Author's Notes (Sorry it's so long): I want to apologize for the horrendously long delay for this chapter. I've been devoting more of my free time to my drumming and lyrics, and it's caused me to lose some motivation for this story. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the story, I'm an aspiring drummer/lyricist/composer and music really is my true passion, so this story took a backseat in a way. A guy's gotta have his priorities, right? Music comes before anything else in my life, but I will NOT forget about this story.

That was pretty mean what I did with that last chapter title, huh? Now seriously, did any of you honestly think that I'd just kill off Ellie, the most beloved character in the game like that? Come on, I'm not that cold. I don't have the heart to do something like that to you guys, and I can't afford the emotional anguish settlements that would inevitably follow, ha! So, I hope you can all breathe a little easier now.

Now, it's been brought up in reviews that something's felt "off" since the return, and I want to address that now. I know that so far after the hiatus the story hasn't been quite up to the standards of the pre-hiatus chapters. I readily admit that the post-hiatus content in general will not be as strong as pre-hiatus. I will explain why that is, and I addressed this briefly a few chapters ago. I had the first ten chapters all thought out well in advance, but after that, all I had was the ending. The ending takes place a year after chapter ten because it happens on a specific day. The chapters to fill that time gap I'm really just writing as I go along, so I attribute the somewhat lackluster writing to lack of planning. I have the final chapter all typed up and have for weeks, I keep going back and revising to make sure it's as perfect as I can get it. I'm hoping the finale will make up for anything the rest of the post-hiatus chapters lacked. Counting this chapter and the finale, there are 5 chapters left in the story, and it definitely ends in an intense fashion.

For this chapter, I really wanted to create just the wackiest character I could. For most of the chapter you'll only see his quirkiness, but towards the end you'll see a completely different side. The pacing is a little off though, and I apologize. Also a little Easter egg: the sports team mentioned in this chapter can be found on a poster in the game if you look around. And just an FYI about the character: the "J" is pronounced like a "Y" in his last name. And if any of you watch the show NCIS, there's a little tribute to Ducky in here that I like.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.

Brand New Start

CH. 14: Rescue

Winter was beginning to lose its grip on the area. After enduring another near-death ordeal, Ellie was particularly happy that it was nearly gone. Joel was relieved as well; two winters in a row he had nearly lost the only thing that kept him going. He never had anything against that season, but now he despised it. Thankfully for him and Ellie it was nearly time to say good riddance for a year.

Joel was stationed at the outpost a few miles up the road from Jackson. It was his first ever stint there and it meant spending a full twenty-four hours away from Ellie. He hated spending any time away from her, especially considering the times she's gotten injured when he was away. A man whom Joel hadn't met previously named Gerry manned the lone lookout tower, scanning the road in both directions looking for any signs of trouble. It was nearly the end of his shift in the tower when he caught sight of a lone man with a rifle running down the road.

"Got a man in my sights. He's armed with a rifle and appears to be alone," he said over the radio.

"You know the drill. Call out for him to stop. If he doesn't comply, shoot him," Joel told him.

Gerry aimed his rifle at the man, and ordered him to stop. "Stop right there!"

The man immediately held his hands up, indicating he wasn't going to try anything. "I don't want trouble. Must help." Joel noticed the man had an accent that was not from the area, or even the country. It was... European? What the hell is a European doing here?

"Put down your rifle, and take three steps back from it!" Gerry demanded.

The man complied. "Yes, yes. Of course, of course." He set his rifle on the ground and stepped back, like Gerry told him to.

"Keep your hands up! Two of our men will come to you!"

"That's us, Earl," Joel said. He and Earl approached the man with their rifles lowered, but ready to use in case the man made a sudden move. "Now then, tell us your name and what kinda help you need."

The European man spoke. He seemed very exuberant and disjointed almost. "My name is Tomas. Tomas... uh... Jandl! That's it, yes! Tomas Jandl. I need help. My family is in... uh... is in... danger! Yes, they're in danger! Must help."

