Last of Us - Three's Better than Two

by fantasy1213

This story is something I'm proud of. Just thought I mention. But anyway, back to the story: I look at the street and all I see is pain. Pain of lost. Pain of no hope. Joel wants me to lose hope too. But I don't want to. I want to believe someone will find a way to kill this... infection. I want to believe... that I am not the last who has hope. Game: Last of Us

2. Chapter 2

"Name and age . . . let me see. Max and 18."

"Date of birth. Um, about eight years before the infection, so 2005."

"Best talent? Killing."

"Max."I heard Joel muttered. I looked up from the old magazine and saw Joel looking down at me from his bed.

"What?" I asked.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, rubbing his eye.

I shrugged. "Nothing." I threw the magazine to the side. "Thought I would kill time or something." He was about to say something but then, someone knocked at the door. Joel walked through the room and closed the door. I think it was Tess but I couldn't hear what they were talking about.

I decided to look at myself through the mirror sitting on the floor across from me. I don't think I would recognize myself from my old self.

My hair was brown, like Joel, and it was long, down to my waist. But I kept it up in a messy bun most of the time. Strands fell down the front of my face and I blew them away. The rest of my face though was Sarah. Same nose, same eyes, but mine were sad.

My clothes weren't too striking either. I had a red t-shirt under an orange sweatshirt and brown jacket. I wore black short shorts and gray leggings under that, a bunch of holes in them. I wore a worn out pair of combat boots but around my neck was the only thing I cared about. It was Sarah's necklace. It was beaded all the way around and had a little cross in the middle. I took it after she died. Kept her close since apparently, Joel wanted me to forget.

I will never forget.

I finally decided to get up and walked out of the room to find Tess and Joel both mad. Tess looked like she got a couple blows to the face.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

Tess looked at me. "Hey, kid. We gotta make a visit to Robert. You in?"

I pulled my knife out of the door. "Robert. The bastard who took all our guns? Fuck yeah."

I walked out the door and down the stairs, my boots creaking under the old floorboards. We walked out of the building, aromas of the city filling my nose. I hate the city smell.

Tess turned to us. "Checkpoint's still open."

I looked up at the sky. "Only got a couple hours until curfew."

Joel began to walk. "Then we better hurry up then." We began walking through the alley. There were two people there: man and woman. Apparently, the woman got transferred to become a soldier to guard the outside. That sucked.

Tess opened the gate and we got into the main road. A truck drove by as someone on the PA said, "Attention. Citizens are required to carry a current ID at all times. Compliance with all city personnel is mandatory." I gave a small sigh as I saw down the road.

"Look at that," I said, "Ration line hasn't opened yet. Must be running low again." I continued walking. Some lady was talking to a soldier.

"Hey. How much longer?" She asked.

He replied, "Lady, when the rations arrive, we'll open the doors. Alright?" We continued walking down the street. A part of the side walk was blocked by soldiers and barracks as two suited men escorted four people out.

"Let's go," he said to them. "Down on the ground!"

One of the people replied, "Okay, okay. Jesus." I should have walked away quickly but curiosity was getting the best of me. So I slowed down and watched closely.

One masked guy held a gun to each of their back while the other checked to see if they're infected.

"Clean. Clean." I almost walked away until the got to the third one. It was a woman.

They checked her. "We got a live one." They brought her to the ground.

"No!" She cried, "I'm not infected. It's wrong. The scan's wrong!" A third soldier ran over and placed something on the back of her neck. She wriggled around for a bit then laid dead.

I stepped closer and a soldier pushed me back. "Step back! Don't try that again."

I regained my balance and watched the fourth guy. He got up and said, "Fuck this." He ran towards me but the two masked men shot him down. Right in front of me. I didn't even flinch. I decided to walk away. The show was over.

Tess walked beside me. "Seems like more people are gettin' infected."

I replied, "That means more people are sneakin' out." I shook my head. "Best way to get yourself killed." We continued walking to the checkpoint.

Tess whispered to us, "I got us all new papers. They shouldn't give us any static up there. Just play it cool." Joel and I glanced at each other and we walked up to the gate. Tess handed me the IDs.

