Chapter VI: Truth

And thus, I had arrived at this very moment.


(Music: "The Last of Us", by Gustavo Santaolalla)


With my time-aged Beretta aimed at Joel, I crouched so as to get a better, more even view of my father. The emotions that broiled in me in those moments were indescribable; Anxiety, resentment, excitement, fear, anger, sorrow, grief...

"Your name... is Joel... right?"

When I'd first seen this man through the window, it was as if my mind had immediately recognized him, despite having never seen him in my life. I looked around the corpse party of a room, seeing another person whom I hadn't killed lying unconscious next to a wooden drawer; His face was bruised and beaten, and blood was leaking from a gash in his head.

Satisfied that no one would be interrupting my confrontation, I turned my head back to Joel, waiting for his answer. Despite what I'd asked, he seemed to be in a state of abject shock; The words that came out of my mouth seemed to paralyze him entirely. Seeing that expression on his face was...

...

...

...

"...Huh?"

Without even realizing it... tears had begun welling in my eyes and streaked down my face. In slight confusion, I used my hand to rub away the tears; Only for more to surface. It irked me to no end, as I had no understanding of why I was crying. And yet, no matter how much I wiped away the tears, they would not stop.

My insides were alight with a frothing boil of torn emotions; With each second that passed, I felt as if my life were unwinding. He... He knew of me already and abandoned me!...

...

...

...

...Right...?

"Uh... um..." I muttered, trying to quell the violent shivering that overtook my body. "I... I..."

What was happening? Why was this happening to me? I came here to KI-

Immediately, I began to hyperventilate; Now that I was sitting before him, my father, that word could not be finished in my head. I stared at him, the only living relative I knew. He stared back at me with the same emotional torment in his eyes.

The last relative I knew.

"What..." He muttered, tears beginning to surface in his eyes. "What's... your name?"

I was frozen for a moment; Not because of indecision, but because I... I...

I had no fucking clue what to do.

"I... My name is..." I stuttered, still trying to wipe away the relentless flow of tears from my eyes. "...Jack. Jack... Tess."

Joel was silent now, his bottom lip quivering as more tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I... I don't... I don't understand..." He muttered, bringing one hand up to his mouth to cover it in complete shock. "I don't understand what..."

For the first time in my life, seeing the turmoil in my father's face, feeling the emotions I felt in that moment...

I cried.

I cried, and cried, and cried. The Beretta fell from my hand and clattered onto the floor, as I collapsed to the ground and sobbed quietly in front of Joel. I couldn't bring myself to look at his face, or to even raise a gun against him. All the pent-up rage, hatred, and resentment I'd built up against him over all those years...

It dissipated.

Every near-death situation, every moment of fear and anger I'd felt in my life, every crisis and revelation I'd come upon, every moment of mental and physical anguish and pain and misery I'd suffered through just to get to this moment...

I was so... so... FRUSTRATED.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!"

I screamed at Joel, for minutes on end, insulting and accusing and berating him relentlessly. I couldn't have recalled all the things I said in those moments, but at the time I simply didn't care.

I just wanted to scream.

And all through the bluster and ranting and raving, Joel sat completely silent, tears tracing down his face; His face remained in a state of shock and sorrow, and even still I could tell he was listening. By the end of it, I was completely exhausted, huffing for air, crying even in the frustrated, wrathful state I was in.

A moment of silence passed by...

...

And... I looked back up at Joel, seeing him open his mouth to say something-

CRACK!


(Music: "Longing (Redemptions)", by Gustavo Santaolalla)


The door from across the room suddenly flew open as someone slammed through it, nearly knocking it off its hinges. I was shocked out of my catharsis as I swerved my head, barely having time to register the person's presence.

"JOEL!" A young female voice cried out; I heard the unholstering of a firearm, and quickly made a sprint for the side door as I was sure they were leveling the firearm at me.

"WAIT, DON'T!"

