Hey all, sorry for the wait on this! I realize that is update is well overdue and the relevance of it very low since part 2 has come out and most of you are probably disinterested by it at this point. So for those of you that do decide to read I thank you for your patience.
To tell the truth I was initially very demotivated to write for awhile after part 2's release since I had an initial distain for the story. And then I began my first year of university so it became incredibly difficult to find either the time or motivation to write.
However, now that summer is here and I have some time off I figured I shouldn't make you guys wait any longer and finally end off this project. Some of you may have gotten tired of the wait and read my previous attempts at this story, or there may even be some of you who have been around since then, so the ending may not be much of a surprise. God knows how you would've put up with my incredibly poor grammar, one note description and cringey characterisation but I'd like to say I've improved from then.
I feel confident in saying that this project, which started off as a "what if" thought experiment as a teen from boredom, has reached a level of quality I'm satisfied with. Which means no more rewrites.
For those wondering, I do have something planned for part 2 in the works but I'm not sure how it'll be released since I'm usually pretty busy. Chapter 1 is completely finished and chapter 2 is about halfway there so we'll see if I can keep it up during the academic year.
The last order of business is I might write an epilogue for the group to tie things up with a neat little bow so let me know if you guys would be interested in that.
Which reminds. Review please and thank you. And without further delay, the final chapter.
The members of the Fireflies who had found Jake and the others brought the group back to their base at the hospital after confirming that Ellie was the one who was immune. Upon arriving they quickly moved Ellie away to give her the proper care, since she had taken on a fair amount of water. Meanwhile Jake and Joel were brought to a hospital room where Joel was put on a bed to recover from being knocked out. Their weapons were confiscated much to Jake's discomfort but he didn't have much say in the matter. Marlene soon arrived at the room and was informed of the situation by the two men guarding the room. She promptly left again but would return within the hour to inform Jake that Ellie's condition was stable, much to his relief, and that they were now running tests on her body to ascertain the viability of a vaccine. Jake insisted on being able to see Ellie but his request was repeatedly denied. Marlene would then sporadically come in and out of the room whenever her attention was needed elsewhere; however at one point she decided to wait for Joel to awaken at his bedside, though not saying a word to the younger smuggler.
Roughly an hour later Joel's eyes suddenly snapped open as he regained consciousness. Jake was immediately up and at his older companion's side, placing his hands on Joel's arm.
"It's alright," Jake said calmly while giving Joel a reassuring nod. When Joel looked to his other side he found Marlene sat by him.
"Welcome to the Fireflies," Marlene announced as Joel turned to her. "Sorry about the," she began whilst gesturing towards her head "they didn't know who you were."
"And Ellie?" Joel asked with distress in his voice while raising his head from his laid back position.
"She's alright," Marlene assured calmly, "they brought her back," she finished, putting Joel at ease, allowing him to lay back down comfortably. "You came all this way. How'd you do it?"
"It was her," Joel started, "she fought like hell to get here. Maybe it was meant to be," he added as he propped himself up on his elbows
"I lost most of my crew crossing the country," Marlene stated as she stood up. "I pretty much lost everything. And then you show up and somehow we find you just in time to save her. Maybe it was meant to be."
"Take me to her," Joel said as he moved to sit with his legs over the bed, prompting the guards to uncross their arms and move in closer.
"You don't have to worry about her anymore. We'll take care -"
"I worry," Joel cut off "just let me see her. Please," Joel asked softly.
"You can't. She's being prepped for surgery," Marlene replied coldly.
"The hell you mean surgery?" Joel asked, standing up now with Jake at his side, causing the guards to inch even closer.
"The doctors tell me that the cordyceps, the growth inside her has somehow mutated. It's why she's immune. Once they remove it they'll be able to reverse engineer a vaccine," Marlene explained succinctly "a vaccine," she added with her voice shaking slightly from joy.
"But it grows all over the brain," Joel replied.
"It does," Marlene responded curtly after a moment. Jake then gingerly put a hand over his left shoulder and looked down as he contemplated Marlene's words
"So it's a death sentence in another way," he thought to himself.
"Find someone else," Joel demanded as his tone turned more aggressive.
"There is no one else," Marlene answered firmly.
"Listen you are gonna show me where," Joel began while walking towards Marlene but was interrupted by the guard hitting the back of his knee, making Joel hit the ground. Jake's instinct to retaliate almost kicked in but his better sense told him that starting a fight with two armed guards in this situation was probably a losing battle. Instead he was at Joel's side again and helped him back up.
"Stop," Marlene ordered as she moved to the guard's, who had a pistol trained on Joel. "I get it. But whatever you think you're going through right now, is nothing compared to what I've been through. I knew her since she was born. I promised her mother I would look after her."
