Chapter 02: Welcome to Seattle

Seattle, Stadium Base.

"...Abby?...Abby!"

Abby jolted awake in a cold sweat. "Woah, easy there, Abs. You okay?", Manny asked. "Yeah...just another shitty dream is all. What's up?", Abby asked. "General Dixon wants us at the FOB.", Manny answered. Abby sighed. "Really?", she asked. "I'm afraid so." After she slowly got up from her resting spot, the two of them made their way out of the Library, and to the Mess Hall for breakfast.

Once they arrived, they met up with Owen, who was holding two burritos in each hand. He gave them a slight smile, but his barely disguised negative emotions weren't fooling anyone. Things between Abby and her boyfriend hadn't exactly been great since the intense argument they had shortly after Ellie's death. This was to be the first interaction the two of them had with one another since the fight.

Abby and Manny walked over to him. "...Hey.", Abby said, awkwardly. "Morning.", Owen said back to her. "You uh...eat yet?", Abby asked him. "Yeah, I'm good. I went ahead and got you two these ahead of time since we've been assigned to the same squad, today.", Owen replied, handing the burritos over. Abby was afraid of that. She had wanted to find the time to make things up with Owen, just not this way, not on a mission. "Uh...okay, any of the others coming, too?", Abby asked.

"Nah. Jordan's out on patrol, Leah's still at the TV Station, Nora's already at the FOB, and Mel's out on patrol with Danny. It'll just be us three, today.", Owen answered. "Ugh, Danny? Shit, I feel bad for her.", Abby said. "Still better than if I got with her, though. Thank God.", she thought. "C'mon, let's head for the armory.", said Owen.

Owen and Manny were simple men, all they needed were their M4A1 carbines and an M9 Beretta pistol on their hips. Though Manny in his spare time liked to tinker with his guns, and as a result, his pistol featured an extended magazine and his carbine had a foregrip as well as a compensator to aid in recoil management.

Abby's sidearm was a simple Glock 18 pistol, but as far as her main rifle went, she perferred something with a little more firepower than the M4, which fired a 5.56 cartridge. So she carried an AKM rifle, which fired a slightly bigger 7.62 cartridge. The rifle's larger round produced more recoil but did more damage. Abby was very strong, and her own AKM had a foregrip and compensator (courtesy of Manny), so recoil management wasn't too problematic even with the gun's larger bullets.

On their way to the trucks, the squad noticed a nearby squad of new recruits about to embark on their first mission. "May your survival be long and your death's be swift, soldiers. Fall in.", the sqaud's ranking officer commanded. Abby grinned, serving the Washington Liberation Front gave her life purpose.

She owed them her life after what they did for her following the fall of the Fireflies. And as far as she was concerned, so did all of her fellow former-Fireflies. And anyone who would dare to threaten the WLF would feel the bite of it's razor-sharp teeth. She would make sure of it.

...

Washington, Outskirts of Seattle.

Joel and his two allies were so close, almost there. All they needed to do now was make it through this highly dense forest in their path.

"So, how lost are we?", Dina asked. "Uh, we ain't.", said Tommy in a voice that lacked sufficient confidence. "Uh-huh. Yeah, sure.", said Dina. "Hey, have a little faith, kiddo.", said Joel.

Eventually, they came across a road. "Alright, we follow this highway, should take us to the city.", said Joel. "Well, whaddya know, I really should've just had some faith.", said Dina. "Home stretch, Joel", said Tommy. "Yeah...", said Joel, eagerly and nervously awaiting the coming battle.

After following the road for a bit, they reached the blocked-off gate which led into the city. "Shit, I was afraid of that. Let's look around, try to find a way though.", said Joel. With that, the trio dismounted their horses, and began their search.

Dina looked at the spray-painted message on the wall:

WLF TERRITORY. ALL TRESSPASSORS WILL BE ARRESTED. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, YOU WILL BE SHOT.

"Wow. That's friendly.", said Dina, sarcastically.

Whilst searching nearby old FEDRA tents, Tommy found some ammo, and perhaps more importantly, a complete map of Seattle. "Now this'll come in handy.", said Tommy.

Joel managed to find a way through via some climbing, and once he reached the other side, he opened up the gate for his two allies, and they continued on.

They had at last made it to their destination. To Seattle. All that was needed now was to find the woman who slaughtered Ellie, and exact justice.

"You guys seeing what I'm seeing? There's no one fucking here.", said Dina in a surprised tone. "Yeah, don't let that throw you off. Stay vigilant.", said Joel.

Dina was amazed and somewhat horrified to see how heavily damaged the city was. "Good God, what the hell caused this?", she asked. "Military bombed the hell outta this place. Probably to kill as many infected as possible. Could've also been rebels.", answered Tommy. "Jesus, sounds like overkill to me.", said Dina. "Well, it usually worked.", said Joel. "No shit. FEDRA really doesn't fuck around. It's no wonder the Fireflies lost that war.", said Dina.

Joel sighed. "...Yeah."

They lost because I killed their leader and all her top lieutenants to save Ellie.

While they explored the outer city, they occasionally encountered some infected, but still no non-fungal people. The infected were in small groups, nothing the three of them couldn't handle.

They came across an old music store. "Hey, can we check out that place?", asked Dina. "Don't see why not. Joel?", asked Tommy. "Suppose it couldn't hurt.", said Joel.

While they explored the inside and searched for supplies, Dina said, "Hey old guys, maybe when this is over with, we should start a band." Tommy laughed. "I think I'm good."

Joel went into a room upstairs, and found a surprisingly well-preserved acoustic guitar. Unable to resist the urge, he picked it up, sat down, and began to strum away.

