A/N: And I'm back. Sorry for the long delay between chapters... life got pretty busy in the past week or so, and writing fell to the wayside. I'll try to get back to being more consistent. So here's chapter 3, and things get sort of... intense. I don't think everything is going to be all peachy-keen, ride-off-into-the-sunset-together for Joel and Ellie. Their relationship is going to be tested, cracks are going to show, and it won't be easy. I'm excited about where this is going to go, and it's gonna get real intense at times.
Again, broken record announcement: thanks to anyone who has ever read this or sent a message or written a review. You guys sure know how to make someone feel good, and I'm ecstatic that you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Anyway, here's the chapter.
DISCLAIMER/LEGAL MUMBO-JUMBO: I do not own The Last of Us, it is Naughty Dog's property.
CHAPTER 3
TRUTH
Sunbeams pouring in from the open window illuminated the specks of floating dust as Ellie watched them dance on the air currents. The sunlight crept down the wall and finally onto the mattress, bathing her in a warm glow. She didn't want to move, warm and comfortable under the blanket, and she shut her eyes to bask in the light. Staying there forever sounded like the best idea she had ever come up with, but to her chagrin, she felt Joel stir next to her. So much for that, she thought.
Joel rolled over. "Mornin', sunshine."
Ellie tried to make it obvious she didn't want to move, and nuzzled into the blanket. "Good morning," she murmured through a smile.
"Rise and shine!" Joel said, sitting up and pulling the blanket off of her. Miffed at the robbery of her warm, cozy shroud, her eyes bored into him in an effort to set him ablaze. Failing in the attempt, she reached her arms far over her head in her usual morning stretch, letting her trademark squeak escape through her nose.
Joel had risen and was looking out the window of the bedroom. It was a beautiful summer morning in Jackson. A soft breeze was blowing, birds were greeting the day with song, and the townspeople were beginning to emerge from their houses.
Ellie rose and checked her ponytail, joining Joel at the window. He moved to the side to give her a better view, and she placed her elbows on the sill, crossing her arms before her. Joel drew in a deep breath of the fresh air, and Ellie reveled in the warm glow of the morning sun on her skin.
From the second story of the house, they had a decent view of Jackson before them. Their house was on a hill, and the city blanketed a valley nestled in the mountains. In the clear morning air, it almost looked normal to Joel. Besides the weathered condition of the houses, and the visible fences and towers at the edges of the town, this place was as close a resemblance of the pre-outbreak world as he'd seen.
"Can't deny that view," he said softly. Ellie smiled in response. Joel gave her a soft whack on the shoulder. "C'mon kiddo. You excited to see how that microwave works?"
Ellie watched the shallow bowl spin within the mysterious device. It all seemed so magical: cold food goes in, hot food comes out. No fire necessary. It was so amazingly convenient.
Without warning, the microwave shut off. "Huh…" Joel remarked. "Usually these things have a sort of… alarm, or beeper, that tells you when the food's done. This one must be broken." He opened the door and removed the bowl. The canned beef stew steamed and put off an aroma that made Ellie's eyes light up with anticipation. "Here you go," Joel said, handing her the bowl before setting to fix himself a bowl of his own.
"That's it?" Ellie inquired. "It's that easy?"
"Yup. We took these things for granted back then… didn't even realize how lucky we were." He remained silent for the remainder of the cooking cycle as he reminisced on days past.
They sat together at the kitchen table, eating their stew contentedly, before being interrupted by a knock at the door. Joel rose to answer it, and Ellie followed close behind out of curiosity. Joel opened the door to reveal Tommy and Maria standing on the doorstep.
"Mornin' you two. How was your first night in your new home?" Tommy asked.
"Uh… restful. Gonna take awhile before I'm used to sleepin' without one eye open," Joel replied.
Tommy looked at him in understanding. "You'll get there. Just takes time."
"Ellie," Maria said, drawing her attention. "What do you say you and I go for a walk, meet some of the kids your age here?"
Ellie turned to Joel with a look of reluctance. Though she wasn't sure if she could fully trust him anymore, she still didn't want him out of her sight.
He saw the look in her eyes. It was the same look when they first separated at the dam the previous fall, in a situation much like this. "Go on, then. You'll be fine. Make some new friends, hm?"
She sighed. "Alright."
"Joel and I are gonna do the mornin' rounds… we'll take a ride around the perimeter, show him the checkpoints and watch towers, head into the woods to check on the outposts too," Tommy informed. "I promise to bring him back in one piece."
Ellie cracked a wry grin. "You better."
