ELLIE PULLED UP Joel's shirt to check his sewn-up wound. It seemed to be healing but was still tender and red all over from infection.

There was barely any food left. Any piece she ate made her feel guilty about not having enough for Joel. With only one last piece of the food left, she placed it on Joel's chest.

On one side of the room, Y/N was sitting against a wall taking a nap. Ellie looked at him and moved her eyes to his splint. The last couple of days were hard for the young man because of the flare-up to his injury. He'd have gone outside and hunted for something but his ailment along with the weather picking up made it risky.

But that was a risk Ellie was going to take herself. It was that or else they'd starve and Joel would die anyways.

The teenager glanced at the rifle by their packs. She turned to Joel and whispered.

"I'm gonna be right back, okay?"

Ellie got up and went over to take the rifle. The rustling had awakened Y/N and he opened his eyes to see her packing up.

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

"We have no food." She replied. "I'm going to try and get something."

"By yourself?" Y/N grunted as he tried sitting up. "Wait a minute—"

"Just stay here."

"Let me do it."

"Your foot is as big as a fucking watermelon." She shot back. "You have to let the swelling go down before you start hobbling in the snow."

Although Y/N was appreciative of her worry about his health, he was still adamant about going with her.

"I don't give a shit about the swelling." Y/N got up but stumbled a bit.

"And you'd just slow me down." Ellie added and started making her way toward the stairs. "I'll be back in no time. I remember what you showed me about tracking."

"Just hold on—"

"Blah, blah, can't hear you. I'm leaving."

The girl went upstairs. Y/N could hear the door open and then close. He kept calling out.

"Wait! El—Ellie! Shit."

His shouts made Joel stir in his sleep. Y/N heard his mumbling and looked over at his father.

"Dad?" Y/N carefully knelt beside him.

His hand was shaking. Joel's eyes were still shut as he tried to speak.

"M-M-M...Mijo?"

Y/N grabbed his trembling hand and held it. Seeing Joel in his current state for the last few days had been hard and with each passing moment, the young man feared that he'd die right in front of him.

"I'm here, Papa." He reassured him.

It'd been so long since Y/N had called Joel by that name. As he grew older, he'd rarely even refer to him as dad or father. But he wasn't going to make that mistake anymore. He didn't know how much time Joel had left...so he wanted to refer to him as his dad for as long as he could.

"Ellie—Ellie is out getting food for us. She'll be back. I know it. You taught her good, you know?"

Joel didn't respond and kept shivering. Y/N still held his hand and let in a shuddered breath.

"I'm...I'm so sorry about everything. I know you did what you did because you had a reason. You lost Sarah...Tommy left...then you almost lost me. I know you couldn't let that happen after everything you've been through."

Y/N continued. "Years went by and I didn't appreciate it enough...the times we spent together. So I need you to pull through so we can make it right...so I can. After Salt Lake...we can go back to Jackson, we can make that ranch together, it'll be big enough that even Jane and I could stay in. You'll be there when we have kids and you can be an abuelo. Shit...Ellie will even be there telling them dumb jokes."

Y/N let out a laugh and he didn't even notice that he started to tear up. He sniffled and closed his eyes.

"Even if we go all the way...get that cure...my life won't be the same without you in it. Same goes for Ellie. So I'm going to need you to pull through." He emphasized.

He took in a deep breath. At that very moment, Joel's grip on his son's hand tightened. Y/N looked down at it and then at Joel's face.

His eyes were still closed, but his action let Y/N know that he had heard what he said. The young man weakly smiled.

Ellie had been walking through the woods with her rifle in hand. She couldn't find any game amidst the snowy terrain and it was starting to become a fruitless endeavor.

Fortunately, she spotted a deer in the distance. She immediately went prone behind a fallen tree and looked through the scope, removing her glove in order to handle the gun better.

Remembering the tips Joel and Y/N taught her, she relaxed and kept her eye on the deer. She pulled the trigger and fired, hitting the animal in the shoulder.

The deer wailed in pain and scurried away. Ellie was surprised that it was able to run off.

"No fucking way." She breathed out before getting to her feet and chasing after it.

The girl followed the trail of blood to where the deer was. It was an open area and Ellie saw the carcass of the animal since it bleed out. But two armed men were standing over it, looking around in confusion.

"Well, what do you think?" One of the men asked his colleague.

"I don't see anybody." He replied. "You think we can just take it?"

"Yeah. Quickly. Whoever shot it's probably nearby."

The man got his hands free and bent down to grab the deer. Suddenly, Ellie called out from afar with her rifle raised.

"Don't! Drop your rifles! Now!"

They slowly turned around and saw the teenager. The two slowly did as told and put down their guns.

"Turn and face me, slow." She demanded. "Any sudden moves, I put one right between your eyes. Ditto for buddy boy."

"You're quite a hunter." The balding man said. "We didn't even hear you coming."

"Turn around and walk away."

"Okay

"Just go!"

"Okay, all I ask is 10 seconds of your time. I just wanna talk."

"I won't say it twice." Ellie shot back.

