•• 2007 ••

THE WOMAN SAT in the dimly lit apartment. Yet another rainy day, she could hear the pattering of raindrops hitting the window across from her. Beneath it was the eight-year-old boy, his back turned to her as he continued his slumber.

She just kept watching him. Having sat at the table for the last several minutes waiting for her partner to come out of the bathroom, she spent it just looking at the boy. The memories of her own son started creeping in, of how she would also feel relaxed watching him sleep.

Compared to the boy, who seemed untouched and clean, the woman's face was dirtied and had a few scratches. Her shirt was stained in blood and so were her hands, all sustained from the event that had happened a couple of hours ago.

The man finally came out of the bathroom. Like her, his plaid shirt had stains of red. He was wiping off his hands, which were also covered in blood. He walked over to the table she was sitting at.

"You should get cleaned up." Joel told her.

Tess didn't respond, her eyes still on Y/N on the mattress. Joel sat down on the seat across from her and then turned to look at his son as well.

"Turned in pretty fast." He remarked.

"Out like a light." She finally responded. "Like nothing even happened."

Joel looked down at his hands. Dirt particles and crimson were still underneath his fingernails. He stood quiet for a moment.

"What do you think he'll...?" He began.

Tess turned to him. "Don't know. Not until he wakes up. Even then...we may never know."

The man simply nodded and looked back down. Tess continued.

"But what I do know...is that we'll never make that mistake again. Trusting those kinds of people."

Joel looked back up with a firm look, then nodded in agreement to her statement.

"It'll be just us from now on." Tess added. "We'll make it work."

He nodded again, then started to pick at the dirt underneath his nails as he responded.

"If we're going to make this work, he has to realize how the world is now, the bad things that are around. He can't keep being a kid."

As much as it hurt to register that, both adults agreed. It would be an extremely tough feat for a child to grow up in the new world, but Joel and Tess wanted to make it their priority to ensure the survival of the boy, and also inform him of how to take care of himself in case anything happened to them.

Tess didn't want the same thing that happened to her son to happen to Y/N. In Joel's case, losing another child would be the last thing he'd allow to happen.

"It'll come as a shock at first." Tess said. "We're basically going to be taking away...his youth."

Joel glanced at his sleeping son again. The sound of the rain outside was heard amongst the momentary silence. The man glanced at his broken watch and touched it.

"As long as he's alive..." Joel said. "I don't really care."

He got up from the seat and went toward the kitchen area. Although Tess didn't respond, she wholeheartedly agreed.

The woman looked down for a moment before facing Y/N. Once again, she resumed watching the little boy sleep.

•• PRESENT DAY ••

TESS KEPT WATCHING the fourteen-year-old sleeping in her fetal position on top of the foliage. She and Joel had barely slept and were keeping their eye on the infected girl, waiting for her eventual turn.

Ellie opened her eyes and looked up through the hole in the ceiling. Sunlight lit her surroundings and the bed of grass she was sleeping on. Creaking had awakened her and she sat up, looking around the abandoned beauty salon for the cause of the sound.

She turned around and saw the two adults sitting down with Joel holding his rifle.

"Morning." She greeted.

She started getting up but Joel raised his gun slightly. Ellie stopped and sat back down.

"Do I look like I'm infected?" Ellie asked.

"Show us your arm." Joel demanded.

Ellie sighed and lifted her sleeve. They both looked at it from a distance and noticed it looked the same as it did last night.

"It's not getting any worse, is it?" Ellie asked.

Joel and Tess looked at each other. At the same time, Y/N came back into their hideout after going out to use the bathroom.

"Still got that gun at your hip, viejo?" Y/N asked as he looked at Joel. "She's not gonna turn. Stop worrying."

"How would you know?" He replied.

"She's been with us the last few days. Marlene made sure to check her motor functions every hour."

"And that was fucking hassle." Ellie added.

Y/N started walking over to a spot beside the two older adults. He went into his pocket and took out the switchblade Ellie dropped last night.

"Here. Forgot to give it to you earlier."

"Oh, shit." She reacted as he handed it to her. "Everything was so fucked last night that I totally forgot about it."

"Oh, great." Joel said. "Giving the infected girl her weapon too?"

"Scared of a teenager with a pocket knife?" He replied with a chuckle. "Far cry from the same guy who once gouged a guy's eyes out."

Joel silently grumbled. He understood that his son remembered that time way back when.

Ellie reacted with a lit-up face. "Whoa! You gouged someone's eyes out?"

Joel ignored her and faced Y/N. "You know why that was—"

"Yeah, I do know—" He shot back.

"Stop it!" Tess exclaimed, causing them to halt their spat. "You two are going to make my fucking ears bleed."

There was silence after the woman's shout. Ellie sat there awkwardly before suddenly speaking.

"If we're out in the open city, why aren't we getting swarmed?"

"Don't worry about that." Joel said.

"Well, I'm gonna."

"What was Marlene doing with an infected kid?" Tess asked.

