THE LAST OF US PART II Chapter One: Prologue
Summer, Year 2035 Tommy's settlement Jackson County, Wyoming
"It had been 22 years since the an outbreak of a mutant Cordyceps fungus ravaged the United
States, transforming its human hosts into aggressive creatures known as the Infected.
Everything had changed about the world as the brain infection caused by this strange mutant
fungus had eliminate or turned about 80% of the world population. Decisions used to be easy.
What time to get up, what to wear, where to go. Now it's a bit different. Could you tell friend from
foe? Could you kill? Could you do worse? If a loved one was infected, could you do the right
thing? So many questions yet so little answers. Time flies like anything", Joel Miller thought to
himself as he made his way to Tommy's house. He was in his late forties and had a whitish
beard.
Joel kept thinking as he walked towards Tommy's house. He kept having flashbacks about his
journey with Ellie and although both of them were accepted and loved in Tommy's settlement,
his conscious was still not clear. He had carried this secret which had its own massive weight.
Did he do the right thing? Was he selfish to do that? Was it alright to lie to Ellie about all of it?
These questions came back to him every night and the guilt was apparently consuming him. He
had decided last night that he would find tommy and he would tell him the truth. He knew that if
there was someone who would understand him, it was Tommy.
He reached Tommy's house who greeted him with a smile. Joel was extremely proud of
Tommy. He, along with Maria, had built this settlement from the scratch. Now a community was
thriving inside its fortified walls. They had developed a system to keep themselves isolated and
protected from The Infected as well as various rebel groups that clashed other survivors for
power and control. The fortified settlement was heavily guarded and patrols were sent out to
scout potential threats. It was Joel's and Tommy's turn today.
Tommy and Joel chatted for a while but then gathered their gear and bags. Joel carried a
hunting rifle while Tommy took a shot gun. They walked out of the house and straddled towards
the stable. They got on their horses and then took off . They searched the area that they were
assigned for some time. After a while, they came across an old abandoned barn. They went
closer to inspect and found out that it was a music shop. Joel and Tommy carefully opened the
door as the searched the abandoned shop for clues or anything that would come handy.
After searching for a while, Joel came across a guitar that was lying on the floor. He picked up
the guitar and saw that it was riddled with dust.
"Ufff!!! Found a real beauty!!!!" ,Tommy remarked. He knew that Joe loved music and was
happy that his brother had found something that would make him happy.
"Yes. It's a real beautiful one. Glad it not broken. Just a little dusty." Joel grinned.
"Are you alright???? What is it about???", Tommy asked in a concerned tone.
"What about it, Joel." Tommy who was now intrigued asked his elder brother.
"You never told me when I asked. What happened that day???", Tommy inquired.
"We made it to the Salt Lake City. We made our way into an underground tunnel, much of which was flooded and infested with the Infected. We made into an open arena but soon I fell off and into a broken down bus, where I became trapped. Ellie broke through a bus window to try and get me out, but she was knocked into the water. I escaped through the window and dragged Ellie out of the water, who was unconscious. As I was trying to resuscitate her, a Firefly patrol approached us and knocked me out. I woke up in a hospital bed with Marlene by my side. She reassured me that they have rescued Ellie as well. When I asked to see her, she revealed that they are already preparing her for surgery that involved surgical process to remove the mutated infection within her, and reverse engineer a vaccine from it." Joel paused for a moment as if trying to process the information.
"What happened then??? Did they do the operation???", Tommy asked impatiently.
"The only catch was that she was going to die." Joel looked up with red eyes. It was as if his eyes were bleeding.
"Jesus Christ!! What did you do Joel???" asked a horrified Tommy.
"I saved her", Joel said in a cold voice.
I pointed out that the infection grows all over the brain, meaning Ellie will have to die in order for them to successfully extract it. I demanded that they find someone else for it. The tension in the
The two of them sat down on chairs that seemed to be alright. Joel took out a cloth and carefully
started wiping off the dust on the guitar.
"I want to tell you something. But you need to promise me that you wouldn't tell it to anyone. It's
between you and me." Joel said in a cold voice as he looked into the glistening eyes of his
younger brother.
"It's about the Ellie and the hospital in Salt Lake City." Joel said as he kept on cleaning the
chords of the guitar with the piece of cloth.
Joel sighed as if he re considered his decision to tell Tommy about all that had transpired that
evening.
"I hid some things from you Tommy and I may have lied about some things as well." Joel said
as he mustered all the strength he had.
room grows and Marlene and I had an argument. A Firefly in the room knocked me to the ground. Marlene said that there is no other option for them, and ordered Ethan to march me out, and that if I tried anything, to shoot me. I spotted my backpack and belongings on a counter, and quickly attacked Ethan. He told me that Ellie was located in an operating room on the top floor . I killed him and the gunshots alerted and attracted the attention of other Fireflies, and they soon discover I had escaped. I fought my way to the operating room alone, where a surgeon and his two assistants stood around Ellie, who was not awake. The doctor attempted to stop me from taking Ellie so I finished the three of them. I carried her out of the room and eventually managed to reach an elevator and headed down to the underground parking lot, where I was stopped by Marlene. She drew a gun on me and said that Ellie would eventually be torn to pieces by a pack of clickers, and said, "that if she hasn't been raped and murdered first."". Joel paused in silence.
