Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, Sony, and its creators.
A/N: Thanks for reading this story and I wish all of you a happy New Year.
Chapter 19: The weight of the Heart
As the vehicle drove away, Ellie watched how the warehouse started to get full of infected as they came from other streets, probably attracted by all the shooting and fire. Some of them follow them, but as the old man starts to drive faster, they can't catch up with them. After a few minutes, the old man drives around to another street and gets out of sight.
The doctor looked at Ellie with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry for pushing you into the truck, but it was-"
"Stop… just stop…" said Ellie while turning her head and looking at him. "I don't care if they force you to do what they tell you… you're part of them and I am not going to forget that." Ellie stood up and hit the roof of the truck. "Thomas! Stop the truck I need to get inside with Joel."
"Okay!" the old man yelled back before stopping the pick up on the next street. Soon he stops, Ellie starts to get out of the back part and land on the street.
The doctor moved on the back until he was close to the cabin. "I will do all that I can to help him… I promise you that." said the doctor before Ellie opened the back door.
"You better make sure that he survives… because if he doesn't you will be joining your hunters' friends in hell." She gave him a mad look before opening the back door and looking at Joel. Joel was shirtless and Ellie could see the blood from the cut in his chest. She felt sick just thinking how that mad man cut him just for fun and saw her surfer, but he is dead now and she hopes that the infected turn him apart in a great painful way.
"Here, cover his wound with this…" said the old man while passing his shirt to Ellie.
Ellia grabbed it without saying anything. She moved Joel's head up and sat on the back seat, then lowered his head on her lap and closed the door. "Charles… let's go," said Ellie while grabbing the shirt and using it to cover his wounded chest. Some blood was still coming out from the wound, but luckily the cut the hunter leader gave him was not too deep.
The old man looked at both of them feeling sad on the scene. "How is he?"
Ellie passes her hand on his hair as she presses the shirt on his chest. "Not so good… so let's go and get him back to the house… quick."
"Sure…" he answered her, then got the pick-up truck moving and continued driving out of the town. "He will be okay Ellie... we're going to make sure of that," he said while continuing driving.
Ellie looked at Joel's face in pain. She saw him hurt before, but never like this. Ellie passes her hand on his face slowly and with care. "Just hold on Joel… you will be back on your feet soon… I promise..." She said with some tears falling down her eyes.
The old man drove out of the town and into the road for one hour until they finally arrived at his house. After Charles stopped the pick-up truck in front of the house. He watched his grandchildren's run out from it and direct toward him. Soon he opened the door of the truck and got out, the two teens hugged him happy that he came back alive.
After a few minutes, they break the hug and the boy looks at him. "What happened?" he asked after glancing at the back seat of the pick-up truck.
The old man put his hand on the boy's shoulder and looked at both of them. "Nothing good guys… Joel got hurt really badly and I will need both of you to help him." Then he looked at the girl. "I need you to go back inside and get all the medical things from the storage room and take it to my room… Okay?"
The girl nodded before speaking to him. "What about Ellie, is she okay?" she asked sadly moving toward the back door.
Ellie opens the door as soon as she sees the girl. "I'm fine, just go and do what you grandpa asked… okay?" she said while using her body to make sure she didn't see Joel's face.
"Okay…" she said before turning around and running back to the house.
At that moment, the doctor jumps off the back of the truck and moves closer to them. "We need to get him inside now… as more of his wounds are exposed, they will get worse," he said while moving close to the back door. "Can you help me here?" he said looking at the boy.
The boy just looked at him with suspicious eyes. "Who are you?" asked the boy while walking toward the back door with his grandpa.
The man looked at him. "It's a long story, but I'm here to help…" he said while waiting for Ellie to move out.
"He was a member of the hunters that attacked us… but he said that he is a doctor and we need that right now." answer his grandpa.
"He is one of them? really?" he asked while giving the man a mad look. Then the boy saw Ellie getting out of the pick-up truck.
"Yeah, he is… or was, but we need him right now…" answered Ellie with a sad tone. The old man takes out his shirt and passes it to Ellie.
"Here! Cover him with this." Ellie grabs the shirt and delicately puts it on Joel, then the doctor and the boy start to move Joel out of the pick-up truck. He saw his face and the blood on the shirt that was covering his chest. He also saw the burn on his left arm and other parts of his body. He was going to say something, but his grandpa shook his head.