Moments later, he noticed that Dina and Tommy entered the room, drawn in by the sound of his playing. "Damn, you're good. I mean, I've known that for years, but still.", said Dina. "How long have you been playing that thing?"

"Most of my life. Me and Tommy...had a hard childhood, and things only got harder after me and all our classmates in school started to become teenagers. We needed a distraction. Something to help take our minds off of the world...so we started learning how to play.", said Joel. "Well, we probably have time. Why don't you play something?", requested Dina. "...Okay.", said Joel.

"If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself. Every thing I have found here, I've not found by myself.

Try and sometimes you'll succeed, to make this man of me. All my stolen missing parts, I've no need for anymore.

'Cause I believe...and I believe 'cause I can see, our Future Days. Days of you and me."

Tommy smiled. Dina sat spechless for a few seconds. "I would've given anything to have a father like you."

Joel smiled, but then said, "I don't know about that. I haven't done a good job so far."

"Bullshit.", said Dina.

...

After they made their way out of the music store, they re-mounted their horses, and continued on into the city. "Okay, is anyone else hungry? I know we still have some snacks in our backpacks left but I can't fucking believe we didn't find any-"

*BOOM!*

Dina was cut off when an explosion knocked them all off of their horses, leaving Joel's on the ground in a bloody mess and Tommy and Dina's horses to run away without a second thought.

After Joel shook off his stun, he looked around and saw that Tommy was nowhere to be seen. However, he could see Dina, laying on the ground and not moving. "Ah, hell!", he cried out as he stumbled towards her. "Shit! Dina! Dina, wake up! Dammit!"

A quick, hard whack on the back of his head knocked him out, cold.

...

A smack on his face woke Joel up. The first thing he saw when he came to was the one who smacked him. His heart skipped a beat when he realized it was one of the men who was responsible for Ellie and Jesse's murders. He tried to move, but his hands had been bound with a rope. "I was afraid you'd come for us. How'd you find us?", Jordan asked. "I asked around about a boy with a pussy scar across his face.", Joel replied.

He quickly looked over and saw that Dina was also tied up, nearby. With some bruises on her face. The bastards had been beating her. Joel also saw that there was another WLF soldier standing under the skylight of the room they were in, and his and Dina's backpacks were both nearby, but out of reach. "Hmm, that's funny.", said Jordan just before punching Joel in the face. "How many of you are there? Huh? Just you two!?"

Joel didn't reply. "You better quit pissing me off, old man, or else I'll make you scream like your fucking kid!", yelled Jordan. "You should really quit making him mad, man. He's gonna break your neck-"

Jordan cut Dina off. "You zip it, bitch! Don't make me come back over there!" Jordan's comrade then said, "Jordan, this is a waste of time. Let's just put a bullet in these two and be done with it-" A bullet shot through Jordan's friend's chest, straight through the heart. Someone had shot him through the skylight. "Ah, fuck!", Jordan yelled as he shot three bullets through the skylight, causing the shooter to fall through and land into the room.

It was Tommy.

Jordan wasted no time. He ran towards Tommy, pinned him down, and began to through punch after punch at him. "Shit, Tommy!", Dina yelled. "Dammit.", said Joel as he looked around for a way to get free. He then saw a nearby glass shard from the skylight remains. He moved it with his foot, grabbed it, and then began to saw through his bonds.

Once his bonds had been fully cut, Joel sprinted to Jordan, grabbed him, and twisted his neck, killing him instantly. "Told you so.", said Dina. "Tommy you alright?", asked Joel as he helped him get up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay.", he answered despite the fresh bruises on his face. "Okay, then you help Dina I'm gonna check these bodies for something we can use.", said Joel.

Joel grabbed a few bullets off of Jordan's ally's body. As for Jordan himself, he found an envelope with a picture of one of the other people present during Ellie's murder. "Fuck, Joel! His pals are here! GET IN COVER!", Dina yelled.

Joel grabbed his backpack, got in cover, and readied his M16 rifle. This was the moment he had been waiting for ever since he saw the knife get dragged across Ellie's throat. A chance to let loose and get revenge. Unleash his rage.

And that, he did. The Wolves were well-armed and well-trained, but they were no match for Dina's courage, Tommy's marksmanship, and Joel's sheer fury.

They fought their way through the school, all the way to the roof, killing several Wolves in the process. But they couldn't afford to waste all their bullets so soon, and more WLF soldiers were driving to the school via humvees and Jeeps. "We gotta get away from this school. Follow me.", Joel commanded to his two allies.

They jumped to a close-by apartment building, and made their way through it. Thankfully, there were no enemies to be found, here. And even a small amount of supplies were scattered here and there.

Eventually, they made it to the other side, and they saw that the wall had been heavily damaged, leaving a massive hole overlooking much of the city. After they all caught their breath, Tommy asked, "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah.", Joel and Dina both said to him. "Well alright...Now what?", asked Tommy. "I got a lead.", said Joel as he pulled the envelope and photograph out of his backpack. "Look at this."

"Holy shit.", said Dina while she gazed at the picture of the partially nude woman. "She's one of the ones who helped kill Ellie.", said Joel. "Oh, well *ahem*, fuck her, then.", said Dina in a somewhat embarrassed tone, causing Tommy to smirk. "Anyway, that ain't the point. The envelope gives away her location: The TV Station. Tommy, gimme that map you found.", said Joel.

After Tommy laid down the map, he said, "Yeah, TV Station ain't far. By those tall buildings." Dina then pointed towards said buildings through the hole in the wall. "Yeah, not too far. But you know, she might not still be there.", said Dina. Joel then replied, "Yeah, but we got no other lead, and only one way to find out."

Joel reloaded his M16, clicking the button to lock the magazine in place. "Y'all ready to get moving?"