[ AUTHOR'S NOTE ]
The lovely lyrics that is featured in the chapter is from the YouTube channel 'Loks'. I had gotten the lyrics from the video and the lyrics is a great insight into what the Last of Us theme song would be sung with. The link is right below :

https://youtu.be/Em_VJ6GcNhU

{ A Week Later }

It was a glamorous evening in Jackson, Wyoming. The forest was quiet and peaceful and the sky was as clear as ever. In the town of Jackson, people were prospering as much as ever. The supplies gathered from the train station nearby brought an improve in morale, food rations, and fuel. There was a upbeat mood in every corner of the place. More people were more contented and hard-working with all the gifts that the group had brought in for them.

Inside Joel's household, they were celebrating a once in a year party. Most of them were still busy outside, finishing up their daily jobs. Tommy and Maria were busy at the dam, as always. Jesse had been promoted from his job and was now a beginner scout for one of the patrol groups around Jackson. Dina had also gotten a new job, one of the patrols that were going between the town and the dam. The past week, they were bumping into one another more often. For Joel, he was busy picking up Esther from her home.

So Ellie sat at the kitchen table, alone, slowly picking at the guitar strings to make a song. Her sore fingers laid near the body, trying to create a tune. She began playing a soothing sound, something that would be heard in ancient arts. Maybe it would come from Mozart, an artist Ellie heard from one of Joel's stories. The melody started to pick up the pace. She mixed different pitches and chords to create a attractive beat.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The rhythm consumed her thoughts, trying to think of lyrics that would fit. The random words exited her mouth to try and keep up with her hands, "Leaving home behind, strangers passing by. Could I be the one? Be the last of us?"

A large smile formed on her face, proud that she managed to make lyrics on the go. Her legs started to kick in and out, following the beat. "Oh, little girl don't cry. You'll be there for time. I'll guide you by the hand, and I won't let you cry. If all of us will die... you will never look... behind..."

The front door opened lightly, exposing a giggling Esther followed by a grinning Joel holding a cake. They were dressed like they were in the 2010's, with the ripped jeans, sneakers, and branded t-shirts. Ellie had slowly removed her fingers off the guitar, hiding the fact that she was singing. She tried to get it off her quickly, shyly trying to sit up straight.

"Ellie!" Esther called while jumping side to side like a child. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Esther." She expressed, nodding down slightly. Her eyes went to Joel, "Busy day?"

"C'mon, Ellie, it was a really hectic day." He chuckled with joy. He placed the cake on front of her, to much of her delight. "Happy birthday, Ellie."

"Why thank you, Joel." She joked, standing up to grab the plates from the kitchen counter. "Will Tommy and Maria make it?"

"Yeah..." He exhaled, looking at the food-less table that only had a cake. "They're just behind schedule with the dam."

"Will Dina and Jesse bring the food?" Esther asked, opening the refrigerator. To no avail, it was filled with bread from the harvest.

"I think so. Dina said she cooked some animal ribs. They also had some barbecue to grill." Ellie shared.

"They do know that we don't have a grill, right?" Joel noted. "Besides, we don't have time to grill."

"Don't worry," She smiled, "Jesse's going to grill it."

"Is this everything you hoped for?" He questioned.

"Closest I'll ever get to a birthday," She sighed, placing both her hands on the table, "But I appreciate the two of you for trying your best."

"Of course, it's your 17th birthday, sweetheart."

"We'll try even harder for next year." He added.

"What's the difference between this year and next year?" She shrugged her arms.

"Well," He exhaled, looking at Esther who glanced back at him, "Before the outbreak, girls tend to celebrate their 18th birthday as a milestone. Of course, it isn't like that anymore."

"But we'll try." Esther promised.

"It would be nice to see you try." She chuckled before all the lights went off.

All of the electricity inside the house had suddenly went off. A loud gasp from every house around them was heard in succession. Joel, as usual, got his walkie-talkie from his back pocket.

"Happy birthday to me." Ellie uttered, looking down on the table.

"Tommy? Tommy, do you hear me?" Joel asked.

"What the hell is going on." She stated, walking  to the window. People were exiting their houses to go on the dim streets of Jackson. It was hard to see outside, as all the lamp posts and lights were turned off. "Is there something with the dam?"

"I know, Tommy. I know." He argued with his brother on the walkie-talkie. "Listen to me, whatever is going on - don't tell me that. Tommy, I don't have time for this." There was some disagreements being made that made him frustrated. He went outside of the house and continued their conversation.