"Please. Just 10 seconds. My name is David. This is my friend, James. We're from a larger group: women, children, and we're all very, very hungry."

"I'm from a large group, too." She lied. "Also hungry."

"Well, even so, ya can't drag this back on your own." David replied. "We're not asking for charity. We can trade you for some of the deer. We have...What do you need? We have boots."

"Medicine?" Ellie asked. "Like, for infections...and inflammation."

"We do. Back in our village. You're welcome to follow us."

"I'm not following you anywhere." She gestured toward James. "Buddy boy can go get it. He comes back, you get half the deer. Anyone else shows up, I put one—"

"Put one right between my eyes." David finished.

She nodded. "That's right."

David turned to James. "All right, go talk to Howard. He's got a case with some penicillin and some Tylenol. Bring back two bottles and a syringe."

James wasn't sure initially. He thought David was speaking in code, but he was actually being truthful.

"It's not code, James. Do as I said."

James glanced at Ellie before walking away. It was now just the girl and David alone in the snow with the deer.

"Ten steps back." She exclaimed with her gun aimed at him.

David did as told. Ellie stepped forward and ordered him to continue.

"Keep going."

She stopped and knelt over David's rifle. She emptied the cartridge as the man tried to engage in conversation.

"That's your dad's gun? He the one that's sick? That's why you're out here on your own? Well, look, it's a four-mile round trip back to our settlement. It's gonna be a while before James gets back. I have some oil and matches in my pack. We could take shelter, start a fire."

Ellie looked to the run-down shed in the distance that David pointed at. She looked at him and then at the deer on the ground.

"Bring him with us." She gestured at the carcass. "Go."

David listened. He dragged the deer to the building as Ellie kept her gun trained at him. They ended up settling in the shed and starting the fire, resting as they waited for James.

"You know, you really shouldn't be out here all on your own." David said.

With her rifle still in hand, she replied. "From where I'm sitting, you shouldn't be out here on your own."

"Fair enough. So what's your name?"

Ellie didn't respond and simply shook her head. David understood her reluctance.

"It's hard to trust strangers. I know." He said. "But I honestly mean you no harm. And for what it's worth, there's room for you in our group, if you want."

"You're inviting me to your Hunger Club? Thanks."

"It's true. We're hungry. But we're still here. I'm a decent man just tryna take care of the people who rely on me."

"You're their leader?"

"Wasn't my choice. It was theirs. But yes."

"They chose to follow you. Is this some weird cult thing?" She asked.

"Well, you sorta kinda got me there." He replied. "I am a preacher but just pretty standard Bible stuff."

He noticed her reaction to his statement and questioned it.

"What?"

"The whole world ended and you still believe that shit." Ellie said with an eye roll.

"I actually started believing after the world ended. Before that, I was a teacher. Math. Taught kids about your age."

"So you went from teacher to preacher because, what? It fuckin' rhymes?"

David chuckled. "Yeah, exactly."

"But seriously." Ellie replied, wanting a real answer.

"Well, I found God, after the Apocalypse, which is either the best time or the worst time to find Him, hard to say. But when the Pittsburgh QZ fell in '17, Fireflies and FEDRA. I left with a few others and that's how I ended up with our flock."

"Long way from Pittsburgh." She remarked.

He chuckled again. "Yeah, we'd settle somewhere, and then raiders would come, so we'd move again. And as we wandered, we picked up new people along the way until, we ended up here."

"Well, your luck had to run out sooner or later."

"Luck?" David shook his head. "There's no such thing as luck. No, I believe everything happens
for a reason."

Ellie doubted that notion. David smiled and wanted to convince her.

"It does. It does. I can prove it to you."

"Okay."

David began. "We didn't expect this winter to be so cruel. Nothing'll grow. Game's been hard to find. So I sent about six of our people to a nearby town to scavenge what they could. And only three of 'em came back. Among the ones that didn't included a father...a son...and a brother. Good men. All taken from their loved ones."

Ellie kept listening. David folded his hands in front of him.

"Turns out, they were murdered by these two crazy men. An older guy and a younger one. And get this...these crazy men were traveling...with a little girl."

Hearing his statement sent alarms throughout Ellie's mind. She knew right then that David was talking about Joel and Y/N and that he knew the little girl was her. His smile afterward said it all.

"You see? Everything happens for a reason." He told her. "James, lower the gun."

Ellie got up and quickly spun around, aiming her gun at the doorway. James was there and had his pistol trained toward the girl.

"She is the one that killed Alec, isn't she?" James asked David. "Ryan? Fernando?"

"She didn't kill anybody. Lower the gun." He calmly told James, which he did. "Did you bring the medicine?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Throw it to her."

James didn't think it was a good idea to give supplies to an accomplice of their friends' murders.

"David..."

The preacher's silence was all James needed to know that he was serious. He reluctantly tossed the pouch of medicine at Ellie's feet.

"Back away." She demanded.

James stepped back and Ellie bent down to pick up the medicine.

"I know you're not with a group. You won't survive for long out there." David told her. "I can protect you."

Ellie immediately left the shed and ran off. David got up and joined James by the doorway, looking out as the teenager fled.