Joel and Earl looked at each other with confusion. They gave each other a look that said this guy isn't all there. "Look, come into our compound here and explain-" Joel started to say, but Tomas cut him off.

"There is no time! There are two kids and they are not safe! No they are not safe at all. No."

Joel and Earl didn't exactly know what to do. They weren't supposed to just leave their post, especially with an outsider. He seemed genuinely scared though, and they could both tell he was certainly not a bandit. Joel knew all about how it feels when your kids were in danger, and he wanted to help. "What do you wanna do?" he asked Earl.

Earl shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I doubt he's setting us up. I suppose we could follow him."

Joel turned back to the strange man. "Lead the way."

"Thank you, thank you," Tomas said as he picked up his rifle. "Follow me. This way... yes, let's go... this way."

Back at the house, Hannah was stressing out about the day ahead. She would have her first ever guard duty shift in the afternoon, having turned sixteen a couple weeks prior. Ellie walked into Hannah's bedroom and saw her fidgeting with her hands. "Hey, Hannah," she said casually.

"Hey, Ellie," Hannah responded. Ellie could hear the tension in Hannah's voice. It was clear she was in distress.

"Something bothering you?" Ellie inquired.

Hannah sighed. "It's my first ever shift on guard duty this afternoon. I'm really nervous about it."

"Hannah, there's nothing to be worried about," Ellie tired to reassure her.

"How would you know?" Hannah asked defensively. "You've never had guard duty; you're still only fifteen. Besides, you've had a lot more exposure to dangers than I have. I've lived in Jackson since I was five; I've never been drawn into a situation where having to kill someone was even a legitimate possibility. On guard duty, that is a possibility. I'm scared, Ellie... I'm scared of being put into a kill or be killed situation. What if that happens today?" In Hannah's nearly eleven years in Jackson, there had only ever been five attempted raids on the town, never with any casualties to anyone in the town. The last attempt happened over three years ago, but one could happen at any time.

Ellie sat down in the bed next to her friend to try and lend support. She spoke in a soft, genuinely affectionate tone to her. "Look, I'm not gonna swear to you that it won't happen, because there's no way of knowing. I'll tell you this though; if you do end up in that situation, put the lives of the ones you love ahead of yours. That may sound like stupid advice, but it makes you sharper when you know you have something to protect. What if it was me you were trying to protect? Would you put yourself in the line of fire to keep me safe?"

Hannah turned to Ellie and sat silent for a few seconds, taking what Ellie said to heart. A smile grew on her face, and she responded with "I'd do anything to keep you safe, Ellie."

Ellie smiled back and the two girls hugged each other. "And I'd do anything for you."

Tomas ran down the road from where he came from and Joel and Earl followed. He turned into the woods at a seemingly random spot; there was no specific trail they were following. Joel and Earl stayed right on Tomas's heels, going wherever he went and taking cover when he did. They were crouched behind a fallen tree when Joel asked him "So what exact kinda danger is your family in."

Tomas explained the situation. "It was me, my girlfriend, her two kids, and her brother. We've been holed up in a cabin out in the woods. Myself and her brother were... uh... we were... patrolling the woods when we found uh... bandits. The bandits, they shot at us, you know... bang bang... and sadly her brother was killed. I took out two of the three bandits and the third fled away... away from the cabin. I don't know if there are more, but they could be coming back."

"Where is this cabin?" Joel asked.

"It's well hidden... secret, you know. Clever. We're not that far, no we're not."

The more Joel and Earl heard Tomas talk, the more bizarre he seemed to be. "Well, lead us there."

"That's what I'm doing." He stood up from behind the tree and began leading them once again through the forest.

They stood up against a small cliff face, and Joel could hear Tomas talking to himself. He seemed to be arguing with himself out loud. It was like a conversation with two people, except there was only him. Not only was he arguing with himself, which was bizarre, he was doing it in some other language. "Tomas!" Joel yelled under his breath. Not only was Tomas annoying him, there were bandits who would be able to hear the talking if they were close enough.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking to myself!" the strange man snapped.

"You said there are bandits in these woods, so keep your voice down," Joel said.