"I'm not infected." Ellie replied. "She found me after I was bitten."

"And she didn't shoot you." Joel interjected.

"Cleary not. Like Y/N said, she locked me up and had her guys test me every day to see if I was sick."

"By checking her motor functions." Y/N said again.

"They'd make me count to 10 and hold out my hand and then keep it steady. But, you know, I think what really impressed them was the fact that I didn't turn into a fucking monster."

Ellie said she needed to pee and got up, but Joel immediately stood from his seat and held his rifle. She rolled her eyes and held up her hands.

"Fine." Tess said. "Back there. You can find a spot."

She started walking away. Tess called out and threw her an old magazine.

"Here. Tear out a few pages."

"There's not gonna be anything bad in here?" Ellie asked as she went toward the back room.

"Just you." Joel replied.

"Oh, funny."

Ellie went inside. Joel sat back down, his bruised right fist slightly trembling. Y/N glanced at his injury as well as Tess's.

"Broken." Tess remarked.

"Maybe a hairline." He replied. "It'll heal fast."

Y/N was quiet for a moment before chiming in as well. "You really gave that guy hell back there."

Joel simply nodded. Yet again, there was silence amongst them. Tess let out a sigh as she looked down.

"She made it through the night, Joel." She finally spoke.

"It doesn't matter." He replied. "It's gonna happen sooner or later. I don't give a shit what tests they've been running."

Y/N rolled his eyes and let out a groan at his father's ongoing doubt. Joel ignored his reaction and continued speaking to Tess.

"We're still close to the wall. We sneak her back into the QZ. We find a different way to get the battery."

"I'm sure a battery will just fall from the fuckin' sky right into your lap." Y/N remarked.

"More likely than that girl actually being immune to this whole thing." Joel shot back.

"Joel, this is our best shot." Tess interjected, which garnered a sigh from him. "We take her back to the QZ, someone is gonna notice her arm.  They're gonna scan her...then they're gonna kill her."

"Well, better them than us." Joel retorted. "You gotta stop talking about this girl like she's got some kinda life in front of her."

Ellie came back into the room. She tossed the magazine back at their feet and sat down on the grass.

"You hungry?" Tess asked and took out a paper bag of jerky. "You can share some of ours."

"Thanks. But Marlene sent me with my own."

As Joel and Tess indulged in their dry food, Ellie took out a chicken sandwich from her bag. Y/N had another pouch of trail mix. The adults were pretty taken aback by the meal the teenager had.

"Is that chicken?" Tess asked.

"Yeah." She chewed her food. "Marlene said they get it from smugglers. Guess not you guys."

"I'm more surprised to see the bread." Y/N chimed in as he ate. "Ain't that like...dangerous?"

"Why would it be?" Ellie asked.

"Long story." Joel said.

Tess got out of her seat and walked up to Ellie. The older man shot up and tried stopping her, still worried that the infected girl could turn.

"Hey. Hey!"

"Why are you so important to Marlene?" She asked her. "And don't lie to me or we'll take you back."

"You take me back, you don't get your battery." She butted.

Tess scoffed. "You heard that? Then you must've heard that Joel wants to shoot you."

"Then he'd shoot him." The girl gestured toward the young Firefly soldier.

"Trust me." Tess chuckled. "He won't."

Y/N stood quiet. She was right. Despite the tension between him and Joel, he still wouldn't be able to shoot his father. He'd be mad as hell, dislike him more, but wouldn't do anything else.

Tess crouched down to Ellie's level and got serious.

"I'm gonna talk to you like you're an adult. Okay? Joel and I aren't good people. We're doing this for us because, apparently, you're worth something. But we don't know what you're worth if we don't know what we have. So answer my question."

Ellie glanced at Y/N. With arms crossed, the young man shrugged and basically let her know to just answer the question.

"She told me not to tell anyone and now I'm telling the first people that I—" She sighed. "There's a Firefly base camp somewhere out west. With doctors. They're working on a cure."

"Mm-hm. I've heard this before." Joel replied.

"And whatever happened to me..."

"...is the key to finding a vaccine." The man finished for her. "That's what this is? We've heard this a million times. Vaccines, miracle cures. None of it works. Ever."

"Fuck you, man." Ellie stood up. "I didn't ask for this."

"You and me both." Joel looked at his partner. "This isn't gonna end well, Tess. We need to go back."

"Giving up now? Can't say I'm surprised." Y/N scoffed. "Fuck it, then. I'll just take her myself."

"Be my guest." Joel shot back. "Keep buying into those damn lies they're feeding you."

"I'm buying into hope, something you should start doing some time."

Joel didn't respond. Tess looked at Ellie for a moment before turning back to the older man.

"Let's just finish it. It doesn't matter if she is or she ain't what the Fireflies say—"

Y/N interjected. "If you don't want to then you don't—"

"Stop." Tess interrupted, to which Y/N quickly listened and let her speak.

"If they believe that she is then...we get what we want." She told Joel.

The man thought about it for a moment. He let out a breath through his nose.