As soon as they moved Joel out of the back seat, the doctor and the old man carried him toward the house with Ellie walking closer to them. The boy walked ahead and opened the door for them. Soon they were inside, they walked to the old man's room that was on the first floor and put Joel on the bed. After Joel was a setter on the bed, the old man moved away to let the doctor work on him. Ellie was watching the doctor make sure he didn't hurt Joel more than already is and looked at Joel with worried eyes.
After a few minutes, the girl walks into the room with a box full of things. Soon her grandfather saw her, he walked toward her. "This is all I found in the storage room… but I don't know if it is all you need," she said while her grandfather stood in front of her to keep her from entering more into the room.
Thomas looked at the things on the box and took them from her hands. "Thank you, Molly… I think this will be fine for now…" soon he had the box in his hand and he looked at her. Thanks for the help sweetie, now get to the living room with your brother, and wait there for me... okay?" he said as soon her brother showed up behind her.
The boy put his hand on the girl's shoulder and started to pull her away. "C'mon… Molly, we can wait in the living room." His grandpa thanked him and was going to close the door when the girl spoke.
"But I want to Help Ellie… She is my friend and I am not a baby. I can help." she said while her brother pulled her away from the room as his grandfather closed the door. He shook his head while hearing her voice as she continued protesting.
The boy guided his little sister away from the room and into the living room. "If you want to help… let's go to the kitchen and make some food for them… okay?" he said while trying to distract his sister.
The old man put the box on the night table close to the bed. "I have a few things here that you can use, but if you need anything else just let me know," he said while looking at the doctor.
The doctor turned his head and looked at the box. "Yeah, this will be fine for now, but I will need warm water, some rags, towels, a bottle with water and sugar, and a plastic tube like the one used on a fish tank if you have any. Also, I will need more badges and burn cream," he said while grabbing a few things from the box.
"Oh I know what you mean, I think a few of all that… I will be right back." he turned around and got out of the room.
Ellie sat on the other side of the bed and took Joel's hand. She looked at the burn on it. It does not look so bad but looks very painful. "What do you need me to do? I have worked with him and other patients before, I can help…" she said remembering all the times she has to take care of his wound, especially the one he gets on their trip to the fireflies.
The doctor takes the shirt off and looks at the cut. "Lucky for him the cut in his chest is not too deep. I can fix that easily… but he lost some blood and I worry about his burns. They have been exposed to much and can be infected." he said while examining Joel's body and making a sound of the extensiveness of his wound. He moves his hand to his face and checks it out. He saw a few cuts on it, but the worst part was his left eye. It was really swollen and looked very bad.
Ellie looked at the doctor when he moved away to grab something from the box. She moved closer to Joel and looked at his beating face. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing and that was good. "You know… I saw burns worse than this before, and the doctor from where we came from can work with that better… maybe it will be good if I can take him back home and-"
Soon the doctor grabbed some things from the box, and he moved closer to Joel's face again. "I don't recommend moving him, at least not for now… he is too weak from the way here. I don't know where you came from or how far is from here… but if we move him right now he probably will not make it there," he said while putting some alcohol on a clean rag.
Ellie looked at the man for a moment. "He will make it… he is a strong man. He needs medical attention and he can get that back home," Ellie turned her sight back to Joel's face and moved closer again. You need to make it Joel… I love you… and not in the way you think or I should, but I do... so you can't leave me, not now and not like this. She whispers at him before she kisses his forehead.
"Look… I can understand that you think less of me because I was with them… but his wounds are serious and if you want him to survive, you need to let me help him," he said while starting to clean the cut on his chest.
Ellie moves away from Joel a little and looks at the doctor. He would be like this if it wasn't for your bodies…" she said with a furious tone. "We should be in California by now, enjoy my…" she stops when some tiers start to fall down her cheek. "You fix him and make him stable… so I can take him home. I don't care what you need to do, but you better save his life…" she said the last part like a treat.
The doctor looked at her with worried eyes. "Don't worry… I will do my best… Now I will need your help with this." said the doctor while continuing to clean his cut.
xXx
Back in the kitchen, the two teens started to make some food for them. It was midday and nobody was eating anything, so it was good for everyone. "Do you think they will be alright? I saw Ellie's dad and he didn't look good." said the girl while cutting some vegetables.