"Oh, yes... bandits. No good, they will hear us. We must keep quiet, yes... very quiet."

Joel gave up. This man had lost his mind long ago; there was no point in trying to reason with him. "Just... lead the way," Joel said.

"This way... we're close." Tomas led them around the cliff and down a trail that was very easy to miss. He may have been crazy, but he picked a good place to hide out.

Along the trail, Earl spotted a dead body on the ground. "Joel, there's a body right here." Joel went over next to Earl to inspect the body. He had been shot in the head from an elevated position. Looking in the direction the shot must have come from, Joel saw the ledge the bandits must have used.

"That's Sean. He was my girlfriend's brother." He got next to Joel and Earl and pointed up to the ledge. "There were three of them. I took one out before Sean was shot, then when I took out the second one the last guy fled. We're so close now, this way." He quickly led them through the woods, and within a minute they caught sight of the cabin. "Hide, I don't know if bandits are around, no I do not."

Joel and Earl did as Tomas instructed and got down behind another fallen tree. "I don't see anythin' outside. Earl, take a look into the house with your binoculars. Make sure there's no bandits in there."

"Yes, smart... very smart," Tomas said.

"Keep quiet for a second," Earl instructed as he looked through the windows with his binoculars. "I see a woman and two kids. No sign of bandits."

"Thank goodness," Tomas said. "We must go get them out of there fast, yes we must."

"We'll get them out and take all of you back to town," Joel told the frightened man. Tomas nodded.

"Follow me and move carefully," Tomas said. He moved up with his rifle raised, scanning the woods surrounding the cabin. Joel and Earl did the same. Tomas got to the front door of the cabin and entered. "Tori, kids, we need to go!" Joel and Earl entered right behind him. There were three people in the house. The oldest was Victoria, who went by Tori for short. She was in her early thirties and had dirty blond hair that came to a little past her shoulders. There was her son and oldest child, Nate. Nate was thirteen and small for his age. He was just barely over five feet tall, and very skinny, with the same color hair as his mother which just covered his ears. Then there was the youngest, Farrah. Farrah was only a little bit shorter than her older brother, but was not quite as skinny comparatively. Her hair came down to her upper back, and was dirty blond like Nate and Tori.

Tori screamed at Tomas when he, Joel, and Earl came in. "Where the hell were you?! Where's Sean?! Who are these guys?!"

"Tori, it's not safe here. There are bandits, many bandits. Your brother didn't make it, but these friendly guys will get us to safety."

Tomas saw shock on Tori's face. "Sean's dead?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. Now we must go, yes we must. It's not safe here... bandits."

She looked at Joel and Earl. She didn't fully trust them, but her boyfriend seemed to. "Where will you take us?" she asked them.

"There's a town a couple miles away from here. It's fortified and we even have electricity from a nearby dam," Joel told her.

She turned to Tomas. "You trust them?" she asked.

"Yes, yes. I do, I do."

Tori turned back to Joel and Earl. "Lead the way."

"Kids, stay right behind your mom," Tomas told Tori's two kids, "you cover us from the front," he instructed Joel, "and you cover our rear," he told Earl.

Joel led them out of the house and down the trail they followed Tomas down. He took out his radio and called the outpost. "Joel to Jackson outpost."

There was a brief moment of silence, before a voice responded. "This is Jackson outpost, go for Gerry."

"We got the man's family, we're takin' them back to the town."

"Understood." Joel put his radio away.

When the rest of the group stepped into the open, a shot came from back in the woods, and a bullet whizzed less than an inch past Joel's head. "Shit! The bandits are back!" Joel turned around to the ledge Tomas pointed out earlier and saw two bandits there.

Tomas raised his semi-automatic rifle and quickly managed to drop them. "Run!" he screamed. "Follow Joel!"