"If she so much as twitches."

Ellie overheard and suddenly made choking noises and fake snarled, acting as if she was turning. Tess wasn't keen on her joke.

"Don't."

She stopped and cleared her throat. "Okay."

Tess looked back at Joel. "Okay?"

The man shook his head and dropped his arms. "Okay."

They looked at Y/N. He was content with their decision and they would travel together just like it was planned.

"Okay." He said.

They started gathering their things. Ellie watched as Joel picked his assault rifle up from the floor.

"Can I have a gun?" She asked.

Both Tess and Joel replied and denied her request in unison.

"Absolutely not."

"No."

"Okay, Jesus. Fine." Ellie replied. "I'll just throw a fuckin' sandwich at them."

Joel moved the desk that barricaded the door. He opened it, the light emitting a glow in the room along with the chirping of birds now being prevalent.

"It's clear." Joel informed them.

They all left the beauty salon. Ellie came out last, looking around and mesmerized by the sight of the outside world. In a weird way, the overgrown destruction was a beautiful sight to see.

"Whoa."

"Yeah, looks different in the daylight, huh?" Tess replied.

Ellie kept gazing at the toppled skyscraper ahead. Joel stepped on a slab of concrete to get a better view ahead.

"We should get goin'."

They all moved along and walked down the destroyed street. Tess basically lead the way with Y/N and Ellie close behind. Joel was the last in line, still having the rifle by his hip.

"It's like a fucked up moon." Ellie remarked.

"How the hell do you know what a moon is?" Y/N asked.

"Science lessons about space."

"Ah. FEDRA school?"

"One of few exciting things they taught."

"So...you like space? The stars and planets and such?"

Ellie agreed with a simple nod. Y/N nodded back and they kept moving along. The girl looked to her left and noticed a large crater.

"Is this where they bombed?" She asked.

"Yeah." Tess answered. "They hit most of the big cities like this. They had to slow the spread somehow. Worked here, but it...didn't work in most places."

"Didn't start out that way, though." Y/N added. "It was only after shooting suspected infected wasn't enough."

Joel glanced at his son then looked forward, letting out a breath through his nose. He knew that Y/N was remembering the day Sarah was killed.

"Wait, how old are you?" Ellie asked Y/N.

The question caught him by surprise but decided to answer anyways. "Twenty-four."

"You were pretty little then. How would you know what they did?"

Y/N exhaled. "There are some things you see at that age...that can stick with you for a long time."

Ellie assumed that he must've seen someone die at the hands of the government at the start of the outbreak but wondered who. She didn't want to keep prying though.

"Sorry to hear that." She replied. "Must suck."

"Yeah..." Y/N said.

The four kept walking. Ahead was a destroyed building that basically blocked their path.

"So, the State House is across there. It's about a 10-minute walk if you could go straight." Tess told Ellie.

"So?"

"Long way or short way?" Joel asked his partner.

"I mean, it's the long way or the we're fuckin' dead way."

"Well, I vote long way just based on that limited information." Ellie chimed in.

Y/N agreed. Joel looked at the teenager and then at Tess.

"We have to check it from the hotel first." He said.

"Okay."

The four moved forward. They made it onto a highway and passed by overgrown vehicles that had been stalled for decades.

Y/N turned to Tess. "I...uh...never got to ask. What—?"

He gestured at his own face, wondering about the bruises on hers. She nodded.

"Robert's guys roughed me up after I found out about the battery."

"Damn." Y/N replied. "That fucking asshole."

"He got what was coming to him, though." She said, referring to how he was dead now.

Y/N simply nodded and looked ahead. "You're welcome."

Tess just looked at him, and it was then that she realized he was the one that killed him. Their conversation shifted after Ellie spoke up.

"Where the fuck are they already?" She asked Tess about the infected.

"You'll know it when they're close." She answered.

"I didn't last time."

"How did you get bit?"

"You know the old mall in the QZ?"

"The one that's sealed off and boarded up, and no one is supposed to go in...ever? That one?"

Ellie shrugged. "Whatever. I snuck in. Wanted to see what it was like. Didn't think there was gonna be anything in there, and then one just came at me outta nowhere. Thought I got away, but..."

Y/N walked beside them and heard her story. He turned to Ellie as he held the straps of his backpack.

"Must've been scary." He remarked.

She nodded and muttered. "Yeah."

"So it was just you in there, alone?"

Ellie seemed to hesitate on an answer but ultimately responded to him after a couple of seconds.

"Yeah."

Tess stopped walking and turned to her. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Wow. Well, I mean, you got some balls on you, sister."

"Thanks." She replied with a smirk.

Tess started climbing over the hood of a car to get to the other side of a blockade. Y/N chuckled at her remark.

"You know, in fifteen years, this is the first time I've heard you say something like that."

"Yeah, yeah." She replied.

Y/N laughed again and their interaction garnered a chuckle from Ellie. Y/N climbed over next and then Ellie. Some ways behind, Joel overheard their exchange but continued to keep quiet.

