DarkerLights: You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoy it! :)
Rich-123 (Guest): Yep and this chapter will hopefully explain more.
Chapter 51: The Last of Us
A week had passed since Joel had been able to get Ellie back from the military. The researchers kept studying the vaccine, but no new breakthroughs were made.
They had failed to find any trace of Dave; he was now missing and presumed dead by the Fireflies. Joel wished he would have been able to help more. What the researcher had said was true, but it didn't make him feel any better.
Sort of like when I had to leave David, his thought didn't give him any comfort; it only brought back unwanted enemies.
The researchers were getting antsy; the Fireflies main goal was to create a cure to the Cordyceps, and he knew it was getting hard for them to find an alternate cure when the easiest route was inside of their base. He was afraid that they would take matters into their own hands.
All of these factors and more are what made Joel decide that they needed to leave; mostly for Ellie's protection though. He finished packing and shouldered his backpack, looking over to see Ellie sitting on the bed, silent for once.
"Something bothering you?" he asked, walking over to her. He knew they had to leave soon before the Fireflies woke up, but he wanted to make sure she saw the purpose for them leaving.
"I just feel bad leaving like this," she answered, staring at the floor. Her gaze then met his, "What if I am really the only cure? How can we help them if we leave?"
"You aren't the only way to find a cure," he lied, not wanting her to worry. Dave had said that Ellie was the only way to find a cure, but Joel wasn't convinced.
There has to be other ways; he hoped, for both of their sakes.
"I guess it wouldn't be so bad; at least if I die, then it would be helping them," her gaze fell to the floor again, "I'm most likely going to die anyway, considering the tolerance isn't such a good thing anymore."
Joel sighed, not liking Ellie's train of thought. He wanted to get away from the Fireflies so no one would decide to kill her in the first place.
"I guess I haven't been a great role model," Ellie glanced up at him at his words, slightly confused until he continued, "You're getting suicidal now."
She let out a small laugh, smiling a bit. He smiled back as she stood up.
"Alright, I'm ready to go," she nodded, starting to follow him towards the door. The one thing they didn't have was the vaccine, but they didn't have time to get it from the researchers' area of the base.
He opened the door and looked out. Seeing no one in the hallways, he motioned for Ellie to follow him. There was nowhere for them to hide if they did get spotted, but Joel figured there were certain ways to get them out of those kinds of situations.
Even if she doesn't necessarily like it, he glanced back at Ellie for a moment before continuing down the hallway.
Humming was coming from down the hallway, and Joel noticed Phil. He was about to motion for Ellie to head back the way they had come, but Phil noticed them and waved, starting to walk towards them.
Might have to pass him out again, he thought, glancing down at Ellie when she tapped his shoulder.
"We can trust him," she whispered, almost as if she knew what he had been thinking. He nodded, noticing Phil a few feet away.
"Are you guys going for a walk too?" Phil asked, a smile on his face. Joel sometimes found it amusing how naïve Phil seemed to act sometimes, and he could tell Ellie thought the same thing. He was about to lie, but remembered what Ellie had told him. He trusted her, so he knew she wasn't lying to him.
"Phil, we need to leave," Ellie answered, walking forward a bit. Phil's face turned to one of confusion.
"How come? Is someone trying to kick you out? I can deal with it if so," Phil questioned, and she shook her head.
"No one is trying to kick us out, it's just-" Joel interrupted her for a moment, knowing she was dragging things out a bit.
"There is a spy among the Fireflies. I don't believe that this is the safest place for her, considering that some of the researchers would be more than happy to take the easy route to the cure," Joel explained, and Phil's expression turned sad.
"So, you're just going to leave then?" Phil asked, worry on his face. Joel figured that he was taking this harder than necessary.
"We have to. If Ellie is going to be safe, it most likely won't be here," he stated, knowing he was being a bit straightforward, but time was running out. The commotion that they were making would soon alert the other Fireflies.
Joel started to walk past Phil, and Ellie followed behind him. He heard her stop, and he turned around, seeing her whisper something to Phil. Phil nodded, and then looked at Joel.
"I won't tell anyone where you guys are going. I guess that would alert the spy if I did, so your secret is safe," Phil said, and Joel nodded. He then continued, "Also, the Fireflies are planning on attacking the military squad stationed near the run-down plane in two days. If you want to get away from the quarantine zone unnoticed, then that would be the best time to do it."
