Present Day

I start to open my eyes to see that I had fallen asleep in the theater seats. I look around to see that Ellie was gone, so I figured she was awake and around this place somewhere.

I let out a sigh then look down to see the guitar she found was leaning against the chair. I smile at it then pick it up and lightly strum the strings. I hope you're alive, Joel. I thought. I don't know what I'd do without you. I let out sigh and set the guitar down when I heard what sounded like a radio transmission.

"What the..?" I muttered and I get up and walk out of the theater and into the lobby. I noticed that Dina wasn't asleep on the couch, so I figured she was awake as well. The radio noises were coming from upstairs and I follow the sounds until I make it to this door, where the lights were on and the sounds of someone throwing up.

I open it to see Dina bent over a trash can while Ellie was kneeled down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Morning sickness. Don't miss that." I said as I walk in and the girls look up at me. "Hey." They said to me and I nod. "How you feelin', Dina?" I asked her. "Like someone dropped a bunch of bricks on me." She replied and I look at her, sympathetically.

"Surprised to see that radio working." I said and I squat down to see that they had a map of the city and the pictures we found. "Yeah. Just a loose connection was all that was wrong with it. Antenna." Dina said. "They found our mess at the school." Ellie informed me and I nod. "Good." I said.

"This guy...Owen. He went AWOL." Dina said as she holds up the picture of Owen and Abby and I take it and look at it. "We think maybe Tommy got to him." Ellie said. "Maybe. Or he is wherever they're holding Joel up, being his guard and the others don't know." I said. "That'd be my second guess." Dina said and Ellie nods in agreement.

"What about her?" I asked, pointing at Abby. "Nothing yet." Dina said and I sighed and set the picture down as a woman's voice comes through the radio. "Unit Romero, you are requested at site Two. Repeat. You are requested at site Two."

"So the numbers are locations. The TV station we were at. That's Six. There's a lot of chatter coming out of Two, so we assume that's their home base..." Dina said then she holds her stomach in discomfort. I frown at this then Ellie rubs her back, comforting her. "That helps." She said and the two share a smile, which told me that Ellie must've apologized for what she said last night.

"Casualties reported at Fourteen. All available units report. Over." The woman's voice said. "This is site Thirteen. Unit Lima nearby. How many Scars you get? Over." Another woman said and the the girls and I exchanged looks. "Negative on Scars. Lone male trespasser. Armed. Over." The first woman said.

"Lone male trespasser?" Dina said.

"Tommy." Ellie and I said and I look over the map.

"Where's Fourteen?" I asked. "We're not a 100% sure." Ellie said as Dina looks over the map. "But...if I were to guess...if this is Seven...." Dina said as she points at one part of the map. "Twelve's all the way over here...." she points towards the other side of the map. "I guess it's somewhere in this neighborhood." She said as she circles her finger around the word Hillcrest and I nod at her.

Later, we make our way the front door and start to remove the chair off of the door so that we could head out. But at that moment, I noticed that Dina looked tired, sick and just worn out. "Dina?" Ellie said, worriedly, as Dina bends over and catches her breath. "Yeah. Not good." She said as Ellie places an hand on her shoulder.

I could tell that Ellie really cares for Dina and she was obviously worried about her. 

I frown as I look at them then I let out a heavy sigh. "Ellie..." I said and she turns to me. "I think you and Dina should stay here. I'll go get Tommy and maybe find a way to get to Joel." I said and Ellie's eyes widen. "I-I can't let you go out there on your own!" She exclaims. "Ellie...honey, Dina can't stay here all by herself. Not in her state. I'd feel better if you stayed with her." I said.

"But...what if you die or get captured?" She asked me and I smirk a bit. "I don't plan on either of those things to happen. I'll be fine. You guys just keep track on them through that radio, okay?" I said and Ellie gives me a desperate look but I place my hand on her shoulder. "I promise, I'll be back." I said, softly.

She stares into my eyes then nods before she goes to hug me and I hug her back. "Be careful." Dina said and I look at her and smiled. "Of course." I said then Ellie and I pull out of our embrace. "Here...take this with you." She said and she hands me the map. I nod my appreciation to her then I open the door and run out, feeling alone for the first time in a long time.

"Okay, Hillcrest." I said as I look at the map then around the area. "Is this the right place?" I asked myself when I heard gunshots off in the distance. "Definitely the right place." I muttered as I put the map away and began to run, while the gunshots become more frequent. Gotta be Tommy. I thought as I run up to this truck and get on top of it to see some buildings up ahead.

At that moment, a sound of a truck revs on by and I jump at this then duck down. The truck, luckily, drives on by. "Too many of these assholes. Hold on, Tommy." I muttered and I make my way through this area.

Eventually, I jump down inside this old building when I hear a guy and woman talking. I go over to the window, only to see two of them walking pass by with a dog on a leash. The moment I look through the boarded up window, the dog turns to me and begins to bark, aggressively, at me.

