"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

-Leviticus

A spider, well covered and festering with the Cordyceps Fungus crawls along a wooden beam within a long since abandoned apartment, its motions were stiff and robotic, showing just how much of a puppet it became to the spore pandemic that engulfed the rest of the world. Its destination was somewhere nice and damp amongst the moldy carpets and ruined wallpaper, so the Fungal organism that controlled it could flourish further. But its quest to find such an ideal environment is abruptly interrupted, when the front door to one of the apartments was forced open, broken by the blunt force of a large man ramming his shoulder against it and successfully clearing a path within.

As the creature scurried to the dark confines of a nearby vent, two men entered through the main entrance and looked around as they were exploring their surroundings. One of them was a Caucasian looking man, keeping warm in a dark green hoodie as he ran one of his hands through his short blonde hair, which was somewhat dirtied by the experiences he went through, but not as much as his companion.

The other fellow was a larger man with a more imposing look about him, his darker skin color and long black ponytail made it clear that he was of Native American descent, he was in somewhat worse appearing condition than his friend, as if he was more used to doing the rougher sort of work between them. After finishing his sweep of the room, the larger man dusted off the cobwebs and dried spackle that fell onto his Aviator Jacket after the sudden force of opening the door.

"Huh…" the Younger man said as the two passed by the living room space, he commented "Nice digs…" as he proceeded to enter the space, wandering his eyes about as he had almost forgotten how people used to live before all this. His awe and fascination about memories of the old world vanished the moment he saw the Kitchen…and the dead body of a woman swinging from a Noose. His sorrow took a backseat to his curiosity as he slowly approached the dead woman, learning the reason for her suicide as he saw the bite marks on her arm…and the fungal parasites writhing like worms within the wounds. Soon he began to roll up his sleeve, examining the bite mark he had on his arm for over a week now, as he tried to see a silver lining to the path he was on.

"Hey, Vincent?" He called out to his comrade, who in turn responded "Yeah, Tofer?" encouraging his ally to speak. He asked "Do…Do you think there's a group out there that's trying to cure this stuff that AREN'T total dicks?" questioning if his blood and DNA could help people. But all Vincent responded with was "That's not important right now, what IS important is getting somewhere safe and as your big brother, I WILL do whatever it takes." as he approached his younger Brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, reminding him of his duty and purpose. The Younger brother nodded, simply muttering "Yeah…I appreciate that man." as the older Brother resumed his scavenging through the house, rummaging around and opening cabinet after drawer as he looked for supplies.

He soon stopped when his gaze wandered out the window, spotting yet another dead body…only it was not suicide, in fact, it seemed to be some warped, modernized version of a crucifixion. The Body was mangled and bloodied, violently torn apart in a way that Vincent recognized…and in a way that made him sneer in anger, he then turned to his younger Brother and said "Those Cultists were here…stay close and don't let ANYONE find out about your condition." as he then grabbed a blunt instrument from his backpack and held it tightly, ready to kill anyone that would threaten his little Brother. But out of sheer curiosity, and also to help brighten the mood, Tofer asked "Don't suppose we could convince them it's Mother Nature's way of giving the reins back to Humans?" as he already knew the answer to his satirical question.

Eventually, the two reached a set of metal doors that lead to some sort of maintenance hall, but further examination proved that it was rusted shut from the years of neglect and would not budge. Vincent then gestured for Tofer to step back and held his finger to his own lips to encourage him to be silent before putting on a pair of specially made metal gloves to help protect his skin from Infection as he then readied himself in a boxing position, prepared for whatever would emerge from behind the doors. He was soon ramming his foot forward and kicked the double doors open with a loud *Bang!* as the sound echoed in the empty, quiet ambience of the dead city they were in. Both brothers kept quiet, their hearing keen on detecting any approaching threat as they knew what type of foes this global infestation created for them, and soon enough they heard a distant screech and the approaching sound of "Clicking".

In just a few moments, a particular infected type emerged from the outside, hobbling and limping its way into the apartment that the Brothers occupied. It was frail and skeletal, as if it had not eaten for weeks and was thriving off of what little nutrients the fungus provided as the flourishing parasitic organism covered its eyes and skull, poetic considering how much it puppetted and controlled the poor shambling corpse that was once this person. It squealed and clicked upon entering the apartment's main hall, looking for whatever caused the earlier noise, but before it could reach the Kitchen, it heard a quick and sharp "Whistling" sound caught its attention, as if to mock it, it wasted no time lunging forth at whatever made that sound, ready to kill its prey. But Vincent was quick and violent, knocking down the "Clicker" in one swift punch, proceeding to kneel over the Infected creature as he began violently beating its skull until it eventually caved in, leaving behind a pooling mass of blood, viscera and fungal fragments as it was already long dead. After he finished pulverizing his foe into a graphic mess, Vincent rose up from his kneeling stance and muttered "Let's go!" to his Brother as they began to pass through the metal doors and enter the Maintenance Hall.

