Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, Sony, and their creators.
A/N: I don't have much to say, but thank you for reading this. This chapter will be posted early since I have my sister visiting and I can't post this on Sunday. so lest continuing with the story.
Chapter 7: Getting into trouble Part-1
The old man ran after her and grabbed her arm to stop her. "What are you doing? You can run like that… you don't know what is going on and-"
Ellie shook its arm away from him. "Those shots come from your house direction so that means Joel and you boy are in trouble, so why are you stopping me?"
"They're not coming from the house… those shots sound closer… they can probably be the hunters… but it is coming from another direction."
"From where? And what do you think they are shouting at? Do you think they found your granddaughter?" asked Ellie.
"I do know… but if they found her they would not be shooting at her… they want her alive."
Ellie looked at him. "So what are we going to do? Maybe it's her and they try to scare her or something… and no shooting to kill."
The old man looked in the direction of the gunshots. "Maybe you're right… There are a few old wood factories close from here, maybe she hid there and they found her," he replied a little desperate.
"If they do, we need to go to your house and get Joel… we can't go-" Ellie did not even finish when the old man started running in the direction of the gunshot they hear before. They were coming from a little west of the house location and closer to them that is from the house.
Ellie rolled her eyes and ran after him. "What are you doing? We can't go there alone? We need to go and get Joel to help us… he will know how to handle this." After a minute, Ellie noticed that he slowed down a little.
"No time for that, my house is too far away from that place… and if they found that she was there… she will not have much time… we need to do something..."
Ellie walks beside him now. "Yeah… I get that… but we can't fight those men alone, you said they were 5 of them right?"
"Yeah… and well trained too for the look of them, when they stop us… at least a few of them," he said while continuing walking in the forest toward the place.
"So you don't think they're hunters? The ones from the gas station look dumb enough to be hunters or bandits…"
"Yeah, maybe some of them are, but the leader looks more like an ex-military guy. So we need to be careful with that one… let's just go closer and see if they found her… maybe they didn't."
Ellie and the old man walk through the forest for 10 minutes until they arrive at a little cliff where they can see the old factory that the old man mentioned. They lower themselves down and look at it. "There…" the old man said pointing down to the place.
The place was a big structure that is still in good condition except for some broken windows and roof damage in some parts. There was wood everywhere and some working vehicles were still there, rusty and broken. Ellie takes the binocular out of her backpack and looks down.
"I see two vehicles down there, but not a living person… yet," she said while continuing looking at the place.
"One is an SUV?" asked the old man trying to distinguish the vehicle that was a little far.
"Yes… and the other is a red pick-up truck…" Ellie answered him.
"Is them…" said the old man looking down. They are still a little far but the building is big enough that it can be seen from a distance. "If Molly is heading there they must be looking for her inside… we need to do something," he said with a desperate tone.
Ellie continues looking down trying to see where the hunters are. If they split out it is going to be easier to take them down one by one. But that was Joel's specialty and he is not here. Ellie only has this old man and she doesn't know much about him and if he can handle himself in a situation like this. Ellie put the binoculars down and looked at him. He was older than Joel but he looked in good shape and if he survived out here with his grandchildren he had to have some skill.
"I haven't seen any of them yet… so they have to be inside the building," said Ellie While sitting down behind some bushes and starting to think about what they could do. "If Joel were here this would be easy, but I'm not good enough to take those men out by myself…" she said looking at him. "Do you have any skills in combat?" she asked quickly.
"I was a police officer in my younger days… So yeah, I know how to shoot and defend myself if that's what you mean."
"Everyone can shoot a gun… what I need to know is if you have any special ability… like kill someone with a knife without getting caught… and shit like that."
"No… sorry, I was not in any special forces, but I can kill people from a long range… I got some sniper lessons back in the force and I was good at it."
"Yeah, that would work if we had a rifle for that… but we don't." Man, I wish Joel was here, he does know how to take these men silently. She said to herself. Ellie looks again at the building down there. She tries to think of something to help in the situation, but she is not sure how. Joel teaches her a lot of things, but she is not as good enough as he is.
After a few minutes, Ellie was taken out of her thoughts as more shooting could be here again from below. Ellie quickly put the binoculars on her eyes again and looked down. Then she saw one man run out of the building and shoot a few infected that were coming out after him.
She couldn't hear what he was saying, but it was obvious that he was screaming something to them. Now she knows that things are going to get harder if they're infected inside the place, but maybe she can use that in their favor.
The old man stood up and looked down. "They're shooting again, we need to get down there and something."
Ellie stood up too and held his arms. "They just shoot infected… and we need to think on how to handle this if we go down there."
The old man looked at her. "Infected?... How?... I don't remember seeing any infected the last time I came here. We cleared all areas a long time ago and the one from the city never came this far." he said.
