Chapter 11: Downfall

After having reconciled and rested at Jackson, the group was once again on the road. They set out early in the morning on route to the University of Eastern Colorado after being told by Tommy that a Firefly base was located there. The journey was rather relaxed, they had little danger with few infected or hunter encounters. The previous heavy tension between the three of them had also lifted and the group now spoke with each other casually like they had before.

"Ok, let me see if I get it straight. If you mess up your fourth down then you give the ball to the other team?" Ellie asked in clarification as Joel had began to explain the rules of football to the two teens who had no awareness of the sport.

"Right, it's called turnover," Joel confirmed.

"And if you clear the ten yards then you're back at… first down?" she enquired hesitantly.

"First down, that's right."

"Man, it's confusing."

"You just gotta play it a couple of times. It'll all make sense," Joel assured. The group then rode into the grounds of the campus, scouting the area for any building that resembled 'a giant mirror' as Tommy had put it. They had managed to find some remnants of scattered lookout posts, suggesting that the place had inhabitants. Whilst doing so Joel voiced his distaste of the names Ellie gave to the horses they had borrowed, being Callus and Bessie. However he was forced to concede at his negligence to ask Tommy for their names.

"So these places… people would live here and just study? Even though they were all grown up?" Ellie queried.

"Yeah, study, party, and find themselves. Figure out what they wanted to do with their lives."

"What they wanted to do with their lives," Ellie repeated in a tone that held curiosity.

Eventually the group had found the building in question in the distance and began to head through the campus grounds towards it. "How many people do you think are there? Fireflies I mean."

"I reckon it takes quite a crew to run that operation."

"You think there'll be be other people my age?"

"Ah.. I'm not sure," Joel answered. Soon after the elder smuggler left the two teens outside a building to make his way through a building of infected to get a gate open. Joel didn't want to risk losing the horses, they were useful for transport after all.

"Hey, I was thinking," Ellie began once Joel had returned "I would've wanted to be an astronaut."

"That a fact?"

"Yeah. Can you imagine being up there all by yourself? Would've been cool. I'm just saying. What about you Jake, what would you have wanted to be?"

"I'm not sure, I've never really thought about it," Jake replied.

"Well get thinking about it. I want an answer eventually," Ellie ordered jokingly causing Jake to chuckle in response "What about you? What'd you want to be?"

"Oh… well, when I was a kid I used to want to be a… a singer," Joel answered awkwardly.

"Shut up," Ellie said whilst laughing slightly.

"I'm serious."

"Sing something," Ellie requested.

"Ah no."

"Come on, we won't laugh," she insisted.

"I don't think so."

"Joel, pleeeease," Ellie asked one last time but Joel simply mounted his horse and continued on, silently ending the conversation.

"Never would've have guess," Jake whispered to Ellie behind him with a somewhat shocked expression on his face which gained a giggle out of Ellie.

Soon after the group came across another closed which Joel had to unlock by going through a hall of infected.

"Those clickers, you think they were Fireflies?" Ellie asked in concern.

"No… No I don't think so."

"Why would they have infected so close to the lab?"

"Well Bill used them as a form of defense. Maybe they're doing the same," Joel explained, attempting to relieve any source of concern. The group were now in front of the science building and were now looking for a way in."

"Have you ever been to one of these?"

"What? A university?"
"Yeah."

"No, not as a student at least."

"Why not?"

"Uhh… I had Sarah when I was pretty young."

"Oh… were you married?"

"For a while."

"What happened?"

"Ok," Joel replied, indicating that Ellie had inquired too far.

"Too much?"

"Too much."

"Do you know what happened?" Ellie asked Jake in a whisper, the black haired teen then took a moment to consider the question and shook his head with an intrigued look on his face.

"Guess that's the one thing he won't share," Jake commented "Though I'll admit, I'm slightly curious now as well."

"We'll get it out of him," Ellie replied. The group then entered the science building through a shattered window. Once inside they were greeted not by signs of any inhabitants but instead it appeared as though the facility was abandoned, much to the dismay of the group. They searched the floor for any signs or traces of the Fireflies but continually came up short, causing Ellie to voice her annoyance. They then came across a desk in front of a stairwell that looked like it may house some clues so the three of them began searching it. "Nothing useful," Ellie reported after searching a box.

"Ain't nothing here but a bunch of medical mumbo-jumbo," Joel remarked in regards to the clipboard he examined.

"No lead on the Fireflies either," Jake commented.

"I don't get it," Ellie complained with an irritated sigh.

