School's busy, there's a physics test today and I haven't updated this in 2 weeks (WHAT?!). But oh well! Hope y'all enjoy! I attempted to play The Last of Us with my friends the other night...the game took four hours to download and we spent a solid three hours of that waiting playing Monopoly XD
Good luck to everyone with school and/or work!

"You've got two choices. Blue or red."

"Geez, I never thought it'd come to this."

"It's hero time."

Ellie and I make eye contact before busting out into laughter, and then she glances at the notebooks in her hands, "I really need to make a decision."

"You do." I agree, leaning against one of the metal poles in the warehouse. The warehouse is used for storage for pretty much everything. Clothes, school supplies, shoes, guns, bullets, batteries, spare wires...the list goes on.

Due to school starting tomorrow, Tommy and Maria had opened up the warehouse to us kids. There's nothing elaborate in the warehouse in the way of school supplies, just simply notebooks and folders and pens and other writing utensils. Depending on what grade level you're assigned, the supplies vary.

Ellie and I are both in what they like to call "high school", which ranges from 14 to 18. "Middle school" is from 10 to 14. "Elementary" school is from 5 to 10. It makes me wonder what people were thinking before this fungal outbreak upon the names of school.

My supplies have already been picked out. A green notebook, a pencil, and two pens. Plus a folder.

"Maaarriiaaaa..." Ellie groans, and I raise my eyebrows at her, "What?"

"I can't decide."

I nudge her with the tip of my shoe, "C'mon, how hard is it?"

"Here. Stuff this under your shirt." And with that, she yanks my shirt up, presses the blue notebook to my stomach, and pulls the hem back down. I'm too busy laughing to be pissed, and I pull the notebook out and toss it back into the bin, "Get red, then."

"Hm. What color did you get?"

"Green."

"They have green?!"

"Yeah. And yellow. And purple."

"You've been holding out on me." She eyes me, and then crouches down once more, sifting through the bin to find the perfect color.

"You think this is suggestive to Joel?" With this, Ellie holds out a rainbow notebook. I grin and shrug, "Maybe laying it on a little thick."

"Okay, fine. I'll get yellow. It is a f—king majestic color."

"Thank goodness." I roll my eyes and we keep walking through the warehouse. I don't even want to think about her reaction when she realizes there's a choice with pen colors.

As Ellie scours more bins, I can't help but smile at how cute she is. And that's when her words hit home.

What if I lost her? Would I lose my mind?

See, I've never really been in love before. Can I call it that? I will anyway. This is still all new ground to me. But yet...her words the other night suddenly make me think of love. Love not in a romantic way, but just love as in the love between family members or the love of a parent to a child or the love between good friends. I've experienced all of those, but romantic love is something different.

Truth is, it makes me nervous. Not in like a kinky way or anything like that, it's just that I'm qualified in all those other categories as losses as well. So...I don't want to have to experience this type of love as a loss the same.

I hope I'm making sense.

"Hello? Earth to Maria?" Ellie teases, as I pull myself into focus. She cocks her head while looking at me, "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Actually, I'm great, especially since you're growing better at making decisions."

She slugs me on the shoulder, "Again, you're an assclown."

"Hey, I'm honest."

Then Ellie gives me a grin, "Race you to the shoes!"

"Eat my dust!"

And then, we're off.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

That evening I find myself playing basketball in the waning light of sunset in front of Ellie's house. The hoop was something dragged out from the garage of my house, and the adults helped us set it up. The basketball was a little flat, until Tommy helped to pump it. The satisfying sound it makes as it hits the asphalt is something I'll never get over.

"You suck at basketball." I deadpan for Ellie, zooming around her again for a layup. She grabs the ball after it bounces to the ground from the hoop, and proceeds to chuck it at me, "You're not supportive."

I catch the ball, enjoying the smack the orange sphere makes as it hits my palms. Then I backtrack a bit, raising my eyebrows at her, "Let's make a wager."