"Stay right on my heels!" Joel called to the group. The kids were terrified and practically frozen with fear. "LET'S GO!" He shouted again. Tori grabbed her kids and got them running with the rest of the group. They only managed to get a couple hundred yards before more shots rang out. This time they were coming from many different directions. "THEY'RE SURROUNDIN' US! FIND COVER!" Tori dropped down on top of her kids to shield them from the hail of bullets coming from all around. Joel and Earl stood back to back, picking off bandits with their scoped hunting rifles. Tomas stood over his girlfriend and her kids with his semi-auto .22 long rifle and put suppressing fire on the locations of the bandits.

Tori's kids were both crying as bullets ripped past from every which way. "Just keep calm kids. I know this is scary, but if you just stay down and stay calm you'll be fine." She tried to calm her children down, but to no avail. Their screams of terror would not subside.

The volley of fire the men put out seemed to do the job, as the bandits withdrew back into the woods. "They're retreating!" Tomas called out.

"No they're not, they're regroupin'!" Joel yelled. "They'll be back in numbers soon, we gotta get the hell outta here!"

Tomas grabbed onto Tori's arm and pulled her up. "Tori, Farrah, Nate, it's okay now, let's go."

"Let's go kids, with me," she said to her children. The group ran through the woods, checking back frequently for when the bandits would return. They ran past a large boulder, and out from behind it emerged a bandit, unnoticed by the group, with his rifle raised. The man set his sights on little Farrah - only nine years old - who was trailing behind the rest of the group. The young girl froze as she stared down the barrel of the bandit's rifle. People like him didn't have a concept of mercy. They didn't hold back for children or anyone else. They killed senselessly, as Farrah was about to find out firsthand. Tori realized her daughter had fallen behind, and she looked back to see the bandit about to gun down the poor terrified child execution style. Tori knew it was too late to do anything. "FARRAAAAAH!" she bellowed, as all she could do was watch.

Time slowed to a crawl for Farrah; the only thing she could hear was the pounding of her heart as she awaited her imminent and untimely death at the hands of a ruthless bandit. She had not even seen a decade; she was far too young to die, but that didn't matter to a cold-blooded savage. The man pulled the trigger, but in a flash of heroism, Tori dove on top of Farrah and took the bullet that was meant to kill her child.

The bandit then took a bullet himself as Tomas dropped him with his rifle. "TORI!" he screamed as he saw his girlfriend on top of Farrah. He ran over to her to check on her. The bullet hit her in the right bicep; a non-lethal shot barring infection and blood loss. She was going to survive, but she was in great pain. Tomas helped the woman to her feet. She saved her daughter's life, but she did not think of herself as a heroine. "You... are... amazing!" he yelled to Tori.

"I sure as hell don't feel amazing," she joked. It made Joel and Earl smile to see that she was still in good spirits after nearly losing her youngest child and getting shot herself.

Tomas kept singing his praise for her. "You put yourself in between Farrah and the bandit! You were willing to die to protect your child! That's amazing!"

"No, it's just parenting. Any good parent would take a bullet for their kid." That phrase struck a nerve in Joel. The reason he lost Sarah was because he didn't do enough to protect her. He didn't put himself in front of the bullet, and the end result was the death of his daughter.

Earl interrupted Tomas and Tori's conversation. "Yeah, yeah... you're both amazing, we get it, now let's get the hell out of here!" The group turned to follow Earl, but Joel was still lost in thought, reflecting on Sarah's death and if he was a bad parent because she died. "Joel!" Earl called out, but Joel didn't respond. "JOEL!" Joel snapped out of his trance when he heard a gunshot in the distance. The bandits had returned once again. "Get to cover!" Earl pulled Joel behind the boulder. "Joel, just get the woman and kids back to town. Tomas and I will stay here and draw their fire."

"Tomas, no!" Tori screamed.

"Tori, you're hurt. You need to get help. I'll be fine." Tori looked at Tomas with sad eyes. "Don't worry about me. Get to town... I'll be there soon."

"Tomas..."

Tomas hugged her quickly and kissed her. "Just go. Stay close to Joel."

She didn't want to leave Tomas in a situation like this. Tomas and Earl were greatly outnumbered, but she was also concerned with protecting her own flesh and blood. "Kids, be ready to run."