They continued their exploration as they quietly walked through the vast and wide, dimly lit hall that connected so many rooms, keeping their voices low and footsteps slow. They were careful not to speak, focusing their attention on whatever came from the rooms, but soon enough they saw a small crowd of Infected people rushing out into the Hall, looking like victims of rabies as they searched around the area for the earlier noise. The Brothers quickly hid behind a nearby cart that was used for transporting supplies, staying low and out of sight as Vincent was ready to beat down three more Infected…but Tofer grabbed Vincent by the shoulder, whispering "Hey, my turn." as he pulled out a small plastic device that looked hastily built and packed with wires which he presented to his brother. Vincent then watched as Tofer threw the small plastic device down the hall, managing to keep quiet as it landed somewhere between the Infected victims, soon it began blaring a loud noise that drove the surrounding Infected into a violent frenzy. They swarmed the small plastic device, batting it, swatting it, throwing it, one of them even went so far as to cram it into his mouth and begin biting it, but they all crowded around it, Hell bent on its destruction…until…

*BANG!*

It exploded, turning the Infected that swarmed it into a nice cloud of giblets and gore as all three were killed by the explosion. After the dust cleared and the bodies stopped moving, Vincent smiled with pride at his Brother's invention, turning to him and commenting "Nice job, Dude!" as Tofer smiled, satisfied with his latest invention. "Let's roll!" Vincent urged Tofer, rushing ahead as he took the lead, ready to take down any Infected he came across, whether they clicked or screamed. Tofer was right behind him, but stopped for a moment when he saw that one of the infected corpses had a strange blue paper sticking out of his pocket. His curiosity got the better of him and he grabbed the item from the bloodied corpse as he then unrolled it and he smiled as he realized the advantage he found.

Vincent continued his rush, stopping only when he reached the intersection of Hallways, leaning against a corner as he looked around and searched for any threats present, soon Tofer caught up with him and leaned behind him as he whispered "Hey, Vince, check this out." as the older Brother finished his sweep, then turned back to see what his little Brother found. He unrolled the blue sheet of paper as Tofer confirmed "They're blueprints of this floor, and if they're up to date, we're just a few turns from the exit." causing Vincent to smile once again as he patted his brother on the back, commenting "Nice find. Follow me!" as he then had a direct path to go, being the first once more as they made their way through the halls of the apartment complex, only stopping when they needed to silently dispose of any Infected that managed to wander into the building's halls.

After a few twists and turns, as well as executing a Clicker and a couple of Infected, the Brothers managed to reach the doors that the Blueprints confirmed to be the exit…though they stopped when they saw that the end of the hallway, including the doors themselves, were totally pollinated with spores, enough to infect anyone that got a good breath of them. The two silently thought of a new plan, possibly considering another exit path, but further inspection of the blueprints showed that the alternate routes were already attempted, as some of them had hand drawn X's on them to indicate that the path was no good. As they realized their limitations of options, Tofer tried to lighten the mood once more as he joked "So…you thinking I should go on ahead and see if I can't break down a wall or something?" but Vincent refused to play along, as he responded in a serious tone with "Not funny." as he continued to contemplate an alternative solution. Tofer simply tried to respond "Dude, relax, I was just joking-" before their collective attention was brought to the outside, hearing the distant sound of tires screeching to a halt and vehicular doors opening and slamming shut. Both brothers slowly rushed away, knowing to immediately try to get out of sight, hiding in one of the empty rooms as they recognized who it was that approached the doors they were previously trying to pass through. After finding a good hiding spot, The brothers were silent like everything else in the building, keeping their breathing steady and their bodies low as they waited with baited breath for something to happen.

