(So, I just wanted to mention that this is the very first time I'm writing a story in first person POV. Let me know how I do. And by the way, the title of the chapter tells who's POV that chapter is in.)

THE LAST OF US: WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE

CHAPTER 1: ELLIE

He told me that there were others like me. Apparently dozens of other people were also immune to the infection. But there was nothing that the Fireflies could do to make a vaccine. He said that all their attempts had failed, and they stopped searching for a cure before they could test on me.

Even after I made him swear, I couldn't believe it.

I don't want to think that he would lie to me… Not after all that we've been through. Me and Joel, we've been through a lot together. We had a thing going on; kind of the same thing that happens between a father and a daughter. But would he throw away our last chance to make a cure, the world's last hope for survival, for me?

I didn't think so… But at the same time, that sounds just like Joel. Some people might think that I should be flattered, because, you know… 'I'm more important than the world' blah, blah, blah. But ever since that promise, I always felt awkward around him. I couldn't shake the feeling of losing a trust relationship.

"I swear," Joel said. He looked at me straight in the eyes. That didn't help at all.

"Okay," That's all I could say. I wanted to yell at him, and at the same time, cry my fucking eyes out. We just stood there for what seemed like an eternity, though it was probably only a few seconds.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get a move on."

"Sure," I mumbled.

We were heading to Tommy's town, to live there peacefully, I guess. He made a lot of progress since we visited him in the spring. Now the town looked more like an actual town. There were fully built houses, street lamps, and telephone poles with wires that actually had electricity running through this. Any other time, I would've been overwhelmed with excitement.

"Not much farther," Joel said.

I didn't say anything. He glanced back at me, but only for a second. Still, I tried to avoid any more eye contact.

Finally, we reached the gates that guarded the town. Joel knocked on the metal doors. Instantly, I heard some commotion inside. Hopefully they didn't start a new 'shoot first and ask questions later' routine.

"Oh, it's you," A woman standing on top of one of the city walls said in a harsh tone.

"It's nice to see you again, too, ma'am," Joel replied.

"Hey, Ellie," She said.

"Hi, Maria," I responded.

My heart seemed to stop when I heard an all too familiar noise; that loud screeching with distinctive clicks.

"Clickers…" I said.

"Shit," Joel said. "Hurry up in there!"

The clickers were now in my sight, and they were running. At least twenty human shaped things with a disgusting fungus growing over their faces were blindly charging after us, flailing their arms around.

"God damn it," Maria said. "Tommy! Get the door!"

Joel pulled out his revolver, while I pulled out my 9 mm. pistol. We both started shooting while Maria took aim with her hunting rifle. The three of us took out ten clickers before Tommy got the door open.

"You sure took your goddamn time!" Joel shouted.

"Just get the fuck in there!" Tommy yelled, shooting a couple clickers with a shotgun.

Joel and I ran inside, and Tommy closed and locked the door behind them. After a few moments, Maria came down from the wall.

"That was too damn close," Maria said.

I breathed heavily, "Since when do fucking clickers travel in packs?"

"Who the hell knows," Tommy said. "It seems like the infected are getting smarter. I mean, the stalkers are starting to get better at hiding, the runners are attempting to be quiet, and the damn clickers are traveling in packs."

"Well, shit," Joel said.

"What about bloaters?" I asked, just out of a weird curiosity.

"We don't see enough of those to tell," Tommy answered. "I hope not."

We stood there for a few seconds. I guess the four of us were just taking everything in. It's crazy to think that the infected were getting smarter. After what I've seen, I was convinced that the infection destroys the mind. I guess I might have been wrong.

"Well, anyway," Tommy broke the silence, "Welcome back, Joel."

Tommy and Joel shared a little bro-hug. Once they separated, Tommy came over to me and held one arm out. I stepped closer and hugged him back with one arm.

"It's good to have you back, Ellie," he said.

"It's great to be back," I replied bluntly.

"Alright," Tommy said. "Come with me, I'll show you guys a place where you can stay."

We walked towards the more suburban area of the town. It almost looked… peaceful. I wondered if it was this relaxed back when everyone lived in suburbs without having to worry about survival.