"Then???" Tommy asked.
"I killed her. I found a vehicle and then we made our way here." Joel said coldly. "What did you tell Ellie???", asked a concerned Tommy.
"I told her that the Fireflies had already stopped looking for a cure, and that she is not the only human immune to CBI. She was disappointed. She then stopped me and again asked about the events that transpired earlier. She expressed her guilt, mentioned all of our friends who have died and succumbed to CBI, and wondered if she could have done more to end the pandemic. She asked me to swear to her that everything he told her about the Fireflies was true, and I swore that it was. I told her that her immunity meant nothing. She hesitantly accepted it." Joel said with a sigh. The guitar was almost clean now. A carved butterfly was visible on the neck of the guitar.
"I don't know what happened to me. I was supposed to take her to Fireflies and walk away. You go halfway across the country with someone... I wanted to do right by her" said Joel.
"God damn!!! That's a lot" Tommy said as he scoffed. An awkward silence took hold of the room.
"We should head back", Tommy said as he got up and went outside. He was still in a state of shock.
Joel took the guitar and then walked outside where Tommy was waiting for him. They mounted their horses and galloped towards the settlement.
After travelling through the beautiful country side for some time, they had reached the settlement. The massive gate of the fort like structure was opened for them as they galloped inside and then dismounted from their horses after reaching the stable.
"Let me take care of them. You go home." Tommy said as he took hold of both horses. "Sure??", Joel asked.
"Yeah. And about what we were talking about earlier... I can't say I would have done different. I will take it to the grave if I have to." Tommy said as he looked at his elder brother.
"I will see you later Tommy", said a relieved Joel as he made his way to his home. He knew that Tommy would understand him and he felt good about getting it off of his chest.
Later that evening, Joel made his way to Ellie's room. He wanted to surprise her as he had a gift for her. He knocked on her door but she didn't answer. He opened the door and saw her sitting on her desk. She had her back to the door and was probably writing something. Joel called her name a few times but she didn't listen. He slowly tip toed and then saw that she had ear phones on. He shook her chair by his leg.
"God!!! You almost gave me a heart attack."
"I tried knocking but..." Joel said embarrassed.
"It's alright.. So what's up Joel."
"Just checking in. Folks are talking about how impressed they are with you and how well you are helping them."
"That's good then."
Yeah. Tommy and I were chatting the other day and he told me a joke about clock and it reminded me of you. It goes like a clock and oh shoot... I guess I forgot", Joel said embarrassingly.
"Joel, it's pretty late and I have to wake up in a few hours."
"Oh I am so sorry. I am going to get out of your hair. I just have this one thing I want to show you. It won't take more than a minute I promise." Joel said.
Joel said this as he went out of the room and then came in with a guitar. It was the same guitar. That he had cleaned earlier.
"What's this??" Ellie asked.
"Some people call it a guitar around here. You want to listen???"
"Sure".
"Promise me that you won't laugh."
"I won't."
Joel played the guitar as Ellie listened . He sang her a song of future days. "Well that didn't suck!!!" , Ellie chuckled.
Joel got up and then placed the guitar on the side table.
"It's yours" Joel said.
"No No No I don't know the first thing about playing." Ellie said.
"I promised you that I will teach you how to play. So tomorrow night will be first lesson. You ok with that???" Joel said.
"Yeah." Ellie smiled at him affectionately.
"Alright so I have to go now." Joel said.
"Hey Joel. Have you remembered the joke???"
"Yes. It's like what is it called if you eat a clock. It's called time consuming." Joel said with a smile.
"Well that's dumb." Ellie said with a chuckle.
"Good night kiddo." Joel said as he made his way to the door.
"Good night Joel." Ellie said affectionately.
Joel left the room as Ellie took the guitar in her hand and examined it as she struck the chords.
Note: Keep scrolling for chapter 2.
Chapter Two: Waking Up Jackson County, Wyoming
The winter was in its full swing and it had been snowing constantly for the last 3 days. It was very cold outside and those who could avoid the rebels and The infected would certainly freeze to death in such harsh winters. The sky was still not clear as dark clouds had engulfed the sunlight that came. Somebody was banging the door. Ellie was sleeping deeply till she heard the noise and her sleep broke. She was in a hangover and her head was spinning. She mumbled insults as she got up and opened the door. It was Jesse.
"Morning", Jesse waved at her.
"Sorry I totally overslept. Just give me a moment and I will get dressed." Ellie said as if annoyed. "I heard you had quite a night after I left. " Jesse remarked.