Maria chuckled. "Alright, c'mon Ellie."
Joel watched them head down the street. Ellie turned back only once to make sure he was still there.
"Okay, Joel. Let's get to the stables," Tommy said.
Tommy led them to the edge of town where the horses were kept. Joel had been keeping an eye out for something as they strolled through town, but the search was fruitless.
"Hey Tommy," he started. "Uh… how far is it to the nearest… uh… pond, or lake… or some body of water without much current?"
Tommy studied his face, pondering the quizzical inquiry. "Flat Creek passes right through town. Current ain't too strong. If you head out of town a bit north, there's a place where it widens a bit, and long as you stay out of the main current, you'd think it's a lake."
Joel nodded in appreciation. "Thanks, little brother."
"You, uh… plannin' on fishin' or somethin'?"
Joel shrugged. "I said I'd do somethin' for Ellie. Gonna make good on my word, that's all."
"Ah," Tommy replied, accepting the vague answer. At that moment, they arrived at the stables. "We're here."
Tommy set to saddling up the horses while Joel leaned up against the wall of the stable, looking out silently at the street outside. He got the feeling that Tommy had pulled him away from Ellie to ask him what had happened with the Fireflies. How could he respond? Tommy had always been able to tell when he was lying.
He had to tell him the truth. Tommy would understand. My cause is my family now, his words echoed in Joel's brain. He'd understand. How could he not, after watching Joel lose Sarah?
"Joel, you ready?" Tommy's call snapped Joel back to the present.
"Yeah."
They mounted the horses and made their way toward the front gate. Tommy introduced Joel to the guards and implied that Joel would be joining them taking turns at their posts before too long. He then lead them to the each of the other entrances to Jackson, where similar exchanges with the guards took place. Finally, they reached the north gate, and after speaking with the sentries, ventured beyond it into the woods.
They came to the bank of Flat Creek, where it widened into a pool, the water a shimmering glass pane in the late morning light.
"This the kind of place you're lookin' for?" Tommy asked.
Joel surveyed the water. "Yeah, this'll do."
Tommy stared over the water for a couple minutes. With his eyes still fixed on the water, he spoke. "So… tell me what happened last fall. I can gather that something went down. I can see it in your eyes."
Joel likewise stared out at the tranquil pool. He considered how to tell the story without getting Tommy upset at him for his actions. "Well… the university was abandoned. Or at least, the Fireflies had abandoned it."
"Serious?" Tommy turned to him.
"Mmm-hmm."
Tommy's gaze returned to the water. "I'm sorry. Last I heard, that's where they were."
"Nothin' to be sorry about, Tommy. You couldn't have known. They had packed up and left for Salt Lake City. St. Mary's Hospital. Found a lab recorder from the head scientist sayin' where they'd went. Ellie and I had resolved to head there from the university when we ran into some hunters."
"Shit."
"Yeah. Deep shit," Joel replied, pulling up the edge of his shirt to reveal the dark scar tissue of the puncture wound.
"Holy hell… what happened?"
"Took a nice fall onto a piece of rebar. Damn near killed me. If it hadn't been for-" something caught in Joel's throat, but he cleared it away before continuing. "If it hadn't been for Ellie, I'd be dead. She fought off the remaining hunters, stitched me up, even managed to trade for some medicine. She… she saved my life."
"Well… she's certainly more capable than I thought at first blush," Tommy remarked.
Joel huffed. "You have no idea." His eyes hadn't left the water before them. "Winter was… hell. Once we were healthy enough to travel again, we pushed on towards Salt Lake City. During that trip is where the Sinclair story comes in, but Ellie wants to tell that one, so you'll have to ask her."
"What do you mean 'once we were healthy enough?' Did something happen to Ellie?" Tommy asked.
Pain coursed through Joel's face as he remembered when he had found her in the restaurant, hacking away at David's face. He remembered the long process of healing those wounds, a process that was still ongoing. "Yeah…" he replied somberly. "Look, it's a long story, but she's got… there's psychological wounds that still need to be healed there."
Tommy didn't dare pry. "Okay… so, what happened in Salt Lake City?"
Joel cringed. "Well… we found the Fireflies."
Tommy looked at him, expecting him to say more. "...and?"
"Ellie and I were tryin' to get to the hospital. The only approach was the tunnel they had turned into a medical evacuation route. After gettin' past a wave of Infected, we came to section of the tunnel that was rushin' with floodwaters. Long story short, Ellie fell in while tryin' to save my ass after I fell into a bus and was trapped in the current, and she can't swim…"
Suddenly, Joel's interest in a calm body of water made a lot more sense to Tommy.