When I do it, we always get through better since they don't question the little girl.

We walked up to the soldier. "Let me see your IDs."

I handed them to him. "There you go."

He looked at them. "What's your business here?"

Joel replied for me, "Got the day off. Visiting a friend." He looked at us. We weren't really lying but we weren't telling the truth either.

He nodded. "Alright. Move on through." He gave me back the IDs.

I nodded. "Thanks." We had only made it one step when a truck in front of us exploded. I covered my face and took a step back.

The soldier closed the gate. "Get outta here. Go!"

Another soldier began shooting at something. "Fireflies!" Instead of running away, I ran to the gate to get a better look.

"Holy shit!" I said. There began some shooting and they began to run away.

Joel tapped my shoulder. "Max. Come on. Let's get outta here." I turned around and ran after him and Tess.

I heard the announcer say, "Attention. Checkpoint 5 is now closed until further notice. All civilians must clear the surrounding are immediately." We ran through the street until we came to a big building.

Tess looked around. "Looks like the coast is clear. C'mon." She opened the door and closed it after me.

She sighed. "Fuck . . . So much for that easy route. You okay, kid?" She looked at me.

I stretched my arms. "I would be better if . . ." I shook my head. "They're gonna close all the checkpoints. We're gonna have to go around the outside. Just when I thought something might go easy." We turned the corner and continued down the hallway.

A guy walked with us in the hallway. "Hey, Tess. You see that shit?"

She replied, "I was there. Hey, how's the east tunnel looking?"I looked around, still hearing the alarm outside.

"It's clear. I just used it. No patrol. Where you off to?"

I looked along the wall. "Gonna pay Robert a visit."

"You too?"

I turned my head to him. "Who else is looking for him?"

He thought about it. "Uh, Marlene. She's been asking around, trying to find him."

That struck me as odd. "Marlene? What do the Fireflies need with Robert?"

He gave a small laugh. "You think she'd tell me?"

Tess looked at him. "Well, what did you tell her?"

"The truth. I got no idea where he's hiding." The truth. I almost forgot about something like the truth.

She sighed. "Good man. Hey, you stay out of trouble, alright? Military's gonna be out in force soon."

"Yeah, see you around." He walked into a door and it was just the three of us again.

I asked, "Marlene lookin' for Robert? What do you make of that?"

Joel replied, "I don't like it. We better find him before the Fireflies do." We turned a corner and continued down the hall. Finally, we stopped at an open doorway and walked inside. It was pretty empty though there was a guy sitting on a couch.

Tess sighed. "This is us."

They guy at the couch said, "Hey guys. How's it goin'?"

I gave a small laugh. "Shit's stirring up out there. How we lookin' over here?"

"Ah, it's been quiet. No signs of military or infected."

I nodded and placed my hands on my hips. "That's what I like to hear." We walked over to the bookcase and moved it to the side, revealing a large hole dropping I would say five feet.

We dropped down and a strong odor filled my nose. "Oh, God. This place reeks. They need to watch what they throw away down here." I walked over to a generator and turned it on. "Let there be light." We walked over to the work tables where all of our stuff were.

Tess said, "Our backpacks are still here from last time." We all grabbed our bags and filled them.

I filled mine with my oxygen mask, a flashlight, two guns, some ammo, and three knives. I had four more so I placed my special one in my right boot and another in my left. The last two I placed in my pockets (not very safe but I made wrappings so the blades won't cut me).

Joel grabbed his gun and looked at it. "Not a lot of ammo," he said.

I tossed him a round I hadn't packed. "Make them count." We walked over to a high wall and Tess turned to Joel.

"Alright, Texas, boost me up." He walked over and cupped his hands. Tess walked over and climbed from his boost. Then I got on top and the two of us pulled Joel up. We walked over to the other ledge and he looked at me while holding up the makeshift ceiling.

"Go on," he said and I climbed up to hold it up while the others climbed up into a restaurant. It is not in use anymore but it still looked in pretty good shape. We carefully placed the thing down and I ran ahead.

