*3rd Person POV*

Joel slowly open his eyes to see that he's in some sort of hospital room. He narrow his eyes in confusion as he looks to his right and sees Marlene sitting in a chair next to his bed. "Welcome to the Fireflies." She greets as Joel looks over at her. "Sorry about the..." she said as she gestures over to a couple of guards, that were standing near his beds. "They didn't know who you were." She said. "And Elliot and (y/n)?" Joel asked her. "They're alright. They brought them back." Marlene replied then she looks him over.

"You came all this way... How'd you do it?" She asked him. "It was them. Those two fought like hell to get here." Joel replied before he clears his throat. "Maybe it was meant to be." He said. "I lost most of my crew crossing the country. I pretty much lost everything. And then you show up and somehow we find you just in time to save him. Maybe it was meant to be." She said as Joel starts to sit up.

"Take me to him. And to (y/n)." Joel said to Marlene. "You don't have to worry about them anymore. We'll take care of--" Marlene started to say but Joel talks over her. "I worry. Just let me see them, please." Joel begged and she looks at Joel as he stands up and walks in front of her.

"You can't. He's being prepped for surgery and she's still asleep." She replied as she stands up from her chair. "The hell you mean surgery?" Joel asked her, confused. "The doctors tell me that the cordyceps, the growth inside him, has somehow mutated. It's why he's immune. Once they remove it, they'll be able to reverse-engineer a vaccine." She said. Then she smiles and let's out a small laugh of relief. "A vaccine." She repeats in a whisper.

"But it grows all over the brain." Joel said.

"It does." Marlene said and Joel stares at her in shock then once he realized what she was hinting at, he becomes angry as he glares at her. "Find someone else." He told her, firmly. "There is no one else." She replied. "Listen, you are gonna show me where--" Joel started to say as he walks closer to her but one of the guards comes up and knocks him down to his knees.

"Stop. I get it. But whatever it is you think you're going through right now, it is nothing compared to what I have been through. I knew him since he was born. I promised his mother I would look after him." Marlene said. "Then why are you letting this happen?" Joel asked her, desperately. "Because this isn't about me. Or even him. There is no other choice here." She said to him.

Joel scoffs and shakes his head before he goes and sits down in front of the chair and placed his arms on his knee and glares up at Marlene. "Yeah...you keep telling yourself that bullshit." He said to her in a harsh whisper.

Marlene glares at him then turns to one of the guards. "March him outta here. He tries anything, shoot them." She order the guard then turns to Joel. "Don't waste this gift, Joel." She said and she and the other guard walk out of the room.

Joel looks down at the ground as the guard walks up to. "Get up." The guard said to Joel as he aims his gun at Joel. "I said get up." The guard said to Joel, who hadn't moved. He slowly raises his head at the guard then gets up. "Go on. Move." The guard said and Joel slowly starts walking out of the room but then stopped at the doorway.

"I said move." The guard ordered as he shoved his gun against Joel's shoulder. Joel glares at him over his shoulder. "Give me an excuse." The guard threatened. "Which way?" Joel asked him and the guard gestures to the left. Joel sighs at this and they head towards the left where Joel sees his backpack on a counter.

Then he stops once he passed the counter. "What the fuck you doin'? Keep walking." The guard said but Joel doesn't move. "I said keep walking." The guard ordered and Joel elbows his gun up and then overpowers him and slams him up against the wall as he takes the guard's gun.

"Where is the operating room?" Joel asked the guard. The guard doesn't answer him and Joel shakes his head as he aims the gun at the man's lower abdomen. "I ain't got time for this." Joel mutters and he shoots the man. "Where?" Joel asked the guard but again he doesn't reply. Joel shoots him again.

"Where?!" Joel yelled at him. "Top floor. The far end." The guard replied and Joel nods.
"And the girl? Where is she?" Joel asked him. "Top floor. There'll be a guard at the door." The guard groans and Joel let's him go as he slides down to the floor before he shoots the guard in the head.

Joel runs over to the counter and grabbed his backpack just as he hears a voice shout. "Gunshots! Search the floor!" He look towards the door in fright. "Shit." He mutters as Joel and he goes to hide as he thinks up an idea.

*(y/n)'s POV*

"Are you fucking serious?!" I asked Marlene, angrily. "I'm sorry, (y/n). But it's the only way." She said. After I woke up a few minutes ago, I found Marlene sitting by my side. And then she told me what they were gonna do with Elliot.

