After a few hours, the Capitol Building was in full view, meaning that the quartet had made it . It was around noon, the sun warming up everything in its path. They drop down from a short rooftop, only to come across two staircases that they had to descend.
"It's around this corner, c'mon." Tess said, pointing forward. "Let's keep moving, kids." Joel said to them. The four jog down the two flights of metal stairs; making it down to the bottom, they see that they'd have to climb over a hurdle to move on.
For a reason, Enid had this gut feeling that something wasn't right. She couldn't conceal it either. "Everything cool, Enid?" Ellie asked, coming up beside her.
Enid shakes her head and sucks in a breath. "Yeah, but, I have this weird feeling that the Fireflies might not be alive when we get there." Enid replied, sounding a bit anxious.
"They're not going to be." Tess said, a bit impatient. "How do you know?" Ellie asked. "I just do. Let's keep at it." Tess replied quickly.
It didn't take long for Joel to find a solution. He had found a dumpster sitting by the stairs. He pulled it to the closed grate and scaffolding so they could climb over it.
They all cross the scaffolding and find themselves on a swampy street. They jogged down the street that led to the Capitol Building. It was just up ahead.
"Home stretch, Tess." Joel said, glancing up at the Capitol Building. In front of them was green, mossy water that flooded the street. "Um… just so it's out there. We can't swim." Ellie points out, referring to herself and Enid.
"Alright, it looks shallow on the right side. Follow me." Tess said, taking the lead. The quartet walked into the water, which came up to their waists. They had to raise their arms a bit while walking up to the Capitol Building.
"Hey, we're happy Marlene hired you guys." Ellie said, walking behind Tess. "What do you mean?" Tess asked, looking back at the auburn headed girl for a second. "She's saying that we know you guys are getting paid for this so, we're trying to thank you guys." Enid said, walking behind Ellie. "Yeah, sure thing." Tess replied.
The four of them climb up the front stairs to the front door. Joel opens the door and walks inside with the girls behind him. Just like Enid predicted, there were the dead bodies of the Fireflies laying on the floor.
"No. No, no, no." Tess gasps, running to the Fireflies' corpse. Ellie and Enid walk in and had a look of utter shock on their faces. "Oh shit." Enid said, feeling nausea wash over her.
"What happens now?" Ellie asked, looking at Joel for a moment. Both her and Enid stood aside. "Enid, how'd you know?" Ellie asked Enid, still looking at the corpses. "I… had a bad feeling." Enid replied, realizing this could've been her if she chose to stay with this Firefly militia group.
Tess was frantically searching one of the corpses. Joel walked over to her and asked, "What're you doing, Tess?" "Maybe they, ah, maybe they had a map or something to tell us where they were going." Tess replied quickly.
"How far are we gonna take this?" Joel asked, shaking his head. Enid leaned over a bit so she could see what Tess was doing. "As far as it needs to go." Tess replied before looking at the two girls, "Where was this lab of theirs?"
"Oh she didn't say. Where was it again?" Ellie asked, looking at Enid. "I think it was someplace out west or something." Enid replied, raising her arms before letting them drop. Marlene had told them in what direction the lab was, not the location exactly.
"What're we doing here? This is not us." Joel says, raising a hand a bit. Tess stood back up quickly and faced Joel with narrowed eyes, "What do you know about us? About me?" "I know that you're smarter than this." Joel corrects her.
"Really? Guess what, we're shitty people, Joel. It's been that way for a long time." Tess said, raising her arms. "No, we are survivors!" Joel raises his voice, becoming more angry by the second.
"This is our chance-" Tess started, only to get cut off by Joel. "It is over, Tess!" he boomed, "Now we tried. Let's just go home." Tess's gaze dropped to the floor, her face changing to a melancholy one. It showed something was off.
"I'm not… I'm not going anywhere. This is my last stop." Tess said, choking up a bit. Enid's felt her stomach drop when Tess said that. Her and Ellie look at one another, both feeling anxious about Tess's choice of words.
"What?" Joel asked, unconvinced. Tess walks away with her head hanging low, "Our luck had to run out sooner or later, right?" "What're you going on about-" Joel said, reaching out to her but she pushed him back suddenly.