The boy turned his head and looked at her. He knows how close his sister is with Ellie now, so it is going to be hard for her if something bad happens. "I don't think Joel is her dad… at least not her real one, but I hope he will get better soon," he added some condiments on a potato soup he is working on. "They help us and save our lives, it will be sad if something happens to one of them after what they did for us," said the boy.
Wendy lowered her head and looked at the table. "Yeah, Ellie saved me from those hunters and I don't want something bad to happen to her," she said sadly.
The boy moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "Me neither… but that is not after us, but I'm sure that grandpa will make sure they will be okay," he said with a smile on his face.
"Do you think so?" she asked with a less worried tone.
"Sure… they look like strong people... like grandpa… they will be alright… I promise," he said while hugging his sister.
xXx
A little time later, Thomas goes back to the room with the thing the doctor asks for, he also asks him to go to the truck and bring him a suitcase with some of the medical things that he manages to collect before they depart the warehouse. After he comes back, the doctor takes out a syringe and gives another shot of a sedative to Joel to keep him asleep while he takes care of his wounds. Ellie and the old man start to help him, but in the end, only Ellie stays with the doctor. She refuses to leave Joel's side even if there is not much she can do to help.
A few hours later the doctor finishes patching up Joel's body, he uses the bottle of water with sugar to make some kind of serum to keep Joel hydrated while he gets more stable. Soon the doctor finished with that, he saw Ellie seething in a chair beside the bed. The old man already changed the sheet for clean ones and took all the bloody ones out of the room. They also put some clean pants on Joel and cover his body with a clean blanket.
After he finishes with Joel, the doctor puts his thing on the side table and looks at Ellie. "You should get some rest. It has been a long day for you too and there is nothing more we can do for him right now."
"I'm not leaving his side… not a million times, so you can forget that," she said with a serious voice and without looking at him.
The doctor takes a deep breath. "Well, at least let me check your wounds… I know they-"
Ellie looked at him with a mad expression. "I'm fine… I don't need any help…" she turns her head back to Joel's face. He has one eye cover with some bandage and it makes her sad to see him like that, but grateful that he is still alive. "How long is it going to take for him to recover?" she asked with a sad tone.
The doctor looked at her thinking what to say, patching his wounds was an easy thing, but his burning flesh is another. Even if Joel's burns are not too bad, but without any hospital care, those can turn really bad. He would suggest taking him to one, but the only hospitals available in this country are on the QZ.
"I can't say this for certain, but I think that his bruises and cuts will heal nicely with time," he said before looking at his face. "The eyes don't look too good… and he probably will lose some of his sights on that eyes… sorry but there is nothing I can do about that or anyone at this point." he watched Ellie's sad expression, but continued. "But what worries me more is his burn part. I did what I could, but the best place to treat that is in a hospital…"
Ellie turned her head and looked at him. "You said that he will be fine… so what the hell are you telling me?"
"I'm telling you his condition… and what you can expect. I told you that I will do all I can and I did… but without the facility of a hospital, there is not much else I can do for him. I think the best way to treat his burn is taking him to a QZ and I don't know any close one from here or any that are still functional in that part of the country."
Ellie thinks of the one in Boston, but that is too far even with a car, also she can't go to anyone because of her condition. They probably shot them both as soon as they scanned her. Ellie stands up from the chair and walks close to the doctor. "If we can't take him to a hospital, he will recover, right? You said he was steady and that you treat his wound the best you can… right?"
"Yes he is steady, but without proper medical attention… I can't guarantee any-" He stops when Ellie grabs his shirt and pulls him closer. She is maybe 17 but she can be really intimidating if she needs to also be really deadly if she has to.
"I don't care what you need to do to make sure he survives this… all of this happens because of your lunatic friends that like to kill people and make them suffer just for fun." she shut on his face. "Joel is everything to me and if something happens to him you will be the first one to pay." She lets go of him and walks back to the chair on the side of the bed. "Now get out of here if you don't need to do something else for him… I want to be alone."
He looked at the young girl in front of him. He can understand her pain and some of that is his fault too, even if he does not have something to do with what Walter does. "Look, I understand your pain… believe me if I can change what happened I could. But you have some wounds too… and you need to take care of those, si if-" he stops when Ellie turns her head and looks at him.
"I don't need your help… I can take care of myself… Now go… before I can't contain myself and kill you." The man doesn't want to make Ellie angrier than she already is and he doesn't blame her. So he decided to leave her alone for the time being.