"Oh, this better be good." Ellie chuckles, and I make to throw the basketball at her, to which she only cringes and ducks a little bit. I pull it back and grin, "Here's the deal. You're still scared of me dying, right?"

"Except when you're an assclown."

"If I make this shot, we'll both live. If I miss, we'll both die."

"You are certainly an impulsive bitch." At this remark I pretend to throw the ball at Ellie again, but the effect's lost as she laughs.

I don't think much as I dribble the ball between my legs, and then I pull it back up to my palms, and I leap and I chuck it and it shoots straight through the hoop, not even hitting the rim.

"Wow. I can breathe so much better now." Ellie deadpans, and I grin as I chase after the basketball down the cracked street.

"Let's go back to playing horse." She says, and I toss the ball back to her, "I'll even let you stand a foot away from the rim."

"Shut the hell up."

I grin, and then, just as she's about to let the ball leap away from her fingers, "Don't miss!"

It clangs against the backboard, not even skimming the rim, and ricochets down the street, Ellie being so quiet I can practically feel the seething of her glare on me. I hunch over, shaking with laughter, and then Ellie slugs me once, twice, "You're such an asshole."

"Go get the ball. You missed." I manage, chortling hard, and she shoves me, making me stumble and almost fall, "You get it."

I still let myself grin, chasing after the ball, and then Joel pushes back the front door, calling out to the two of us, "Dinner's ready!"

"I'm gonna get first pick!" Ellie sticks her tongue out at me as I walk back with the basketball, and before I've even returned near the hoop she's dashed inside.

We eat out on the front porch, a nutritious dinner consisting of barbecue and fries. Fries are something I still can't believe are made from potatoes. Potatoes themselves are fine, but fries...they just bring the game to a whole new level.

"You two excited to be starting school?" Maria asks, giving each one of us a smile, and I shrug, "It's alright, I guess."

Tommy can't help himself from laughing, "You sound just as bad as me."

"I see where these bad influences are rubbing off on you." Joel remarks, and Ellie grins, elbowing me while precariously holding her plate, "You've earned the disapproval of Joel."

"Actually, Ellie, I think you're in first for that." He says, much to the amusement to the rest of us. Ellie rolls her eyes and goes back to eating.

In the street ahead of us, kids are out on their steps or porches, shouting to one another, some riding bikes or skateboards or scooters. Everyone's trying to cram the last few good moments of summer into one last good night.

"They're playing soccer in the fields tonight." I tell Ellie, who raises her eyebrows at me, "I've never played soccer."

"No time like the present. You can't suck at it more than basketball."

"You're forgetting one of my talents." She nudges me, head on my shoulder, a smug grin on her face, and I roll my eyes, "Which is what?"

"I can shoot."

"Too soon, assclown." I shake her off my shoulder and finish up the rest of my fries. Then I give a smile of thanks to the adults for the meal, and stand up, taking my plate into the kitchen.

"Did I insult you?" Ellie's voice asks behind me as I drop my plate into the sink. I shrug, crossing my arms, "A bit."

"Well, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine. We've both got a bit of assclown in us."

She pouts, searching my face for an expression that indicates forgiveness. Then she kisses me, pulling back away, grinning, "Now there's a smile. And your face is red."

"So's yours." I remark, but the smile is something I can't pull off of my face. Then she takes my hand before I can react, and we tear through the house from the back kitchen to the front door, sending the screen door back, Ellie looking over her shoulder to cry at Joel, "We're playing soccer! Catch ya later!"

"Not too late!"

Once out of earshot, I turn to Ellie, "Do you think he noticed we were holding hands?"

"I'm going to be honest with you. At this point, I've stopped worrying about it."

We exchange a grin, and then I narrow my eyes, "Don't think I'm going to be soft on you when I crush your ass playing soccer."

"Oh, I'd be insulted if you were."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

All of the kids from the high school are there (along with their middle-school siblings) when Ellie and I arrive, and the soccer ball is freshly new-old from the warehouse, actually full of air this time around.

