The Last of Us part III Ellie's Redemption

Damaged Angel

Later on as they were going over their plan thoroughly, then they heard gunshots in the near distance.
Ellie raced to the window, binoculars to her eyes almost immediately. Curtis beside her, despite his younger age he was the same height as Ellie but a bit skinnier. Not that Ellie had been eating well that much herself lately.

Earlier Curtis had just wanted to get going but surprisingly it was Ellie holding back on their departure. Something had told her to hang on a bit longer, her hope was in some way Joel had come to her, but she shook it off as plain old gut instinct.

Not long after, they heard gunshots not far from where they were stationed.
"What's going on?" Curtis asked.
"I don't know yet. I'm just glad we didn't leave when we did." Ellie's instincts hadn't failed her.
There was more gunfire then shouting, it was getting closer and the infected had noticed too. Their screeching made Curtis put his hands to his ears, Ellie continued to watch.
"Yeah, I don't like the sound of this. Looks like you were right, I wouldn't want to be out there in that." He said.
"Sure." Was Ellie's reply. There was silence between the two of them while drama unfolded outside.
Soldiers came into sight on horseback shooting at the infected, but one of them got too cocky, they were dragged off their horse then they were torn apart.
"Good riddance asshole." Ellie said.
Curtis had a good enough view of what was going. His face scrunched in a parody of pain, he had never seen violence on this scale.
After all was said and done there were three humans left of the original five, all infected wiped out.
"Here take this." Ellie handed him the binoculars.
She pulled out her rifle making sure it was loaded.
One of the humans, there was one woman and two men, began shouting.
"I Stevenson Daniels, leader of the New Eagles, say to you my loyal soldiers, you follow me to immortality! Poor Jones and Cheng were believers but they didn't believe enough today, you must believe in me unquestionably! I will imbue you with the power of the Eagle that is my birthright and why I will become not just the Leader of all Nebraska but the entire United States of America!! People say I just sit in my office and let others do the work! You tell them different, you tell them I led us to another holy victory!"

"This guy is a jackass." Curtis said in disgust.
Ellie quietly opened the window and set her scope on Daniels.

"I have built the New Eagles and when I sit at my table, soldiers to the left and right of me you will never question your leader again! I am protected by the Lord, know my words!"
"Sir!" The two grunts saluted.
"My way is the true way, I am holiness reborn, I am..."

Ellie's bullet tore into his skull as brain matter exploded from the back of Daniels' head.
"Eat shit holy man." Ellie whispered.
She followed up with a bullet to the other man's head who dropped like a rag doll, his neck snapping as he hit the ground, horse galloping away in fear. The woman looked up and managed to swerve and ride away as Ellie's shot missed by centimetres.

"Fuck." Ellie cussed angrily. "We need to go." She scooped up everything she needed and put it in her backpack. She and Curtis made for the stairs, quickly getting mounted up on their horses.
"Which way?" Curtis asked.
"Straight ahead, we're going to Daniels' barracks."
"Cover me." Ellie said as they reached Daniels.
Ellie dismounted, going through the dead man's pockets, his head twisted and lolling behind his back. She pulled out a book of dates, it went immediately into her bag.
"Eww, what a way to die." Curtis looked at the corpse in revulsion.
Mounting Pisces again they continued forward, Ellie had Joel's revolver drawn and Curtis had the bow at a ready.
"Do you think she's gone for reinforcements?" Curtis asked.
"Yeah, let's get to our destination and get what we need. Kill anyone on sight okay Curtis? I mean it."
"I will."
They headed to the barracks, Ellie checked the map again.
"No question this is it." Ellie said as they dismounted. "Let's make this quick, cover me, I just need any clues about the Pegasus and some ammunition."
Ellie stocked up filling both their bags, there was also some information on 'rival' soldiers. One on the Iowa Bengals, the Ohio Caimans, the Illinois Black-horns and the Indiana Pegasus. Yes, she put the books in her bag, it was time to go. But as was her luck, Ellie was a little late. Reinforcements had arrived.
"Get your head down." She ordered Curtis. "We are leaving here alive."
Curtis nodded.
There was six of them, Ellie wasn't playing, she launched a Molotov cocktail burning three of them alive, their horses bolting. Curtis put an arrow through a fourth's heart. Ellie put the woman down with a headshot and made herself known to the final one, aim true, until at the most inconvenient of times a vision of Joel came.
She was swimming underwater and trying to pull a bloody and battered Joel back to the surface. Ellie hit the ground, the man aimed his gun at her forgetting about Curtis who sent an arrow into his throat. The man dropped hard, skull cracking on the floor, gargling on his own blood.
Curtis raced to Ellie.
"Fuck, fuck, Ellie, Ellie!!"
Ellie came back from her vision, gasping, in a cold sweat and her heart racing she had to remember where she was. She lay on the ground breathing hard.
"Are you okay Ellie?" Curtis was frightened by what had happened.
Ellie tried her best to respond, she gave him a thumbs up, putting her hand to her chest, trying to calm her heart.
"You had me scared Ellie, what the fu..."
Ellie was aware enough to raise her revolver and put a bullet through a surprise seventh soldier's chest. He dropped like a potato sack. He had got his pistol aimed at Curtis who turned, but not in time.
"Fuck you limp dick." She cursed at the fresh corpse.
Ellie dropped back down again sucking in that nectar air.
"You just saved my life again." Curtis said.
"Ditto." Ellie replied trying to laugh.
Curtis lifted her to her feet. "You found something didn't you?"
"Yeah, fuck this place, let's get out of here. Before we reach the Iowa border we need some intel on the Bengals. I'm going back to get some information on them. We want to be a long way from here by nightfall, we have a lot more reading to do."
She scanned the Pegasus book, she noticed a Doctor Clairmont.
"The star has spoken." Ellie said.
"What?" Curtis asked.
"Oh nothing, just something from Savage Starlight." Ellie looked at a miffed Curtis. "It's a comic book. When the main character achieved the goal of the story she'd say 'The star has spoken', you know like find a clue to help her on her quest."
"Oh." Curtis smiled weakly.
"I guess you'd have to read it to appreciate it. We might get lucky on our way and find a comic book store. You'll like it."
"Maybe."
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Let's go."
They rode.