"Then why are you letting this happen?" Joel asked in frustration.
"Because this isn't about me. Or even her. There is no other choice here," Marlene affirmed. Joel took in her words and moved to sit down on the floor.
"Yeah you keep telling yourself that bullshit," Joel retorted which caused Jake to smirk a little, glad that Joel had the same thoughts as he did. Save Ellie.
"March them out of here. They try anything, shoot them. Even the kid," Marlene instructed the two guards "Don't waste this gift," she added, trying to be somewhat empathetic before leaving the room. The guard then ordered Joel to get up which he complied after the soldier repeated it a second time more sternly. The two smugglers then slowly made their way towards the door with Jake going first.
"I said move," the guard snapped as he gave Joel a shove as he reached the door. Joel then looked back at the man angrily "Gimme an excuse," he said in response to Joel's look. Joel then turned away from the guard and asked for directions, to which the man pointed with his pistol. Joel and Jake slowly walked down the hall of the hospital side by side, eventually spotting their gear piled up on a counter. A few more steps past that and the two gave each other a look, both knowing what the other was thinking before both stopping in their tracks. "The fuck you doing keep walking," the same guard ordered while the other stood by his side and keep his gun trained on Jake a few steps away. The first guard then pushed the pistol onto Joel's back, to which Joel pushed out of the way with his elbow, prompting the guard to fire in a panic. At the same time Jake turned and kicked the second guard's pistol out of his hand before kicking the guard himself back. Joel then grabbed his guard's gun and clocked him twice across the face, drawing blood, before placing it against his abdomen. Jake then swept the discarded pistol off the floor and finished off his guard.
"Where is the operating room?" Joel demanded "I ain't got time for this," Joel stated before shooting the man in the abdomen and then again. "Where!?" Joel asked again.
"Top floor, the far end," the guard barely croaked out, after which Joel released him from his grip and let him slide down the wall, then shooting him in the head. The two then rushed to put their gear on and then promptly moved on, hearing that more Fireflies were coming.
The two smugglers made their way through the hospital, killing any Firefly who stood in their way to save Ellie. Eventually the two made it to the operating room. "What are you doing in here?" One of the doctors asked in panic and hurriedly got a blade used for surgery. "I won't let you take her, this is our future," the doctor announced. The two of them watched the doctor for a moment before Jake moved forwards towards him.
"Get Ellie," he told Joel curtly. The doctor then lunged at Jake with his blade, in response Jake moved to the side and grabbed his arm, before hitting the doctor to remove the blade from his grip, then pushing the blade into the doctor's throat. As he murdered the doctor, Joel had removed the medical machines attached to Ellie.
"You cover us," Joel instructed Jake as he picked Ellie up off the table. The two then exited the room. The escape wouldn't be that easy however as more Fireflies were hot on the pair's trail with Jake shooting back at any that was near. The pair then saw an elevator in their path but the pursuing Fireflies were right behind. Jake threw down a smoke bomb behind them to ensure they weren't shot down as they entered the elevator. The two entered and quickly closed the doors with some Fireflies running towards them. The elevator opened again in the parking lot of the hospital. The two exited the elevator but as soon as they did were greeted by Marlene aiming a gun at the pair.
"You can't save her," Marlene declared "even if you get her out of here then what? How long before she isn't ripped to shreds by a pack of Clickers? That is if she hasn't been raped and murdered first," she pushed as she moved closer.
"That's not your call," Jake snapped back at Marlene.
"It's what she'd want," Marlene said causing a moment of doubt in the two "and you know it," Marlene added "look, you can still do the right thing here. She won't feel anything." She continued, moving her gun into only one hand and raising it upwards to signify she doesn't want to fight. She slowly inched towards Joel with her gun raised in a way that was non-threatening. As she did, Jake slowly moved to draw a knife without her noticing. Then when Marlene was close enough, he swiftly grabbed the arm that was holding the gun and jammed his knife into her stomach. Marlene then dropped her gun and fell to the floor, clutching her stomach where she was hit. Jake then picked up her discarded gun and aimed it at her. "Wait. Let me go," Marlene pleaded with Jake for her life.
"You'd only come after her again," Jake responded coldly before putting a bullet in her head. At the same time Joel had put Ellie into the backseat of a car and had it started. Jake then quickly joined him and they drove off.
They continued down what remained of a highway back towards Jackson with Ellie soon joining as she stirred in her sleep.
"What the hell am I wearing?" She questioned as she awoke.
"Just take it easy, drugs are still wearing off," Joel replied simply.
"What happened?"
"We found the Fireflies," Joel began, "turns out there are a whole lot more like you Ellie. People that are immune, it's dozens actually. Ain't done a damn bit of good neither," Joel explained. "They've actually st-," he started but stuttered briefly "they've stopped looking for a cure," Joel stated. "I'm taking us home," he told Ellie, causing her to turn away on the backseat. "I'm sorry."
