[AN] First of all, I want to say thanks for bringing this series to over one thousand views! It means a lot to me.
Also, if anyone knows where I can find a transcript for The Last of Us's dialogue, that would be very helpful. sine first few chapters will mostly be taken from scenes directly in game.
Now, enjoy the story.
Joel woke up to darkness and the sound of rain.
"You mumble in your sleep." He heard the little girl who was responsible for his latest nightmare. He turned his head towards her and saw her looking out the window.
"I hate bad dreams."
Joel sat up on the couch. "Yeah, me too." For whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her. Ellie didn't know how much her comment had hurt him.
He got up and walked behind the chair she was sitting in. She was staring out the window, past the wall of the quarantine zone.
"You know, I've never been this close." She turned her head to face Joel. She turned back and pointed past the wall. "To the outside."
Joel walked over to the lamp and turned it on. "Look how dark it is." Ellie said. "Can't be any worse out there."
Oh it most defiantly can. Joel thought to himself, but he said nothing. He heard Ellie get up from the chair and take a step closer to him. "Can it?"
Joel's curiosity got the better of him. "What on earth do the Fireflies want with you?"
"Hey." Tess walked inside. "Sorry it took so long. Soldiers fuckin' everywhere."
"How's Marlene?" Ellie asked.
Tess looked over to their cargo, "She'll make it."
Tess and Joel talked for a bit, then they set off.
"Holy shit... I'm actually outside"
Don't sound so excited kid, ain't nothing good out here Joel thought to himself.
"Up this way." Joel said as he walked through an empty truck.
Joel looked to his right when he got out of the truck. A second later, the left side of his head was in pain. He fell to the ground.
Fuck me. Joel thought to himself. They haven't been outside the zone for a minute, and they were already caught.
"Don't do anything stupid." Said a female voice, presumably belonging to the soldier who had knocked Joel to the ground.
"Move." Said another soldier.
"Turn around, on your knees." Joel got to his knees, and saw Tess and Ellie on either side of him do the same thing.
"You scan 'em. I'll call it in."
"Alright. Put your hands on your head." The other soldier walked up behind Tess and placed the scanner next to her neck.
"This is Ramirez at Sector Twelve. Requesting pickup for three stragglers, over." A brief pause, "Understood."
"Look the other way. We can make this worth your while." Tess said as she was being scanned,
"Shut up." Joel heard the scan result come in, and the soldier moved to Joel.
"Getting tired of this shit. What's the ETA?" The soldier said as he scanned finished scanning Joel and moved to Ellie.
"Couple a minutes."
"Oh man. Oh man." Ellie said What's she goin' on about? Joel wondered.
"Sorry!" Joel looked over at Ellie, who was grappling with the soldeir; with her switch blade - now covered in blood- in her hand, reaching for the soldier's pistol. The soldier knocked her down and aimed right at her. Joel got up and tackled him just before he fired, causing his shot to miss.
He heard some gunshots behind him, presumably Tess taking out the first soldier. Joel forced the pistol next to the soldiers head, and pulled the trigger. He got up.
Maybe this girl won't be a liability. Joel thought to himself. He had to admit, she had to either be very brave, or very stupid. She didn't look stupid to him.
"Oh... Oh Fuck." He heard the girl say as she backed up against a box. "I thought we were just going to hold them up or something." Joel couldn't help but be amused. You have so much to learn, little girl.
"Oh shit." Tess said. Joel looked at her, "Look." She tossed him the scanner, and he checked the reading.
POSITIVE
"Jesus Christ."
What the hell? He thought. "Marlene set us up? Why the hell are we smuggling an infected girl?" He looked over towards Ellie.
"I'm not infected." Ellie said, clearly somewhat panicked.
"No? So was this lying?" He tossed the scanner next to the little girl, who he figured would be dead in less than a minute.
"I can explain."
"You better explain fast." Tess moved towards her, pistol in hand.
"Look at this." She pulled up her right sleeve, showing a bite mark with the telltale signs of infection surrounding it.
"I don't care how you got infected." So that's why you wear long sleeves in the middle of summer. He thought in the back of his head.
"It's three weeks old!"
"No. Everyone turns within two days. So you stop bullshiting."
"It's three weeks. I swear!" She paused for a second, clearly trying to think of something to save her life. "Why would she set you up?"
Joel looked at Tess, who lowered her pistol away from Ellie. That made him think for a second, but only for a second. "I ain't buying it." He said as he turned around. He had never heard of someone being immune to this thing. The fucking world health organization had said there wasn't any way they could predict why someone would be immune, and that was 20 years ago, when the world hadn't gone to complete shit yet.
"Oh shit." He saw the truck that had been sent to pick them up. "Tess, run! RUN!"
"Go. Go! Move!" He heard two sets of footsteps run behind him.
[Roughly 10 minutes later]
"Alright, they're gone." Joel looked over at Ellie, who was sitting on a rock. He was surprised that she managed to keep up and didn't get them caught. At least she might not be a total liability. He told himself, emphasizing total.
"Look- what was the plan? Let's say that we deliver you to the Fireflies, what then?"
"Marlene- She said that they have their own little quarantine zone. With doctors there; still trying to find a cure."
"Yeah, we've heard that before, huh, Tess?" He said. In their propaganda, the fireflies always emphasized how they hadn't given up on turning back the clock and brining things back to the old days. Not that anybody really took that seriously anymore.
Ellie looked up at him and sighed. "And that... Whatever happened to me is the key to finding a vaccine."
Joel looked up at the dark sky. "Oh, Jesus." Why am I not surprised.
"It's what she said."
Joel turned around to face her, "Oh, I'm sure she did." He said. That sounded like Marlene alright.
He was facing the other way when he heard Ellie say, "Hey, fuck you man. I didn't ask for this!" while standing up.
"Me neither. Tess, what the hell are we doing here?"
"What if it's true?"
"I can't believe-"
Tess cut him off, "What if Joel? I mean, we've come this far, lets just finish it."
Joel was getting angry at this point. "Do I need to remind you what is out there?" He asked.
"I get it." Tess was frustrated with him now. She walked past him. Ellie followed her, taking a moment to look at Joel with a near unreadable expression on her face. Most likely satisfaction.
He sighed. They might as well get this over with.
[Several hours later]
"Now watch your step as you're going up 'cause its going to be a little- "
"Pssh."
Joel was silent as she got up onto the plank and walked to the other building. He saw Ellie staring at the golden dome of the Capital Building.
"Well, is that everything you hoped for?" He looks over at her, unsure why he asked the question.
She faced him, "Jury's still out." She turned back. "But, man... You can't deny that view."
She was right. It would have made a nice post card, minus the ruined buildings, overgrown foliage, and the inability to make postcards nowadays. He crossed his arms.
Tess walked past him, "C'mon, this way."
He looked down at his watch. So much pain, loss, and regret welled up inside him. It should have been me, 20 years ago. I'm so sorry Sarah.
I haven't broken my promise yet. I'm still here. I'm have my life. I have Tess, kinda.
I hope you forgive me for all the shit I've done throughout these 20 years.
Forgive me.
"Hey! Pick it up." Tess snapped him out of his thoughts. He walked towards the latter that went down to the building below them.
"Look, we're almost done. Stay focused." She said, clearly in a hurry.
"Yes ,ma'am." He said sarcastically, and he went down the ladder after Tess.