"Fuck." I grumbled and I run towards the back area of the building and I make my way around the room, just as the dog comes in. "You think this man is connected with the girl and the old woman at the school?" The male soldier asked his companion as I walk around and the dog goes to the door I just went through. "It'd be one helluva coincidence if it was." The woman said as I grab a bottle then threw it across the room, throwing off my scent.

The dog begins to lead it's owners a different way while I make my way out. But it seemed that these guys were everywhere as every turn I made, there was a soldier near me. Luckily, I had my trusty bow and arrows and took out some, quietly, as I made my way through the suburbs.

I make my way up to some stairs, that lead to a different part of the neighborhood, when I hear a loud explosion. "The hell." I muttered as I make it to the top and see black smoke billowing in the sky not far from me. "Shit. Hope you did that, Tommy." I muttered and I make my way into the neighborhood.

Which this place also proved to be tough as the patrols of the WLF were all around, it seemed. Not to mention a few infected here or there whenever I made my way through old abandoned houses.

"Hey! Dogs picked up something down by the hill. Think he's down there." A woman said. "No, he's here. He just blew up one of our fucking trucks." A man said as I sneak around them. "You sure?" The woman asked. "Yes, I'm fucking sure!" The man yelled then he turns to his crew and ordered them to spread out.

Fuck. Maybe I should've had Ellie come with me. I thought but I continued to sneak around. But at one point, passing a fence, a dog jumps out, barking and growling. I run into a a hole that lead me to a basement of a building, which lead the soldiers to chase after me and throw smoke bombs in there. "Smoke her out!" One of them yelled as I coughed and tried to get out, while taking a few soliders out.

I make it up the stairs and through the collapsed building and jumped down from what had to be the second floor and landed on the grass. The moment I stood up, a pair of hands grabbed me and one was around my mouth. I started to fight back but then the person shushed me and didn't fight back.

I stopped as I hear the trucks drive by off in the distance and the hands remove off of my mouth. I turn around and see that it was Jesse of all people. "Jesse?! What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him, confused. "You think I'd let you do this on your own." He said, chuckling a bit.

"Where's Dina and Ellie?" Jesse asked me. "They're safe. Dina is sick so I made Ellie stay behind to watch over her." I said. "What kind've sick?" He asked me, worried, and I couldn't tell him what was wrong with Dina as I felt that wasn't my place to tell him. "She's fine. Probably a stomach bug." I said then I heard some soldiers nearby 

"God, there's alot of them." Jesse said as he and I pull out our guns and I notcied he was limping a but and groaning in pain. "How hurt are you?" I asked him. "I'll be okay. You're friends out there rushed me. No warning, no nothing." He replied.

"Tell me, you didn't come alone." I said and he stops and turns to me and I give him an exasperated look. "Give me shit about it later." He said, smirking at me, and I roll my eyes. "You gotta death wish on ya, don't you?" I asked, sarcastically, and he chuckles as we walking through the house and towards the front door where we see a couple of soldiers and trucks.

"All right. See that truck?" He points out to me and I look to where he's pointing, seeing a truck. "Could work. Just need to get around our friends." I said and Jesse nods. "You ready?" He asked me and I nod as we make it over to the door then run out and duck behind a fence as we hear a couple of WLF's nearby.

As they started to walk by, Jesse and I grabbed both of them then killed them. "Got the keys! Let's go!" Jesse said and we run to the truck as we hear more soldiers calling out to their friends.

The two of us get into the truck and Jesse started to turn the key but it sounded like it wouldn't start. "Come on." He growls at the truck when I hear a gunshot and then the glass from the back window explodes behind us. Both of us cringe then turn to see some soldiers coming our way.

"Now would be the time to get this thing started!" I shouted as I pull out my gun and fire at them. "I'm trying!" He said as he turns it a few times. Finally, he got it started and we drive off but then the soldiers began to follow us in their trucks.

They come up and get in front of us so that a couple of soldiers in the back could fire at us. But I was able to shoot them a bit faster than them as we kept going and got along side by side with them. Once we reached the window, I shot at the driver which made the truck swerve a bit and hit us before it swerves off a bit.

Our truck jerks to the side then hits a pole but luckily it was still running. I run my hand on the back of my neck and sighed. "I'm gonna feel that in the morning." I grumbled as Jesse raises up his foot and kicks out the window shield. Then infected and Clickers started to come out.

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed and Jesse starts the car but it wouldn't. "Oh come on!" He shouted as I started to fire at the oncoming infected. "Get us the fuck outta here, Jesse!" I shouted as he turns the key again. "I'm trying!" He said and just as the truck started, a runner comes up to the window and grabs my arm.

