The Last of Us: Child of Tess Chapter I: Death to Thy Enemy, a last of us fanfic

Chapter I: Death To Thy Enemy

(Music: "Unbound", by Gustavo Santaolalla)

Skritch.

At some point in life, everyone comes to understand pain.

Skritch.

And I'm not talking regular, everyday pain.

Skritch.

I'm not even talking about the fuckin' horrifying pain, like someone setting you alight with a Molotov or blowing your fuckin' leg off and laughing as you screamed in agony and flailed around on the floor.

SKRITCH.

I'm talking about the spiritual kind of pain. The one that claws your guts out slowly, sloooowllllyyyyy, over years of your life, toiling away at your own desire to live as you try and survive.

YEARS. OF. THAT.

SKRITCH-

"-!"

I flinched- I'd cut my hand by accident. In the midst of dragging my blade across the whetstone, I'd blindly cut my thumb unwittingly.

How blind of me.

How stupid of me.

I planted the tip of the knife into the wooden pew I'd sat upon. I had used this church as a shelter, a very symbolic gesture to a sinner like me. It had not occurred to me once to pray during the years I had grown up, but sure enough, I found the chance to do so here.

That's what I had originally come to this pew to do.

Pray.

And so, I sat myself silently at this pew, trying to give way to the peace I had yearned for...

...

...-

FUCK, WHO WAS I KIDDING?!

I stabbed my knife violently into the pew before me, a vitriolic, black rage washing over me!

SKRICH!

All those years of agony and MISERY washed over me at that moment. Glimpses of the past, of my mother, Tess...

Tess...

Tess...

And...

...

J.O.E.L.

My knuckles turned white from my tightening grip around the hunting knife.

Skrriiiiiiiiicch.

He was the source of all that.

Skriiiiiiiiiiiiicccchhhhh.

HE was the reason I had suffered through ALL of that!

SKRRRRIIIICCH.

And HE WOULD KNOW

PAIN.

(Music: "The Cycle of Violence", by Mac Quayle)

2 weeks later...

I crept up along the banks of heavy snow as the blizzard tore through the dilapidated town, keeping myself low so as to avoid being seen by anyone. Thanks to those Firefly dickheads, I had a consistent flow of information on the whereabouts of that son of a bitch.

It only cost me a few bullets and a Firefly bounty on my head to finally get here.

To confront him.

Once and for all.

"H-!"

I nearly lost my breath as I saw a large, burly figure sprint for a half-torn fence a few meters away, trying to crawl under it. The figure was grabbed by one of the many Infected chasing after them, and from the cries of desperation, I assumed it to be a woman, much to my own surprise. I considered the prospect of running over to help her, but I quickly realized it would be entirely counterproductive to what my mission was- To find that man named Joel and end him.

And so, I buried myself further into the snow, fearing that I would suffer frostbite and simply die right then and there, but determined to avoid dying until I found that man. I watched, a silent and indifferent viewer as one of the Infected dropped on top of the woman, clawing at her ceaselessly with that dogmatic, horrid energy that all of those damn Infected possessed.

I felt a moment of crisis- It was never enjoyable to watch someone die violently at the hands of such monsters, but I would not dare jeopardize my chance for revenge by helping her.

BANG!

I was shocked to hear a sudden gunshot- and further surprised to see two silhouettes approach the stranded woman, pulling her out from under the gate and shooting at the horde of Clickers and infected while they ran.

BANG! BANG!

BANG-BANG-BANG!

Their shots rang through the cold, brisk air, causing me to flinch a number of times; It was natural to fear loud sounds in an era like this. Nonetheless, I kept my watchful eyes on them, a creeping feeling entering my mind...

Deciding to adhere to the suspicion I held of those three, I followed them a bit of ways, stopping occasionally as they continued to find themselves in terrible predicaments. I wondered as to how these people survived in this post-apocalyptic landscape if they were getting caught into such life-endangering predicaments so often, but eventually, they rushed into a dilapidated building, slamming the door shut behind them as the hordes clawed at the entrance with renewed enthusiasm.

And now, I was intrigued. It was safe to assume they wouldn't be going out that way, so I decided to creep up, removing a Molotov from the backpack strapped to my back and lighting the cloth ablaze. I aimed carefully, trying to shield the dying flame in the midst of the snowstorm, and lobbed it over the barbed-wire fence, watching with delight as the Infected and Clickers screamed in agony while the flames clung to their bodies; Considering the snowstorm, I had ensured that the oil inside the bottle was particularly sticky; In fact, I had filled the bottle with concentrated nitroglycerin, so that the oil would both burn and stick to whatever poor souls got caught in it, no matter how much they flailed in the snow.

As the last of the Infected fell to the ground in a smoldering pile of ash and burnt flesh, I quickly moved up to the fence, throwing a thick woolen sheet over the barbed wire and quickly clambering over the fence onto the other side.

Crunch.

My thick-laden boots crackled in the densely-packed snow, as I moved on toward the front entrance, pushing aside the corpses and leaving behind the woolen sheet. Ensuring that I would remain covert, I stuck to the side of the building, slowly peering in through the glass panels of the front door-

BANG!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I leered back in shock as I heard the sound of a loud gunshot ringing through the inside of the building- it was a shotgun blast, recognizable from the low-octave explosive impact sound it made. I quickly snuck a peek through the windows, only to see-

"HUH!"