"Be careful," Joel warned me.

I snorted. "When am I not?"

He snorted back. "Is that a trick question?" We walked outside and I took a deep breath.

Joel looked around. "Ain't been out here in a while."

Tess smiled. "It's like we're on a date."

He smiled. "Well I'm the romantic type."

I began walking down the cracked streets. "Agree to disagree, old man." We walked to a fenced area and Tess looked around on the ground.

"Where's the ladder?" She asked.

Joel replied, "It's gotta be around here somewhere." We looked all around and then finally found it hidden behind a car. Joel brought it over to a hole in the wall and we all climbed into the house and down the stairs.

Tess asked, "You think Robert's still got our guns?"

I replied, pounding a fist into my hand. "For his sake . . . He better." I had to turn on my flashlight because it was dark down here.

Tess said, "Look, once we get our merchandise back, it should be easy to unload."

Joel replied, "Speaking of merchandise, when's that next shipment due?"

I sighed. "Well, we're meeting Bill next month. More pills. Lots of ammo. Supposedly." I turned around a corner and realized the air ahead was hazy. I held my hand out.

"Hold up. Spores." All three of us threw our masks on and continued down the hall. Now it was really hard to see but I had eyes like a hawk. Nothing gets past me.

Joel muttered, "Where the hell are all these comin' from? Place was clear last time."

I replied, "They're coming outta something. Stay alert." I crouched under some walls to be face to face to a dead body. Even though it's been ten years, dead things still give me the shivers, especially skeletons.

"Gross," I muttered.

Joel sighed behind me. "There's our culprit."

Tess looked at it. "Body's not that old. Better keep your eyes and ears open." I nodded and looked around. There were a couple more bodies. I looked at them while Joel tried to get through something. But instead he almost took down the ceiling.

"You okay?" Tess called.

He replied, "Yeah. Damn ceiling's falling apart. Be careful."

I muttered, "Roger that." We followed him through a narrow passage to another room.

"Easy . . ." He warned. We made it through but then something grabbed my leg. I jumped.

"Jesus," I muttered and took a step back. "Watch it. Watch it." Someone was stuck under a filing cabinet, coughing.

"Help me," he muttered. Joel moved me and Tess away. I looked back at the man.

"My mask broke," he continued, "Don't . . . Don't leave me to turn. Please." Joel looked at me and I nodded.

I took out my gun and walked to the man. I aimed it as his head and pulled the trigger. I reloaded and began walking away.

"Poor bastard," I said, "Well, now there's one less idiot in this world." We crawled under another wall. I could hear something fall.

Tess warned, "Up ahead. You hear that?" Joel shushed her and we crawled to a wall. I could see someone getting destroyed by two runners then another just next to us. I turned to Joel and showed three fingers.

"How you want to handle it?" Tess asked.

I replied, "Leave this one to me."

I took out one knife and threw it towards the runner, not even seeing where I threw it. It hit him on the neck and he fell. We crawled past him and I got my knife out. We looked around the corner to see two runners eating a woman.

"Jesus," Joel muttered. We took down those two and I took a deep breath.

"Alright," I said, "That's all of 'em."

Joel sighed. "Let's hope so."

Tess said, "Let's head back into the city." We nodded and ran up some stairs. We walked past a desk with a note on it. Joel picked it up and I skimmed it next to him. It talked about the spores and being infected. That kind of sucked.

I said, "They got infected trying to sneak into the zone."

Tess replied, "As much as everyone complains about it, you got all these poor bastards wishing they were living on the inside." We walked to a open hole and dropped down.

I took off my mask and took a deep breath. "Ahhhh . . . Some fresh air. That's the one thing I love about the outside. Fuckin' hate the smell of the city." We crossed a green pool of water.

Joel looked at me. "Why don't you ask Bill to get you some of them air fresheners?"

I walked through the inside of a rusty bus and smiled. "Hey, if they weren't expired, that'd be a good idea." We walked to a wall and Tess pulled some wood, uncovering another hole.

"Into the rabbit hole we go," I muttered and crouched through.

