Joel heaved one final shovelful of dirt, his calloused hand came up to wipe the sweat off of his brow. In front of him were two graves. One longer than the other. Both appeared out of place next to the abundantly green earth.

"Hey Joel?" He jumped and cursed under his breath. It had been a long day, though, starting with the death of their former allies.

Running a hand over his face, Joel threw down the shovel that they had a hell of a time finding (contrary to Joel's previous thoughts, not everybody kept one in their garage). A deep breath escaped him, "Yeah Ellie?"

She looked down at her hands, all day she had been quiet. "Do you think they would have wanted a funeral?"

Joel stopped for a moment, "I'm not sure." Ellie continued to wring her hands, "Why do you ask?"

Finally she looked up again, "Talking to Sam before he turned, he asked me if I thought infected had an afterlife. If there is, then wouldn't it be nice to give them a send off of sorts?"

Joel looked over at the sun. Already shadows stretched along the ground, stretching the shape of the radio tower into a towering figure. Leaving this evening meant finding shelter before the night ended, but staying leant them temporary safety. Not to mention, they had yet to see any infected. Except for...

Joel turned his attention back to Ellie, "Alright then."

Ellie stood, "While you were digging, I found some flowers for each of them." She reached behind the rock she previously sat on and took out what Joel would call weeds. At least they were colorful. Ellie handed the fistfuls to him. "Other than flowers, I have no idea what's supposed to happen at a funeral."

Joel arranged them on the graves, "Typically at funerals you're expected to say some things about the deceased. Acknowledge the life they lived."

Ellie gave a small smile, "Okay." She walked in front of the larger grave, "Henry first."

Her expression changed to one of consideration, "When I first met Henry, I thought he would kill me. Later he had me entirely convinced that he was an asshole. Everything he did, though, he did for the sake of his younger brother. He set a goal and stuck with it. In the end, he died for it. Henry's honesty and heart are both a testament to the good person he was." Ellie stopped, but then seemed satisfied and walked next to Joel. "Your turn," she said, gently nudging him.

"Can't I agree with everything you said?"

"No, Joel. This needs to come from you."

It wasn't very hard for Ellie to convince him. "Fine."

"Like you said Ellie, Henry was a good man," Joel said," Once we got here, I learned a lot about Henry that I didn't know before. I'm glad I did. He was human and a good person."

Ellie signaled her acceptance by moving on to the next, smaller grave, "Now Sam."

"Sam," Joel sensed a small break in Ellie's voice, but as soon as it appeared it was gone, "I understood Sam. During our short time together we became good friends, and as friends we laughed, shared stories and moments, and watched each others' backs."

The sun shone behind Ellie's head, masking her face in shadows. Everything existed in the sort of quiet that appears between day and night and fireflies began to blink on and off.

She continued, "I didn't keep up my end of the bargain and I lost another friend." Then Ellie stared at the grave as if directing her words at Sam himself. "I'm sorry Sam. I'll keep going. For you and me," and in an even quieter voice, "I'll make sure no one else goes through this."

Joel glanced at the sun again, "Come on Ellie, it's getting dark. We'd better go inside."

She took one long, last look, "Okay."

The first stars illuminated the sky as they entered the building. They were the only two around for miles. 'Probably a good thing,' Joel thought as he closed the door.