"Don't worry, Ellie. Your birthday isn't ruined." Esther assured.

"Isn't it already?" She accepted, waving her head while walking around the house.

"At least you have Joel here. I know you might not like me but - "

"Like you?" Ellie raised her voice and her hand to her, "Esther, I may not adore you but I still like you. Take that as a compliment."

"I will." She added.

"I'm just... it's 'kinda sad when only a few people show up to your birthday. I mean, I barely celebrated my birthday when I was in school."

"That's why you should be thankful." She tilted her head while staring at her. "Joel did his best to prepare this. By night's end, I guarantee that everyone will be together."

"All we can do is hope." Ellie sighed again, pulling the chair that was opposite of Esther and sitting down.

"Sweetie, you're a good kid, alright. You deserve this."

"Thank you." She muttered, staring at Esther.

In the distance, a scream echoed throughout the town so loud that everyone outside went silent. Ellie and Esther were quickly alerted to the noise, standing up to instinct. Ellie was brave enough to walk closer to the window while Esther stayed behind, getting only a glimpse of the outside from the sides of Ellie's head.

What started as a scream turned into a fire. There were raging colours of red, orange, and yellow that emerged in the air from the main gate. People were questioning what was happening outside. There were some men walking down the street, trying to see what transpired. Mothers were ushering their children back home to keep them safe from the danger lurking.

"Is everything all right? I can't see in the dark very well." Esther continued to acknowledged the blackout.

"There's a fire?" Ellie raised the blinds of the window and saw there were people running away from the main gate. "What the - "

Out of nowhere, a man started running down the street, trying to warn people, "Help! We have raiders! We have - "

The man was shot down at an instant by gunfire coming from the main gate. Screams of women and children were heard throughout the street, as men rushed back to the safety of their homes. Esther stumbled to the ground at the sound of bullets raining down the town. Ellie turned to see her, breathing heavily on the floor.

"Shit!"

"You stay here, alright?" Ellie ordered, shifting to the living room. There was a box that was under the table, which had a pistol and enough ammo to last a few fights. "We'll come back when it's safe, you got me?"

"Ellie, you shouldn't go out, you'll die!" She warned.

"I think I can hold my own out there." Ellie nodded, placing the gun on the back of her belt, "If we don't come back, get to the town center beside the stables. I'm sure everyone will be rounded up there."

Esther extended her arm to her, "Ellie, no!" She pleaded but she was too far to reach by then.

Ellie placed her arm above her eyes, avoiding the smoke that could bother her seeing. There were still people running away and screaming. The bullets have seemingly stopped, as footsteps and disagreements were the only things heard outside. She stepped down the porch to get a closer look at the main gate.

It was busted open, with dark figures moving around in the tree line. Gunfire was being heard continuously around town. They managed to burn the gate completely and narrowly missed the houses which almost got caught in the fire. By then, many have gotten back inside their houses to watch the terror unfold. All Ellie could do was try her best. Knowing best, she walked to the middle of the street, hugging the large wooden cart that was left on the road.

"Hey, assholes!" She called out to the shadows. At an instant, it felt like dozens of faces turned to her, "Come and get some of me!"

"It's the girl!" One pointed out.

"Derek! Get her!" Another ordered.

From out of nowhere, a strong teenager grabbed Ellie from behind and pushed her to the side of the cart, moving one of her legs to the crevices of the wheel. With her being unable to move, he pressed both of his thumbs into her neck, successfully choking her as she began to lose her conscious. Ellie kept on hitting his arms, but the weakness started to crawl in.

Her vision started to double, staring at two worlds at the same time. The man had gotten his whole hand to finish the job off, making sure to get her unconscious. Suddenly, a bullet pierced through his stomach from the back, exiting and hitting the cart. He was left fazed, losing his grip and bowing to his knees. Ellie immediately reached out to her switchblade, stabbing him in the neck four times. They both fell to the ground, one dead and one still breathing.

"Ellie! Get up!" A voice called out to her in the distance.

She couldn't see anything. Ellie's eyes were covered in blood that was spilling over to her face. There were moving blurs that were running to her. They were shouting at one another in anger.

"Don't hurt the girl! We need her alive!"

"They didn't say we needed her alive!" Someone responded.

"Fuckers!" A woman ran to Ellie's direction, taking shots at the men approaching them. "Ellie! Ellie!"

