Once inside the university, Ellie declared that she wanted some food. Joel was getting pretty hungry himself, and with the sun going down, it was decided that the group would take a quick meal before checking the science building for Fireflies.
The school cafeteria had long been cleared of any remaining supplies it held, but Tess was able to find some boxes of cereal packed tightly behind one of the storage cabinets. Someone had probably meant to hide these, but got infected before they could recover them. There was also a single bowl and spoon, as if to immediately confirm her suspicions. She poured out a bowl and put it in front of a seated Ellie.
"Mom, where's the milk?", she asked like a pouty child at breakfast.
Tess replied, appropriately, in her overworked mother voice. "Young lady, YOU WILL EAT WHAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU OR I'M CALLING YOUR FATHER!"
While Ellie quietly munched on the cereal, Tess joined Joel for some mush he'd managed to scrape out of a few tin cans. It wasn't much, but between the two of them, they knew the problems between them were not hunger-based.
"Joel, we need to figure this shit out."
"And what shit is there to figure out, Tess?"
"You. Me. This girl. We're all starting to act funny. She thinks I'm her mother, and that this is some goddamn family road trip, what with all the sights to see and the Clickers to pet."
"And what's so wrong with that, Tess? The girl probably doesn't have any family or anyone she can trust aside from Marlene. If she wants us to be her parents, that just makes it easier for us to deliver her."
"But I don't know what the hell I'm doing, Joel! This girl needs a mother, and I am not a GODDAMN MOTHER!"
Joel remained silent, instead shifting his gaze. Tess turned around, and there was Ellie.
Tess felt tempted to say, "Sweetie, please, I didn't mean it..." But she stopped herself. Because deep down, she was telling the truth. She didn't know how to be a mother. She didn't know how to care for a young girl bordering on her teenage years. And she didn't have the heart to lie to Ellie and tell her she was something she wasn't.
Ellie could have run off, and Joel felt he couldn't blame her. But instead, she grabbed her bag.
"We should probably get to the building before night falls. The clickers always like to hunt at night."
Joel nodded, and he and Tess followed her across the desolate campus to the science building. With a roof covered in solar panels, it was likely the only place in the entire area with power. Inside, they found all sorts of makeshift labs and medical wards, the walls covered with Firefly graffiti.
It seemed odd that the group would leave behind so much valuable equipment and gear, especially since most of it looked to still be in working condition. But when they reached the head scientist's office, it all became clear.
A dead body, pistol in hand, lay slumped over the desk. A small recorder nearby recounted its final days.
"This is Dr. Matthew Chen, head surgeon here at Western Facility #7 at the former East Colorado University. A week ago, I received orders to shut down this facility and transfer all of its resources to Facility #8, in the former General Hospital of Salt Lake City, effective immediately. During transit, some of our runners broke free and infected a number of my staff, who had to be euthanized on the spot. Sadly, one of them managed to bite me before I terminated him, and so I've decided to die on my own terms. If you're here looking for a cure, it doesn't exist and never will. If you're looking for the Fireflies, go to Salt Lake City. I can only hope they're still there, wasting what little time they have left on this world..."
As his voice died down, a beam of light could be seen flashing from the other side. "Search this place for food and medicine. Tear apart whatever you have to, but David wants a full load when we return."
Joel checked the corridor. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way out. Follow me, girls."
By picking off the hunters one by one, he was able to gradually lead them back to the main atrium. There, one of them tackled him off the balcony and all the way down to the first floor. Tess and Ellie found him barely alive, a long metal pole stuck right through his side.
"Ellie, grab the horses."
Tess eased Joel off the pipe and did her best to wrap him up. She then hauled him onto her horse, and she and Ellie took off into the night.