"Nobody's gonna be comin' after you, right?" Tess asked Ellie. "Like, Mom, Dad...boyfriend?"

"I'm an orphan, and, uh...no."

They kept walking. Ellie looked over the railing at the overgrown streets in the distance.

"Everyone said the open city was crazy. Like, swarms of infected running around everywhere."

"Not exactly like that." Joel replied.

"You know, people like to tell stories." Tess added.

"So, there aren't Super-infected that explode fungus spores on you?" Ellie asked.

"Shit, I hope not." Tess replied.

"Or ones with split-open heads that see in the dark like bats?"

"Oh, those?" Y/N asked. "Yeah. Those are freaky."

"So you have?"

"Only a couple of times. But that fungus spores one you mentioned, now that sounds scary."

Suddenly, there was a loud distant yell. They all stopped in their tracks and looked around. The yelling stopped and all that was heard was the distant cawing of crows.

"What was that?" Ellie asked.

The three adults didn't respond but were now more alert. Joel gestured forward with a tilt of his head.

"Let's get moving."

The group made it to the hotel. Going through the doors was instantly met with a strong swampy smell. It came as no surprise as the entire lobby was flooded.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Ellie reacted in awe and looked around the room. "You ever stay in a place like this?"

"Uh, no, a little out of our league." Tess answered.

Joel looked at her. "How do you even know what this is?"

"Have you heard of books?" She shot back.

Y/N stifled a chuckle after the girl talked back to Joel. The older man rolled his eyes and stepped into the water. Tess and Y/N followed.

"Wait, are we going in there?" Ellie asked.

"The stairwell's on the other side." Y/N replied as he pointed ahead. "So we gotta."

Ellie was hesitant to enter the body of water and slowly backed away.

"Well...I...I don't know how to swim."

"Seriously?" Joel asked her.

"Do you think we have pools in the QZ?"

"No, smart ass. I mean..."

Joel jumped off the step and entered the water, showing the girl that it was only a couple of feet deep.

"I don't know how I was supposed to know that." She muttered and started going into the water.

The four traversed through the water toward the other side of the lobby. Ellie kept looking around, pretty astounded by her surroundings. Y/N looked back and glanced at her, seeing her astonished face.

"This is so gross." She said with a smile, then spotted the front desk nearby. "Oh, check it out."

Ellie trudged through the swampy water and made it to the counter. She started ringing the bell that was still there.

"Ding, ding! Yes, sir. I would like your finest suite, please." She played around. "Yes, ma'am. Would you like me to take your luggage? Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am—"

Y/N snickered. "You're a weird kid."

"You're a weird kid." Ellie butted.

Ellie started moving the baggage cart, but a skeleton came out of the water and startled the teenager.

"Oh fuck!" She exclaimed and fell onto the nearby piano.

Joel immediately went over with his rifle in hand to see what caused her shout. He saw the corpse and shook his head, kicking it back down.

"Sorry." She apologized.

Joel looked at her and offered his hand. She took it and stood back up before trudging back toward Tess and Y/N. The older man glanced at his broken hand for a moment.

"You okay?" Tess asked her.

"Yep. Fucking fabulous."

The group left the lobby and entered the stairwell. They now had to go up the stairs to the tenth floor per Tess's plan.

"Fuck..." Tess panted as she entered the hallway. "Holy shit."

"Come on. It wasn't that bad." Ellie replied.

"You try climbing ten fuckin' floors with our knees. See how you feel."

Y/N came in last, having overheard her remark. "Man, that gives me what...twenty more years?"

"Cherish them." Tess replied.

They continued down the corridors. Unfortunately, the path they planned on going through was blocked off by rubble.

Tess grumbled. "Well, when the fuck did that happen?"

She and Joel checked the adjacent doors but they weren't budging. Tess looked up at the rubble and saw a small opening she could go through.

"All right, well, I mean, maybe I could climb up there, work my way around and open it from the inside?"

Ellie stepped forward. "Uh, no, well, I'm the smallest, so it'd be easier for me to get through."

"Mm-hm, but you die and we get nothing. You stay." She shot back and turned to Y/N. "Give me a hand."

Y/N nodded and stood by the rubble, ready to boost Tess up.

"Be careful." He said.

She stepped on his hand and he lifted her toward the gap. Tess started climbing through.

"You good up there?" Joel called out.

"Yeah, uh, it's a bit of a mess, so I'm gonna need a few minutes."

Tess left the three in the hallway. There was some awkward silence as Joel, Ellie, and Y/N glanced at each other. The smuggler and the teenager sat across from each other against the wall while the young man stood by the debris.

Ellie took out her switchblade and started tossing it up and catching it. Joel looked at her as she played with her weapon.

"Nice knife." He remarked, but she didn't reply. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"The circus."

Joel exhaled and rolled his eyes. Making conversation with Ellie wasn't going to be easy for him, for many reasons.

