CHAPTER 1

Trouble In Paradise

A/N: I haven't tried writing a multi-chapter fic before, but I recently upgraded to the PlayStation 4 and my remastered TLOU has given me inspiration to try my hand at it. Quarantine has given me the time to try my hand at it, so here goes nothing.

For context: The first few chapters will take place two years after the events of TLOU. Then we'll jump to five years after the events of TLOU, which would be right around the time TLOU2 takes place. Ellie is skeptical of Joel's story about the Fireflies at first, but as time goes on she grows to accept it as the truth. This first chapter will not feature any characters established in either game, but there are mentions and allusions to them. I haven't decided quite yet if the next couple chapters will feature any established characters, but I do plan on having characters from the first and second game.

I hope you enjoy!

"Hey, how's your leg feeling?" she questioned her partner, loud enough for him to hear over the sound of hooves hitting the pavement. She had seen his discomfort many times previous, and it made her wince every time he walked in a limp. He didn't say much about how it happened, or why it caused him so much pain. Opening himself up wasn't necessarily his style. Being vulnerable, in his mind, wasn't something he wanted to be, especially in the current state of the world.

"I'm fine," he responded, a bit sternly. He knew she cared but he didn't want to be taken care of. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. The green armband resting on his left arm could attest to that fact. The Fireflies saw he could hold his own, and gave him something worth fighting for. For a while, at least. "We're almost there Lake, let's stay focused."

Lake sighed. Her flowing brunette hair blew in the wind as the horses continued down the trail, and her blue eyes showed concern. "Alright Calvin. Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" she pondered. Calvin looked down at the journal he held open in his lap. "According to Marlene's notes, it's just up ahead. I hope she wasn't wrong."

Calvin often found himself questioning Marlene's leadership. Even at the young age of 14, when he first joined with The Fireflies, he could see through the false bravado Marlene often wore around. The fact that the military seemed to just pick off the militia faction with little resistance, in his mind, proved his point. He firmly believed she was the cause of her own downfall.

Marlene passed away a couple years ago. It wasn't some blaze of glory for the woman. She was murdered in cold blood by some fucking smuggler who rampaged through St. Mary's Hospital back when Calvin was stationed in Salt Lake. He glanced down at the gunshot wound on his right shin that never fully healed, and silently thanked whoever was listening that the smuggler was so consumed by his rage that he didn't check for a pulse. After Marlene's death, he left the group, as did most of the Fireflies.

Her journal was in a makeshift laboratory on the first floor. One thing that Calvin did have to commend his former boss for was that she did truly care for every member of the organization. So much so that she kept tabs on everyone that left the group. At least, most of them. It was her notes that led Calvin on this two year long journey to find this settlement in Jackson City, Wyoming.

The two sat silently until the two came to a dead end. Both of them cursed under their breaths before hopping off the horses in search of a way to go from here. "Just our fuckin' luck I guess." Lake chuckled, which drew a rare smile out of Calvin. His hazel eyes scanned the area in search of any path that may lead them to where they were going. There was a path not too far from the dead end, but was hidden by the overgrown brush that hadn't been tended to in years. Out of reflex, Calvin heaved a heavy sigh, which caused Lake to turn on a dime.

"What?" she questioned, following his gaze to the hidden path. She walked up behind him to get a better look. "How did we miss that?" she thought aloud. Calvin, without answering, walked over the path, his horse in tow. His gaze then shifted deep into the woods to see where this led him. "This shit's probably been growing for 20 years, it's no wonder we missed it." He looked up at the sky, and took in the sunset as darkness would soon envelop the wooded area. "Let's find somewhere decent enough to pitch this fucking tent. It's late." He looked back in her direction, and waited for her to follow along.

The fire crackled before them as full darkness finally fell upon them. Calvin and Lake sat beside each other, in front of the tattered tent they poached about a year ago when the two first met. The two had set up nail bombs Calvin stole from the Fireflies stash around their perimeter to give them peace of mind. Calvin, as usual, was quiet. His counterpart, however, knew this was a bit of a different silence. She had never known him to be the one to fall into deep thought, unless something was troubling him. "Hey, what's up?" she asked ever so gently. He kept his eyes on the blaze in front of them for a moment before simply saying that he was fine. "That's not what I meant." Lake retorted. Calvin chuckled a bit to himself. She knew him a bit too well.

"I know the guy that helps run the settlement in Jackson. I was his last recruit to the Fireflies before he fled the sinking ship. I wonder if he remembers me." he said plainly. Calvin wasn't fond of speaking about his time with the group. It was better to have seen some shit and keep it closed off than to see it and pass the burden on, in his mind. "Haven't seen him since a few months or so before all that shit went down in Utah."

"Why did you go around?" Lake asked. "We met in Vegas, but you could have easily gone east instead of south." she added, looking entirely in his direction now. His eyes remained locked onto the fire in front of them, as if the flames were giving him the answers to these questions. "My original plan wasn't to go to Jackson. I originally wanted to continue the good, righteous fight, just on my own. Heard there was a quarantine zone that the military had a death grip on in Nevada. So, I went there." Lake moved a bit closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, if it means anything at all, I'm glad we found each other. I'm also glad you decided to just settle down." she felt him chuckle as she spoke. He threw his arm around her as his eyes traveled down to where he knew the gunshot wound was. The memory of that day came flooding back to him, and he sighed. "I don't think I ever told you why my leg is so fucked. It happened back at the hospital in Salt Lake." he started, not really knowing how to express this experience.

"We were dealing with some girl, maybe 14 years old? She's immune to the cordyceps Lake. Fucking immune. Anyway, Marlene hired some smuggler to bring her to us so we could excricate the fungus to begin work on a vaccine. Apparently the smuggler developed an affection for the girl. Once he found out we had to kill her, he lost his shit. Killed pretty much fucking everyone. Marlene included."

Calvin's eyes stole a glance at the girl beside him to gauge her reaction as he continued his tale. "He tried stealing one of our trucks when a team of fireflies ambushed him, me included. He killed all of them, Lake. Every last one of them. I was pushed over by one of my own guys when I felt something pierce my right shin. Hurt like a bitch, let me tell you. I decided to see if I could play dead, and it worked. Fucking guy wasn't concerned with a pulse."

Lake listened intently as he regaled the experience, and had trouble processing it. Someone immune? The Fireflies being pretty much wiped out? It was a lot for her to process, even as someone who didn't have much faith in the militia organization to begin with. She found herself going back to the potential vaccine. Wishful thinking, maybe, but it was intriguing for sure. "Do you think it would have worked? The procedure, I mean." Lake questioned.

"Fuck no," Calvin said, a bit emphatically. Lake's disappointment made him reign himself back in just a bit. "Trust me, I wish it would have, but you have to understand, the Fireflies weren't some cohesive unit of greatness. Our guys were dropping like flies. Marlene herself was getting shot left and fucking right. It wasn't a competent group. That's why the guy who recruited me left, and that's why I did too." He sighed a bit, and looked back towards the fire. Lake, deciding not to push him anymore, quietly watched the flames by his side until she yawned, breaking their silence.

"Come on," Calvin said mid-yawn himself, "let's get some sleep."