I hold it back and keep it at bay when Jesse comes up and stabs it in the head. "You okay?" He asked me and I look over myself. "Yeah, let's just get out of this hell hole." I said and we drive off when some of the infected got closer and then a Clicker comes up to the truck. Jesse drives forward and hits the Clicker and it latches onto the hood.

It starts to crawl towards us but I shoot it in the head a couple of times just as we drove off a ledge and impacted into the water below. "Shit." Both of us said as the truck begins to sink into the river. We hold our breath and started to make it out of the truck and swim up, resurfacing.

We swim over to some land and pull ourselves on the ground and both of us lay there to catch our breath. "You okay?" I asked him. "Never better." He replied and I look across the other side where we were a moment ago. "I think we're in the clear." I said, breathless. "You know....I'm getting too old for this crap." 

Jesse chuckles and I start to get up on my feet. I reach out to him and help him to his feet. "Come on, this way." I said and we start to head out.

*3rd Person POV*

Another punch to the face and another punch to the gut. Joel lost count on how many times he was punch in the last few minutes but he was feeling it and it was becoming a bit tiring. He groans and spits out some blood as he looks up to Abby once again.

"That all you got?" Joel asked her with a growl. Abby gets angry and grabs the front of his shirt then raised her fist to go punch him again. But then the door opens and Owen comes in. "Abby!" He calls out and she, reluctantly, lets go of Joel before she turns to Owen.

"What?" She asked, angrily. "I need to talk to you." He said and the two walk a few feet away and started to talk among each other in hush whispers. Joel shakes his head and looks down at the ground, his arms tied back up to the chair again so he couldn't move, then sighed as his mind went back to his family.

Honestly, that's the only thing that's kept his mind off of the pain. No matter how many times he got punched in the face or the stomach or chest, nothing really compared to the pain of being away from his wife, his sons and Ellie.

"So she's here?!" Abby asked and Joel jerks his head up towards her. "It's possible. But from what they said over the radio, it sounds like there's multiple trespassers. She could be one of them." Owen said. "But you said, Nick, Leah and Jordan are all dead..." Abby said. "Yeah...." Owen said, nodding.

"Well then it's gotta be her. It's got to be (y/n)." Abby said and Joel's eyes widen at this. So (y/n) did come to Seattle but Owen said multiple trespassers, so that means Ellie and Tommy must've come with her or she brought a group of people from Jackson. Even though he appreciated the rescue, he was getting worried now that he knows she's out there.

Abby looks over at Joel and smirks a bit. "Look like you're savior is coming for you. But don't worry, she'll join you soon enough. If not..." she said and Joel raises an eyebrow at her. "If not what?" He asked her, gravelly. "If she's not here by tomorrow night....well, let's just say she'll never see you alive again." She said and Joel glares at her.

"All of this cause we took away the possible cure for mankind away?" Joel asked, suspicious. "No, that's not the main reason. The doctor that was assigned to make the cure....was my father." Abby said and Joel has a look of realization on his face. "Should've guessed." He said and Abby clenches her fists but Owen places his hand on her shoulder.

"You better get back or Issac will lose his shit." Owen said and Abby looks at him then at Joel before she scoffs and walks away. Owen and Joel exchange a look before Owen walks out, leaving Joel alone with his thoughts. I need to get out of here...now. ​​​​​​​Joel thought.

*(y/n)'s POV*

Hours later, we make it back to the theater and I knock on the front door. "Girls!" I called out and I hear the chair being removed from the door and the door swings open, quickly, to reveal Ellie on the other side. "(Y/n)!" She said and embraces me and I hug her back.

Then Dina comes up and smiles. "You're alive!" Dina said, happily. "Well, turned out I did need some help." I said as Ellie pulls back from our hug. I gesture to my right and they look over to see Jesse standing next to me.

Ellie seemed shocked about this as Dina goes over to him and hugs him. But just as Dina hugs him, he groans and flinches at this. "You okay?" Dina asked him, worriedly. "Nothing a little sleep won't take care of." Jesse replied, smirking.

"We should get inside." Ellie said and we nod then head inside. "How'd you get pass Maria?" Dina asked Jesse. "I had to sneak out. Friends problems are my problems." Jesse replied as I shut the door and Ellie puts the chair in the handles.

"I heard you were sick." Jesse said to Dina. "Oh, it's just...it's just a stomach thing. C'mon. Let's sit you down, huh." She said and they go to sit on the couch. Dina then started to take care of him as they talked but I look over at Ellie and noticed she had a bit of a hurt look on her face before she turns and walks away.

I go over to her and place a hand on her shoulder. "Ellie? You okay?" I asked her. "Fine. Just need to think." She grumbles in a monotone voice before she stomps away from me and I frown at her. But then I look towards Jesse and Dina and see how friendly and nice they are towards each other as they talk then back over to Ellie just as she goes into the main theater.

I sigh at this then head up the stairs to think for a moment, or at least to give Ellie a moment before I talk to her.