The teenager put her knife away and looked at both Joel in front of her and Y/N on the side. She didn't want the awkward silence to continue so she decided to talk.

"Where are you from?"

Joel looked down. "Texas."

Ellie glanced at Y/N. He crossed his arms and looked at Joel.

"Texas."

"Wow. That's a coincidence." She replied. "What about Tess?"

"Detroit." Joel answered. "It's in Michigan."

"I go to school. I know where Detroit is."

Joel looked to the side. Ellie kept wanting to go on with the conversation.

"So...are you and her...like...?"

"Pass." Joel replied.

"Oh, I can answer that." Y/N chimed in.

"I said pass." The smuggler sternly said, not wanting him to explain his relationship with Tess.

Ellie looked at Y/N. "And you? How do you know them?"

Y/N exhaled. "Joel's my dad."

Ellie was taken aback by his answer. She looked at Joel, who kept looking to the side and not responding.

"Oh, that Texas answer makes so much sense now." She remarked, then her eyes widened. "Oh, shit! So that means Tess is your mom." She looked back at Joel. "Boom. I figured it out."

They didn't respond to her theory initially. Joel kept looking to the side while Y/N took a breath out and scratched the back of his neck.

"You're close. But not really." Y/N said.

Ellie was confused by his response. There was another moment of silence before she continued.

"How did you end up in Boston?"

"Pass." Joel said again. "No more questions about me."

"Fine." She turned to Y/N, knowing they likely traveled together. "How'd you end up in Boston?"

He shrugged. "Took about a year to get from Texas to here. Traveled with a group—"

"Y/N." Joel sternly said, not wanting him to further explain their past to her.

The young man looked at Joel, then grumbled and leaned against the wall. Ellie yet again wallowed in the sudden silence but chose to ask more questions.

"How long do infected live?"

"Oh, I thought you went to school." Joel replied.

"It's a really shitty one."

He sighed. "Well, some last about a month or two. But there's others that been walkin' around about 20 years."

"You ever kill one?"

"Yeah. I've killed lots of them."

Y/N nodded, which Ellie took notice and informed her that the young man has too.

"Was it hard?" She asked. "Like, knowing they were people once?"

"Sometimes." Joel answered.

Ellie fiddled with her hands. "What about that guy last night?"

Y/N glanced at Joel, waiting for what his answer would be. He took a moment to think of what to say, but before Joel could respond, muffled thumping got their attention. He got up and raised his rifle.

"Put the gun down, Joel." Tess's voice came from the other side of the nearby door.

She removed the desk behind the door and opened it, letting the three inside and allowing them to continue their quest.

They continued through the hotel and made it to an open terrace area. Ellie walked to the edge and looked over, spotting a horde of idle infected below.

"Holy shit." Y/N breathed out at the sight.

"There's so many." Ellie said.

Tess explained. "The last time we were here, they were still deep inside the buildings. Then I guess enough people came through looking for the QZ, they went inside seeking shelter...and that's how they get more and more of the city bit by bit, year after year."

The infected below continued to growl and snarl. Ellie kept looking at them with fearful awe.

"They're connected." She said.

"More than you know." Tess replied. "The fungus also grows underground. Long fibers like wires, some of them stretching over a mile. Now, you step on a patch of cordyceps in one place, and you can wake a dozen infected from somewhere else. Now they know where you are, now they come."

She continued. "You're not immune from being ripped apart. You understand? It's important. I'm trying to keep you alive."

Ellie nodded in understanding. Y/N stood by, listening to what Tess said. It was the same thing she had explained to him about the infected years ago. To a young boy like him, it scared him...but it did the job and made him understand. It kept him alive.

The teenager stepped away from the edge. "So, we're not going that way."

"No." Tess shook her head.

"What do we do then?" Ellie asked but quickly realized. "Short way?"

The adults glanced at one another. Y/N let out a breath through his nose.

"The museum. You think that'd work?" He asked.

Joel thought about it for a moment before ultimately agreeing. "It can."

Joel, Tess, Ellie, and Y/N made it to the Bostonian Museum. Ellie looked up at the run-down and overgrown building.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"Well, there's a way across from the top floor." Tess said.

"Well, then I guess it's fine." Ellie sarcastically replied.

"We used to take it all the time."

"Okay."

Y/N chimed in. "I remember. Look, it was fine."

"Awesome." Ellie feigned a smile and held a thumbs up.

Joel crouched down and felt the fungus-covered floor by the door. He hit it with the butt of his rifle.

"It's bone dry." He informed them. "It could mean they're all finally dead in there."

Tess nodded. The adults took off their bags and started to acquire their flashlights. Ellie saw them and knew they were about to go inside.

"Oh, man."

Joel held up his flashlight. "Marlene pack you one of these or just sandwiches?"

"Yeah." She replied and started taking out hers.

"Okay, so...more ground rules." Tess began. "We're gonna go slowly. If we come up against anything, you get behind us and ya stay there, okay?"

Ellie nodded. "Yes."