"So you're just gonna let her get away?" James asked.

David simply looked at James, not saying a word.

Ellie returned to the house. She went to the basement where she saw Joel and Y/N, the former still asleep and the latter alert with his father's revolver out.

"Shit...Ellie." Y/N breathed out and relaxed.

"Is he doing all right?" She asked as she walked down the stairs.

"Yeah." He replied. "You were out there for quite some time. I was starting to get—"

"I got this." She interjected and showed him the pouch of medicine.

Y/N was taken back. "How'd you get—? Weren't you going to bring back food?"

"Fuck that." She went over to Joel. "This was more important."

Ellie knelt beside Joel and took out a syringe and a vial of penicillin. She looked at it confusedly.

"How do I do this?"

Y/N limped over to Ellie and crouched beside her. He took the vial and looked at it.

"Penicillin. Uh...from what I remember from the Firefly medics, you administer it orally. I think."

"You think?"

"I vaguely remember." He began to mutter. "Fuck, you have a needle...so, I guess..."

They both had an idea. Ellie decided to take it upon herself to administer the medicine.

"Fuck it."

She pulled up Joel's shirt and carefully stuck the syringe filled with penicillin into the area of his wound. Joel quietly grunted.

Y/N took a deep breath. Ellie pulled his shirt back down and put away the syringe. She went for the pouch and took out another small bottle.

"Here." She gave it to Y/N.

"What is it?" He asked upon taking it.

"Something for your inflammation."

Y/N read the label and saw that it was Tylenol. It was a pretty good remedy for pain and inflammation caused by fractures.

"Where the hell did you get this stuff?" He questioned.

Ellie paused for a moment. She didn't want to worry him about David and believed they were far enough from him anyway.

"Stumbled upon a house nearby. Must've belonged to a pharmacist or something." She replied.

Y/N took in her answer. He opened the bottle and took a few caplets into his mouth. He swallowed them.

"Thank you." He glanced at Joel and then back at her. "You did good, really. You saved his life."

Ellie softly smiled at his words. Y/N thought about how the medicine would now likely heal Joel or at least gave him more time. That's all he wanted.

"In a way, you've also saved mine." He added.

She reached over and grabbed his left hand. He softly smiled and looked down at it, also seeing the bracelet that she made him still on his wrist.

Y/N nodded and rubbed his neck. "It's getting pretty late. We should turn in for the night."

"Sorry that I couldn't get food." She apologized.

"That's okay." He reassured her. "Thanks to you, I should feel somewhat better in the morning. I can go help you out there."

Ellie agreed. They got up and she laid beside Joel, her hand on his chest. Y/N limped over to his pack, seeing the two and smiling again.

Joel was the only one covered and Ellie was just in her jacket. Y/N picked up his from the stool and placed it over Ellie so she could stay somewhat warmer.

"What about you?" She whispered.

He shook his head. "I'm good...I'm good."

Ellie nodded and laid her head back down. Y/N stepped toward the wall where he often sleeps, laying his head on the old pillow and shutting his eyes.

Ellie was the first to wake up. Joel and Y/N were still asleep in their respective spots. The teenager took the time to administer another shot of penicillin to Joel's wound.

Afterward, she went outside and gathered some snow in a bucket and gave it to their horses to indulge in the garage. She stepped out and looked on at the neighborhood, letting the breeze hit her face.

Suddenly, the cawing of birds got her attention. She looked up and saw a flock of them flying away. Knowing that something caused them to do so, she ran in that direction.

She took cover behind a gate and watched the path ahead. Ellie saw a group of armed men walking and she could see that it included David and James. Ellie let out a shuddered breath and ran back toward the house.

"Y/N! Joel! Wake up." She exclaimed as she ran into the basement.

Her shout startled the young man awake. He sat up and saw the girl in a frantic state.

"Wh—What's wrong?" Y/N asked her.

"There are men coming. They must've followed my tracks."

"Fuck..."

Ellie knelt beside the smuggler and grabbed his collar. "Joel, wake the fuck up! Joel!"

He was still unresponsive. Ellie looked around trying to figure out her next plan of action.

"I'm gonna lead them away from here." Ellie told Y/N as she got up. "If anybody makes it down here, you fucking kill them."

"Ellie, you're going out there?"

"Too many people. I'll lead them away and loop back so we can get the fuck out of here."

"I can't let you go out there." Y/N shot back.

"You can't leave him." Ellie retorted. "They find him like this, they'll kill him."

Y/N took in her words. He was the last line of defense if any of the men came into the basement. Still, he was scared that Ellie being out there would cause her harm. Joel wouldn't want him to have her out there alone in immediate danger.

"I'm coming with you." He said and started limping toward it.

"No, you're fucking not!" Ellie exclaimed and shoved him.

The force caused him to stumble back but he caught himself. Still, he ended up sliding down the wall and landed on his bottom. Ellie gave one last look before storming up the stairs.

"Ellie!" He shouted. "Ellie!"

He slowly got up. Y/N limped up the stairs and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Ellie blocked it with a bookshelf on the other side.