"No don't- Don't touch me." Tess said breathlessly. It was then that Ellie and Enid figured out what was wrong with Tess, she was bitten. They recognized this because they felt the same way when Ellie got bitten; it scared Enid because she believed she was gonna lose Ellie a third time.
"Holy shit…" Enid says, the color in her face draining. Joel looked back at them and saw the looks of shock on their faces. "She's infected." Ellie said, her eyes widened a bit.
The very mention of Tess being bitten made everyone go quiet. Joel took a step back and looked back at Tess. She was looking down at her feet, not saying a word; it showed that it was true.
"Joel…" Tess said, her eyes looking at Joel. "Let me see it." Joel quietly said, wanting to see the proof. "I didn't mean for this-" Tess stuttered.
"Show it to me." Joel demanded, taking a step forward. She then pulls back the collar on her shirt to reveal a fresh bite on the right side of her neck. "Oh Christ." Joel gasps in shock that his partner was bitten.
Enid saw that Tess's bite mark looked nothing like Ellie's bite mark. "Oops, right?" Tess scoffed before looking over at Ellie. "Give me your arm." Tess said as she grabs Ellie's right arm.
Tess rolls up Ellie's sleeve to reveal the bite mark on her arm, "This is three weeks. I was bitten an hour ago and it's already worse. This is fucking real, Joel." She then let go of Ellie's arm and she walked over to Joel. "You've got to get these girls to Tommy's. Who knows, Enid might be immune to it also. He used to run with this crew just like Enid so he'll know where to go." Tess continued.
While Joel and Tess quietly argue about the girls, Enid glances over at Ellie. She had a guilty look on her face. "Ellie?" Enid says in concern, not getting a response from the auburn headed girl.
"Ellie, it's not your fault that this happened." Enid tells her. "But I…" Ellie started but a noise from outside cut her off. Tess ran up to a window, only to discover that the rumbling noise from outside came from a military truck.
"They're here." Tess said, turning to the trio. "Dammit." Joel growled, clenching his fists a bit. "I can buy you three some time, but you gotta run." Tess said, pulling out her gas mask.
She looks at Enid and puts the mask in her hands, "Take this, Enid." "Wha-? Tess, I can't-" Enid started as she shook her head, trying to push the mask back. "Enid, you have to." Tess said, making her hold the mask.
"What? You want us to just leave you here?" Ellie said, stunned by Tess's final request. "Yes." Tess says, nodding at Ellie. Joel stepped forward and spoke in disbelief, "There's no way that-"
"I will NOT turn into one of those things." Tess cuts him off with her eyebrows narrowed, making Joel go silent. Tess's expression softens after a couple of seconds. "C'mon, make this easy for me." she says softly to him.
Joel's mouth hung open for a moment, not knowing what to do in that moment in time. He knew that he couldn't prevent the inevitable. He looks down and starts to say, "I can fight-"
"No, just go!" Tess shouted, pushing her partner back with both hands. "Just fucking go…" she said tearfully. Joel waits a couple of seconds before he looks at the two girls, "Ellie. Enid."
"We're sorry, we didn't-" Ellie started, shaking her head. "None of us meant for this to happen." Enid finished, not helping but feel partly responsible for what happened. "Get a move on. Both of you." Joel instructed, backing away from Tess.
Ellie and Enid look back at Tess once more before running to the next room with Joel behind them, leaving Tess behind. Once they left, Tess sighed before turning to face the front doors, aiming her gun. She wasn't going down without a fight. "We know you're in there! Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up!" a guard shouts from outside.
Joel locked the doors to the entry room, his head hanging low and his eyes shut for a moment. Ellie and Enid were in disbelief at what just happened. Adrenaline was pumping through their veins.
"What the fuck! I can't believe we did that!" Ellie exclaimed in disbelief. "Stop." Joel said, running over to a table that had supplies on it. "What?! We just left her to fucking die out there!" Enid shouted, feeling a bit panicked.
"Stop! Both of you stay close to me. We gotta move." Joel instructed, sprinting up a flight of stairs adjacent to them. Ellie and Enid quickly follow after him. As the trio make it to the next floor, they all hear multiple gunshot sounds from below, indicating that the soldiers broke in and Tess was fighting them off.