Tess chuckled. "Did anyone ever tell you, kid, that sometimes you talk too much?"

I shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood, I guess. Cover the entrance."

Joel pulled the wood. "I got it." We climbed an open ceiling and moved through the open room. This building was bad - almost nothing was still there. We walked out of the building to a rail and dropped down from there.

Tess walked ahead and Joel warned, "Let's make sure there aren't any soldiers around." We walked through the allies and then into a VERY dark room. I walked through the rooms and saw some ammo.

I pointed to it. "Pick up that ammo. I'm sure we'll need it." I walked over to the door and tapped it lightly. A kid opened it and I managed a smile.

"Hey, little man," I said, "Make sure the coast is clear. No soldiers. None of Robert's men. Yeah?" I handed him some ration cards I "borrowed". He took them, looked up at me and realized who I was. I'm known around all of Boston for being one of the youngest master smugglers. And the best aimer. He nodded and closed the door.

Joel sighed. "You know he's expecting us."

I replied, "We'll, that'll make it more interesting." I leaned against the door and then heard a knock. "Good to go. C'mon." I opened it and winked to the kid. He nodded and ran the opposite direction.

We walked down the alley. We found Terrance and he said, "Hey, Tess. Hey, Tess. Hey, pretty lady, how you doin' today? I heard you got some merchandise. C'mon."

Tess groaned. "Not right now, Terrance. Not . . . now. You hear me?"

"Okay, I can do that."

I snickered and walked through the alley. This was where all the low people live. Bunch of homeless and thugs.

If the infection never happened, I would be scared of these guys. But now, I can take all of them with my bare hands.

I saw two dogs behind a fence. I always wanted a dog. Then we walked down a narrow street, filled with shops.

I got a little too close to one shop and the guy said, "You touch it, you buy it." I gave a look to him, really wanting to start a fight.

Some other guy said to me, "Max, it's been a while. You don't visit us anymore."

I gave a laugh. "Yeah. Wonder why." And continued walking. I could hear a fight going on and I shook my head. Those things were stupid - even I didn't do them. Joel walked ahead into a bus and someone stopped him midway through.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" He asked Joel. I walked to them.

"Malick," I said, "Sit back down."

His eyes widened. "Oh, sorry, Max. Don't realize you two were together. Go ahead." He sat back down and Joel looked at me.

"So I'm guessing this is where you and Tess go to have 'girl time'?" He cocked an eyebrow.

I laughed. "You're getting old if you thought I would tell you the truth." He chuckled and followed behind me and Tess. We got out of the bus and walked into a larger alley.

I saw a girl hiding in the corner, holding a stuff animal. I looked at her and saw me. It was creepy. We walked to smaller alley and a shady man was there.

Tess said, "I'm lookin' for Robert." She handed him some ration cards. "He come through here?"

The guy looked at her. "Half hour ago. He went back to the wharf. He's there now." He smiled and took the ration cards. We walked past him and through the alley. I looked around and saw a lot of Firefly symbols. I guess it's inspirational around here.

We turned to the left and through a gate, three men on the other side.

Joel sighed. "Here we go." We stopped and they walked towards us.

Tess said calmly to them, "Let us through."

The front guy replied, "You three need to turn around and head back if you know what's good for you."

I looked at him. "Our beef isn't with you. We just want Robert. You don't want to do this."

"Turn the fuck around and leave now."

I started itching for my knife. "I'm not going anywhere without Robert." I took a step towards him.

His eyes tightened. "Bitch, I will bash your skull unless you turn around and get your dumb ass outta here." He pointed finger at me.

I sighed. "Fuck this." And threw the knife at his head. It landed right in his right eye. We then ran behind a crate as the other two guys hid behind another crate.

Tess nudged me. "Least your aim improved. You guys ready?"

Joel replied, "Yeah."

I heard one guy say, "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!"

"Yeah, well, get in the line with the other dickheads!" I took out my gun. "I'll cover you. Get the angle on them. They're gonna shoot blindly so stay behind something." Joel nodded and began to crawl in one direction while Tess went the other.