"Fuck!" He cursed and slapped the door.

Y/N went down the stairs. He immediately went to his pack and started putting it on, also grabbing his crossbow. He glanced at his father, whose eyes were struggling to open.

He took out a knife from Joel's pack nearby and handed it to him. He was able to grip it by his chest, albeit weakly. Y/N leaned over to speak with him.

"I'm going to help Ellie. You...you stay the fuck awake. You stay awake so that if anyone comes in here, you give them hell, all right?"

He didn't expect an immediate response from Joel, but the young man knew he was listening. Y/N looked toward the stairs and then back at his father.

"We'll be back."

Y/N went up the stairs, leaving Joel laying there with the knife still in hand.

Using all his strength, he forced the door open and was able to make it into the living room. For Joel's security, he pushed the bookshelf back against the door just like Ellie did.

He went into the garage and saw only his horse since Ellie took hers. Y/N opened the garage door and went back to his steed. At that moment, he heard gunshots and a yell.

"Hey, motherfuckers!"

There was another gunshot and it was soon followed by a succession of others. With a grunt, Y/N got himself on it and pat the animal's side.

"Let's go." He breathed out and held the reigns.

The young man galloped across the street toward the gunfire. In the distance, he saw a couple of men with rifles running in one direction. They soon heard the trotting of Y/N's horse and saw him.

"Another!"

Y/N had his crossbow out and immediately shot at one of them. It hit the man in the leg and he fell with a pained yell.

"Fuck! Bitch got my leg!"

He galloped faster. The man's colleagues tried shooting him but missed. Y/N kept going down the road.

Y/N passed by other men. He even fired his pistol and tried to get them off of him. Unfortunately, a shot rang out and it hit his horse.

It let out a pained whine and fell with Y/N being tossed off. He rolled across the snowy asphalt and groaned.

"Got you now, motherfucker." One man snarled as he walked up to the downed Y/N.

The young man quickly got on his back and aimed his gun at him, firing three shots into his chest and taking him down. Y/N huffed as he sat up, looking around in case any more showed up.

He heard galloping. It wasn't his horse as it now laid dead on the road. In the distance, the figure came closer and the rider even called out to him.

"Y/N!"

It was Ellie. Y/N got up and slowed down, stopping near him.

"Ellie!"

"What the fuck did I say?" She spat.

"Guess I'm as stubborn as you." Y/N breathed out.

"Asshole."

She reached out, allowing Y/N to climb onto her horse with her. Y/N looked back and saw more of the men running toward them.

"Let's keep leading them away." He said.

Ellie snapped the reigns and the horse raced off. Shots from David's men came close to hitting them but they thankfully missed.

"Keep comin' fuckers." Ellie muttered.

They kept running. Suddenly, a rifle shot rang out and their horse had been hit. The two fell off it and hit the ground, with Ellie sustaining a harder impact.

She was in a daze and was beginning to lose consciousness.

Y/N groaned a few yards away, turning in the snow. Amidst his blurry vision, he saw several men running to where they were. One man saw Y/N and stepped up to him.

"It's him. It's fucking him." He turned to his colleague. "It's the asshole that killed Ryan."

He didn't even look at them. Y/N kept his eyes on Ellie, who was in a concussed state. James and a few other men stood over here with guns drawn.

"Do it." One of them told James.

The man pulled back the bolt of his rifle and was ready to shoot Ellie. Y/N reached out and weakly spoke, not noticing that the two other men standing over him were ready to kill him too.

"Wait—"

A gunshot stopped all of the men and got their attention. It was David. The leader stepped up to the group and saw the two on the ground. He moved his daze toward the now unconscious Ellie and knelt over her, touching her chin.

"Two of you with me. Drag the horse. The rest of you, stay here. Go door to door."

David started to carry Ellie. Y/N kept his eye on him and tried shouting.

"No...no! Let her go...let her—!"

He was kicked in the stomach by one of them. David glanced at the young man after lifting Ellie. He tried to plead this time.

"Take me. Leave her. Take me..."

David shook his head. "You're a murderer. You killed good men. You threatened my flock...and there has to be consequences."

The preacher turned to the rest of his men. "You so hungry for vengeance? Deliver it."

David walked off with Ellie in his arms, leaving the rest of them to look for Joel in the neighborhood. This also gave Ryan's brother, Troy, the opportunity to enact his revenge.

"Help me get this son of a bitch up." Troy told his friend.

They went over to Y/N and grabbed him. He tried to writhe out of their grasp but was hit in the stomach. Troy dealt another punch across his face for good measure before dragging the injured Y/N off.

Troy snarled. "I'm going to make sure you suffer, asshole."

Joel's eyes opened upon hearing footsteps upstairs. It was the first time in days that he has opened them. The sounds of steps were soon replaced by creaking as the bookshelf was being moved from the door.

One of David's men finally opened the door and walked downstairs. He held his gun up, expecting to see someone hiding in there. He spotted an empty cot stained with blood and he assumed somebody had been there recently.

He walked through the basement peeking around every corner with his rifle raised. He looked into the shadows in one corner but was then suddenly grabbed from behind.