Earl gave instructions to Joel. "Tomas and I will put suppressing fire on the bandits. When we do, you run and take them straight to the town."

"Gotcha." He turned to Tori and her two frightened children. "You guys ready?" he asked.

Tori looked at Farrah, and she nodded. She then looked at Nate, and he nodded. "We're ready," she said.

Earl and Tomas looked at each other, and stuck their rifles out around the boulder and started firing at the bandits. At that exact same moment, Joel started running through the woods leading Tori and her kids back to Jackson. They jumped down a small ledge which put themselves out of the bandits' direct lines of fire. "Keep pressure on the wound," Joel instructed Tori. She did as she was told, and kept running. Joel turned back to them and called out, "The town's a couple miles away, so it's gonna be a lotta runnin'."

"We'll be fine," Tori said. They ran non stop for about ten minutes, then they got to the edge of the trees.

"There's the road!" Joel called out. They emerged from the woods, and onto the road which took them straight to Jackson. "Joel to Jackson gate: I've got a wounded woman and two young children with me. Keep a look out for us," Joel said into the radio.

"This is Doug manning the gate tower, I copy."

"Keep up," Joel told the group. The kids were exhausted, and were huffing and puffing for breath. They had never done anything remotely as strenuous as the running they just did. Nate dropped down to his hands and knees, and Tori had to help him back up. "We can't stop here!" Joel yelled to Tori.

"Joel, my kids are exhausted! They can barely breathe. Just give us a quick breather, please."

Joel's patience had worn thin. They did not have time to spare, but the kids had pushed their bodies nearly to the breaking point. Joel shook his finger angrily at Tori, and told her "Thirty seconds."

"Breathe kids," she told them, "just breathe. I know you're exhausted but when he get to the town you can rest all you want." Farrah bent over and went into a coughing fit from all the exertion she did. She had eaten not too long ago, and all the running had upset the food in her stomach. She vomited up some of the food she ate, and dropped to her hands and knees. "Farrah, sweetie, it's okay."

"Mommy, I'm dizzy," the young girl said.

"Joel, I'm sorry but you're gonna need to carry Farrah for me. She's in no condition to run and I can't take my hand off my wound."

Joel didn't hesitate to comply with Tori. He got to the ground in front of Farrah and instructed her to get on his back and hold on tight around his collarbone. "Whatever you do don't let go," he told her.

"I'll try," she said. The group began running again, only a little slower this time. After nearly another ten minutes of running, they emerged over the ridge and got sight of the town.

"We're almost there," Joel said. "It's gonna be okay, we're almost there." As they began their descent down the hill towards the town, Joel could feel Farrah's grip around his body start to loosen. "You still with me back there, kiddo?" She did not answer, and her arms again loosened up around Joel as she started to slide off his back.

"Farrah!" Tori cried out. Joel eased her to the ground and looked at her. The exhaustion had taken a toll. She was half-conscious and had almost no movement in her limbs, but she was still fully aware. Joel could see in her eyes that she'd be fine.

"She's gonna be okay," Joel assured Tori as he picked Farrah up in his arms and carried her towards Jackson. The gate opened as they approached, and Joel looked down to check on the girl in his arms. "You doin' okay?" he asked. Farrah nodded gently indicating she was okay, but she was too exhausted to speak. They got through the gate and the guards instinctively had their weapons raised on the outsiders as a precaution. "Put your guns down and make a path! I gotta get these people to Brenda's!" The crowd of people dispersed as Joel led them to Brenda's house. They got to the porch at Brenda's when Farrah finally spoke up.

"Joel?" Joel stopped for a second, and looked down at her. "Thank you," she said weakly.

"Nothin' to thank me for." He used his foot to knock on Brenda's door. "Brenda! I got a wounded woman and two exhausted kids with me!"

Brenda quickly opened the door and saw Joel holding a little girl in his arms, with a woman behind him who was bleeding from the right arm and a young boy next to her. Joel walked in and saw Ellie talking with Nicky in the middle of the room. When Ellie saw the outsiders, she stood up and came over to them. "Shit, what happened?"