*BOOM!*

A sudden explosion echoed throughout the complex, warning the Brothers that someone forced their way in and alerting any Infected that the two managed to sneak past or even just missed by coincidence. As the dust cleared, a group of 6 heavily armed soldiers wearing body armor and gas masks slowly and methodically entered the building, their ArmaLite rifles raised and sweeping the room for any hostels in the area. It didn't take long for a group of howling Infected to rush in and begin charging the soldiers, mouths foaming with rage and their motor skills semi-hindered from the Fungus that ravaged their brains. One of the soldiers shouted "Sanchez!" As if to call out to someone, he was answered by one of his fellow squadmates stepping forth and raising his AR at the approaching Infected, opening fire and disposing all 7 of the oncoming rabid victims using only half of his magazine. Once everything returned to silence, the soldier that executed the crowd of Infected loudly claimed "Targets Neutralized, Reloading!" as he immediately replaced the magazine that was in his gun and readied it for further dispatching of Infected foes. The one that commanded the soldier earlier took point, stepping forward in front of the others as he silently gestured his allies to follow him, instruction "Deploy a Fungicide, We'll Diverge into teams of Two, sweep the area and report any trace of Subject 6 you find." As one the Soldiers immediately and quietly obeyed his orders, throwing down a small silvery canister full of an unknown gaseous material, already primed and deploying a small gaseous cloud that began to dissolve the Spores that lingered in the area. Once the air was cleared, they then began to break from a single cluster of Six into Three pairs as they went in different directions and began searching for whatever this "Subject 6" was. One Duo went upstairs, searching on the higher floors, another set were searching down the Halls, guns raised for any unwanted surprises, and the last pair began to search every single room, one by one…eventually making their way into the room that the brothers hid in, failing to see that they were hiding behind an Oak Desk that was once used to aid someone's study.

As the Soldiers entered, both Vincent and Tofer kept low and steadied their breathing to avoid detection, praying that the soldiers would not check behind the desk…and to their luck, they didn't. Instead, one of them stayed behind and kept on lookout for any further Infected, while the other explored the room further, investigating a Hole in the wall that connected two of the rooms, big enough for a full grown person to walk through with ease. As the Exploring Soldier walked through the hole, keeping his gun raised as he continued his search, the other's eyes began to wander around the room, eventually turning around and looking out of the room's door once he heard the distant sound of gunfire upstairs, showing that his comrades found more Infected and were already amidst the process of terminating them.

"God, this place is festering with the Fungus." The distracted Commando said, oblivious about how his comrade was having his throat being slit by Vincent, growing annoyed as he complains "I swear that kid better be here or I'm gonna-Hagh-!" before he was quickly being strangled by the Younger Brother, who wrapped a torn piece of fabric around the Soldier's neck and was trying to choke him out, hoping to defeat him without killing. The Soldier had already dropped his weapon from the sudden attempt and was trying to reach behind him to stop his attacker, but after a few seconds of failing to grab Tofer, a sudden realization dawned on the Soldier as he quickly drew his Glock 22 and fired it wildly into the air. After already unloading a quarter of his bullets into the ceiling above, the Soldier is swiftly executed by the Older Brother, who uses the pistol of the Grunt's fallen ally, silencing his shots…but not before alerting the other Soldiers. After the Soldier fell dead onto the floor, Vincent immediately went for the Rifle of the dead Comrade Soldier beneath him, readying it in his hands while Tofer was still in shock, feeling guilt for the death of the man before him despite the Soldier's goals. Before either of them were fully aware of it, another Soldier rushed through the door and immediately spotted Tofer, raising his AR at him and shouting "HEY!" but just as he pulled the trigger, his commander pushed away the rifle and retorted "WAIT!" as a few stray bullets hit the wall behind Tofer, causing the Younger brother to duck behind the Desk once more to try and hide from further attacks, shaken and rattled by the sudden gunfire. The Commanding Soldier then reminded his subordinate of their mission and that "Don't kill him! We need him alive!" as he then turned his attention towards the Desk and began to slowly approach it with his rifle raised, intent on injuring but not killing as he demanded "Come on out, don't make this any harder on yourself…you don't have to-" but stopping himself when he sees the Older Brother in the conjoined room, raising the AR at the commanding Soldier and immediately firing the weapon. The Soldier could only muster "Shit!" as he tried to raise his rifle in response, but was already gunned down before he could train his sights on Vincent. The Subordinate Soldier then spoke to himself, stating

"I'm guessing that one we can kill!" before raising his rifle at Vincent and trying to execute him. Vincent managed to avoid the hail of bullets though, ducking behind a piece of drywall that shields the sight of his large image as he began to reload the weapon in his hands for a retaliation. The Soldier slowly approached the path of Drywall the Older Brother hid behind, ready to terminate him on sight, but before he got too close, an empty bottle that was thrown by Tofer struck the soldier's head, while he was protected by the helmet, it still disorientated him long enough for Vincent to emerge from cover and riddle the Commando with bullets.

Tofer took another deep breath as he witnessed another person die before him, but his moment of thought was interrupted when the Older Brother rushed to him and urged him "We gotta go!" as the two then began to flee out of the room, rushing down the Hall as they were quickly spotted by the remaining two Soldiers. One of them shouted "There they are!" as he opened fire on them, trying to take out the Larger of the two but failing as the Brothers were already turning the corner and rushing to the exit that was previously blocked off, making a run for the outside. The Soldiers rushed forth in pursuit, radioing their commanding ranks of their position and situation, requesting additional aid.