Her instincts came back to her, as the woman pushed her to the back of the truck, avoiding the incoming fire. Dina placed her gun down and helped Ellie put her back to the cart.

"Hey," She smiled at her, placing her hands on Ellie's neck, "Shit, you don't look good. Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks but... we're kind of in a bad situation." She muttered, gasping for air, "Bastard got me real good."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Mo - move." Ellie laid her hand on Dina's shoulder.

"What?"

"Move!" She pushed Dina to the side and grabbed her pistol. Two men turned the corner and pointed their rifles at them, but she shot them between their eyes first. "Fuck..."

"Ellie, get down!" Dina warned, as rifles aimed at them, shooting down hundreds of bullets at them. "We fucked them over real good, huh!"

Dina crawled to Ellie's side, both praying that they make it out safely. There were a dozen men approaching them, raining fire on their position. Ellie was still severely hurt and Dina was outnumbered. It seemed like they were no match.

"There's one coming up to us on the left." Ellie pointed, as their feet were visible from underneath.

Dina leaned to the side, shooting him down quickly and returned to position. The shooting didn't stop, as they seemed relentless. They were not going to back down against two teenagers.

"I'm running out of ammo, Ellie, any game plan?" Dina's shoulders were shaking tensely. "I'm already thinking of one!"

"I don't fucking know!" She argued.

Dina grabbed Ellie and took her hostage, placing the gun to her head. A woman managed to surprised them from behind, aiming her rifle to the both of them. She positioned Ellie to cover Dina's entire body from any bullets.

"Dina, what he fuck?!" Ellie shouted.

"One step closer and I'll cover the street with her blood." Dina commanded, "I swear to - ."

"Like this?" The raider enticed, shifting her right food forwards.

She unlocked the pistol, "One more damn step. I will shoot her."

"Shit." She muttered, leaning to the side to get a view of the others, "Rod... Frank! Get over here!"

There were three raiders on front of them, pointing their weapons to them. Ellie had recovered from the pain, but she was slowly trying to remove Dina's grip. She was carefully looking at the position of the raiders, as they were trying to get an angle on Dina's head.

"What did I say?! I will shoot her!" She tightened her fingers on the trigger.

"Hold up! What will it take?" The man bargained. "We can give you a lot of medicine and food. Anything. But how much are you - "

A precise headshot landed on one of the raider's heads, garnering their attention. Ellie pushed Dina's hand away, grabbing her handgun from her pocket and killing the other two quickly.

"Ellie!" Joel called, placing his sniper on his back, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." She rubbed her neck slowly and turned to Dina, "Really? That was the plan? You could've shot me!"

Dina unloaded the weapon right on front of her, "It's empty."

"Still, you don't know if you had a bullet in it."

"I know how to handle a gun, alright." Dina rolled her eyes, placing it in her pocket.

"Seems like you got a beating." Joel noticed, looking at Ellie's neck. Ellie didn't respond, so he turned to Dina, "How'd you get in here, kid?"

"Through the fence . There was one just big enough for me to fit."

"Where does it lead?"

"To the dam."

"Alright," Joel handed over the sniper to Ellie and a few cartridges. "Take Dina and find Tommy at the dam. I need you to check if they're safe."

"And you?" Ellie frowned, fear in her eyes.

"I'll..." Joel stuttered, biting his tongue, "I'll do my best. Now get over there and help out the others."

Without a beat, Dina tugged Ellie's arm and ran to the dam. Joel went on his way as well, moving to the center of town. As they left, more raiders entered the town, intimidating everyone by shooting their weapons in the air. The duo managed to escape being seen by the raiders. They crawled under the fence, running along the dirt path going to the dam.

When they got far enough, the view of Jackson was in sight. The town was burning from all four corners. Gunfire infected the skies. Dark clouds covered the air above the entire place. Screaming echoed throughout the forest from where they are. They hoped everyone was safe, as they got farther from the town they thought was safe.

As they arrived at the dam, there was a figure closing the gate in desperation. Ellie raised her sniper, aiming at the dark shadow of the person. Dina followed closely, keeping her pistol pointed at the same direction. They realized it was Tommy, as they rushed to regroup with him.

"Tommy!" Ellie shouted.

"Oh, thank God." Tommy sighed, hugging Ellie tightly. He let out a deep breath and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Happy birthday, sweetie."

"Yeah, thanks Tommy." She smirked, looking into the forest that was beside them. It was a steep slope, directly leading to the road right below them, "Wait, where is Maria?"