We split up into two teams, yellow versus blue. Yellow has neon pre-wrap around their forearms, while blue has pre wrap just below their knees. The "seniors" or "señors", as we prefer to call them, are team captains. This includes Mikey as leader of the yellow, who's against his friend Avery, leader of the (well, duh) blues. This, of course, brings a whole new sense of rivalry to the game.

I'm on the blue team against Ellie, who's on the yellow team. Avery assigns a goalie, and then splits the rest of us into offense and defense. We have to make do without nets, though.

Avery cups his hands over his mouth and calls to Mikey, "Ready to lose?"

Mikey, always my lovely big brother, flips him off, and then throws the soccer ball in the middle, "Game's started!"

Instantly I'm off, dribbling the ball between everyone else. I was put on defense, but Avery reminded all of us to take the ball and score if we could.

So I hope I'm making him proud by zooming up the field, kicking the ball to Diego and Stefano, and all three of us tearing up the grass. Just as my toe's about to connect with the side of the ball to kick it to Stefano for a goal, I suddenly find myself on my ass, looking up at Ellie, who grins, "Thanks for bringing it to me."

Instantly I'm on my feet, chasing after her, and finally I manage to trip her as well. She goes down in a spectacular face-plant, and I can't help but laugh, "Sorry!"

But nobody cares if we trip each other or if we tackle each other. So long as your hand doesn't touch the ball, you can play the game with hockey sticks from a side of a pickup truck and no one would blink. It's quite liberating, honestly.

Avery calls for a break after we've secured first place (4, us, to 1, them). We discuss strategy on the sidelines, and then, just as he's about to clap his hands to end the timeout, a roar of thunder beats him to it. Both teams fall quiet, and a certain sadness descends upon us, this silent message that the game's over, especially so soon.

He and Mikey exchange looks, and then they each turn back to face their own teams. Avery maintains an excellent poker face, looking over our faces, and then grins, "Is a little rain going to hold you back?"

"Hell no!" Diego cries out, while the rest of us laugh. Then we kick off our shoes, and sprint onto the field barefoot, the rain coming down heavier and heavier by the minute. This, of course, makes the game hilarious. All the boys try to show up one another, but with each miscalculated step, they bust ass on the greasy, slick grass, each fall being funnier than the last.

Of course, Ellie doesn't miss her chances to tackle me, and neither do I. We trip each other, we tackle each other, and come up laughing. I catch Mikey eyeing us as we pick ourselves up, but he only gives me a wink before turning his attention to Diego getting dangerously close to his goal.

I lose track of how much we play. The rain doesn't stop or lessen up at any given moment, but it's a great convenience just to look up at the sky and chug all the water you want. It pounds down so hard that at points you can't see past five feet. This, of course, is a good camouflage method in soccer, whether it be dribbling past an unsuspecting enemy or simply jumping them.

We're soaking wet by the time Avery and Mikey shake hands and declare the game over, with the yellow team winning. The sky's almost black, devoid of stars, and all of us are exhausted as we pull our shoes back on.

Now, of course, is when the rain is lightening just a hair.

Everyone says goodnight to each other, and we all leave in our little groups. Some people stay on the field just for a few minutes longer, but the majority of us know we have parents to return to, and school tomorrow morning.

The lights of the town almost draw us like moths to a flame from the dark fields, and Ellie and I tie our shoes before heading off, both of us sodden and somewhat chilly, but grinning just the same.

"What'd," I pause to breathe, this heavy breathing thing a bad side effect of running constantly, "you think of it?"

"Shit, that was more fun than I thought it was going to be." Ellie admits, pushing a strand of soaked hair behind her ear. Then she elbows me, "Admit it, I was pretty good."

"You tackled me more times than you actually touched the ball..." I remark, but then add, "Yeah, you didn't suck as bad as you did as basketball."

"And now, I face the wrath of Joel." She groans, and I raise my eyebrows at her, "What for?"

"Being out too late. He warned me not to be."

"You want me to be there so he won't be as pissed at you?"

"F—k yes."