The other yelled, "You're gonna pay for that." Joel ran to another crate and the guys fired. He got one but the other was still at large. It took three shots to take him down but I stood up when we were done.

I complained, "Aw, I wanted to blow their brains out." I groaned and took my knife out the first guy.

We walked up to the dead guys. Joel asked, "How the hell did he get all these guys?"

Tess replied, "If Robert's good at one thing, it's writing blank checks. Lets go put an end to that." I nodded and we walked through a tunnel and over a wall. We got a fence and dropped from it. I could now hear seagulls and faintly smell the ocean. They talked about us and how Tess killed some jumpers. I shot her a look and she shrugged. We took those two out stealthily and continued down to the wharf. We got to a shipyard and took out the guys there too.

We saw a closed door and Tess stated, "That office. Robert must've run in there. Let's go." Joel kicked open the door and I took my gun out. We ran in and I saw a table with some cards but no Robert. I opened another door and almost got shot by Robert.

He yelled, "Get back! Get the fuck back!"

Tess said, "We just wanna talk, Robert."

I looked at Joel and weaved a knife in between my hands. "Should I take him out, boss? Just a flesh wound." He shook his head and gestured for me to put it away. I made a face and put it back in my boot.

Robert replied, "We ain't got fuckin' nothin' to talk about!" Wow, this guy's grammar was worse than mine.

"Put your gun down!" I yelled. I heard a click and Robert threw his gun at us.

"Go fuck yourself!" And he ran.

"He's running!" I yelled and chased after him. I was the fastest so I kept a good pace with Robert.

"Robert!" Joel yelled behind me.

"Screw you, Joel! Your daughter too!" He yelled back.

I gestured to a door. "This way!" I opened the door, leading to an alley. I chased him, saying to the others, "C'mon. C'mon." I leaped over a window ledge and saw Robert trying sadly to open a gate. I sighed and leaned against the wall.

The others caught up and we all stared at him. He realized he was trapped and then turned to us.

"Hello, Robert," I said, a little winded but perfectly fine to take him on.

Robert turned around and tried to act cool. "Max. Tess. Joel. No hard feelings, right?"

I replied sarcastically, "None at all." I picked up a piece of a pipe as Joel calmly leaned against the wall. Tess and I are more of the negotiators while he's just the muscles.

"Alright." He tried to run but I tripped him with the pipe.

He fell to the ground. "Goddanmit!"

I threw the pipe as Tess stood next to me. She said, "We missed you."

Robert replied, "Look, whatever it is you heard, it ain't true. Okay? I just want to say-"

"The guns," I interrupted, "You wanna tell us where the guns are?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure, but . . . it's complicated, alright?" I nodded and looked at Joel. "Look, alright, just hear me out on this. I gotta-" he couldn't finish on the fact I kicked him in the face. I think I broke his nose. Something cracked.

"Fuck . . ." He managed.

I kneeled down next to him and grabbed his arm. I knew how to break it and no one was stopping me.

"Ah," Robert yelled, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"Quit your squirmin'," Tess muttered and kneeled down next to me. "You were saying?"

Robert replied, "I sold 'em."

I almost let out a cough. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't have much of a choice. I owed someone."

Tess bent closer. "You owed us."

I tilted my head. "I'd say you bet on the wrong horse."

He pleaded, "I just need more time. Just gimme a week."

I sighed and looked at him. "You know, I might've done that if you hadn't tried to fuckin' kill my friend."

He looked at us. "C'mon, it wasn't like-"

I pressed down a little harder. "Who has our guns?"

He fell silent but then muttered, "I can't."

All three of us looked at each other. Both Joel's and Tess's eyes told me what to do.

Robert pleaded, "Just gimme a couple days-" He couldn't finish because I pulled back his arm, breaking it. I felt like I never Robert finish his sentences.

Robert cried out and rolled to his side. "Fucking bitch . . ."

Tess asked again, "Who had our guns? Or it's your neck she'll be breaking next." I managed a little smile.

He began gasping. "It's the Fireflies. I owed the Fireflies."

That shocked me. "What?"