"Language, Ellie," Brenda said. Even though proper etiquette didn't have a place in society anymore, Brenda still didn't like hearing that kind of language coming from a kid.

"Okay, seriously?" Ellie said, frustrated. "You're more worried about- never mind," she stopped herself before she got carried away.

Joel brought Farrah over to the bed and laid her down on it. Brenda seemed more concerned with Tori and her bullet wound. "No, the girl. My arm can wait; she can't," Tori insisted.

Brenda looked at Farrah in the bed, and back at Tori. "If you insist." She got next to the bed Farrah was in and put her hand on the little girl's head. "What's your name, sweetie." Farrah was still exhausted, and she could only manage a soft moan. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"Her name's Farrah," Tori said. Brenda turned back to her. "My name's Victoria, but you can call me Tori for short. That's my son Nate over there."

Brenda looked back at Farrah and spoke affectionately to her. "Farrah? Is that your name?"

Farrah nodded gently, and softly said "yeah" in response to Brenda.

"Okay. Can you tell me exactly how you feel?" Brenda asked.

"Weak," Farrah said. The running she did had taken a serious toll. If she had been running the entire time, her body might have broken and she might not have made it to town.

Brenda made her observations and quickly reached a diagnosis. "She's severely dehydrated and exhausted. Nicky, go get one of the IV kits from the storage room."

"On it," Nicky said as she quickly did as Brenda instructed.

Brenda turned back to Farrah and put a hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry sweetie, this is going to hurt. But we have to give it to you to keep you alive." Farrah groaned at the mention of pain, but she would rather have to go through a little pain than die. Nicky came back with the IV, and Farrah cringed at the sight of the large needle. Brenda rubbed Farrah's arm with a strange orange liquid, prepping to insert the IV into her arm. "You might want to look away, sweetie. And you'll also want to squeeze your mother's arm." Farrah took both of Brenda's suggestions, turning her head away and grabbing onto Tori's arm. Brenda stuck the IV into the girl's arm, causing her to squeal softly. "Sorry. I know it hurts but it will save your life."

Farrah looked back at Brenda, and said, "Thank you, ma'am."

"It's my job, sweetie. Now let me go take a look at your mother." Brenda stood up and walked over to Tori who still had her hand pressed tight onto her bullet wound. "Move your hand and let me look." Tori complied and Brenda inspected the wound. The bullet had penetrated deep into her arm. Brenda picked up a pair of large tweezers to remove the bullet. "Now, let's get you out of this woman's arm," she said as she reached the tweezers into the wound. Tori winced as the tweezers made contact with the sensitive exposed tissue. The tweezers went deep, and Brenda eventually found the bullet. "Aha," she said as she pulled it out, "you were in there really deep, now weren't you?"

"Okay, talking to the bullet," Tori sighed.

"When you're old like me, you just start talking to things." Brenda picked up a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Now, this is going to really hurt."

She poured the alcohol over the wound and Tori screamed out in pain. "AAGGHH! Son of a... bitch!"

"Here, squeeze my arm if you have to," Ellie said as she offered her left arm to Tori. She grabbed on and held Ellie's arm in a death grip as she tried to fight the searing pain of the alcohol. Ellie was amazed at the woman's strength, as she could feel the circulation in her arm being cut off and watched her hand start to turn white.

"Okay, that should do it. Now just let me stitch it up and you'll be good to go." Tori mercifully released Ellie's arm from her grip, as Brenda prepared to stitch her wound closed. "Did you know, miss Victoria... that in the civil war they used maggots to treat bullet wounds?" Tori remained silent, mildly disturbed by Brenda's question. "The maggots would eat away any infected tissue, thus cleansing the bullet wounds and maybe even saving limbs from amputation."

Ellie gagged. Maggots grossed her out to begin with, and the thought of having them eat away at her flesh if she got shot made her feel sick. "That's disgusting. I did not need to hear that."

"They used what they had. It wasn't pretty, but they didn't have any disinfectants like we have today. And there we have it," Brenda said as she finished stitching up the wound on Tori's arm.