I grin, and then, as we get closer to the town, my eyebrows draw together, and I turn to face Ellie, feeling something cold plummet inside of me, "Why am I hearing the sirens go off?"

"Is it another bandit attack?"

We only have to pause at the edge of the town before spiriting into the streets when the sirens scream and red lights flash violently.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"What the hell's going on?"

Joel turns to face Ellie and I, not even bothering with annoyance that we're home late, instead remarking, "Bandits got inside the barrier. Ellie, I want you to take Maria home and stay at her house tonight. Tommy, Maria, and I ain't spending the night her."

"Inside the barrier...they're in the town?!" My surprise is clearly evident in my tone.

Joel nods gravely, and then glares at Ellie, practically barking, "Get your gun! Go!"

We dash up the stairs to Ellie's room, and she rifles through her backpack, pulling out her little shotgun, and checking the bullets. Then she heads out of the room, and returns with a gun for me as well, "I don't care if you don't use it. It'll make me feel better knowing you have it."

I nod and pocket it. Joel's gone by the time we hit the first floor, and that's when we pull the front door back, facing the street that once was so full of happiness...now turned a battleground.

"We've gotta get you home." She murmurs, closing the door behind us as we step onto the porch. Then we both crouch, taking the street with hesitancy, Ellie shooting anyone charging at us or who attempt to shoot us first.

"Maria, I'm not gonna pressure you to use that gun, but if you could, I'm running out of bullets." She remarks, as we walk back to back, and then a crooning voice that seems to be smug, "Well, look at it. Two little girls after dark."

I instantly turn to the voice, and feel Ellie stiffen beside me, crouching down, me her shield, whispering up to me, "I'm out of bullets."

We'll both live.

The man holds up his gun, and it almost shakes as he eyes us up and down, "My, what a shame to kill you both. Haven't seen anything this pretty in years." He runs his tongue over his cracked lips, like we're just meat, and I take a step in front of Ellie.

I pull the gun from my pocket and hold it just like Ellie taught me, adjusting my fingertip on the trigger, "You gonna keep on talking?"

"I'll do what I want, bitch." And he holds his gun up steadily, one-handedly, and his threatening straight up pisses me off, and I lower my aim to his knee, and pull back a trigger for the first time in almost ten years, letting a bullet fly. He lets out a cry of pain and almost collapses to coddle the injury, then glares at me, "You little shit."

So hyped up on adrenaline I don't even know if my shots have landed or his shots have landed on me until I see him crumple on the pavement, and I turn to face Ellie, grinning triumphantly, "Look at that. First time in years."

But her expression is one of horror, and my confidence fades, "What?"

"You're bleeding."

Upon normal circumstances, this would've referred to a simple slice, but now I let my gaze drop to eye myself.

Blood pools below my knee, below my hip, below my ribcage, below my shoulder. Not like scrapped knees. Remains of bullets that have certainly made their mark.

I let the gun drop from my hands as I hold them to my side, feeling Ellie's hands under my arms, helping me before I slam back from shock into the damp asphalt. I fight to keep my breathing even, my fingers wanting to see the damage, but some part of me keeps my shirt down, not wanting to see what's happened.

"It's not that bad." Ellie manages, but I notice her voice catching. She blinks hard, and then, quickly, "I'll get Joel. Don't close your eyes."

And with that she's up and running, and the world around me in muted as I feel the blood leaving me, growing cold as hot red liquid slips between my fingers, sticking them to the wound, pooling beneath me.

I can't close my eyes. I think, but in that moment, that's all I want to do. I just want to sleep. I'm so tired.

I guess I must doze off, because when I open my eyes Joel and Tommy and Maria are talking loudly to one another, while Ellie simply puts her hand over mine, eyes scanning my face. That's when their voices registers.

"You see where she's been shot, Joel." Tommy glares at him. "It'll be a goddam miracle if she doesn't bleed out before we can reach Dr. Mundell."

"Fine. I'll take the chance." Joel replies in a gruff tone, kneeling beside me. I eye him lazily as he watches my face, trying hard to keep a good poker face. Maria comes to Ellie's side, and then opens up my mouth, stuffing something cotton inside, "This should help."