Tess took out her pistol. She put her hand across the one that had her flashlight.

"I have a spare hand." Ellie said, wanting to hold the gun.

"Congratulations." Joel replied and stepped toward the door.

The quartet entered the museum and slowly walked through the dark room. Y/N flashed his light at the exhibits as they passed by.

"Good ol' Mr. Hamilton." Y/N muttered as he flashed his light at a poster.

"What?" Ellie overheard. "Who's that?"

"Founding father? First United States secretary of the treasury?"

"I don't know what the fuck either of those mean."

Y/N shrugged. "You like science and space. I like social studies and history. To each their own."

Joel aimed his flashlight-mounted rifle ahead and saw corpses on the floor covered in fungus. It meant that the infected inside were likely all dead.

"Yeah...cooked."

"Oh, finally, some fuckin' luck." Tess remarked.

"We should've gone this way in the first place." Y/N said.

Ellie turned left and spotted a fresh corpse of a FEDRA soldier. He was practically torn apart.

"Oh shit!" She gasped. "What the fuck did that?"

They all looked at the corpse, then at each other. Tess had a good guess at what caused such damage. She started to whisper.

"Maybe...maybe he was attacked outside and crawled through the doors. The door was open. Could've been him. I don't hear anything."

"Who would you hear?" Ellie asked rather loudly.

Joel held out his hand and gestured for her to be quiet. Ellie chose to whisper but it still wasn't as quiet.

"Who would you hear? Are you saying an Infected did that?"

"Shh." Y/N shushed.

"Because I've been attacked by one and it wasn't like that."

"Okay..." Joel whispered to Ellie. "From this point forward, we are silent. Not quiet. Silent.

"What—"

"No. No questions. Just do it."

Ellie listened. The group went up the stairs and started to go up. Each creak of the wood beneath their feet sounded like the loudest noise imaginable.

They made it to the upper floor and entered an exhibit. Joel held his rifle and lit up the immediate path ahead with the flashlight.

Tess went through the door and then Y/N and Ellie. Suddenly, there was rumbling above them. Y/N quickly grabbed the teenager and dove away from the door as debris crashed down.

Y/N got up from the floor and helped Ellie up. There was no vocalization of thanks as they still needed to be silent.

Suddenly, a loud screech was heard along with clicking. The adults held up their guns, looking around and waiting for the source of the sound to appear. Ellie stood behind them, trying to keep her panting as quiet as possible.

The Infected came out of the doorway. By its noises and overgrown fungal plates on its face, they knew it was a Clicker.

They backed away from it. More clicking came from the room nearby, letting them know there was another. The four took cover behind a glass case.

"They can't see, but they can hear." Joel mouthed to Ellie.

They waited behind cover for the Infected to pass by, which seemed like an eternity. One Clicker stumbled into the room and stood near Joel, but still had its back turned.

Ellie tried keeping in her breath but ended up letting it out quite harshly. The sound alerted the Clicker and it turned around, letting out a screech.

Joel immediately fired his rifle and shot a few rounds into the Clicker's chest. It didn't go down and grabbed Joel who tried pushing it back.

"Run!" He exclaimed.

Two other Clickers ran into the room and went after Tess, Ellie, and Y/N. The woman grabbed the girl and ran one way, causing one Clicker to keep going after them. Y/N stayed where he was and shot at the Infected in front of him.

The three shots to its body didn't do much and the Clicker grabbed Y/N. He grunted as he kept him back and ended up throwing him against the glass case.

As it was on the floor, Y/N fired three more shots at it. The fourth time he pulled the trigger, there was a click. Unfortunately, the Infected was still alive and tried getting up.

"Ah, fuck!"

Y/N bolted. Meanwhile, Joel had escaped the grasp of the Clicker that attacked him and went to hide. Ellie and Tess separated and the girl was taking cover behind a table.

The young man ended up stumbling upon Tess in the corner of the room and had a hatchet in hand. Before he can question where the rest were, the screeching of a Clicker and gunshots in the other room go their attention.

Joel took out the Infected that attacked him and Ellie, but it took all of the rounds in his revolver. The last Clicker ran into the room and at Joel, but before it can reach them, Tess came in and stuck the hatchet into its head.

The Clicker flailed its arms around after being hit. This gave Joel the chance to pick his rifle up and shoot the Infected in the head twice, finally putting it down.

They all took a moment to gather their bearings. Y/N panted, bending down and taking the hatchet out of the Clicker's head.

"You two right?" Joel asked them.

"Twisted ankle, but...yeah." Tess replied, then looked at Ellie. "You all right?"

"Well, I didn't shit my pants, so."

The teenager felt a stinging in her right arm and pulled up her sleeve. She saw a couple of fresh teeth marks where her old bite was.

"You fucking kidding me?" Ellie let out an exasperated sigh. "I mean, if it was
gonna happen to one of us."

Joel just stared at the teenager. She seemed so calm about the fact that she was bitten again. A part of him started to believe maybe she was telling the truth before.