"B-But...you're...you're gonna kill him!!" I shouted. "But think of the people we could save!!" Marlene said to me and I scoff at her. "I know you care about him..." 

"I love him, Marlene. With all of my heart. And you're telling me that I'm never gonna see him again!" I shout at her, tearfully. "I'm sorry, (y/n). I wish there was another way but...there isn't. You're just a kid right now, but you will understand some day." Marlene said to me. "This is bullshit." I growled as I turn my back to her. Marlene sighs and I hear her walking out of the room and shut the door.

I go and sit on the bed and place my hands over my face as I begin to cry. I just can't believe that Elliot is gonna die and I can't do anything about it. I've already lost Riley, my best friend, but now I'm gonna lose the boy that I love.

Minutes go by, when I heard a gunshot outside of the door. I gasped and stand up, getting in a stance, when the door opens and Joel enters. "Joel!" I exclaimed and I run to him and embraced him. He wraps his arms around me as we hug for a few seconds before I pull back. "You okay, baby girl?" Joel asked me and I nod.

"Joel, they're gonna kill him!" I said and Joel nods. "I know. We've gotta go." Joel said and I nod then we run out of the room and I look over to see a guard dead by my room door.

"Over here." Joel said as he points at a door down the hall. We run to the door and enter the surgery prep room, where there was a nurse and two doctors surrounding Elliot, who was passed out on the table.

"Sweet Jesus." Joel mutters as my jaw drops.

"Doctor?" A nurse said and the doctor turns to us and gasped. "What're you two doing here? I won't let you two take him. This is our future. Think of all the lives we'll save." The doctor said as Joel and I walk closer to him. "Don't come any closer. I mean it." The doctor threatens as he holds out a scalpel. 

Joel goes up to the doctor, takes the scalpel and stabs the doctor in the throat and I gasped, slightly. "No! You fucking animal!" The nurse shouts. "Kari, shut the hell up!" The second doctor said to her. "Please. I don't wanna die. Oh God...oh God..." The nurse begs as Joel disconnects the tubes and goes to pick Elliot up.

"Stay back!" I yelled at her as I hold up my switchblade and Joel whispers to Elliot. "Come on, son. I gotcha..." As he picks him up, we look out the window to some lights shining through. "Oh shit." Joel said as we run towards the door and burst through them and run out of the hall.

"He's carrying the boy towards pediatrics!" A guard yelled as we run through a room then out to another hall. "Come on, you two. We just want the boy. Get up here. Now!" Another guard yelled. "They're over here!" Another guard shouts as we run down the hall.

"We're getting you outta here, son. I got you. I got you." Joel mutters to Elliot as we run down the hall but then a group of guards come towards us. "Shit." Joel and I muttered as we run into another room to our right and run through it and out towards another section of the halls. "Cover the exits!" A guard yelled. 

"Dammit, which way?" I asked as we run through another room and out into a hallway then we turn to the left and see an elevator. "We're okay, we're okay, we're okay..." Joel mutters as we head towards our only exit. "This is your last chance. Drop him now!" We hear a guard yelled at us.

"I got them in my sights." I hear another guard say. "I said get back!" Joel shouts as we run into the elevator just as they started firing at us. "Stop!" One guy yells as I push the button and the doors close.

I let out a heavy sigh as I realized what we just done. "Oh God." Joel mutters and I turn around to him to see him leaning against the wall of the elevator, a look of distraught on his face. He looks down at Elliot for a moment as I go up to Joel and stand in front of him.

I place my hand on his arm and he looks down at me. I give a concerned look and he looks back at Elliot then at me with determination. I sigh then nod at him as I turn to the elevator door.

After a few minutes, the elevator stops and the door opens. push the stop button of the elevator, keeping the door to stay open. "Come on." I said to Joel as we run out of the elevator but Marlene was there, aiming a gun at us. "You two can't save him. Even if you guys get him out of here, then what? How long before he's torn to pieces by a pack of clickers? That is if he hasn't been raped and murdered first." Marlene said to us. "That ain't for you to decide." Joel said to her, firmly.

"It's what he'd want. And both of you know it. Look..." she said then she lowers her gun and holds her hands out. "You can still do the right thing here. He won't feel anything." She said. I look down at the ground then over at Joel. Both of us exchange a look as Marlene walks closer to us but Joel pulls out his gun and shoots her in the stomach.