Joel stabbed the knife into the back of his neck while covering his mouth with his hand, masking his shouts. The man started choking on his own blood while struggling to get free, but despite being in a semi-weakened state, Joel was still strong enough to keep him in place.

He brought him to the floor and watched as the man's life slowly left his body. With one last exhale, the man finally died. Joel let go and laid on the floor, letting out a wheeze. The entire act took a toll on his body and he felt exhausted.

Joel slowly got up, holding his aching side where his healed wound was. He looked over at his pack and then toward the stairs, and his expression became stoic.

He needed to find Y/N and Ellie.

Ellie let out a heavy breath as she sat up. She had been out for a while since being taken. Upon opening her eyes, she noticed she was in a cell...practically a cage.

"I started worrying you wouldn't wake up." David said, having been there and watching her.

"Let me out." She raspingly said.

"Well, that's certainly the goal. Hungry?"

"Why am I in a cage?"

"Because I'm afraid of you. You're a dangerous person. You've certainly proven that. The others, they want me to kill you for all that's happened."

Elli kept groggily looking around. David leaned in closer toward the bars.

"Did you hear me say the others wanna kill you?"

"Yeah." She responded.

"But I stopped them."

"Fuck you."

"Why don't we just start with your name?" David said.

"Eat shit."

"Hey, listen to me!" He stood up and exclaimed. "You can't survive on your own. No one can. But I can help you. Let me protect you."

"I'm not on my own." Ellie retorted.

"Right. Your friends. The young man and the old fellow. And how are they? I can see how much you care about them, so I know it hurts. But even so, you gotta face reality..."

Ellie crawled over to the wall and sat against it, her knees hooked toward her chest. David continued.

"That part of your life, it's ending. And what I'm offering you is a beginning. But if you can't find a way to trust me then, yes, you are alone."

David soon left, leaving Ellie by herself in the cell. He wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them, quietly panting.

Y/N was hit in the face. Then again, and again, and again. Troy stood over the young man who was sitting against the wall.

Troy panted as shook off his hand. He looked over at his colleague, Carson, who was looking over their things along with Y/N's pack.

"I should hit you 28 more times. That was how old Ryan was. He had a whole life ahead of him...and you snuffed it out."

Troy hit him again. He crouched down and looked down at the splint on Y/N's ankle.

"This was probably from your scuffle with Fernando, huh?" Troy shook his head. "He got a broken neck and died while you only hurt your ankle. I'd say you got the better of it."

The man reached over and grabbed Y/N's hurt ankle, twisting it. He let out a pained grunt and inhaled deeply. Troy looked back at Carson, who was now heating a piece of rebar over a fire.

"Now...you're going to tell us where the old man is, the one that killed Alec. I hope you tell me, but honestly, I don't really care. I just want to fuck you up is all. Bring me a little joy."

Y/N didn't even look Troy in the eye. The man scowled and grabbed Y/N's face, directing his gaze to his own.

"David told us that you, that man, and that girl are pretty tight-knit. Probably traveled far and wide with them. That means you care about them.."

Y/N didn't respond and kept staring at Troy. He continued.

"Well, just like you did to my brother, I'm going to snuff out that old man's life. The girl..." He shrugged. "I wish I can give her the same fate...but she's David's newest pet now. Not sure what his plan is with her, but yet again...I don't care."

Troy shoved Y/N and fell to his side. Carson held the red-hot piece of rebar and started walking over to the young man.

"Where should we start? I wondered how an eyeball would react to 900 degree—"

Y/N suddenly kicked out his leg and kicked Carson's knee inwards. He let out a yell and dropped the rebar, allowing Y/N to grab it. Troy lunged toward Y/N but was hit in the face by him with the rebar. He stumbled back in pain and rolled over the torn sofa.

Carson still held his knee and groaned, but Y/N grabbed his head and stuck the hot rebar onto his cheek. He yelled out in agony before Y/N slammed his head into the side of the counter, knocking him out.

He looked over at Troy who was slowly getting up. He turned toward Y/N but was quickly met with a hard kick to the face and everything went black.

"Up. Wake up."

Y/N slapped Troy's face and the man opened his eyes. He was tied to a chair, and he looked across the room to see that Carson was chained to a radiator, having woken up as well.

"Now, you've had your fun." Y/N said. "I'd like to have my own as well. But no, right now is business. Tell me where they took the girl."

Troy didn't say anything. The impatient young man quickly punched him square in the nose and then reached down, grabbing his right leg.

"It's easy. Just tell me." He demanded.

The man still didn't talk. Y/N wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, so he twisted his ankle hard. Troy let out a yell.

"Tell me!"

After a couple of seconds of no answer, Y/N twisted it again, breaking his ankle. He still didn't immediately talk so Y/N kept twisting and twisting.

"Don't test me. I can bring this foot all the way the fuck around."

Before he can keep going, Troy finally cried out. "Okay! Stop! Stop!"

Y/N let go of his foot. He unsheathed a knife that he had and showed it to him.