I'm too weak to ask or protest, simply sinking my teeth into the fabric, and then Joel slips his arm under my shoulders and by my knees and pulls me up and I begin screaming, pain hot and heavy coursing through my veins, making room for nothing else, and I bite down on the cotton piece in my mouth, tears making their way down my face as I squeeze my eyes shut.

"C'mon, Maria. You've just gotta last." Joel murmurs, taking the cotton from my mouth as I begin hiccuping from crying, my head falling limp against his chest. Ellie finds my hand, giving a squeeze, and I wish I had the strength to smile at her or do something more. Just to tell her I'm alright, I made that shot today and that means that we won't die.

I dash in and out of consciousness, feeling cold and nauseous, Joel hurrying and running me to the doctor's, Ellie quick on his heels, every jounce giving me a new definition to the word 'pain', and then, before I know it, I'm taken from his arms as nurses call to one another and laid across a white bed. The room is bright, excruciatingly bright, and I can't even lift my arm to shield my eyes. How pitiful.

All I remember before they lead me down the hallway is seeing Joel hugging Ellie as she cries against his chest, and all I can think is wishing I could go back to an hour beforehand, playing soccer in the rain, wishing I had the strength to give her a wave, or a smile.

They slip something over my face, the nurses already fading into soft shapes, and I breathe in the sickly sweet air and finally let my eyes close, feeling tears burning in the corners of my eyes before they trail down my face.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Mikey...Maria's been hurt."

Ellie wishes she could say something more over the walkie-talkie to him, to fill up the silence that remains until his voice comes back, "Where is she now?"

"Hospital."

"I'll be right over."

"Okay." And Ellie hands the walkie-talkie back to Joel as the two sit on the floor with their backs resting on the wall.

She doesn't trust herself to speak without turning into a messy puddle of tears, and instead Joel puts his arm around her, holding her close.

"Please...don't bullshit me and tell me she's going to be alright." Ellie pleads, tears already burning as they drip down her face. "Not unless you know for sure."

"Then I don't know what to tell you, baby girl." Joel replies, scanning her face, sick of seeing her in such horrid emotions since Maria had been taken back almost an hour ago.

Dr. Mundell had visited them once, telling them they were prepping her for surgery to remove the bullets and repair what had been done to her internally. Maria's mother hadn't been there so Joel had to give consent as a guardian.

When cornered, Dr. Mundell didn't have an answer for Joel about Maria's chances of survival. Luckily, Ellie had been napping and hadn't been able to hear that tidbit, but it was times like now that reminded him he couldn't bullshit her the truth. He almost wished Dr. Mundell had told Ellie the truth, so he wouldn't have to watch her now, caught in the struggle of whether she'd believe she'd live and be disappointed or try to accept her coming death.

"Do you want to head home?" He asks her softly, and Ellie shakes her head, "No. I don't want to."

"Alright."

And every time Joel looks down, expecting Ellie to be napping, her green eyes are alert and open. She isn't missing anything.

"Oh, Ellie—" And that's when the two turn to face Mikey and Maria's mother walking through the doors. Ellie shuffles to her feet, and her mother wraps her in a hug, and Ellie can feel her own tears beginning to start as she hears the woman sniffling.

"Thanks for the call." Mikey remarks to Ellie, who nods. Both still wear the yellow pre-wrap around their arms, a painful reminder of what life was like mere hours beforehand.

"Teresa, maybe we should talk somewhere else." Joel suggests to Maria's mother (unbeknownst to Ellie as "Teresa"), and she nods. The two move away from Mikey and Ellie, and that's when Joel sighs, "I do not want to tell you you're going to lose your daughter."

"What did Dr. Mundell say, though?"

"He..." Joel sighs, flicking the broken glass face of his watch. "He hasn't got a definite answer yet. She's in surgery right now."

And Teresa fights to keep calm, only nodding as her eyes well up with tears, "I guess this is when we wait. Thank you for staying here."