"Why didn't we know about that?" Ellie asked, glancing up at him from where she was standing beside him.
"Tia was planning on telling you in the morning, but…" Phil left off, motioning towards the exit, "The others will be getting up soon, so I would suggest that you start moving."
Joel nodded, and Ellie waved to Phil before they set off again. In a few minutes, they were walking through the subway and into Boston. The sky had lightened just a bit from its usual pitch darkness at night, so that gave them plenty of cover. Not so much time, but it was more than they could have hoped for originally.
He felt Ellie's hand slip into his and he glanced down at her. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't quite get it out.
"What is it?" he asked, stopping in the streets. Small lights flickered on and then died out a moment later, repeating the pattern to ensure an uneasy source of light.
She looked like she was debating about something for a moment, and then spoke.
"I have an idea of where we can stay for the day," she said, and he nodded, letting her lead him by hand.
They walked through the streets and came to a house. Joel recognized it as the one that Ellie had stayed in before they had started traveling. He felt her hand squeeze his slightly and he looked down at her. She was asking for confirmation, and he nodded.
Ellie led him into the house, not needing any lights. He figured she had a map of the place in her head. They walked through a hallway, and she led him into a room.
"You can have your own room," she announced, and he glanced around, seeing a bed with worn sheets on it, as well as a few drawers.
Ellie left a moment later, letting him get settled. He sat down on the bed, feeling somewhat nostalgic as he looked around the room.
It feels the closest to a home that I've felt for a long while, he thought, setting his backpack down beside the bed.
He stood up, looking around the corner of the door to see another room. The door was cracked open slightly, and he opened it.
Ellie looked over from where she was sitting on the bed when he walked in. He looked around the room, seeing various posters as well as a red/dark pink theme to the room.
"Is this your room?" he questioned as he sat beside her on the bed, and she nodded, looking around her.
"It seems kind of weird being back here," she shook her head, moving on; "We can stay here for the day. There's a lot of stuff around here that we could use."
He nodded, seeing that her thoughts were someplace else. A thought came into his mind, but he wasn't sure if it would bother her or not if he voice it.
"Does being back here make you think of your mom?" he asked, and she nodded, leaning against his shoulder. He let her stay like that for the rest of the night, and into the early morning.
The rest of the day was spent looking through the supplies in the abandoned house, as well as making sure the military didn't find them here. Ellie said that the military never checked the house, and that was one of the main reasons why she had been able to stay in it undetected for so long. He still didn't feel very convinced, but he took her word for it.
They left the house after it was dark, heading for the hidden hatch out of the quarantine zone. Joel didn't want to try and sneak out of the gate like last time; that had caused hidden trouble.
It seemed easier than normal, he thought, but didn't dwell too much on the idea. The important thing had been that they had gotten out of the quarantine zone without getting detected, and that had been the starting point of their journey.
He held open the hatch for Ellie and then crawled through, bolting it shut so no one could sneak through it to follow them.
Ellie started to walk off towards the woods, but Joel pointed to the opposite direction. She gave him a confused expression, prompting him to explain.
"It might be easier to head south for now. We don't want the Fireflies following our original trail again," she nodded at his explanation, and they set off through the slightly more open area.
Ellie stopped walking and he saw her look back at the Boston quarantine zone for one last time.
"So, now we are the Last of Us," she stated, making him somewhat confused.
"The Last of Us?" he repeated, seeing complete seriousness on her face. She nodded.
"We aren't a part of the hunters, we aren't infected, and we aren't a part of a quarantine zone or the military. That makes us the Last of Us," she said, looking at him.
The Last of Us. I guess that makes sense, he nodded, seeing what she meant.
"Let's get going," his comment a moment later made her gaze meet his, and she nodded.
They set off into the night, leaving the safety of the quarantine zone behind them as they trekked south.
I always thought Ellie would be the one to do the "game name quote" (something pertaining to the Last of Us), so I thought this was a good chapter. Joel and Ellie have left the quarantine zone for the second time, leaving behind the Fireflies and hopefully trying to keep Ellie safe. Although how safe can you be when you are confined to one land mass? (Considering that they would most likely be found at some point, as well as the ever-persistent problem of the Infected) Please tell me what you thought in a review!
-AnimeWolfGirl9