I gasped as she falls face-forward on the ground and I placed my hands over my mouth. Joel looks around and runs over to a truck. Eventually, I follow him as he opens the back door and puts Elliot in the backseat then shuts the door. Joel looks over at me then placed his hand on my shoulder then said. "Get in the truck, baby girl."

I nod at him as he pats my shoulder and I go over to the passenger side as Joel goes back over to Marlene, who raises her head up and holds her hand out to him. "Wait! Let me go. Please." She begs him as he looks down at her. "You'd just come after him." Joel said before he shoots her in the head.

Later on, Joel was driving down the highway as I sit in the passenger seat, twiddling my thumbs, when we hear Elliot waking up. "What the hell am I wearing?" He asked in a groan as he looks down at his hospital gown. "Just take it easy...drugs are still wearing off." Joel informed him as I look over at him in the backseat.

"What happened?" He asked us. I look over at Joel, who glances at me before he speaks. "We found the Fireflies. Turns out there's a whole lot more like you, Elliot. People that are immune. It's dozens actually. Ain't done a damn bit of good either. They've actually st--" he stops for a moment then continues. "They've stopped looking for a cure. I'm taking us home." He said and I look back at Elliot, who looked very sad about this before he turns over on his side.

"I'm sorry." Joel said before I turn back around to face the front. I look down at my hands then look back at Joel, who turns his head slightly at me. Honestly, even though I'm happy we saved Elliot, I start to think...was this all worth it?

Was this the right thing to do?

Were Joel and I being selfish?

We were back in Jackson when the truck breaks down. Joel goes to check on tht engine for a few minutes as I get out of the passenger seat and walk over to the other side to see Elliot, now in his normal clothes, leaning against the driver side door, looking down at his arm with the bite.

"Well, looks like we're walking. Should be a straight shot through here." Joel said as he points toward the side, behind a barbed wire fence. "Alright." Elliot mutters as he stands up straight and we start to head towards the fence.

"Actually kinda pretty, ain't it?" Joel asked us as he points towards the environment. "Yeah." Elliot and I said as Joel goes up to the fence and starts to hold it wide enough for us to crawl through. "Alright. Now watch your head going through." He said to us. "Here...got it." Elliot said as I climb through the fence then Elliot follows me. 

Joel climbs through the fence then let's out a small groan. "Oh... Feelin' my age now. Hmpf." He mutters and I chuckle at this while Elliot looks down. "Don't think I ever told you two, but Sarah and I used to take hikes like this. I think, ah...I think the three of you would've been good friends. Think you two really would've liked her. I know she woulda liked both of you." He said to us. 

"I bet I would've." Elliot and I replied as we make it to the top of the hill and see the large community below. "Wow. Look down there." I whispered as we see buildings and light posts. "Just a little bit further now." Joel said as we walk across the little stream then over to a ledge.

Joel gets on top of this large branch and climbs up the ledge. I follow him and he holds his hand out to me. I jump up just as the branch sinks down and Joel pulls me up. "Shit." I muttered as Elliot comes up to the ledge and Joel reaches out to him. "Here, I got you. Gimme your hand." Joel said and Elliot takes his hand and Joel helps him up.

"Alright, come on." Joel said and he starts to head towards the town but Elliot said. "Hey, wait." Joel stopped and turned to me and Elliot. I look down as Elliot plays with his fingers for a moment, sighs then looks back at Joel. "Back in Boston -- back when I was bitten -- (y/n) and I weren't alone. Our best friend was there. And she got bit too. We didn't know what to do. So...she says Let's just wait it out. Y'know, we can be all poetic and just lose our minds together. I'm still waiting for my turn." Elliot said.

"Elliot--" Joel said but he talks over him.

"Her name was Riley and she was the first to die. And then it was Tess. And then Sam. And I almost lost (y/n) awhile ago." Elliot said to him. "None of that is on you." Joel told him, assuredly. "No, you don't understand." Elliot said. "I struggled for a long time with survivin'. And you--" Joel said but he stops as he looks down at his watch and runs his hand over it before he looks back at us.

"No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for." He said and Elliot scoffs and sighs. "Now, I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's--"

"Swear to me." Elliot said, firmly, interrupting Joel. He looks right at Joel then at me and said. "Swear to me that everything you guys said about the Fireflies is true." Joel and I look him straight in the eyes, not blinking, and said, in unison. "I swear."

He looks us over for a moment then gives a slight nod.

"Okay."