"You better start talking, or I'm gonna use this. Not on you..." He gestured toward Carson behind him. "...but him. I'm going to chop off each of his fingers until you finally talk. Do you want to hear his screams every time you sleep? You knowing that his pain was caused by you?"

Troy darted his eyes toward Carson. His friend shook his head and was telling Troy not to talk.

"Fuck him, man! Don't say anything!"

Y/N glanced at Carson and then back at Troy. The man was unresponsive, so Y/N let out a huff and stormed toward Carson. He grabbed the hand that wasn't chained to the radiator and placed it on the stool beside him.

"Last chance." Y/N warned.

Troy's mind was racing and it left him speechless. With that non-answer, Y/N immediately cut down on one of his fingers. Carson let out a yell.

"Argh!"

"Nine more!" Y/N exclaimed.

Troy still was silent. Y/N chopped off the next finger and called out again.

"Eight!"

Y/N continued, slicing off another finger. He didn't even count this time and went straight for the next finger. His friend's yells were starting to be too much for Troy and he broke.

"Stop! Stop! Okay! I'll tell you..."

Y/N went back over to Troy and sat in front of him. He stared daggers at Troy and waited for him to speak.

"She's in the town...a resort by the lake." He revealed.

The young man pulled out a map of the town they were in, one that he got days ago. He showed it to Troy.

"Where exactly?" He asked. "Use your nose, there's still blood coming out of it."

Troy leaned in and used the blood on the tip of his nose to mark the spot. Y/N nodded and started walking back toward Carson.

"I'm going to ask you know, and you better be truthful. Or else I'll move onto to the rest of your fingers, then your toes, then your teeth."

Carson looked at the map and breathed heavily. He pointed to the same spot which was the right place. The two men were indeed honest and Y/N appreciated it.

"See? Not so bad." Y/N said. "I appreciate the honesty."

Y/N nodded and looked at Carson, placing a hand on his shoulder. In an instant, he immediately plunged the knife he had in his hand into Carson's chest. Troy yelled out in anguish.

"No! What the fuck!? You liar!"

Y/N pulled the knife out and Carson fell limp. He made his way back toward Troy and got in front of him.

"You fucking monster!" Troy exclaimed.

"I'm not the monster here." Y/N said, grabbing his head and putting the blade at his neck.

Troy knew he'd likely die soon, but he had one last thing to tell Y/N. A question, in fact.

"Why? He asked, now tearing up. "Why'd you kill my brother? Why?"

Y/N, with a stoic expression still on his face, replied. "He messed with the wrong people that day."

With a swift movement, he slit Troy's throat. The man gurgled and slumped forward before finally dying.

Y/N stepped back, going for his pack and crossbow before leaving the abandoned house.

Ellie had been trying to find a way out of the cell for some time now. As she was, she spotted something outside of her cell in the corner of the room. She stepped back in shock.

At that moment, David came in with a tray of food. He pushed it under the doors toward Ellie and he noticed her gaze still to the side, He looked back, seeing what she was seeing.

A bloody ear.

David let out a sigh and looked back at Ellie. The girl was now looking at her bowl and feared that human meat was used to make the food.

"For what it's worth, this is just deer meat. I swear." He reassured her.

"You're gonna chop me up into little pieces." Ellie said.

"I'd rather not. Please, just tell me your name."

Ellie still wasn't budging. David wrung his hands and shrugged.

"If you wanna judge me..."

"Judge you?" Ellie rose her tone. "You're eating people, you sick fuck!"

She kicked the tray back at him and the bowl of stew went everywhere. David stood up, now feeling ashamed that the girl found out they were cannibals.

"Yes." He admitted. "There are only a few of us that know. But I would've told you. Sooner or later. I guess sooner."

"You're an animal." She said.

"Well, yes, we all are. That's sorta the point. It was a last resort. You think it doesn't shame me? But what was I supposed to do? Let them starve? These people who put their lives in my hands, who expect me to keep them safe, who love me?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"You don't believe that." David replied. "I don't think your friends would either. Didn't they take those men's lives to save yours?"

"They defended themselves."

"They were defending you. But you knew that. You see a lot. So do I. And you know what I see when I look at you? Me. You remind me of me."

Ellie kept pacing around. David continued to prophesies to her.

"You're a natural leader, you're smart, loyal. Violent."

"You don't know anything about me." She butted.

"But I do. If I let you out of that cage right now, put that knife of yours in your hand, you'd stick me in a second. You have a violent heart. And I should know. I've always had a violent heart. And I struggled with it for a long time. But then the world ended and I was shown the truth."

Ellie scoffed. "Right...by God."

"No. By Cordyceps." He corrected. "What does Cordyceps do? Is it evil? No. It's fruitful. It multiplies. It feeds and protects its children and it secures its future with violence, if it must. It loves."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Ellie asked.

"Because you can handle it. The way the others can't. They need God. They need heaven. They need they need a father. You don't. You're beyond that. I'm a shepherd surrounded by sheep, and all I want is an equal. A friend."

"What about my friends?"

"Like I said, loyal. I can tell the others to stop looking for the old man. I can tell them to let the young one go. They'll spare them."