"Shit..." Y/N muttered and went for his bag. "Need something to wrap that arm with?"

"No. I'm fine." Ellie wiped away the blood. "It'll heal like it did before."

Y/N didn't listen and still went over to hand her a rag. She tried waving it off but the young man kept insisting. Ellie ultimately accepted it.

"Thanks."

Y/N nodded and slung his backpack back on.
Tess looked over at Joel, who was still staring at Ellie's arm.

"Hey..." She called out to him. "Let's get the fuck outta here."

They left the room via a window and stepped onto the roof. A scaffolding was ahead with a plank that lead to another rooftop.

"Over there?" Ellie pointed.

"Yeah, I know. It looks scary." Joel said.

"That was scary." She started walking across the plank. "This is wood."

"Just wait there. Give us a minute." Joel called out.

The older man took out duct tape from his bag, wanting to wrap up Tess's hurt ankle. Y/N looked at it and scoffed.

"Just tape? That ain't how a splint works, old man."

Y/N took out his hatchet and moved nearby to a part of the scaffolding. He cut two pieces of wood and reached down to tend to the woman's foot.

"I'll place these here and now you use the tape. Come on."

Joel nodded and started wrapping it up with the wood, making a proper splint. Tess just watched the two men, hiding her smile at the fact that they were working together to tend to her injury.

"There's probably more ahead." Joel spoke up.

"So, we'll deal with it then." She looked at her foot and stopped them. "I got it. I got it."

Tess decided to finish wrapping it up herself. Joel looked ahead at Ellie on the other roof.

"What about the kid?" He asked. "I mean, maybe the first bite didn't take, but what about the second?"

"How 'bout you just take the good news? Can you do that?" Tess suddenly scolded. "Like to think, for once, maybe we could actually win?"

Joel was taken aback by her tone, and so was the young man. Tess continued.

"Just go, go and watch her."

Joel exhaled and picked up his gun, then walked across the wooden plank. Y/N still knelt beside Tess and looked as she tended to her foot.

"That should heal up quick." He told her.

"Where'd you even learn about splints?"

There was a beat. "You."

Tess looked up at Y/N. She let out a chuckle.

"I can barely remember." She replied.

"Well, I do." Y/N said with a quick smile. "You helped me learn a lot of things."

A smile grew on the woman's face. She reached over and caressed the side of Y/N's head. Unlike the last time she did it back at the QZ, her smile was genuine and her eyes started to water.

"Go on." She told Y/N. "I can get myself up."

Y/N nodded and went toward the plank to cross it. Tess sat there, taking a moment to herself before moving on.

Meanwhile, Joel was standing beside Ellie on the other roof, looking at the skyline ahead.

"Is it everything you hoped for?" He asked.

"Jury's still out." She replied. "But, man, you can't deny that view."

"C'mon, let's get there before it's dark." Tess told them, walking toward the fire escape.

She and Ellie climbed down. Y/N was about to and looked at Joel, who was glancing at his broken watch.

"Come on." He called out.

Joel looked up at him, giving a nod and soon following.

They walked the rest of the way to the Capitol Building. There was no sign of Fireflies outside, so Joel decided that they should take cover behind a car and wait for a sign. They ended up waiting a while.

"Where the fuck are they?" Tess asked.

"Don't you have some sort of signal for them?" Ellie asked Y/N.

"What do you want me to do? Yell out caw-caw or some shit?"

Joel stood up and walked forward. Y/N chose to follow with his empty pistol out. The older man went up to one of the trucks and opened it, but saw that no one was inside.

"Stay back." He whispered to the two ladies.

Y/N and Joel moved to the other side of the truck. Underneath was the rotting body of the driver.

"Jesus Christ." Y/N muttered.

Joel opened the back of the truck but saw that it was empty as well. Tess and Ellie got out of cover and joined them.

"What the fuck is going on?" Tess asked.

"I don't know." Joel answered.

Ellie looked down and saw blood going up the steps toward the building.

"They went inside."

Tess looked toward the door before grabbing Ellie's hand and taking her with her up the steps.

"Come on."

"Tess. Tess!" Joel exclaimed.

Joel and Y/N followed them and entered the building. Y/N had long expected not to see Mike, Brent, Marlene, and the other Fireflies there, but what they stumbled upon came as a shock.

"Holy shit." Ellie muttered.

Bodies of Firefly soldiers littered the room. Y/N stopped and looked at each of them, not being able to speak.

Joel reacted. "Oh, Jesus."

"Okay..." Tess swallowed and started rummaging through the things they left. "I mean, there's gotta be a, a fuckin' radio or somethin', right?"

"Who killed them?" Ellie asked. "FEDRA?

"No." Joel kicked over a body. "One of them got bit. The healthy ones fought the sick ones. Everyone lost."

Y/N finished looking at the bodies. None of them were Mike, Brent, or Marlene. He finally was able to talk after the moment of shock.

"None of them are my friends. So...so they're still out there somewhere."

Joel looked over and saw his partner scrambling, looking through crates.