"Looks like they all just packed up and left in a hurry," Joel surmised but was then contradicted by a sudden loud thud from the floor above them. Cautiously moving towards the source of the disturbance, hoping that it would give them any lead to the Fireflies. More abrupt noises were heard around the upper floor but there was still no trace of any human life, or what had been human life for that matter. Eventually they found the cause of disruption, a pack of monkeys running amuck in the lab. "Well at least it ain't clickers," Joel mentioned as the monkeys made a hasty getaway.

"Yeah, no Fireflies either," Ellie observed rather dejectedly "Well maybe in all that research they turned into fucking monkeys," she joked in her usual upbeat tone. In the room they were greeted by a decaying corpse sat on a chair with an old sound recorder. Joel played the recording to in hopes of gaining any information, he began to impatiently fast forward the recording.

"If you're looking for the others, they've all returned to Saint Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City. You'll em there. Still tryna save the world," the voice from the recording stated, the information the group had desired.

"Do you know where that is?" Ellie asked.

"I know the city," Joel answered.

"Is it far?"

"It ain't close, I mean on horseback," Joel began but cut himself off as his attention turned to a light emanating from outside.

"Fireflies?" Ellie questioned.

"Get down!" Joel ordered as he pulled Ellie down below cover. Joel concluded that they had no further reason to remain here and began promptly making his way to the exit, hoping to avoid any conflict with the unknown group. Unfortunately for Joel and the others that hope was wishful thinking as the group hunted the three of them down. Whilst clearing out the bandits in their path, the group had found their way back to the outer walkway on the second floor. Wasting no time Joel attempted to open a door to progress onwards, however the door was flung open by an attacking bandit. The man then grabbed Joel by the neck and pushed him onto the rusted railing. Joel then managed to reverse their positions however the railing gave way, causing both of them to fall onto the ground below. Things got worse for Joel as he landed with a rod of metal impaling his stomach, rendering him unable to get up.

"Oh fuck," Jake stated in shock as he quickly climbed down to Joel on a wire followed by Ellie.

"What do you want me to do?" Ellie asked in panic and urgency as the two made their to the injured smuggler. At the same time, more bandits continued to pound at the door. In response Jake drew his pistol and pointed it at the door.

"Move!" Joel commanded as he pushed Ellie out of the way, whilst he and Jake fired at the oncoming enemies. Jake had shot his target down but Joel's aim was impaired by slowly losing consciousness. Luckily Ellie had covered for him and taken down the second man. The two teens then returned to Joel's side, with Jake grabbing onto the older man's arm.

"Pull," Jake instructed simply but with rare urgency.

"Ok, three two one," Ellie said and the two pulled the wounded Joel off the metal rod, causing him to scream in agony. He was now on his feet, barely, with blood dripping out from his core. The group then made their way back towards the horses at the entrance, with Joel barely able to keep up while Jake and Ellie carefully made their way along every turn. The younger two then went over and through window with Joel attempting to do the same but leading to him landing on his back in pain. Ellie and Jake then pulled behind the cover of a table as another bandit burst in and began firing on them.

"You two stay here. I'll go around him, you cover me," Jake told Ellie as he made his way to flank the man firing on them. Joel then attempted to come out from behind cover and return fire but he was shot at first, making Ellie pull him back behind cover. Jake then fired at the man, diverting his attention, giving Ellie the opening to finish him off. The two teens then pulled Joel to his feet whilst he insisted that he was okay. "You're not fucking okay! Now move!" Jake shouted at the elder smuggler in a rare moment of anger. Whilst walking through a hallway Joel had collapsed again, leading to Jake offering to support him, however Joel refused. "Then walk damn it!" the black haired teen yelled in frustration. Once again Joel had lost his strength and leaned on a crate nearby, making Jake lose his patience and go to help the man.

"Behind you," Joel mumbled barely audibly, as two more attackers brandishing metal pipes appeared though Ellie quickly dealt with them. Jake then put Joel's arm over him and supported the barely alive Joel as they walked at a snail's pace to the exit.

"I swear if we get you out of this, you're so singing for us," Ellie stated.

"You wish," Joel replied. Once on the outside, the three noticed a man trying to take the horses but Ellie promptly shot him down. Ellie then brought one of the horses towards Joel and Jake; Joel had barely managed to get on with Jake riding with him to attempt to support him. Ellie then mounted her stead and the three rode away with the winter snow coming down on them. After getting a far distance from the university Ellie affirmed, however Joel then began sliding off the saddle as Jake tried to keep him on but to no avail. The wounded man fell to the ground with a thud. The two teens desperately attempted to pull Joel up whilst calling out his name in attempt to keep him conscious but there was no luck, he had already blacked out.