Tori turned back to Joel with a look of concern on her face. "Joel, is Tomas okay?"

Joel wanted to tell her he was, but he had no way of knowing. "I'm sure he is."

Immediately after Joel said that, Tomas walked into Brenda's house. "Tori!" he screamed as he ran towards her.

"Oh, Tomas, thank God you're alright!" The two hugged each other tightly, joyed that they were both okay.

"Oh, Tori, you're okay. You were shot and I was worried but you're okay so I'm not worried anymore and I'm so glad." He looked at Farrah in the bed. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"She's dehydrated and exhausted," Tori explained to him. "She'll be fine."

Tomas turned to Joel and threw his arms around him, grateful that he got his girlfriend and her kids to safety. "Thank you, Joel. Thank you so so much, yes."

Brenda interrupted the two. "Excuse me, but can you go over there?" she asked as she pointed away from the beds. "I need to tend to the young one."

"Okay... yes, do that," Tomas said as he, Joel, and Ellie gave Brenda the space she needed.

Tomas had been talking to Tori for a while, but he came over to Joel and Ellie and sat down in the chairs with them. "I can't thank you enough for getting my family to safety."

"Don't mention it," Joel said as he nodded.

Ellie was intrigued by the outsider's accent. "I've never heard an accent like that before. Where are you from?"

"I was born in Czech Republic. I lived there until I was eighteen."

"Just how does someone from the Czech Republic end up here?" Joel inquired.

"Well... back home I was big shot hockey player. I was actually the top rated player in all Czech Republic. When I was eighteen I came over to the United States to play for the Utah Snakes. I was supposed to be 'the next big thing'. You know... 'great new young stud from Europe'. There was much hype about me... everywhere it was like 'Oh yeah, this new kid, Jandl... he's the best young player to come out of Europe we've seen in over twenty years'. I was seeing and hearing my name everywhere; 'Jandl this, Jandl that." Even before the season started I was signing autographs for people... it was very surreal." He told his story with tremendous enthusiasm, but his mood seemed to change drastically in an instant. "But... I never got a chance to show what I could do." Tomas paused as he was telling his story. "It was the middle of training camp when the outbreak hit. Even though I had only known my teammates for a couple weeks, they were already like my brothers. And seeing them lose their minds and get torn apart..." he paused again as his voice started to break. "It was horrifying."

Ellie felt great empathy for him. She had also seem people very close to her lose their minds from the infection. "I bet it was."

"Joel, come here for a sec," Brenda called out to him.

"Sorry Tomas, Brenda needs me." Joel felt a little bad about having to walk away from Tomas as he was telling his story.

Tomas continued, and grew even more emotional. "But the worst part... was what I didn't see."

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked.

Tomas's breathing broke as tears formed in his eyes. "When I left home to come to America, I came alone. I left behind six siblings, our mother who raised all seven of us by herself, and..." he could no longer contain his tears, "...my girlfriend and our newborn s-son." Ellie grew emotional along with Tomas. She couldn't even comprehend leaving behind a newborn, and then have the world go to shit, knowing that the infant couldn't possibly survive. "Oh, Patrik... he would have only been two months old when the infection reached my country. But... the last time I talked with my family, we were talking about when I would see them again. I never g-got a chance to tell them g-goodbye." He was fully sobbing at this point in the story. "Can you imagine... being halfway around the world from everyone you love, knowing that surely horrible things happened to them... and that you will never be able to see them again?" He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to fight the torrent of tears. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Ellie got closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to apologize for. Everyone's lost something or someone... it's just the world we live in. You've got a great family now, cherish them."

Tomas looked at Ellie and smiled. "It's remarkable that a girl so small can carry a heart so big." Ellie turned her head away in mild embarrassment at his compliment. "What is your name?" he asked.

"Ellie," she responded.

"Thank you for listening to me," he said earnestly.

"Your welcome," Ellie replied.

That concludes chapter 14 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Hannah learns the hard way not to trifle with the wrong people.

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