My take on what could have happened when Riley and Ellie were bitten and the events that followed.

Joel and Ellie are heading towards St. Mary's in Salt Lake City, but something is different about Joel. He is distant, and focused on their objective like never before. Something new is driving him, and pushing them both apart. [One-Shot]

Third Part of the Aftermath series. The events that transpired in Part II have forced Ellie and Joel out of Jackson, but they aren't together. Now, each find themselves in unfamiliar territory, bracing to survive the oncoming winter without each other's company. The fracture in their relationship may prove insurmountable as they each cope with the miles that stand between them.

Both freezing to death and a lost cause, Joel and Ellie accept their fate, and fight to convince themselves that things will be okay. [Put back up due to requests]

Jackson is welcoming to Ellie and Joel, but danger is always on the horizon in this world. A new group of Survivors draw close to the town, a group with remarkable similarities, and startling differences. This is the story of how they come together, carving out a place for their lives in the ravaged remains of the United States. [Story is Complete]

Picking up from the final line of the game, Joel and Ellie embark on a new adventure, unlike any they have had together: a life in the safe confines of Jackson. This story details their struggle to cope with the dramatic change, deal with the tension brought into their relationship by Joel's lie, and more. This is a "sequel" to my previous story Aftermath: Part I. Read that first.

This story bridges the gap between Winter and Spring. Joel witnesses the change that takes place in Ellie after the toll the Winter season takes on her, and does his best to help her deal with it while they press on towards Salt Lake City. The pair encounter obstacles, Infected, hunters, and plenty new experiences along the way. Concludes at the beginning of Spring in the game.

He'd want her to keep fighting for something, to keep living, but this wasn't living. Not when the one thing she was living for was now taken from her and the last light she had finally burned out. It wasn't okay, and would never be again, but this time she would let the world win and she'd not have to feel anything at all, and then that, and only that, would be okay.