"Just keep pushing forward." Joel whispered. After a minute, it grows eerily silent below; the girls glance at each other for a moment. The trio crouch down in unison as they come across an open doorway that led to the balcony, which overlooks the first floor.
"Target neutralized. She took out 2 of my men. Copy that. You, take out the door. You, with me." the lead guard ordered. The trio could see Tess' body laying in a pool of blood. Those soldiers shot her down with a bullet.
"Oh my god…" Ellie said with a gasp. "Tess… oh shit…" Enid breathlessly said. Unlike them, Joel couldn't process what just happened down there; all he wanted was to get out of there in one piece.
As they went inside a meeting room, Enid heard the sound of the double doors being broken into. "Guys, I can't be the only one hearing that, right?" she asked, looking behind her. "Yeah, I did too. They're gonna be here soon." Ellie agreed, hearing the commotion as well.
The meeting room had a massive hole in the wall, exposing the outside of the building; it gave them access to the next wing of the building. Joel sprinted and jumped over the gap with ease. "We're through." he says, waiting on both of the girls, who jumped over the gap a few seconds after.
Enid felt her heart racing in her chest. Ellie's was as well because neither of them knew where the soldiers were lingering. Joel had found a corpse sitting by a pillar with a loaded rifle on it; he takes it and reloads it.
"Proceed with caution. Three more are here." a soldier warned. Ellie and Enid hid behind a clothed table so the soldiers wouldn't see them. Both were unsure of what to do.
"What do we do? Joel?" Ellie asked, a bit panicky. "They're coming this way." Enid said, hearing the soldiers coming. "I got this." Joel said, moving to another table with the girls behind him. He proceeded to viciously slay the soldiers with the rifle by blowing their heads off with a single bullet.
The trio jumped down to the ground floor from a broken staircase. "Joel, how're we getting the hell out of here?" Enid asked as she landed on the ground floor. "Yeah, what're we doing?" Ellie whispered, staying behind Enid. They hid behind a glass exhibit.
Joel peeked over the glass case and saw a path that'd lead them to the exit. However, more soldiers were crawling in there. "Alright, we're gonna go down that hallway." he said, moving to the corridor on the left adjacent side of their intended path.
"They probably came through here. Comb the area." a soldier orders. The trio move through the left hallway while staying crouched. "Stay down, I can't tell how many are left." Joel whispered to them, waiting for a guy to pass.
Once they guy came into view, Joel jumped up and strangled him so he wouldn't alert anyone else. For a moment, the girls were shocked by how quick Joel killed the guy. They moved to the room with the exit, more guards were talking.
"They still hadn't found the last three." a soldier said, walking through the halls. "I heard two of 'em are kids." another replied. "Does it matter? They took out a bunch of our guys." the first spat, making it clear that they were assigned to kill them. "Jesus. Well hey, after today this whole Firefly bullshit will be behind us." the second guard said.
Joel took the opportunity to stab the two soldiers in the necks. "There's the exit." Ellie said, pointing to the open door. The trio ran outside before anymore could arrive.
There was an abandoned subway just ahead of them, giving them an escape route. "Guys, there's stairs over there." Enid points out. "Stay low." Joel says, fearing there might be more in the area.
They run to the subway and jump down into the subway. The second they do, another humvee suddenly pulls up. "They're going in the subway! Stop them!" a guard shouted as they began shooting at them.
"Oh shit!" Ellie shouted, grabbing Enid by her hand. "They're following us!" Enid shouted, sprinting as fast as she could. "Goddammit." Joel cursed, running behind them.
They run into a spore-filled area so both Enid and Joel put their gas masks on. Luckily, the mask Tess gave Enid fit her face perfectly. The girls quickly hid behind some debris because two more soldiers were in there.
Joel came in a second after, to which Enid jumps up to pull him down to where her and Ellie were hiding. "Get down." she warned. "There's a soldier over there." Ellie said quietly, pointing to the soldiers by the trains.
Joel sees that Ellie was the only one not wearing a mask; she was breathing in spores. If someone were to breathe in spores, they'd be infected immediately. "How the hell are you breathing in this stuff?" Joel asked quietly.
"I told you I wasn't lying. Unlike you, Enid believed me." Ellie replied, her eyes looking from Enid to Joel. Enid had believed her about a week after Ellie had been bitten. She was honestly still in shock.
