As it turned out, Frank had stolen the battery. He was fixing up the car to escape when he was bitten. Bill was furious at the thought that his trusted partner had planned to leave him behind, but he had long since learned that when it came to survival, everyone was only doing what they could to live, same as he was.

Before the three departed, he gave them a gift. "Fuel hose. You'd be surprised how many cars still have gas in them."

As they headed down the road, Joel and Tess started talking.

"So where next, Tess?"

"We'll need as much food and ammo as we can find. Best place to go for that is Pittsburgh."

Joel shuddered when he heard that name. Pittsburgh had once been a safe zone, like Boston. But over the years, it had devolved into a lawless wasteland overrun with cannibals and manhunters who preyed on anyone they could find. He'd heard stories of people trying all sorts of routes to avoid the hunters, but who were eventually found and killed.

"Tess, maybe we should find somewhere else to look."

"There's no time, Joel."

"And just where are we going, anyway? Do you even know where we're supposed to take this girl?"

"No. But I bet Tommy does."

Tommy was Joel's brother. The two had been separated in the chaos following the initial outbreak, and Tommy ended up out west, where he had joined the Fireflies. Joel hadn't heard from him in years, but knew that he was somewhere in Colorado.

"That's not a good idea, Tess. I don't know where my brother is, and even so, I don't think he'll appreciate me showing up out of the blue."

"You got a better idea, Joel?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. First, we go somewhere else that isn't fucking Pittsburgh. Then, we consider our options and find the best way to get where we need to go without dying."

Finally, she conceded and they skipped the exit that would have taken them to Pittsburgh, instead heading for the nearby suburbs.

Joel stopped in front of a large house. "Looks empty. Let's shack up here for the night."

Ellie busied herself finding a place to sleep. Tess made dinner, while Joel sat outside and let his mind run free.

It occurred to him that, for the first time in years, he had something resembling his old life. Wife in the kitchen cooking, daughter fixing her bed, husband out on the porch resting after a hard day's work...

That was a life he'd forgotten about long ago. In the race for survival, having sentimental things like spouses or children was a liability. You had to feed them, shelter them, and worry about their safety every day. To him, Tess was only his partner, nothing more. Someone to keep him from turning into Bill.

And Ellie? She was no different from the shit he sold for a living. A package, a parcel, it didn't matter. They were all just things to be delivered.

But he couldn't help but wonder: What if this was real?