"She went to the Jackson earlier to get some help. I thought you would run into her."

"I didn't see Maria pass by." Dina chimed in.

"Shit." Tommy realized, making a run on the slope.

Dina and Ellie glanced at one another with doubt and worry in there eyes, but still followed Tommy into the forest. Gunshots were still raging from the city, as the fire becomes more illuminated as it grows. Fortunately, the fire was too far from the trees and narrowly missed burning the entire forest. Throughout the forest, there were scattered logs laying on the floor. They noticed that someone had probably been caught while lumbering in the night.

When they neared the street, a bullet shot past their direction. They all got down immediately, diving to the side of a log that was not rolling down as it was stuck between two trees. Dozens of bullet holes started piercing through the wood that they were hiding beside.

"We're pinned down, dammit." Tommy acknowledged, switching out cartridges on his assault rifle, "You girls good there?"

"I have a plan." Ellie interrupted, crouching and turning to the side, "I'll sneak behind them. I'll get their attention, and shoot them to hell."

"You're goddamn crazy, Ellie. Stay here, you dumbass." She pleaded, holding her right arm.

"Don't worry about me, alright?" Ellie argued, forcefully moving herself to the right to remove Dina's grip on her.

Ellie used the dark to her advantage. The street light on the road was not fully illuminating on the sides that were covered by bush. She knew that they were too occupied to see her sneaking in the dark. Around eighteen people were shooting at the two that were stuck beside the log. She paused for a second when she heard a large car was passing by.

"Hey, get in!" A voice of a woman declared through the sound of the engine. "We have enough!"

"Everybody get in!" A man ordered.

"Help! Somebody help!" The shouting of a woman echoed so familiarly that Tommy had to intervene.

"Maria?!"

In Ellie's mind, all she could think about was "shit". Her gut jumped in and she stood up in an instant, pulling out the sniper rifle Joel had given her. She began to eliminate some of the raiders behind the bushes, taking out four in a matter of moments. Tommy rushed to the truck that had some cargo from behind. Dina came after Tommy to try and help him.

"Dipshits! Over here!" Ellie gave her position.

In seconds, magazines unloaded onto the tree line where Ellie was. She ducked and crawled her way to the road, avoiding all the bullets that were flying over her head. When she reached the cement pavement, Tommy and Dina were hiding on the side of a worn down car right behind the truck where Maria was being held.

"Let's go! These fuckers aren't even worth it!" A raider exclaimed.

Anger controlled Tommy, standing up and unloading a full magazine onto the raiders that were trying to escape. From behind, a raider placed two bullets into his left knee, making him drop to his knees. Blood poured instantly as he held his leg in pain, groaning as loud as he could. Ellie gave up crawling and ran to them, as a woman grabbed Dina from behind.

There Ellie was, standing alongside five different people, with Dina being held hostage and Tommy injured. The others had been killed, but four still remained with the group and the escapee who shot Tommy, standing right on front of her.

"What does it take for you to leave us alone?" Ellie bargained. "Just to leave us alone, please."

"Drop the goddamn gun." The escapee on front of her demanded.

"Let's load the bastard up." The woman who was holding Dina said. She had her mouth placed above Dina's mouth, disabling her to speak.

When they opened the back of the truck, Maria, Jesse, Esther and two dozen more Jackson survivors were rounded up and tied. They threw Dina into the back, aggressively closing it down. Surprisingly, the four raiders were shot in the head in succession, as a man emerged from the shadows of the forest. The van took off at the sound of gunfire, leaving into the darkness.

With all the shooting, the escapee took advantage; getting his knife to stab Ellie in the stomach before getting shot himself in the back multiple times.

"No..." The man muttered in disbelief, "No, no, no, no, no." He kept on repeating. "Ellie?!"

She was struggling to get up. When she held the wound on her lower chest, blood kept on slowly pouring out onto the road. Joel ran to her and carried her in his arm. He rested her head carefully on his knee, pressing tightly on the wound.

"Ellie, stay with me, please, goddamit." Joel begged, holding her wound tightly. He shifted his left hand and held her hand, squeezing it firmly. "Please don't go, please... c'mon baby girl, you can get through this."

"Joel?" Ellie mustered up the power to speak, "They... they got Dina. They..."

"Help! Somebody goddamn help!" Joel raised his head to the townspeople who were running to them, "I need some help! I've got an injured one here!"

"Di - Dina..."