He replied, "Look, they're basically all dead. We can just - just go in there - finish 'em off." He nodded. "We get the guns. Whadaya say?" Okay, that was just desperation. There was no way any of us would believe him. And no way he would come out of this alive. We looked away and began to stand up. I shot a look to Tess, like "Can I blow his brains out". She replied "Right between the eyes".

Robert began to sit up. "C'mon. Fuck those Fireflies. Let's go get 'em." I took out my gun.

I looked at the others. "That is a stupid idea." And shot Robert right between the eyes. I shook my head and looked at the dead body. "Idiot."

We were quiet for a second and then Joel asked, "Well, now what?"

Tess began to walk away. "We go get our merchandise back."

"How?" I asked.

"I don't know," she responded quickly, "We . . . explain it to them. Look, let's go find a Firefly."

"You won't have to look very far." We turned at the sound of the voice to see Marlene coming out of the shadows, bending over with her hand at her stomach.

Joel said, "There you go - queen Firefly."

"Why are you here?" Marlene asked.

"Business," Tess replied, "You aren't looking so hot."

She looked at her wound and then around. "Where's Robert?"

I stepped to the side, revealing Robert's dead body. She laughed. "I needed him alive."

I shrugged. "Whoops." But I didn't care. "The guns he gave you - they weren't his to sell. We want them back."

She shook her head. "Doesn't work like that, Max."

Tess muttered, "The hell it doesn't."

Marlene began to walk towards us. "I paid for those guns. You want 'em back? You're gonna have to earn 'em." Tess and I looked at each other and then at Joel. He was thinking.

I sighed. "How many cards are we talking about?"

She laughed. "I don't give a damn about ration cards. I need something smuggled out of the city. You do that –" She nodded. "I'll give you your guns back and then some." I thought about it. It seemed like a good offer but this "something". What was it? And why does Marlene need us?

Joel walked up to us. "How do we know you got 'em? Way I hear it, the military's been wiping you guys out."

She looked down. "You're right about that. I'll show you the weapons."

"Search the area." My head jerked up. That was a soldier. And it was close. We all looked in the direction it was coming from.

Marlene looked back at us. "I gotta move. What's it gonna be?" We looked at each other.

"I wanna see those guns," Tess replied and we followed Marlene into the alley. I could hear soldiers looking.

I turned my head back. "We gotta get outta here. Now!" We dove into a small passageway as the soldiers complained about a door.

Marlene whispered, "You want this deal – we gotta move." We got into an alley blocked by boxes but she didn't stop. "I know a way around this. C'mon." we climbed some boxes and a ladder. At the top we climbed some more stairs until we got to the top of a building. That's when something exploded a few blocks away.

I kneeled down. "Holy shit. Is that your people?" I looked up at Marlene.

She replied, "What's left of them. Why do you think I'm turning to you guys?"

I snorted. "Thanks for the compliment." And followed over a roof to the next building.

"So why now?" Joel asked her.

"We've been quiet. Been planning on leaving the city but they need a scapegoat. They've been trying to rile us up."

I snickered. "Looks like they did."

She snapped at me. "We're trying to defend ourselves."

Great job, I thought to myself. We jumped into a building and went through the room rather quietly. We ran down the steps and into the street again. Marlene told us we needed to get to a door on the other side of the river.

She said to be stealthy which wasn't as fun, but after some hiding and killing some soldiers, we finally made it to the other side. We got in and moved some lockers over the door.

I asked impatiently, "Where are we going, Marlene?"

She stood up. "This way. It's not far now." We walked through the room and then another and then into an alley. "The place is up ahead."

Stepping outside, I heard the PA, "Attention. Curfew is now in full effect. Anyone caught outside without proper authorization will be arrested and prosecuted."

"Shit," I muttered, "We need to hurry. What the hell are we smuggling?" I walked next to Marlene.

"I'll show you." We walked to a door and she asked Joel to help her open it. They did and when he stepped into the room, Marlene fell. Joel tried to help her up but some girl ran up to him. She seemed kind of young, maybe 14. She had red hair and really nice green eyes. I wished I had eyes like her.

