The Last of Us part III Ellie's Redemption

Cowards and Scumbags

As Ellie and Curtis sat down she clearly couldn't hide her annoyance.
"What's up?" Curtis asked.
Quietly Ellie answered. "I was so mad with Monica I wanted to beat her ass so badly."
"Why though, because she forced us to go with those two dummies?"
"Yeah, she clearly noticed I was mad so I just needed to get out of there. See it this way, we'll be gone soon and I promised you I'd stay calm and I will."
They ate in silence then returned to their cell with Jane.
"Sorry about earlier guys, I'll call you both for the hunt. I guess you'll be going soon." Jane asked.
"In three days, I asked Monica if you could come because your dad is on our way to Indiana." Curtis said.
"Oh wow, that would be great if I could accompany you." Jane was beaming.
"She hasn't decided yet but I hope she agrees to let you come." Ellie added. She got a big bear hug from Jane in return.
"See I didn't hug you too long there, you're still breathing." Jane said laughing.
"What?" Curtis said, getting a hug too, he hugged back.
"I'll get you guys when it's time, see you later." She waved then locked their cell door.
"Monica is alright really, she's been fair to us." Curtis explained.
"I know but something about her really annoys me, I just want to see the back of her." Ellie said writing in her notepad.
"Just chill, you worry too much." Curtis laid back on his bunk.
"I guess you're right, but it's my instinct Curtis and I trust it. I know I'm like it all the time but it's kept me alive, us alive." Ellie decided to let the subject drop. "Is it just me that thinks the sausages here are absolute garbage?"
"Oh Ellie if only you could have tried mom and dad's sausages, you would have agreed there was none better in all of the United States." Curtis was dreaming of them days.
"I bet I would have Curtis, you'll love the ones Rich's mom makes in Jackson, I'll be interested in how you compare them." Ellie looked up at him. Curtis was teary eyed. "Hey what's wrong, if I said something to upset you I'm sorry, tell me what I said."
"I'm not upset Ellie I'm just happy you finally agree we're going to Jackson no matter what."
"Yes we are Curtis, yes we are." Ellie smiled.
Curtis jumped down and hugged her, she still wouldn't reciprocate it. Curtis finally let go. "I needed to do that, it's proof I'm not dreaming, that you're real and things will work out."
"It's okay Curtis, anytime you need a hug I'm here, just don't expect one back." She gasped as he put his head on her chest, tears welling up again.
"I can feel your heartbeat, it makes me feel safe." He said.
Ellie pulled him away. "Here, calm down, seriously, I've been thinking. If getting a cure for humanity means my death I won't go through with it. If we can get Jane and Lance on board, we make a plan if this Clairmont guy doesn't let me leave, we fight our way out. I want to try and save humanity but I'm already decided I have a reason to stay alive and it's you. So my heart will keep beating for many years to come. No more crying, as your big sister I solemnly vow to get us back to Jackson after we see Clairmont if I have to drag our battered and bloody bodies all the way through snowstorms, thunderstorms, meteor showers and alien invasions." She wiped Curtis' tears with her handkerchief and kissed him on the head. "Now relax and no more tears over me."
Curtis smiled. "Okay, I'm good now. It was a moment of weakness."
"No Curtis not weakness, empathy, a sign of strength."

Later on Jane came to unlock the cell door.
"Hey guys be careful tonight, I don't trust Damien and Zara, be safe."
"Thanks Jane, we'll be wary, don't worry, we will be back tonight." Ellie tapped her head.
Jane nodded. "You'd better be."
"See you later." Curtis added.
They left Jane to lock the cell again, she couldn't help but worry about the pair.