"She nearly drowned. I pulled her from the water and tried to revive her. That's when the Fireflies showed up and knocked me out."
"Shit."
"Next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital room. You're old friend Marlene was there. Told me that they had brought Ellie back."
"Been years since I've heard that name… how's Marlene doin'?"
Joel ignored the question. "I wanted to see Ellie. Marlene said I couldn't. Said she was bein' prepped for surgery."
The color began to leave Tommy's face, and he could gather where this was going. "Joel…"
"In order to find a cure, they'd have to cut out her brain," Joel continued, eyes fixed on the water, pools forming at the bottom of his eyelids to match the one before him.
"What did you do…" distress had entered Tommy's voice as his eyes bored into Joel.
"I… couldn't… I couldn't lose her… not another…" Joel's voice failed.
"Oh God… Joel, what did you do?" Tommy pleaded.
"I goddamn killed them. All of them. Anyone that got in my way went down by my hand. They weren't goin' to… I sure as hell wasn't gonna let them… take…" tears began to fall from Joel's eyes.
Joel had killed scores of men in the twenty years since the outbreak, often without remorse or emotion, but seeing him worked up over this instance of slaughter struck Tommy. He tried to quell his anger through understanding, but was failing to do so.
"... and Marlene?" Tommy asked.
"She… she would have come after Ellie… you know she would have…"
"Jesus Christ…" Tommy dismounted his horse and put his hands on his head, trying to process everything he had just heard. "What have you done…"
Joel also dismounted his horse, getting rather worked up himself. "They didn't give me a choice. Hell, they didn't give her a choice!"
"The hell you mean?"
"They never asked her permission! Never revived her! Just sedated her and prepped her for surgery! She wasn't given a choice…"
Tommy got up into Joel's face. "So you think that gives you the right to slaughter dozens of people!? Tell me, right here, right now, no bullshit… if she was given the choice, what do you think she would have chosen?"
Joel hesitated. It was the same point Marlene had brought up when she confronted him in the parking garage. It's what she'd want… and you know it…
"It don't matter… she's… she can't… make that kind of decision. She's just a kid," Joel stammered as he turned to face the water again.
"So you went ahead and made that decision for her… you think that's right? You're not her goddamn dad, Jo-"
Tommy's words were cut short by the fist that struck his cheekbone. A boil of rage had ruptured in the pit of Joel's stomach, and he stood over Tommy, knuckles throbbing from the blow, anger brimming in his eyes. Tommy looked up at Joel, stunned.
"Don't you fuckin' tell me what I am and what I'm not! You have no idea the hell I've been through with that little girl!" Joel spat.
Joel had always had a short temper, but Tommy knew when he had really crossed a line. He had obviously struck a nerve, and it became clear then that Ellie was more dear to Joel than he had realized. Maybe Joel did view himself as her dad. He stared at Joel, trying to decipher his behavior.
After a couple of minutes of pacing, Joel's anger subsided. "Look Tommy… I'm… I'm sorry, okay? It's just…" he struggled with the words, "... she's all I've got."
"No, I get it."
"You once told me that your cause was your family now. Surely, you have to understand why I… why I did what I did…"
Tommy brushed himself off and approached Joel, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I do. Especially in light of… of losin' Sarah… I can understand you not wantin' to go through somethin' like that again…"
Joel stared at the water. "Yeah."
"So… does Ellie know about all of this?"
Joel cringed. "No."
"Excuse me?" Tommy asked, growing incredulous once again.
"Far as she knows, we found the Fireflies, they had stopped looking for a cure and let us go."
"You lied to her?"
"I had to, Tommy. If I had told her the truth, she... might have…" Joel trailed off.
Tommy took a step back. Joel needed this girl. "So you fight your way to her, rescue her from the Fireflies because they were gonna kill her without givin' her a choice, and then you lied to her about it?"
"You don't understand. I gave her an out, Tommy. I lied to her so that she could have a life without guilt. Can't you at least understand that?"
Tommy studied him again, and then shook his head. "I can't. Not yet, anyway." He walked over and mounted his horse. "Maybe with time. But, look, Joel… Ellie needs to know the truth. Wouldn't you rather have her hear it from you than find out another way?"
Joel pondered this while stepping up into the saddle. "Perhaps someday, when the time is right."
"Alright, then. Let's go check on the outpost before headin' back to town."
"Lead the way, little brother."
AFTERMATH: PART II CONTINUES
WITH CHAPTER 4