"Get the fuck away from her," She said, running up to him with a knife in her hands. I quickly grabbed her hands and disarmed her.

"Hey, hey, hey-" I said as she struggled. It was kind of sad since she was pretty weak and my grip was strong.

Marlene said to me sternly, "Let her go." I pushed back her arm and crossed mine. When I did, her sleeve pulled back a bit and I saw part of a bite mark. But it was old. I realized what we were transferring and why.

I said jokingly, "You're recruitin' kind of young, aren't ya?"

She began to stand up. "She's not mine." The girl ran up to Marlene and saw her wound.

"Shit," She said, "What happened?" She helped Marlene to sit.

Marlene replied, "Don't worry. This is fixable. I got us help." The girl looked at us while Joel closed the door. "But I can't come with you."

The girl shook her head. "Well, then I'm staying."

"Ellie, we won't get another shot at this."

Joel walked up to them. "Hey – we're smuggling her?"

She looked at him. "There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol building."

Tess laughed. "That's not exactly close."

Marlene looked annoyed. "You're capable. You hand her off. Come back. The weapons are yours. Double what Robert sold me." I nodded. This wasn't too bad and I could live with getting out of this stupid quarentine zone for a bit.

"Speaking of which – " I asked looking around, "Where are they, exactly?"

"Back at our camp," She replied. Tess and Joel looked at each other.

Tess said, "We're not smuggling shit until I see them." I would. I would smuggle the girl. And the other two know it. They know how much I hate it here. That's why they weren't looking at me.

Marlene sighed. "You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons. I can get patched up. But she's not crossing to that part of town." She pointed to Ellie.

I stood up and finally spoke, "She won't. I'll take her to the north tunnel. You meet us there." Marlene looked at me gratefully and nodded.

Ellie prtested, "Bullshit! I'm not going with her!" I almost laughed. Ellie sounded a lot like me.

Joel protested too, "Whoa, whoa. I don't think that's the best idea."

"Ellie . . ." Marlene muttered.

"How do you know them?" She demanded.

Marlene looked at her and then me. "Max . . . I was close with her uncle, Tommy. And she used to do some work for the Fireflies a little back. Tommy said if I was ever in a jam I could rely on her. And Joel." She looked at us.

I laughed quietly. "Was that before or after he left your little militia group?"

"You left, too."

"I wasn't in to begin with." I looked over to Joel and Tess. "Look, it's not far from here and with night falling, it's easier to get around. And I'm hoping you'll come with me." I looked at Joel, giving him the best little girl face I can give. Tess nodded but he shook his head in defeat.

"Jesus Chist," He muttered.

Tess walked up. "She's just cargo, Joel." Joel kept shaking his head though we all knew he was in on it.

Ellie sighed. "Marlene . . ."

She stopped her and whispered, "No more talking. You'll be fine. She may not seem like it, but Max will take good care of you. I don't trust anyone as much I do her. Now, go with them." Joel looked at her and then at me.

"If we don't die trying to get her to the tunnel, I might kill you." He said.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Tess. "Don't take long." I looked at Ellie. "And you – stay close."

Joel began to walk away. "Let's go." I waited for Ellie and when she began walking, I shot a smile to Marlene and followed them. I grabbed Ellie's knife too and looked at it.

"Where did you get this?" I asked, kind of curious. All my knives had stories so I wondered if hers did too.

She turned and took it from my hand. "None of your damn business." I took out my knife.

"I was only asking. Jeez." We opened the door and walked out to the street. Outside, there were a bunch of dead people, all shot.

Ellie's eyes widened. "Whoa . . . I head all the shooting, but . . ."

"Just keep walking," I said, "The less you look, the better."

"What happened?" She asked.

Joel sighed. "The Fireflies. Same thing's gonna happen to us if we don't get off the street."

She sighed. "You're the pros. I'm just following you." I swooped down and took one pendant. What if I became a Firefly, like Tommy? Would it be my dead body here? I tossed the tag and continued walking. I walked down some steps and heard another announcement.