Ellie was now a 19 year old teenager, She had grown up into a beautiful young woman and over the course of time, she had made some good friends in the community. Jesse and Dina were two of her very close friends. Both of them dated for a while but had broken up around ten days ago. Over the course of time, Dina and Ellie had gotten pretty close. As Ellie got older, her relationship with Joel deteriorated. Something had happened but Joel couldn't understand what had happened.
Last night, a party was arranged at the local bar in the community. Jesse was bored and left earlier. Dina and Ellie both got drunk and danced to a song. Alcohol took its toll on them and before they knew it, Dina kissed Ellie in the middle of the bar right in front of the whole community. Seth, the local bartender, called them out for kissing and said some bad words. Ellie got a bit angry at that and tried to fight Seth just when Joel came over and shoved Seth to the ground for messing with Ellie. A drunk Ellie got angrier and she shouted at Joel telling him to leave her alone on her own.
"I... She kissed me. Dina kissed me. It was just Dina being her usual self. She didn't mean anything by it. " Ellie said apologetically.
"I was talking about your fight with Seth but wait... You kissed Dina??? " Jesse's eyes widened as if he had heard something hilarious.
Jesse was probably unaware of the kissing fiesta but Ellie had spilled the beans. "Oh" Ellie could only muster this word. She knew she had messed up.
Winter, Year 2039 Tommy's settlement
"We have broken up like one week ago and you make a move on my girl. " Jesse said angrily.
"No.. She was probably just trying to make you jealous... I didn't ... I would never .. Oh God!! This is so awkward!!! " Ellie mumbled and struggled to explain.
"I am messing with you man. I don't care. Get dressed. " Jesse said with a grin. "You are the worst. " Ellie said as she banged the door.
"It was pretty fucked up to that by the way. Get your stuff together we are already late. " Jesse messed with her again.
Ellie scoffed as she made her way into the room. She inspected herself and her clothes which she though smelt fine. She grabbed her jacket and wore it. She then got her bag and put her pistol, journal and a few other things in the bag.
"Is Joel up???? " She asked
"We had reports of The infected out north. So Maria sent Tommy and Joel early to scout. So that means that they have had even lesser sleep. Certainly lesser than you. " Jesse taunted.
"Shut up. I was about to get up. " Ellie said in a low voice. "You got everything??? " Jesse inquired.
"Yes. " replied Ellie.
Ellie got out the front door as Jesse was waiting for her outside. They made their way across to the bar. As they walked towards the bar they chatted about last night's incident . Jesse asked Ellie about the incident and also about the fact that she had fought with Seth and when Joel saved her from him, she became mad at him too. As they strolled across the town, people looked at Ellie in a strange way and whispered. It was probably due to last night's incident. Apparently she had become the talk of the town.
Maria, Joel and Tommy usually made the decisions regarding the patrolling ad scouting missions. They formulated strategy and laid down the laws on which the society operated. They had managed to form a stable community which was growing and evolving.
"Maria wants to have a chat with you." Jesse said as they entered the bar. Maria was sitting at the counter. Ellie made her way to Maria.
"Ellie!! I am very sorry what happened last night. Seth wants to apologize." Maria said as he shouted at Seth who was probably in the kitchen.
"Oh yeah.. Right . I don't want to hear what that bigot has to say!!!!" Ellie said disgustedly. "Please.. Do it for me" Maria said. Ellie couldn't say no to her.
Seth came out. He had a pack in his hand.
"I am sorry for what I said last night. I was probably drunk and I shouldn't have said that. I have made sandwiches for you and Dina as compensation. Be safe out there" Seth mumbled as he went back in.
"Alright!!!" Ellie took the sandwiches and then passed them to Jesse. She was still not over the fact that Seth called her and Dina some bad things.
Maria, Jesse and Ellie then walked out of the bar as they discussed the scout mission that Ellie was about to go on. Ellie, Dina and four other guys from the settlement were to go on this mission. Maria tried talking to Ellie about Joel but she brushed her aside and left with Jesse to find Dina.
They found Dina playing with some children. Something about Dina was pretty magical and Ellie liked her very much Although she never admitted that but Dina was like a tonic to her in these tough living conditions. There was a fire between them, something intense and they both knew that pretty well. Dina came close to them as she saw Ellie and Jesse. Her face lit up as she saw Ellie. She greeted her with a smile. Ellie smiled back at her softly. They were still nervous and a bit embarrassed by the confusing kiss they had last night. They had to do scouting at the creeks as Jesse would back up Joel and Tommy.
Jesse told them to get horses from the stable and said that he would meet them at the gate. The kids that played with Dina started throwing snowballs and a fight began between the kids and the girls. The girls defeated the kids in the snowball fight and had some fun by throwing snowballs at the little kids.
They made their way to the stable where they saddled their horses. Ellie's horse was named as Shimmer. They went to the main gate along with their horses where Jesse was waiting for them with their weapons. He handed rifles to each of the two girls as he explained the SOP for the scouting mission.
The girls mounted their horses as they became ready and left on Jesse's signal on a scouting mission to search the creek trails.
THE END