He was not really a part of the hunters, they only keep him around because he helps them when they get sick or wounded. But that is not going to change all the things he has to do to survive. "I will be outside if you need anything just let me know…" he opened the door and went out of the room. "I will come back later to check on him… okay?" without another word he closed the door.
Ellie stayed sitting on the chair and grabbed Joel's hand again. "I'm so sorry Joel… I know all this was my fault, we should continue our way and never stop here to help these people. If not for me… nothing of this will happen to you..." She lowered her head and put her forehead in his hand. "I need you Joel… please don't leave me." Ellie starts crying as she can hold that anymore.
After the doctor got out of the room, he walked toward the living room. Soon he got there, he saw the old man talking with the boy that was questioning him outside the house. Thomas saw him and quickly moved away from the boy and walked toward him. "How is he?" he quickly asked with worried eyes.
The doctor stops in the middle of the living room and looks at him sadly. "I did all I could, but we have to wait." He lowered his head and looked at the floor. "He is really in bad shape and without a hospital to take him, I don't know if he is going to recover from his injury, especially the burn ones."
The old man looked at him sadly. "I see… How is Ellie? I saw her face too… and the blood on her."
"Yeah… She has some cuts and bruises, but she didn't let me help her. I know she is mad at me because I was with them and I don't blame her." he moved toward a chair and sat down and put his hand together. "Maybe you can help her… she trusts you more than I."
"Well, I don't be so sure about that… if Joel dies… she is not going to forgive us either."
"She will… you help her… I just… just make sure that she gets those wounds attended."
The boy walks close to him still feeling the injury the hunter gave him. "Yeah she has all the rights to not trust you and neither are we." said the boy with a harsh tone. "Look what your friends do to me!.." He shows him the cut on his head and the bruises on his body and face. "Those people almost kill us and wanted to rape my sister… and you're part of them."
His grandfather put a hand on his shoulder. "Is okay Alex… I know what they did to us, but I don't think this man is like them," he said with a sincere tone.
The boy turned his head and looked at him. "No, like them?... How can you know that? Maybe he is just waiting for the right moment to make his move at us. Probably his friends are waiting for him to call them and attack us" The boy started not trusting the man sitting in their living room. "What about Molly? They almost rape her and he was one of them…"
His grandfather put his other hand on his shoulder and made him look at him. "I know all of this was hard for you and Molly… but those hunters are not going to bother us anymore… they're all dead now," he said to try to calm him.
The boy looked at his grandpa with surprised eyes. "They are all dead?" he asked, not believing that the hunter threat is over now.
His grandpa let go of him. "Yes, they are… all the hunters are dead, so you and Molly are safe now." his grandpa answered.
"Wha about him? He is one of them… and still alive." said the boy while pointing to the doctor.
The doctor looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm not one of them… Yes, I was with them, but not because I like what they did to people," he lowered his head and looked at the floor. "I was a coward before all this happened, but I think that I always was. But I wanted to survive in this world too and after the QZ that I was living in fell down, I had no other place to go."
"Yeah… We all suffer in this world, but we don't go out there hurting or killing people just for fun or robbing them… you said that you're a doctor, so how can you do what they did to people?"
"I never hurt anybody, I always try to help them somehow, but Walter went crazy and I was afraid that he would kill me if I didn't do what they wanted." He raised his head and looked at them. I know that is not an excuse, but like you, I wanted to stay alive."
The boy looked at him like he didn't care about his life or what happened to him. "Well, I don't trust you and grandpa you should either," he said looking at his grandpa now.
"I don't trust him either, but I'm sure that this man is not like them…" the old man moved closer to the boy again and put his hand on his shoulder. Don't worry I will keep my eyes on him and I want you to keep yours on Molly… Okay? I know this is not what you wanted, but right now he is the only one that can help Joel."
The boy moves away from his grandpa and looks at the man sitting on the chair in front of him. "Well, I will keep my eyes on him too and if I see him getting close to Molly, I will kill him myself," then the boy turned around and started walking back to the kitchen.
The old man turned his sight to the doctor. "You must understand him, the hunters hurt us and try to kill us, the go after my granddaughter and try to rape her," he said with a sad tone.
"Yeah… sorry about all that… Walter was… I don't even sure what is going on in his head. But I can assure you that he isn't my friend and I never approve of all the things they do to people back there."
"Yeah… but you were part of them and you're only here because we need you to help with Joel, not because we like to have people here that work with hunters."