"So in each of the houses," Tommy explained. "You'll have electricity, running water, and radio."

"Is there anything you can't pull off?" I asked.

"Well, sort of," Tommy admitted. "We're still working on getting heat and air conditioning working, but we'll figure that one out soon."

"And all this runs off of the dam?" Joel asked.

"You bet," Tommy said. "Free, clean energy. And it only took an apocalypse to do it."

"No pollution, and no bills," Joel said to himself. "I like the sound of that."

Tommy stopped in front of one of the small houses. This is the first time I remember seeing a fully built – and clean – house. It felt great. Not to mention the fact that it smelled a lot better than it did back in Boston.

"Well, here we are," Tommy said. He pulled out a key, and tossed it to Joel. "That opens every door in the house, except…"

He tossed me another key. This one was only about have the size of the one Joel got.

"Only that key will open your room, Ellie," Tommy explained. "You get your own private little area."

"Fuck yes," I said, and darted into the house.

"Whoa, not so fast," Joel stopped me in our living room (I'll need to get use to saying that). He pulled off his pack, and opened it up. Out of it, he pulled out all of the issues of Savage Starlight that we've collected in the past year. "Here you go. I haven't checked how many we got, but there's a bunch of them there."

"Oh cool, thanks," I said as I took the comics. I started looking at the titles and numbers, just making sure we didn't miss anything. "Let's see… Termination Shock, Messenger Particle, Force Carrier, Uncertainty… Hold on… Fuck…"

"What's wrong?" Joel asked.

"I'm missing a couple… five and seven." I said.

Tommy walked towards me, observing the comics. "What's that called… Savage Starlight? You know, I think I might have seen a couple of those around here. I'll be right back."

Maria's radio starting going off. I heard something about needing help holding off some infected.

"I have to go," she said. "I'll see you two around."

"See you later," Joel and I said at the same time.

Then, me and Joel were left alone together. If anything, that's not what I wanted right now.

"Hey, Ellie," He said. "About what we talked about earlier, I've been meaning to say that…"

"Listen, Joel," I interrupted. "I really need time to myself right now."

He hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks," I said dryly as I walked down the hallway. I found a door with my name engraved on a miniature plaque.

"This must be the place," I told myself.

I opened up the door to see a large, yet simple room. Just the way I like it. In the far corner was a bed with probably the world's softest mattress. On another wall, there was a book shelf. It didn't have anything on it yet, but I hoped to fill it up. I started with the Savage Starlight comics.

I looked at the opposite side of the room, and noticed a dresser. Hesitantly, I walked over and opened one of the drawers. I never thought I would be the kind of girl to be so happy over clothes, but give me a break. It's been a long time since I had freshly cleaned clothes.

I slipped on some new (well, new to me) jeans, a white t-shirt, and a dark blue flannel over that. I made sure to roll the sleeves down over my bites. I didn't know who knew about them, or who would ever find out.

"Hey, Ellie," I heard Tommy say outside my (again, I need to get use to saying that) door. "Can I come in for a minute?"

"Sure," I said. "It's unlocked."

He walked in with a comic in his hand. "Here's number five, Foreign Elements. I don't think I've seen seven around here anywhere."

"Sweet, thanks," I said. I set it on the shelf with the other comics.

"Come on out here," He said, beckoning me out of the room. "I see you found your new clothes."

"Yeah," I replied as we walked out of the room. "I saw them, and thought I would give them a shot."

"I was hoping that they would fit," He said.

"Wait a minute," I thought out loud. "How did you know to get clothes ready for me?"

"Well," Tommy said. We made it to the living room, where Joel was pacing around. "I kind of figured Joel would come back after he met up with the Fireflies. Speaking of which, how did that go?"

"Actually, Tommy," Joel said before I had the chance to open my mouth. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh," Tommy said. Clearly they've been discussing some things while I was in my room.

"Hey, Ellie," Joel said. "Why don't you go get something to eat?"

I knew he was just trying to get rid of me so he can talk with Tommy, but honestly, I couldn't resist an offer for food. "Alright."

"Just find Maria," Tommy said. "If she's not too busy, she could help you out with that."

"Sure thing," I said. I stepped outside, and took a deep breath of fresh, summer air.