"Tess? What're you doin'?"

She ignored him and called out to Ellie. "Where did Marlene say that she was taking you? Ellie!"

"Uh, I don't know. Just west."

Tess looked at Y/N, expecting a more specific answer. He didn't have one and his answer was the same.

"Same thing they told me. West."

"Just west. Fuck." Tess replied. "Okay. Well, I mean, one of them's gotta have a map on them, right? Joel, can ya help me?"

"No!" He exclaimed and stepped toward her. "Tess... it's over. We are going home."

"That's not my fucking home!" She shouted back.

The three others stood quiet. There was a beat before Tess spoke again.

"I'm stayin'. I mean... our luck had to run out sooner or later."

Joel was confused. Y/N was as well.

"What do you—?"

"Fuck." Ellie muttered, gathering their attention. "She's infected."

Y/N and Joel looked back at Tess, whose facial expression basically confirmed what Ellie said. They were both in shock, but Joel still didn't want to believe it.

"Show me." He demanded.

"Joel."

Tess stepped forward but Joel took a couple back. The woman moved her collar aside and showed them the bite mark.

"Oops, right?" She said, then walked toward Ellie. "Take your bandage off."

Ellie did as told. Tess grabbed her arm and showed it to Joel. The woman's bite was way worse compared to Ellie's.

"Look. Joel? This is real. Joel, she's fucking real. I need you to get her to Bill and Frank's."

"No." Joel quietly disagreed.

"They'll take her off your hands."

"No."

"They'll handle it from here."

"No, no, no, I can't. They won't take her. They're not gonna take her."

"They will. They will 'cause you'll convince them. Yes, you will. I, I never ask you for anything, not to feel the way I felt. Not to..."

Joel shook his head. "No—"

"Shut the fuck up 'cause I don't have time." Tess stopped Joel. "This is your chance. You go with Y/N. You get her there...you keep her alive...and you set everything right. All the shit we did."

Tess's voice started to break. She wanted Joel to go with Y/N and take Ellie to Bill's and from there they can help in getting the girl to the Fireflies. She was already a lost cause and would die from infection soon, but she knew that Ellie being the key to saving humanity would change things for the future.

She helped keep Ellie alive for what was about a day. Now it was up to Joel do to so but for longer. They did horrible things to stay alive and stopped Y/N from enjoying a childhood so that he can too. She felt like the possibility of a cure would absolve the things they did and give Y/N a better future.

"Please say yes, Joel, please." Tess pleaded.

One of the bodies woke up and growled, startling Ellie. Y/N, with a cold look, went over to the Infected and stomped on its head. He did so twice more until its brain matter splattered all over the floor.

After the kill, the fibers of cordyceps wrapped around the corpse's fingers. They saw this and knew, just like Tess explained before, that it would alert more Infected of their whereabouts.

Joel ran to the door and peeked through it. He could hear the distant snarling of the incoming infected.

"How many?" Tess asked.

He walked back. "All of them. We got maybe a minute."

Tess picked up a rifle from the floor and knocked over a barrel of gasoline, letting it spill on the floor. She knocked over another one along with a crate of grenades.

"Wh—What are you doing?" Y/N asked.

"Making sure that they don't follow you."

Joel stood there in silence. He understood what she was about to do. Once again, he could feel his heart beating fast and the ringing in his ears returned.

"Joel..." Tess spoke softly, taking him out of his trance. "...save who you can save."

Joel stared at her. After a moment, he spun and grabbed Ellie's arm, dragging her toward the back exit.

"No!" Ellie exclaimed, trying to pull herself away. "We're not leaving her! Get off me, you fucker! I'm not going with you!"

Y/N stood there, not knowing what to do or what to say. He should've followed Joel but something was keeping him from doing so.

"I—I can't." Y/N muttered.

Tess faced him. "You have to go."

He shook his head, looking toward the front door. "I...I can fight—"

"No!"

Y/N stopped and looked directly at Tess, a tear finally coming out of his eye. Her gaze softened and she reached over to wipe it away.

"Go with your father and take that girl where she needs to go. Do what you think is right."

The young man's breath shuddered before ultimately nodding. From behind, he heard Joel shouting.

"Y/N! Come on!"

Y/N swallowed and stepped backward, keeping his eyes on Tess for as long as he could. He finally turned around and ran out of the building with Joel and Ellie.

Tess stood there alone. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in and then out as the sounds of infected came closer.

Y/N caught up with Joel and Ellie and they made some distance between them and the Capitol building. Suddenly, an explosion erupted that blew apart the entire first floor of the structure.

Joel looked back and raised his rifle in case any Infected survived and were coming. Ellie panted and stared ahead, still reeling at the fact they left Tess behind.

Then there was Y/N. He seemingly had no emotion and his face was expressionless.

While Joel and Ellie could hear the pained screeching of the burning infected and the crackling flames as they looked on...Y/N didn't.

Just like what his father would often experience...all he could hear was the ringing in his ears.