"Don't worry, I understand. I will do what I can to help you, and after that, I will go. I know what they do and I didn't do anything. I only thought about myself and I was just trying to survive. People like me are easy targets in this world, that is why I have to stay with them, no matter what they do."
Thomas looked at him with curious eyes. He doesn't know what exactly he does for the hunters, in addition to being their doctor. But he knows that some people will do a lot of things to survive and he is no exception. He himself has done bad things to protect his family and even that is not the same he understand part of it. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he moved to the back of the chair and put his hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, I think my children make some food for us, so it is better to eat something now when we have the chance." He said while moving away and walking toward the dinner table at the end of the living room. After a few minutes, the doctor stood up from the chair and followed him.
After the doctor sat on a chair at the dinner table, the old man went to the kitchen and told his children that the doctor was a guest until Joel and Ellie got better, so he will be treated like one. He explained to them that even though he was with hunters he was not like them. After dinner was ready they went to the dinner table and put the food there. When they started to eat, Molly wanted to take some food to Ellie, but her grandfather told her that she needed some time alone with Joel, so she will eat first and can take some food to her later.
xXx
A few hours later the girl was in front of her grandpa's room door with a plate in her hand. After she took a deep breath Molly knocked at the door. "Ellie… is me… Molly, can I come in?" she asked and waited for her to answer before opening the door.
Inside the room, Ellie raises her head and looks at the door. She doesn't know how much time has passed but it can't be that long. "Sorry… kiddo but I want to be alone with Joel… so please… just go," She didn't know why she used the nickname that Joel used with her, even if she is not a kid anymore. She doesn't want to be rude to the girl, but she really wants to be alone with Joel.
Molly waits for a few minutes then slowly opens the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I brought you some food. Grandpa said that you need to eat something." The girl looked at the bed and saw Joel with bandages all over his body. Also, one of his eyes was covered too. She knew that he was hurting, but not that bad. "I'm so sorry… I know all this was my fault…" She said while walking to the night table and putting the food there.
Elle looked at her with sad eyes. "This is not your fault… so never think that," Ellie looked at Joel, before speaking again. "The hunters do this to him, not you."
"I know… but you go there because of me and… he has to go after you, so in a way, it was my fault." said the girl sadly. "You and Joel get hurt because of me... because that bad man tried to hurt me… and you try to stop him." The girl can't hold it anymore and she starts to cry.
Ellie stands up and walks toward the girl and hugs her. "None of this is your fault... okay? Those people were just evil and that fuc-… she did not want to curse in front of the girl, at least not like that, so she stopped. "I went there because I wanted to stop him… and that was not only because of you." She holds the girl in her arms while she continues crying. "I saw people like him before and they don't know when to stop. They just like to hurt people just for fun and they just need to be stopped. So I go there to get sure he doesn't hurt anyone else... So you see, this it wasn't your fault."
After a minute the girl pulls back from the hug and looks at Ellie's face. She saw the bruises and cuts still fresh on her face. "But you two got hurt really bad because you stopped to help us… and that made me feel bad," she said with a sad tone.
Ellie looked at her eyes sadly. "You don't have to feel sad for this, Joel is a strong man, and we pass for situations like this before and he always survives," she said that to comfort the girl, but Joel never ended this bad before. Ellie hugged her again to hide her tears from her. Don't worry for us, Joel has been hurt before and ends up fine and so do I.".
After a few minutes, they break the hug and look at each other. "But you need to take care of yours too… Can I help you with that?" she said, looking at Ellie's face. Even though Ellie cleans them a little, she needs to take care of her wounds, (the external ones of course, because she knew that she has a few busted ribs) Ellie knows that the ones on her face are still visible.
Ellie put her hand on her shoulder and tried to hide her sadness. "Don't worry about me, I have been worse than this, and I can take care of them… now go on and get some rest. It is getting late…" Ellie guides the girl toward the door. Is not like she doesn't like the girl company, but right now she only wants to be with Joel. Soon they were at the door, Ellie spoke again. Thanks for the food I will eat later, now I need to change Joel's bandage and clean his wounds."
The girl turns around and looks at her. "Do you need any help with that… I can-"
Ellie grabs the knob and opens the door. "No, you go and rest. I will take care of that…'' said Ellie because she did not want the girl to see Joel's injuries.