I nearly lost my breath- IT WAS HIM.

THERE HE WAS! Crawling away from that heavyset broad woman while her thuggard friends held him down. I watched with sinister eyes as she pulled a 9-iron from a nearby golf bag, eyeing Joel with murderous intention. And at that moment...

I had an internal crisis. Should I let her give Joel this fate, as he so deserved for all of his past sins? Would she properly deliver to him the PAIN AND SUFFERING that he NEEDED? Would he know all that he needed to understand why he deserved such a fate?!

Could I trust this person to exact the right vengeance on Joel that he deserved?

Click.

I cocked back the hammer on the M1911 I had unholstered from my torso, reaching into my backpack and pulling out my only combat trump card -a flashbang grenade I'd skimped off a Firefly soldier- and readied myself to fight to the death. Because I had already answered the questions that ran through my mind, at that very moment.

I would not let ANYONE take the vengeance that was rightfully MINE!

I eased open the door, tossing in the flashbang with a violent glee, and closed it shut-

(Music: "The Cycle Continues", by Mac Quayle)

POP!

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"FFFFUUUUCCCCCK! I CAN'T SEEE!"

"AAAAAAHHH, FUCK!"

I felt my nerves tense up as I heard the groans of those inside, who had been flashed by the stun grenade. This was my chance!

I pushed open the door, seeing several people I didn't recognize in the slightest, except-

BANG!

Without reprieve or emotional turmoil, I executed four of the armed strangers writhing on the floor immediately, uncaring and unwilling to give a thought to who they were or who loved them. I watched their bodies go limp, but suddenly-

BANG!

"AH!" I cried out, feeling a bullet slam into my side; I was beyond fortunate that it had torn clean through, though I was terrified because I had no idea if it'd hit any vital organs.

In rage, I turned towards the figure that struck such a blow against me- to find out it was that burly blonde woman. She seemed to be the most resilient of all the others, her stunned eyes gleaming with a great hatred; Despite her being unable to see anything, she fought through the dizziness and blindness, and somehow managed to get a shot off at me.

Determined to follow through with my goal, I slapped the handgun out of her grasp with haste, before stomping her face several times ruthlessly, until she was unconscious or dead, it didn't matter to me at that moment. I turned my head to see-

"AAAARGH! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

I was suddenly tackled by one of the few strangers left, who had recovered more quickly than the others and ambushed me. I felt the air leave my lungs as I crashed against the drawers behind me; He was older and far stronger than I was, but I didn't need hand-to-hand advantage for this fight.

Shick!

"Ugh-!"

With only a single groan of agony, what little strength remained in him faded as I stuck my hunting knife into his gut. Over, and over, and over again. He fell to the floor with a sickening thud, and all that was left was the small, short-haired brunette. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the aftermath of the fight, and she let out a gut-wrenching, high-pitched scream as her eyes glanced upon one of the bodies.

She rushed me with murderous vigor, but I was easily able to telegraph her next moves, and so waited until she stumbled past my evasive steps before wrapping my arm around her throat and stabbing her repeatedly in the side.

Thud.

And all that was left now, was the burly, broad woman, who was coughing up blood as she remained barely-conscious. I pointed the barrel of my gun at her temple.

Click.

I clicked my tongue in disappointment as I saw the slide lock into place, signaling that the pistol was empty. However, I remembered the few bullets I kept in my back pocket, for such emergencies like this. It was far too often that I ran out of ammo at such unfortunate times, and so I thought it helpful to keep a few on hand.

I loaded each of the bullets carefully, walking over and slamming my boot into the burly woman's skull once more, hearing the sound of bone cracking.

"You're not taking my fucking kill." I hissed at her, chambering a bullet and leveling the barrel of the pistol at her head.

BANG!

Her body jerked as the bullet pierced her skull and exited through the floorboards- Her body fell still. I had not even gotten her name, but here she was, dead. I supposed this would inevitably be my fate one day- to be executed by some random lowlife without being able to so much as utter a syllable. After a few moments of somber thought, I released a deep sigh, along with a groan thanks to the bullet wound searing through my torso.

With that business dealt with, my eyes remained solely trained on Joel, lying against the glass and bleeding from his knee like a stuck pig. I saw his eyes flutter, then light up with shock as he saw me standing over him, pistol in hand.

"Wh..." He muttered, almost unable to form words. "Who the fuck are you? Some kid?! Grh...!"

It was true, I was only seventeen years old and had killed several grown adults. I had done it quite a few times before and at younger ages no less. Regardless, I ignored his prodding questions, aiming the barrel of the gun at him. There were a million things I could have said to him in that moment, but the only thing I wanted to say...

"Do you remember... 'Tess'?"

Joel froze completely upon hearing that long-archaic name; His eyes clouded over as memories flew through his mind, and eventually he responded with a foul tone.

"How the fuck do you know that name?"

I grit my teeth, quelling the anger that surged inside me. I brought the barrel of my pistol ever closer to his face, staying just outside of arms reach so he couldn't yank it out of my hand. And I responded to his answer with entrenched anger.

"I am her child.. and your son."