The ride back to Jackson continued with an uncomfortable silence between the three of them. Joel and Jake would occasionally give each other a look, silently contemplating the lie they were telling Ellie and the lie they would prepare themselves to live with for as long as they could. Jake intermittently glanced up at the rearview mirror to see Ellie still and silent in the back; hardly moving at all, only occasionally turning to be more comfortable. When she did turn so that her face was visible, he studied her sullen expression, recognising it from the aftermath of their encounter with David. He grit his teeth in frustration, seeing Ellie with that look of disappointment, knowing that they were lying to her was a hard decision to live with, but one he knew he had to.
Some time had passed and the drive to Jackson had been interrupted by the car breaking down, though at this point they weren't far out. Joel opened up the hood of the car to see if the problem was fixable, leaving the two teens to their tense silence. Ellie sat in the back with her legs hanging out the door while Jake leant on that side of the car, only taking momentary glances at Ellie. He watched as she gingerly ran her fingers along the spot where she was bitten. After a few minutes of trying to revive the car with little results Joel announced to the teens that they would be walking from here on. Ellie stood up and closed the car door behind her, still carrying that disappointed expression. Jake joined her side and extended his hand towards her with his lips contoured upwards to form what counted as a subtle smile for him. Ellie took his hand after a moment and the two walked away from the car together. The two had held hands like this before but Jake knew that it was off this time. Her grip was usually firm but this time it was loose as if she was barely aware of it, mimicking the distant look she wore. Jake couldn't help but notice her change in behaviour and gave Ellie's hand a tender squeeze to maybe try and drag her from her thoughts but to no avail. The group then went in turns climbing through a barbed fence to progress, causing Joel to comment jokingly about his age. After climbing through, Jake's fingers were immediately intertwined with Ellie's again as the three made their way towards Jackson. "Don't think I ever told you this but, Sarah and I used to take hikes like this," Joel told the two teens in a nostalgic voice "I think the three of you would've got on good. I think you'd've liked her. I know she'd've liked you two."
"I'm sure we would," Jake responded with a positive tone, smiling softly towards Ellie. The three then climbed up a hill atop which Jackson was visible. Jake took Ellie's hand again and began to walk down the hill behind Joel.
"Hey wait," Ellie called out, not moving from her place, causing Joel and Jake to move back towards her but with Jake's hand still in hers; however, a moment later she recoiled her hand to awkwardly fumble as she thought of her words. "Back in Boston. Back when I was bitten, I wasn't alone. My best friend was there. And she got bit. We didn't know what to do. So she says 'let's wait it out. Y'know we can be all poetic and lose our minds together.' I'm still waiting for my turn," Ellie explained disheartenedly.
"Ellie," Joel began softly.
"Her name was Riley and she was the first to die," Ellie interrupted "and then it was Tess. And then Sam."
"Tess wasn't your fault, or any of that," Jake attempted to reassure.
"No you don't understand."
"Jake and I both struggled for a long time with survivin'. And you," Joel began then paused briefly to feel the broken watch given by Sarah "no matter what you keep finding something to fight for. Now I know that's not something you want to hear right now but it's -"
"Swear to me," Ellie cut off "swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies is true," Ellie demanded with her eyes welling up on the brink of tears. Joel studied Ellie for a moment, taken slightly aback from her words.
"I swear," he replied simply.
"And you?" Ellie asked as her gaze moved Jake's face.
"I swear," Jake answered after a breath while meeting Ellie's gaze. "In fact, I can prove it," Jake began and then moved his hands towards the left side of his collar and pulled it away to reveal his shoulder with an old bite mark visible. "There are others that are immune. Some closer than you think," Jake explained. Ellie's mouth opened momentarily from shock, with Joel's face coloured in a similar way.
"You're immune?" Ellie asked hesitantly as her hand moved towards the scar on his shoulder, feeling it softly while her eyes almost never left the mark.
"Yeah. I have been this whole time actually. I never said at first because I thought I'd get shot for it. I don't really like to think about it because I got it when Mary died," Jake explained awkwardly, with Ellie's hand lightly tracing the mark "I should've said sooner I guess. But, does this help you believe there are others out there?" he asked Ellie to which she gave a silent nod after a moment's hesitation. "Shall we then?" Jake asked while taking Ellie's free hand into his own again. The doubt on Ellie's face began to fade and the water in her eyes started to clear up as well as she took Jake's hand into hers with a firm grasp.
"Yeah, let's go," Ellie answered softly but with firmness in her tone, having faith in what she was told. The three of them then slowly began down the hill towards Jackson where they'd start their new lives.