"Okay… see you later." she while walking out of the room. Ellie watches her go out and walk away. After the girl was gone, she held her side as she felt a little pain. She tries to pretend that she is okay, but she is not. Her fiscal wounds are not so bad, but her mental ones are. Ellie walks back to the bedside and grabs the clean bandage from the night table and puts it on the bed. She starts to take old ones on his bloody one-off, so she can put the new ones. She can feel his pain as she does that, even with the sedative the doctor gave him to keep him asleep, he was in pain.
Soon Ellie finished, she sat on the chair beside the bed again and took his hand on hers. You need to get better… Joel… I don't know what I will do without you… please don't leave me. Ellie lowered her head and put it on top of his hand. I love you… and I can't live without you...
During the night the doctor tries to get into the room a few times, but Ellie tells him that she will take care of Joel and that she does not need him to take care of her wounds either. So after a few tries, Thomas has to convince him to let her alone and get some rest and talk to her in the morning. His children were not happy to have the ex-hunter in the house, especially the boy, but he told them that for now, they need him there.
xXx
The next morning, Ellie woke up and felt Joel's hand trembling and wet. So she raised her head up and looked at his face. He was still out, but his face was sweating and his body was trembling. She moved her hand and touched his forehead, finding out that it was hot. "No, no, no…" her panic button was on now because she knew that he was getting worse. Ellie quickly moved away from him and ran toward the door and opened it. "Where is the doctor? She yelled. I need him here… now!"
The man was sleeping in the living room so soon he hear Ellie's yelling, he woke up. The doctor stands up from the couch and quickly walks toward the room. "What happened… are you okay?" he asks Ellie quickly.
"Is... is Joel… he… he is burning up." She said with a trembling voice.
The doctor quickly goes into the room and walks toward the bed. He put his hand on Joel's forehead and felt the burn. "He is burning up…" he removes the sheet and looks at the bandage. "Did you do what I told you?" he asked with a worried tone.
"Yes… and you said that he will get better… So why is he getting worse?" she said with a panicking tone.
"Shit… if he has a fever like that, that means that his burnt flesh is getting infected." he turned his head toward Ellie. "We need to lower his temperature quickly… we're going to need some ice or something cold enough to lower his temperature."
Ellie looks at him in panic. "Infected? But you give him antibiotics… how can his wound get infected?"
"It seems that that was not enough… his wounds were exposed for too long without any treatment… so now he is not responding to the medicine."
At that moment the old man entered the room. "What is going on?" he asked.
Ellie looked at him with panicked eyes. "Is Joel... he has a fever and he is burning up… we need ice or something to lower his temperature," she answered him.
"I have some ice in the fridge, but I don't think it will be enough for that."
The doctor turned his head and looked at him. "Just bring all you have… we make the best of it," he said while turning back to Joel.
"Sure… I will be right back." Thomas said while walking out of the room.
"Okay… help me take off his bandage and move him into the bathtub so we can use the cold water too," he said while starting to take out his bandage.
Even with her own pain Ellie helped him with Joel and took him to the bathroom and put him in the bathtub. Is not good to put him in water with all his burns exposed, but they don't have any other choice. They need to lower his temperature before his brain burns out and dies. After five minutes the old man came back with all the ice he had and put it in the bathtub.
"We need to keep him in here until his temperature drops…" said the doctor as soon as they finished.
With all the commotion, the teens wake up and go downstairs to find their grandfather in the living room. They asked what was going on and after he explained, he told them to change and help him to make breakfast. Molly wants to go to see Ellie as she and the doctor stay in the bathroom with Joel. But her grandpa told her that they need to be alone to take care of Joel and that she can talk to her later.
xXx
Ellie and the doctor take care of Joel for half the day until his fever drops a little. The doctor gave him more morphine and antibiotics, but sadly that was not going to be enough. "He needs real medical attention, more than I can give him. If the infection continues to spread… there is nothing more we can do for him." he said with a sad tone.
Ellie looked at him sadly. "I am not going to let him die… and you told me that you will help me with that…"
"I know what I said… and I'm sorry, but he needs a hospital or some close to that… I did what I could, but I can't do miracles."
Ellie stood up from the bathtub side and walked close to him. "I told you what will happen if he dies… so is better if you start to do something to stop this… or-"
"I can't do anything else for him… I do all I can, but without proper equipment and treatment-" he stops when Ellie grabs his shirt and moves her face close to his. "Then you need to stop doing what you can and do better."
At that moment the old man entered the bathroom and interrupted them. "If he can't help him… maybe I know someone that could," he said while looking at them.