"Well, maybe those come from other places or just follow you or the hunters here." She put the binocular back in her backpack and looked at the man. "But maybe that is a good thing, we can use that to our advantage…"
"How?... is not going to be a good thing to fight the hunters and the infected at the same time."
"We don't need to fight them all, just make sure that they attack the hunters," said Ellie looking for something in her backpack. "We can use the distraction to get inside… you said that you're here before… did this place have any back doors?" she said while closing her backpack and put it on.
"Yes… it has another entrance on the other side, but it was blocked the last time I was here." he grabbed his things and looked at her. "How many do you think are down there?"
"Infected? I don't know, I just saw one of the hunters kill three of them… So I'm not sure…" Ellie starts to move away from the boshes. "C'mon, let go and see if we can find your girl before they do." Ellie walks on the side of the cliff and down the hill toward the old wood factory. She was hoping for Joel to hear the shooting and came looking for her. She knows how he is, and if he hears those, he will come running looking for her.
It took 15 minutes to get down the hill and get close to the place. They hide behind some pile of wood and wait for more sight of the hunters. They don't hear any more shots on the way down, so maybe they kill all the infected. But Ellie was hoping the infected were able to kill some of them to make this easier.
"Now what do we do? Are we going in or waiting for them to come out and ambush them?"
"A frontal confrontation will be bad, especially with the low ammo we have. So the best thing to do is separate. I will go to the other side and find a way in without being seen. You stay here and if any of them come out, shoot them."
"Okay… but are you sure that you want to go inside alone? I mean you're only 16… right?"
Ellie gave him a look. She has enough of that from Joel and this man is doing the same. Men always thought of her as an innocent kid and she is not one anymore. "I'm almost 18 and I can take care of myself… so don't need to worry about me."
The old man raised his hand in a surrender gesture. "Okay… okay… I just thought that maybe it will be better if we do this together. Is my granddaughter the one they're looking for and I appreciated your help... I just-"
"Just do what I said… just go close to the front and keep an eye on the hunters. I will go inside and see if I can find her… and stop treating me like a kid… I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah… I can see that, but-" he was going to say something but Ellie moved away from their hideout and ran toward the back of the building. "Okay… never mind…" he turned around and started to move the other way.
Ellie moves silently between the piles of wood and the rusty equipment there. She was making sure that none of the hunters inside saw her. Soon she got to the back of the building, she saw the back entrance there. Okay… no sight of the hunters or any infected… so far, so good… she said to herself while hiding behind a rusty truck that was close to the building. The entrance was blacked as the old man said, but there was a door next to it that looked clear. She was going to move toward the door when more shooting started again inside the place. A few minutes later two men walked out of the place through the door and checked their guns.
"Are you sure that was the last of them? I don't want to get any more surprises." said one of the hunters.
"Well, I don't see any more of them after that, and the boss takes care of those Clickers, so I think we're good to continue." said the other one.
"Man, I don't know why we're wasting our time looking for that girl… we should go back to the gas station, kill those two over there and go back to the city… all this is a waste of time… and ammunition."
"Say that to the boss and see what he does to you…beside did you see the body of that girl?...man I can't wait to have some piece of that after the boss finishes with her…" the man put his arm around the other one and started walking in the direction of their vehicle. "C'mon… let's get more ammo and get back in to continue with the search… that girl must be in here."
Ellie hears the men talking and was getting sick… That is one of the reasons she hates hunters, they're just people without any morals or compassion, they just kill and take whatever they want. She just wanted to shoot them right there, but that will alert the others inside and right now she does not have enough bullets to fight all of them at once.
Soon the men walked away from the front of the building's back door toward the front, Ellie moved from her hiding spot and slowly walked to the door and got inside the building. She saw a few infected bodies laying on the ground, probably the ones they just killed because their wounds look fresh. Ellie moves between boxes and old equipment in there hiding from view. She didn't see any of the other hunters yet, but the place was huge, so they could be anywhere. After a few minutes, she stopped close to a metal staircase that went up to a second floor. She was going to go up when she heard some voice coming from the second floor closing to the stairs. She quickly hid behind some pile of wood and waited.
"You!... Go back down and check the office rooms again… now that those infected are killed, we need to give another good check to this place... I don't want to miss anything." said one of the men in the upper level.
"But Jack and Robert are down there, they can do that… besides I think that-uffff." Ellie hears the man stop talking for a minute. "Sorry… boss… I don't… mean… to," she hears the man talking again without air.
"Just stop whining and do as I said… now get down there and tell those two to come back here quickly with the ammo… I know that that girl is hiding somewhere and I am going to find her."