Ellie stepped forward. "Really? They'll just let them go?"

"Yes. If they leave us in peace, they will just let them go." David replied, stepping closer to the door too. "They do what I tell them to do. They follow me. And they would follow us. Lord knows I could use the help. I—Look what's happened." He placed his hand on the bars of the door. "Think of what we could do together, as strong as we are. We'd make this place perfect. We'd grow, spread out. And we'd do whatever we needed for our people. Imagine the life we could give them."

Ellie reached out, placing her own hand on the bars. David moved his hand and put it on top of hers.

"Imagine the life we could build." He added.

She looked at his hand caressing hers and understood what he meant. "Oh."

David kept smiling and it grew upon seeing the girl placing her other hand on his. Immediately, Ellie grabbed his finger and broke it.

"Argh!" David yelled out in pain.

Ellie quickly reached for the keys hanging by his waist but he was too far. David grabbed Ellie's head and slammed it three times against the door of the cell and shoved her away. He backed off and held his hurt finger as the girl was on her knees and bleeding from her nose.

"You little cunt." David seethed. "Let's see what I go tell the others now."

He went toward the door, but Ellie called out.

"Ellie."

He turned around. "What?"

She crawled toward the door. "Tell them that Ellie is the little girl who broke your fucking finger!"

He scoffed. "How did you put it? Tiny little pieces?"

David opened the door and left. Ellie stayed there, sniffling and looking down in silence.

It was starting to snow. Y/N walked through the streets of the resort with his crossbow in hand. He had his hatchet strapped to the pack on his back.

"Come on." Y/N breathed out, speed-walking through the snow. The adrenaline coursing through his veins made the pain of his recuperating ankle barely noticeable. "Come on."

He spotted three men ahead around a barrel of fire trying to keep warm. They seemed to notice the young man too as they reacted and went for their guns.

"Shit! Over there!"

Y/N quickly went behind a car and avoided the gunfire coming from one of them. He peeked out when it was quiet and saw one of them running for cover. He fired his crossbow and a bolt hit the man's neck.

"Fuck!" One of them reacted. "Donny!"

The man aimed his rifle and fired in Y/N's direction. He stayed behind cover and waited for the right time to move. Once it was quiet again, he bolted toward another car and dove behind it.

His attacker didn't seem to know that Y/N had moved, so he kept shooting at the other car. Y/N quickly peeked out and aimed at the unaware man, firing a bolt into the side of his head.

With two down, Y/N knew there was still one left. He looked around for a moment before spinning around upon hearing rustling snow behind him.

It was the last guy and he pinned Y/N to the side of the car. He tried to take the crossbow away from him and a struggle ensued.

"You motherfucker!" He grunted. "You killed my friends!"

He kneed Y/N in the stomach and took the crossbow away from him, but decided to throw it away. He punched him again before unsheathing his knife and stabbing it down toward Y/N's face.

The young man grabbed a hold of his wrist and stopped it. The attacker kicked him in the groin and forced him to the floor, where he got on top of him and kept trying to stab his face.

He added his other hand to the handle of the knife to add more pressure and Y/N struggled to keep it away. The blade neared his face as seconds went by.

Suddenly, the man let out a pained groan and his grip loosened. His body started to go limp and he got off of Y/N.

Joel was behind him, having stabbed the man in the back twice. He stuck the knife into his neck last and then let his body fall to the floor. Y/N panted and looked up at his father, who was also breathing heavily.

"Y/N..."

Joel reached down to help him up. Y/N was still catching his breath. The older man held his shoulders and straightened him out.

"Mijo, are you good?" He asked worryingly. "Are you okay?"

Y/N looked at his father but didn't say anything. Instead, he lunged over and embraced Joel. It brought him immense relief seeing him up and seemingly healthy.

Joel reciprocated the hug and held his son. He rubbed Y/N's back.

"So you are?" Joel asked him.

Y/N chuckled, still embracing him. "I am. I am now."

They parted. The thought of Ellie came back to both men at that moment and understood that was their priority now.

"Ellie's in town. She was—"

"I know." Joel interjected with a nod. "Let's go get her."

David and James walked into the room and went straight to Ellie's cell. The girl ran away from the doors and went to the corner, knowing what they were there for.

"No! No! No!" She exclaimed.

James immediately went in and grabbed her. She was struggling and David joined to try and keep her contained.

"Get off of me!" She screamed. "Get off!"

Ellie bit down on David's hand that was by her face. David let out a pained yell before kneeing the teenager in the stomach. They dragged her out of the cell.

"Wait, wait!" She pleaded.

"Shut up!" David exclaimed.

They carried her onto the table. James pinned her down as David grabbed the cleaver.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Don't! Don't do it! Please, don't do it! Please, don't! Don't!"

"You had your chance!"

David raised the cleaver over his head and was ready to chop down at Ellie's neck. The girl suddenly yelled out and caused him to stop.

"I'm infected! I'm infected."

David scoffed. Ellie turned to the man and glared.

"And now so are you." She added.

The preacher was confused and so was James. David looked at his thumb, seeing the bite he sustained from Ellie.

