot of the day echoed across the zone.