"Yes… boss…'' After that Ellie hear steps coming down the stairs. After a minute, she saw the hunter coming down holding his stomach. He was murmuring something, probably some bad shit about his boss. Ellie looks at him and thinks that he looks dumb enough to get some information out of him, so she moves after him and soon he walks between the woodpile she goes behind him and grabs him by his arm, and pushes him to a wall. "What the hell?"
Ellie quickly put her knife on his neck and one of his arms behind his back holding him tight against the wall. "Don't move or scream… or that will be the last thing you do in this world," said Ellie, pressing the knife to his neck.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked with a scared voice.
"Someone that doesn't like scum like you… now how many of you are here?" She remembered the old man said that there were five more, but she needed to be sure of that. Their boss could call for more of them and she needs to be sure how many she will be dealt with.
"You… you... you're a woman? Oh man… this is our lucky day… two for the price of-urrggggg…" he stopped when Ellie pressed the knife in his neck. "Okay… okay… just don't kill me… I just do what I'm told."
"Well, that is good to know, because I want some information from you… so start talking." Said Ellie while twisted his arm a little.
"I don't know what you want from me… but I'm sure that you're not going to get out of here alive… arrrgggg!" he pretested as soon Ellie gave more pressure to his arm.
"Talk!" She pressed the knife and cut him a little. "I'm not going to ask again…"
"Six… we're six… here, but where more and you... can't kill all of us. The boss is an ex-military… and he will eat you alive and whatever came here with you… so maybe-"
"Maybe, you're right. I can't take care of all of you, but I am not here alone… my group is going to help me to take care of the rest of yours... so today is not your lucky day after all." She lied about being with a group, but it was better to make him think that. "Now... you will tell me where the ones inside here are exactly and maybe I will let you live-" Ellie stops as soon as she feels a gun pressing on the back of her head. Shit! She forgot about Joel's interrogation lesson. Never take too long if you're not alone with the person you're dealing with.
"You don't need to look for us… honey… now let him go or you will be dead before you can make any move to stab him..." said the man behind her while pressing the gun more at her.
"Are you sure about that…" Ellie said a little cocky, but knowing that even if she kills the one she is holding on to, she doesn't have much chance to deal with the one behind her before he blows her head up. Ellie starts to think about Joel and hopes that he heard the gunshots and is on his way here. So the best way to get out of this is to gain time. Besides, the old man is still out there and she already lets them think that she is with a group. "Yeah, you maybe can kill me after I stab you, friend, right here… but I came here with others and they will kill you all after that."
"I will take my chances… so drop the knife… NOW..." said the man with a louder voice.
Ellie needs to think for a moment, what Joel will do in a situation like this?. Well, for once he probably doesn't have left himself to be in a situation like this, but he has more experience than her. But he teaches her how to survive and how to use everything on her surrender and in her to do it. Normally she is more intelligent than some hunters, so that can work in her favor. "Look, let's make a deal okay... we don't want any trouble here, we just need some supplies so maybe… we can-"
"Shut up… are you think I'm stupid? We have men outside right now, so if you came with someone, there can't be too many… They're probably just one or two… so I think we can handle them." The man saw Ellie's gun on her side and grabbed it. "I will take this too." Ellie feels her gun gone from her side. Now there is no way she can do much to these people with only her knife.
"He is right… there is not going to be any negotiation…" said another man behind her. The man walked forward until he stood beside Ellie and the man she was holding on to. "Now if you don't mind, drop the knife before my brother here, blow your head up by mistake."
"And lose my hostage? I don't think so…" said Ellie looking at him with a mad expression. The man doesn't look as dumb as the other so he has to be the boss. "You can kill me, yes, but no before I kill a few of you…" she said with some confidence.
The man laughs at her. "Wow… you're really a feisty one... You can kill him if that makes you feel better, but I didn't think you would be fast enough for that. Besides, it is going to be a waste to kill a girl like you… I can use a good pet…"
Ellie opens her eyes wide soon she hears that. This man starts to remind her of David, even if she has been trying to forget all about him, she will never forget. She is still having nightmares about what happened there. Being in Jackson with Joel helps a little, but she is never going to forget David and what she does to her. Ellie doesn't know what to do, if she kills the man she is holding, they are probably going to kill her after that. But if she surrenders to them, it is probably going to be worse. She knows what they're going to do with her, but if she can give a little more time for the girl to get out of there, she will die knowing that it wasn't in vain.
So she got the courage to step up on her fear. "You're making a mistake… and I'm not going to be your pet… or anyone else..." After that Ellie pushes the man toward the man beside her as hard as she can, making him fall down on top of his boss. Then she lowered herself quickly and turned around. The man behind her wasn't expecting her to move and took too long to shoot. As he missed the first shot, Ellie had the chance to move to his side and cut his hand with her knife, making him drop the gun from his hand.