"Attention. Harboring or aiding wanted criminals is punishable by death. Do not place yourself at risk." Ha, ha. Ironic. I looked at the street to see a couple trucks go by but I wasn't too concern.

We walked down some steps to under the street. I hate underground because it smelled like the city. Under, I looked back at Ellie.

"C'mon. Keep up," I said, trying to be as nice as possible.

"I am." She replied not so nice to me. I sighed and continued running. We got up and saw more trucks go by. I heard the announcement again. We dove into an alley.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked.

I pointed to a building. "Up there. That'll get us to the north tunnel." While pointing, I saw the sky and it was getting to cloudy for comfort. I hoped we got inside before it begins raining.

She looked up. "How are we supposed to reach that?"

Joel sighed. "Just give me a minute." He began to move a dumpster as Ellie and I stood around.

Ellie looked at me. "So, you used to work for the Fireflies?"

I shrugged. "I guess. More like 'they looked for me when they wanted something and I would help'. I never cared for rewards or anything. I just like the idea of helping."

"I never heard someone say that before."

I laughed. "Yeah? No surprise."

Joel got the dumpster into position and we climbed. I helped Ellie up and we followed him up the steps.

She asked as we climbed, "This tunnel. You use it to smuggle things?"

"Yep," Joel answered.

"Like illegal things?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes."

"You ever smuggle a kid before?" God, this kid talked a lot.

Joel muttered, "No. That's a first." We walked through an empty hallway inside. "So, what's the deal with you and Marlene, anyways?"

She replied, "I don't know. She's my friend, I guess."

I gave a somewhat laugh. "Your friend, huh? You're friends with the leader of the Fireflies. What're you, like twelve?"

"She knew my mom, and she's been looking after me. And I'm fourteen, not that that has anything to do with anything." Wow, I was right the first time.

Joel asked, "So, where are your parents?"

She sighed. "Where are anyone's parents? They've been gone a long, long time."

"Mine's right there," I muttered and Ellie looked from me to Joel, now seeing the resemblence. Sort of.

Joel didn't hear us though. "Hm. So instead of just staying in school, you just decide to run off and join the Fireflies, is that it?"

I snorted. "You let me do that." Joel made out a little laugh.

Ellie said quickly, "Look, I'm not supposed to tell you why you're smuggling me if that's what you're getting at."

"You wanna know the best thing about my job? I don't gotta know why. Be honest with you, I could give two shits about what you're up to."

"Well, great."

I rolled my eyes. "You two are so much fun to be around. I'm serious." Ellie made out a little smile. We turned to a door and I opened it.

Joel walked in. "This is it." Ellie walked in and looked around while he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked.

He closed his eyes. "Killing time." I rolled my eyes and walked over to a chair next to the window. I placed my bag down and sat, watching the outside. I could do that forever.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" She asked.

He answered annoyed, "I am sure you will figure that out." She looked around and then noticed something.

"Your watch is broken." That made me feel sad for a bit. I rubbed my necklace between my fingers. I looked at Ellie.

"Why don't you pull up a chair?" I suggested. She did and we sat next to each other.

After a couple moments of silence, I sad, "Sorry about Joel. He's . . . complicated."

She shrugged. "I've actually met worse. Is he really your old man?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Though, I'm just a partner in crime in his eyes nowadays. Ever since . . . this," I gestured to the trucks moving by below. "We weren't really . . . family anymore. Joel didn't care what I did, as long as I knew how to get out of it." I sighed and lifted my knee so I could my head on it. "I know."

Ellie looked at me. "Know what?"

I lifted my right arm. "Reason why you're being smuggled."

She looked away. "So . . . you know. But you still do this."

I looked back at the sky. "I have a phobia of cars."

She laughed. "What?"

I shrugged. "Random moment where I say funfact about myself. It makes me feel better. Anyway, to answer your question. I do this – well, anything – because I want to feel good about myself. I learned the hard way that life is too short and you must make the most out of it. I do it helping others. Seems pretty stupid, right?"

She shook her head. "Now I see why Marlene talked about you a lot. You're different." I smiled and we fell silent. It began to rain as it grew dark.