As for the Brothers, they managed to reach the Set of doors that led to the outside and forced them open on contact as they immediately planned to make a run for it in any direction…but stopping when they see that they are surrounded by a group of people, carrying various guns and wearing ragged clothes, all adorning a strange sun-cap atop their heads, as if to signify some sort of affiliation with a group. "…Shit…" Vincent muttered to himself as he tried to gesture to his brother to get behind him. But the surrounding crowd kept their weapons trained on him as one of them shouted at the Older Brother, instructing him "Drop your weapon!" as he hesitated, but eventually and reluctantly came to the acceptance that his odds of their safety were not good enough to risk a shootout. He lowered the Rifle in his hands to the floor, raising his hands into the air as he was then ordered "Now Kick it over here!" refusing to do so until he was instructed a second time, even being threatened with a shotgun blast into the air by one of the leaders of the group. Vincent then begrudgingly complied, kicking the Automatic Rifle to the crowd as they slowly approached the Brothers…but before they got too close, a strange large shadow appeared, blotting out the nearly setting Sun as it then landed between the Brothers and the surrounding crowd, it was a special kind of Infected, one that was Greatly Large and Muscular, seemingly designed to be a weapon rather than by becoming this monstrosity through chance of Fungal exposure and mutation. It then rose up after leaving deep cracks in the ground from its meteoric entrance that shook the Earth around it, standing tall and frighteningly large as it then turned its attention to the Brothers, giving the two a good look at its disturbingly infested head, flowering with the Fungal agent and sporting a strange metal collar around its neck. It then was about to approach the two, but one of the leading members of surrounding group shouted "Don't let him take the Boy!" as he was the first to fire his shotgun at the hulking Beast, soon joined by the crowd behind him as they were determined to execute this abomination. A moment after the barrage of bullets and gunfire began to wash over the Monster, it grew frustrated and eventually turned its attention to the angry mob that was Hellbent on killing it. It immediately began charging at them, swinging its massive fists as it proceeded to execute them one by one through brutal punches alone, it even picked up one of them and ripped the man clean in half like paper.

The Brothers then used this sudden rush of chaos and conflict to make a break for it as Vincent grabbed Tofer by his hand and the two began to run as far as they could from the bloodshed and gunfire. But despite already running a good kilometer down the street, the Brothers stop when they see the same Beast land before them, blocking their path as it slowly rose up, the shining sun illuminating it further as the tattoo of the number "09" on its shoulder was present and so were the metal gauntlets it wore, and it was clear this Monster was crafted and groomed to be this horrific and brutal. After it rose to its natural height, it began to growl like a savage as it stared down the brothers, despite its head being covered in fungus, it seemed more than aware of their presence. The two took a few steps back as Tofer simply said "I think he remembers us." to which the older Brother sneered his teeth and grabbed a Shotgun from his backpack, cocking it as he growled "Then let's make sure he doesn't forget what happens this time."

Synopsis:

Orphaned Brothers, Tofer Quinn and Vincent Lightbull, were just kids when the pandemic started but thankfully found salvation in a small port town called "Fishland" where they spent most of their young years living in peace. But after a Darwinist cult burned their hometown to the ground, the Brothers rely on each other once more as they now try and survive between the warring conglomerates, of the zealots of evolution, a group called "The Children of the Spore" and a private Military company Hellbent on a Cure, called "STEM" as they endure all kinds of challenges and experiences in their new travels…the most impactful fact being that Tofer was recently made immune to the Cordyceps Fungus.

Author's notes:

Believe it or not, I was a HUGE fan of the Last of Us, played it back when it first came out in 2013 and I thought it was one of the most well written and interestingly told game of the 2010's…but when 2 came out, I was beyond disappointed and infuriated (and my expectations were already low and considering how much I LOVED Psychonauts 2, I know it wasn't just nostalgia, nor because it took so long, the story was just poorly paced and horrifically handled) I'm mostly writing the story about these two as an alternative sequel to the Last of Us, my way of what I think a sequel should've been. I already have 5 chapters of it finished and I plan on posting them soon enough, calling it "The Last of Us: Journey in the West" (I grew attached to the name, sue me, Lol) and I'm hoping it can be used as an example of how to tell a story without relying on previously iterated characters or forgoing a well established world full of potential. I already have a sequel Idea for these two that tie into 1 AND 2, which I will call "The Last of Us, Part 3" since we know a sequel will NOT come out any time soon.

Until next time, QUACK!

-Sincerely, TheWubbzler