"Motherfucker!'' The man screams in pain while Ellie runs away from them. The boss pushes the hunter that Ellie pushed on him and starts to stand up. He walked to his brother and checked his hand.
"Are you alright?" he asked quickly.
"Nooooo… Fuck… That bish just cut me!" his brother answered him with a mad tone.
"Don't worry little brother, we're going to make her pay for that." he turned to the other man that was up now. "You!... go after her you idiot and I want her life… Did you get that?"
"Yes… boss," the man got his gun out and ran in the direction Ellie took. "Come back here you little shit… is no escape for you," he yelled while running into the middle of the wood plant.
The boss takes off his bandanna and wraps his brother's hand with it. "Just keep your hand steady, the cut is not too deep, so you're going to be fine."
"I want that bitch to pay for this… brother," he said with a cold tone. "I want to be the first to make her scream in pain…"
"Don't worry, when we find her, she will beg for us to kill her after we finish with her." he put one hand on his brother's shoulder and smiled. "C'mon bro… this will be the best hunt we have had in years."
Ellie was trying to find the front exit, but she had to hide behind some woodpiles as soon she saw another hunter standing on the entrance looking inside. Where the fuck is that old man? She said to herself while looking at the man with a shotgun in hand apparently looking for someone. He must hear the shot before and come to investigate. She noticed that he wasn't any of the hunters she saw go outside before, so this must be another one.
Ellie gets off her backpack and starts looking for another gun. C'mon, I know I have another one in here... she moved the things that she stuffed inside until she found her spare gun. Found you!
The man that was chasing Ellie got close to the exit as soon he saw one of his partners standing there. The man saw him and turned to face him. "What the hell is going on here… I hear a shot… did you find more infected?" said the hunter on the front entrance.
"No… but we found some else in here…" he said while stopping in front of the guy. "We're looking for another girl… did you see her coming this way?" he asked.
"Noone has come this way except you… wait a minute what other girl?" he asked cluelessly.
"Another girl came in here… She must be 18 or something like that. She said that she was with a group… Did you see anyone outside?"
"I was not outside… but Jack and Robert go outside, so if someone else is out there they would see them by now."
"I think she was lying about the group, but I don't think she came here alone." the man turned and started looking at the place. "So, if you don't see her coming out, she must still be inside… just guard the entrance and if you see her, don't kill her, the boss wants her life."
"Okay," The man holds up his shotgun and stands at the entrance while the other hunter starts to move inside looking for Ellie.
"I know you're in here you little cunt… and I will find you…" he moved slowly looking for her. He moved between some woodpiles. "You're going to pay for what you did to me… I can guarantee you that," he said as he walked around some boxes looking for Ellie.
A few minutes before. The two men that go outside walk to their vehicle to get the ammunition they need. "Man I hope all those infected there are dead now, I hate those things… especially the clickers."
"Don't worry man, I think we got them all… we just need to reload, just in case." he opened the pick-up truck door and grabbed a bag from the back seat.
"Well, I hope so… because the boss thinks that the little girl is there, and now we can search the place without worrying about those infected."
"Yeah… that is true." He put the bag on the ground and started to open it when they hear a gunshot coming from inside.
"Fuck!... did you hear that?" he said looking at the building.
"Yeah I thought you said that we kill all the infected there…" said the other man.
"Maybe they found more… so let's go," the hunter that was kneeling on the ground was going to stand up when he felt a gun pressing on his back.
"Don't move asshole…" said Tomas while pointing his gun at him. The other man turned around and saw him pointing the gun at his friend. The old man looked at him with a mad expression. "You!... put your gun on the ground before your partner here gets a hole in his back.
After a moment the hunter that was standing in front of him recognized him. "You?... but that is impossible… we leave you tied up back on the gas station with-"
"Shut the hell up and drop the gun." he pressed his gun to the back of the man that was kneeling in front of him. "Do it… now!... or I'm going to kill both of you," He is going to kill them anyway. But he didn't want the gunshot to alert the others inside. He hears a shot before, but he is not sure if that was because of Ellie or if they found more infected there.
"How do you escape?" asked the man before he put his weapon to the ground.
"That is not your concern… but I can tell you that your friends there are dead… and the same is going to happen to you too if you dare to put a hand on my little girl…" he said to the man that was standing in front of him. he looks at the other one. "Now you…get up and-"
The man on the ground starts to get up, but quickly turns around and tries to get the gun from the old man's hand, but in the effort, Tomas shoots and hits the hunter in the arm.
The fight was distracting enough for the other hunter to go down and grab his gun. He moves closer to the old man and points his gun to his head. "Is it over old man… stop or I shoot you."
After a minute the two men stop fighting for the gun and the hunter grabs it from the old man's hand and points it at him. He looked at the wound in his arm then back to the old man. "You shot me you motherfucker... and now you're going to pay."
To be continued...