"Oh, it's all Ellie's doing." Joel says, trying for a smile as he gestures back at Ellie, who sits down beside Mikey on the floor. Both look exhausted, but it's the way they fidget that reminds the two adults they're not calm.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"She made it out of surgery."

The sky is almost light outside. All four stayed at the hospital, Ellie and Mikey trying to keep themselves awake by talking to one another, Joel and Teresa simply quiet, Joel offering quiet support every time she broke down in tears, remembering the gravity of the situation they were in.

The words rang out like the chirp of a bird, all of their heads snapping up, Teresa standing up with Joel following by her side, "Can we see her?"

"Only immediate family allowed back." Dr. Mundell manages in a pinched voice. "We're still pretty packed."

Teresa motions Mikey over after the doctor turns and leaves, who turns to face Ellie and Joel, "C'mon."

"We're not immediate family."

"You can be now." He gives a shrug, and the four of them descend down the hallway, Joel keeping a protective hand on Ellie's shoulder as they pass the other rooms with patients giving out cries of distress.

"I say that we are overcapacity, but yet, you come back here anyway." Dr. Mundell glares as they file outside of the room. Joel sighs, "C'mon, doc. It won't hurt anyone."

"I will make the assumption you are correct." And with that, the tired doctor lays a hand on the knob and turns it, opening it up to Maria lying on the hospital bed, blankets brought up to her shoulder, leaving one arm out for an IV and to dress her opposing shoulder wound.

To Ellie, it's as if she's lost her color in a single night. The ruddiness from her face is gone, her skin is washed out under the harsh light, even her typically dark hair has muted.

Teresa rushes to her side, cupping her daughter's face, and that's when Dr. Mundell sighs, "She has yet to wake up."

"How long will that take?" Joel asks, to which the doctor shrugs. "She suffered a cross between a class III haemorrhage and a class IV haemorrhage."

"What's that?" Ellie asks, and he explains, "She lost anywhere from thirty percent of her blood to over forty percent of her blood."

"And the post symptoms?"

"Questionable at this point. Widespread tissue oxygenation failure, organ failure, her blood pressure was unrecordable, and her pulse was barely palpable."

The room falls deathly quiet, all eyes trained on the face whose eyes aren't opening. Joel lays a hand on Ellie's shoulder and steers her out of the room, "We'll leave you two alone."

And as soon as the door closes, Ellie finds herself sobbing, Joel holding her tight, her head buried in his chest. She can barely think of what she wants to say, what she wants to do, doesn't want to go to school, doesn't want to sleep, doesn't want to leave the hospital.

"I don't want her to die." She manages, wiping her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I...I don't want to lose any more people."

"I know you don't, baby girl." Joel murmurs, patting her back. Typically Ellie didn't enjoy being coddled, but currently, in this mindset, she doesn't mind it.

"Can I skip school ?" She murmurs, and Joel chuckles before, "Alright, baby girl. Just this once. I doubt it's even open after all this."

Ellie manages a shuddery breath, and that's when Mikey opens up the door, motioning the two inside, "You can come back in."

Joel looks to face Ellie, raising his eyebrows, and Ellie nods, heading into the room. Teresa sits on a chair by Maria's beside, stroking back her hair, holding her hand. Maria's face reminds Ellie of all the sleepovers in which Ellie woke up early and had to come to terms that Maria was still sleeping, passed out entirely.

Ellie moves to be by her side, eyes scanning her face, looking at the dried black blood on the patches on her shoulder, the IV in the crook of her elbow. Seeing her ribcage rise and fall gives her hope, like hey, she's still working.

She takes Maria's hand, cold fingers still like her own, and gives a squeeze, a part of her hoping she'll return it. But she doesn't, and Ellie lets her hand drop back onto her bed.

"I'm sorry to say I don't have an estimate of when she'll be awake." Dr. Mundell admits, crossing his arms and shrugging.

But all Ellie can think about is how Maria's worry about their safety was a valid concern.