"Roll up my sleeve." She told him. "Look at it. Look at it!"

He angrily slammed the cleaver down near Ellie's head and she winced from the act. David chose to see for himself and rolled up her sleeve...where he saw the scar of her bite. He looked up at James in shock.

"What did you say?" Ellie asked, remembering their conversation from yesterday. "Everything happens for a reason, right?"

"David." James whispered, fearing he was now infected.

"No. No, she would've turned by now." He denied. "This isn't real."

"It looks pretty fuckin' real to me."

Ellie abruptly bellowed and grabbed the cleaver by her head, swinging it at James. It cut into his neck and he fell back against the wall.

She got off the table and ran toward the door. David pulled out his gun and shot at her but missed and she was able to leave the room.

David looked ahead, glaring. He didn't even bat an eye at the dead James, simply reaching over and pulling the cleaver out of his neck before walking out himself.

David stepped into the dining hall of the steakhouse. He looked around for Ellie when she suddenly peeked out from behind a table and threw a burning log at him.

He ducked and it hit the curtains instead. It quickly burned up and the fire started reaching the wooden beams on the ceiling. David didn't care though and was adamant about getting Ellie.

"There's no way out, Ellie. The doors are locked. And I have the keys."

The girl was still hiding. The preacher slowly paced around the burning dining hall with the cleaver in hand.

"Ellie? Ellie! Ellie." He kept calling out. "I know you're not infected. No one infected fights this hard to stay alive. So, how did you do it? What's the secret? Or are you just that fucking special?"

He kept looking around for any sign of the teenager. The fire kept raging on but it didn't bother David.

"No one likes being humiliated, Ellie. You don't know how good I am! You don't know what I could've given you! If you had just let me! Well, I have news for you. Neither one of us is dying today. You see, I've changed my mind. I've decided you do need a father. So I'm gonna keep you...and I'm gonna teach you."

He stood still and kept looking around, darting his eyes across the room.

"Ellie." David spoke in a singsong manner. "Ellie..."

With a yell, Ellie popped out of her hiding spot and charged David with the knife she grabbed. She stabbed him in the side and caused him to drop the cleaver, but he was still able to grab Ellie and slam her face against the floor.

"Argh...fuck." David groaned as he touched his bleeding wound.

Ellie lifted her head and saw the cleaver under the table in front of her. She crawled toward it and David watched as she did.

He waited a moment before kicking her in the side and getting on top of her. Ellie screamed out and spat in his face, all while David kept smiling.

"Oh...I thought you already knew. The fighting is the part I like the most."

Ellie kept screaming and crying out. David laughed and had the same grin on his face.

"Don't be afraid. There's no fear in love."

David kept her arms pinned down with one hand and used his other to go for his belt. Ellie continued screaming as she reached for the cleaver above her head...finally getting it.

She swung the knife at David's arm and cut him. David grunted and fell off Ellie. She quickly got up and knelt over David, slamming the cleaver over his face again, and again, and again, and again.

Ellie continued to chop away at David as she screamed, letting out her anger and rage at the man who was going to hurt her. She kept slamming the cleaver into his face until she felt someone grab her from behind.

"No! Get the fuck off of me!" She fearfully cried out, thinking another one of the men was there to take her. "Get off of me! Get off!"

"Ellie! Stop!" Y/N exclaimed. "It's me!"

She stopped fighting him and Y/N grabbed a hold of her head. Ellie got a good look at the young man.

"It's me." He said calmly.

Ellie started mumbling, looking back at David's maimed body. Y/N moved her head and kept her gaze on him.

"It's okay...I'm here. I'm here."

"He—He tried to—" Ellie stammered and immediately hugged Y/N.

The young man held the back of her head as they embraced. He kept offering her reassurance.

"You preserved. You got out of it. You're so strong, Ellie. So strong..."

Without even knowing, Y/N had told her what Sarah often would to him when he was a little. It was also the last thing she ever told him.

"You're so strong..."

They continued embracing. Y/N parted and looked at the bloodied face of the fourteen-year-old.

"I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you again. I promise." Y/N reassured Ellie. "You hear me? I promise."

Ellie nodded and hugged the young man once more. The fire raged within the steakhouse and they knew they had to leave. Y/N escorted her out and they made it outside, where Joel finally caught up since his son made a sprint toward the burning building earlier.

"Jesus Christ." Joel said with a relieved sigh upon seeing them.

Joel knelt at Ellie's level and got a look at her face. She was still shocked and traumatized by the ordeal. Seeing her like that pained the older man.

"We're here." He reassured her. "I'm here. Always."

Ellie sobbed and hugged Joel. The man closed his eyes and held her tightly. He continued comforting her.

"It's okay...it's okay, baby girl. I got you. I got you."

They parted and Joel immediately took off his coat and draped it over Ellie. Y/N looked around the area in case any of David's men were still around, and thankfully none were.

Y/N turned to Joel and they shared a nod, the older man still having his arm around the teenager.

The three then walked off together through the snow and away from the burning steakhouse, forever leaving the dreaded town.