"Have you seen 'em?" a guard asks, running to his partner. "No, place is empty." the second replied. "Let's find them and leave this damn place before clickers show up." the first guard says, his voice echoing off of the walls.
The first guard walked over to the trio's hiding spot and was about to find them. However, Joel jumped up and strangled the guard until he died. Afterwards, he makes his way over to the second guard, drops down on the tracks, and strangles the second guard without being spotted.
The trio were the only ones in the spore filled subway. Next plan was to find the way out of there. They walk through a few railcars, leading them to the flooded part of the subway.
"Hey, um, we can't swim." Ellie says for both her and Enid. "We'll figure something out." Joel replied, going into the water. He had to dive under the water and under submerged trains and debris.
He resurfaces and climbs atop a train car, "Ellie? Enid?" "We're fine." Ellie replied, both her and Enid following him and climbing clumsily over debris to reach another ledge that wasn't submerged in water. The girls end up finding two flashlights that laid by a rotting, decomposing corpse.
"Hey, look, they still work." Ellie said, turning her flashlight on. She tosses Enid the second one, to which she turns it on. Ellie turned to face her friend and saw Enid in that mask in full view.
"Holy shit! You look so creepy in that thing." Ellie said, playfully teasing her. "Oh, you mean like one of those cool zombie bros?" Enid asked, smiling under the mask and flexing her arms. "Yep, something like that." Ellie replied, giving a chuckle.
"Sweet. Speaking of which, I'm gettin' hungry." Enid said, raising her hands up to tickle Ellie. "Don't you fucking dare!" Ellie said, knowing what Enid was planning. "I'm craving guts, Ellie." Enid said in a raspy voice.
"You better not, Enid. I swear to god-" Ellie protested. But it was too late, Enid started to tickle Ellie on her sides and belly. She, of course, started to laugh at being tickled, "No, you ass!"
After a few seconds, Enid stops tickling Ellie. They laugh at their innocent child's play. Enid knew that Ellie didn't like being tickled, but she couldn't find a better way to get subtle revenge for being called creepy.
While this was going on, Joel had found a floating crate pallet. He had spotted a ladder that was adjacent to where they were at; he pulled it over to the girls so he could get them both across. Since they were incapable of swimming, this was their only way across.
"Get on, both of you." Joel said. "Really?" Ellie asked. "Do we have to?" Enid protested. Joel said both of their names impatiently.
Both girls jumped onto the pallet. Surprisingly, it held both of them up above the water. "Be careful." Ellie said, a tad nervous of falling over. "I got ya'll." Joel assured, pushing them to the other platform where the ladder was.
Enid was the first to get off the pallet. She turns around to help Ellie up onto the platform. They then push the ladder into the water so Joel could climb up.
It didn't take long for Joel to find them a way out. They had to ascend a set of stairs in order to reach outdoors. Joel and Enid took off their gas masks the second they reached outside.
Enid took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling a bit relieved to be out of there. Joel sat down on a piece of debris to catch his breath. Ellie swayed back and forth for a moment with her hands on her hips as she sighed.
"Hey look… about Tess. We don't even know what to-" Ellie started but Joel turns on her. "Here's how things are going to be from now on. Neither of you bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, keep your histories to yourselves. Next, don't tell anybody about your condition and that Enid's a Firefly." Joel barked, sternly looking at the girls.
Enid cringed at being called a Firefly now. Joel didn't seem to understand that she had left them weeks ago. They both look at each other while Enid bit her lip.
"Lastly, when I tell you two to do something, you do it. Understand?" Joel established, making them understand that he was the adult in this circumstance. "Sure." Enid sputtered, saying this for her and Ellie. "Repeat it. Both of you." Joel said.
"What you say, goes." Ellie repeated, raising her head to look at him. "Don't tell anyone about Ellie's bite and that I'm an ex-Firefly." Enid added. Joel was secretly satisfied with their compliance and he stood up from the debris.
"Good. Now there's a town a few miles north of here. There's a fella there that owes me a few favors. Good chance he could get us a car." Joel said, pointing North. "Alright." Ellie nodded. "Lead the way." Enid said, hands on her hips.
"Let's get a move on." Joel said, starting to lead them in that direction. Ellie and Enid follow him in silence, but only for a brief moment.