The girl shook as Joel's voice rang out in the room with a boom, and she seemed to hesitate in pulling the trigger as I frantically sprinted out the exit. As I ran out of the compound, I could hear that girl crying out to Joel, and it filled me with inexplicable rage that I had not had the chance to tell Joel of myself fully. Nonetheless, now that I knew where he was,

I would not stop.


After escaping the compound, I found a shady spot outside of the facility and waited to see if anyone would come after me. Luckily, it seemed that the girl from earlier was likely occupied with helping Joel get out of there. And so, I waited patiently, eagerly until I saw Joel, along with that girl and the other wounded man, leaving quickly through the front door.

In quiet haste, I stalked them from a far distance as they made their way back to their settlement. Hours passed as they made their way through the snow, carrying quiet conversations I could not hear from the distance I was stalking them from. Even in my silent pursuit, I could not stop the tears that continued to wet my face, and it both angered and frightened me that I was an emotional mess even hours after the encounter.

Finally, after what felt like ages, I spotted the settlement they were heading towards a mile or so away, and separated from the three, climbing up a steep hilltop that overlooked the large settlement. I watched with an unswerving gaze as the three limped up to the gates, beckoning for help. I took out my binoculars, seeing a few guards run up to help escort them inside, and decided this would be a good lookout position while I figured out my next move.


(Music: "Snake Mountain Blues", by Colter Wall)


"Hey, Daryl."

"Dammit- What, Clyde?"

"Check this out."

Clyde sighed as Daryl's shit-eating grin took his attention. The two were standing on the elevated rifle outpost at the front gates of Jackson City, the settlement where Ellie and Joel resided, serving as outpost guards until the next ones took their shift. Country music blared from the speaker that sat in the stand where they were guarding.

Clyde was surprised to see Daryl suddenly pull out a homemade suppressor from his pocket, waving it around like a trophy.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" Clyde asked with incredulity. Daryl snickered, screwing the suppressor onto his rifle.

"I asked Jules to make one for me since, you know, I'm always the one going out on scavenging runs?"

"Yeah, sure you are. Let's just forget about Randy, Jesse, Mark, Franz, Ellie, Dina, Joel, Xavier-"

"Alright, alright!" Daryl huffed with exasperation, sitting in the only foldable chair on the stand as he laid the rifle across his lap. He reached down into the cooler that sat next to the chair, pulling out a cold Budweiser and cracking it open. "Don't gotta get so anal about it."

Clyde made a sound of disgust as he noticed the brand of beer Daryl was drinking.

"Really? Budweiser? Please don't tell me that is the brand you decided to scavenge on that gas station run from last night."

"You know," Daryl stated, taking a swig of the beer. "Maybe you could enjoy life a little more if you didn't focus so much on the brand, but rather the actual part of getting drunk."

"Well, I'm sorry that I don't drink piss brand beers for fun, Daryl. Maybe if you'd found some Dos Equis or IPAs, I would have-"

"HEEEEY! HEEEY, COME HELP!"

The two guards were suddenly disrupted from their easygoing time by frantic shouting from below. They peered over the outpost railing to see Ellie, Joel and a barely-conscious Tommy limping towards the front gate.

"Holy shit!"

"What the hell happened?!"

The two quickly climbed down the stand, rushing over to the gate and having the gate operator open it up. They quickly ushered in the three, launching a number of questions at them.

"Jesus, Joel! What happened to your leg?!"

"Tommy! Who the hell did this to you?! We'll go kill those bastards right now-!"

"Hey!" Ellie chastised them. "Can we focus on fuckin' helping them first?!"

"Oh! O-Of course!"

As the three went further into the settlement, citizens came out from their houses and shops to see the three as they made their way to the medical bay; Kids ran up to ask questions that none of them bothered answering, while adults either looked on in concern or asked their own questions, which still remained unanswered as Ellie focused on bringing Joel and Tommy to get some medical attention first.

While the vast settlement had their attention focused on these spicy events, none were aware of the onlooker from afar.

Watching.

Waiting.