Outside, Zara, Damien and Bubbles were ready. Ellie and Curtis mounted up.
"We all ready?" Bubbles asked, everyone was. "Okay I'll lead the way."
Spooky silence between the five emitted until they reached the area.
"Ellie, Curtis, let me explain this area because you haven't done it yet am I right?" Bubbles asked.
"You're right." Ellie replied.
"We'll make a sweep but split up, these are the routes we go, we don't veer too far away and any trouble you shout or run. We all want to get back safe, agreed?" Bubbles asked everyone, all in agreement they took their routes.
Curtis had a clear area and was glad, he didn't want to remain in this part, he wanted to get back to Ellie, he didn't have a good feeling about this.
Ellie had Joel's revolver out, she was unsure of what was ahead and wanted something powerful. She felt uneasy like Curtis, not because there might be infected, it was a different feeling. It had all gone way too well with the group, she was definitely taking Jane's warning seriously. She was ready to turn back for Curtis, she felt stupid having let him go it alone. Momentarily she stopped to wipe a fleck off her gun then noticed a silhouette shining off it to her left.
Her instincts and reactions didn't fail her, she ducked as a bullet flew past her and Zara came into her sight.
"You Fucking bitch cripple!" She shouted, pointing the gun down towards Ellie again.
Ellie pulled the trigger as a bullet hit Zara in the throat imploding it. Zara fell to the ground a mutilated, unrecognisable mess.
"Zara no!" Damien had his pistol aimed at Ellie, ready to fire. Before he could a bullet knocked the gun from his hand, it was Bubbles. Next thing she saw an arrow land in his skull as he dropped dead on the ground too.
Curtis came into sight, trying to get his breath.
"What the fuck?" Bubbles said, mouth wide open in shock.
"I-I don't know...Zara tried to kill me I defended myself, then him." Ellie pointed at Damien's corpse.
"I saw it all Ellie, I believe you. But why, why did they?" Bubbles was dismayed by it all.
"I know we had problems but I never thought they'd try to kill me, I mean we fought but I never wanted to kill them, we were leaving in three days." Ellie was in shock too.
"Rat bastards." Curtis added. "I had a bad feeling and came running to you Ellie."
Ellie got up, wiping herself down. "What the hell do we do now?" She asked.
Everyone stood there in silence until Bubbles replied. "There's an old river nearby, we dump the bodies and think of a believable story for Monica when we get back."
"Weren't they your friends?" Curtis asked.
"Not really, no. We tolerated each other and never had any problems but they were never what I'd call good people. Now you two, I don't know either of you very well and maybe first impressions I got wrong. But I've seen how you both handle yourselves, Lance and Jane like you and Monica trusts you. That's good enough for me, you didn't do anything wrong and you shouldn't be punished for this." Bubbles explained.
"Thanks we owe you." Ellie said.
"No you don't, let's just get this shit cleared up." Bubbles replied.
"I can lift Zara onto my shoulders if you two can handle Damien." Ellie looked for confirmation.
"We can do that, you'd better get their supplies before we dump them." Bubbles added.
They did what they needed to do, Bubbles leading them to the river where they buried the two bodies who were soon out of sight.
"Phew, looks like we'd better get our stories straight." Ellie said.
Before anyone else could speak they heard a sound.
"Infected?" Bubbles asked.
Ellie nodded. "Trust me." She cleared her throat. "Hey, assholes!" She called.
Shrieks were heard as three infected came into view out of a treed valley. Two clickers and a stalker. A clicker was put down with two arrows to the head from Curtis.
The stalkier was blown apart by Ellie's revolver leaving Bubbles to drop the remaining clicker with three pistol headshots.
"We now have Zara and Damien's killers right here." Bubbles said.
"How do we explain their disappearance?" Curtis asked.
"How about this, they were both bit, we don't know how, we just heard screams and came rushing to them. Then we were going to put them out of their misery, we killed them by the river because they pulled their weapons on me and Curtis. Bubbles, you shot Damien's hand then me and Curtis executed them. It's not far from the truth, they then fell in the river and were swept away." Ellie explained.
"Okay that's believable, we can say that." Bubbles nodded in agreement. "Sound okay Curtis?" She asked.
"Yeah, no idea is perfect, let's just go with it. We should also mention that me and Ellie agreed to be civil with Zara and Damien just for this hunt, for our own safety, but the agreement ended when we got to base. I don't want Monica getting suspicious and thinking we just cold blooded murdered them."
"We'll roll with that too, I'll say I tried to make you guys shake hands and put it in the past, you wouldn't but it was all agreed on we'd have each other's backs while out here." Bubbles added.
"Great, let's not overthink it, that's our story. Again, thanks for having our backs Bubbles." Ellie said.
"No problem, you can call me Lucy if you want. I like you guys, I  want us to leave on good terms and as friends. In three days you'll be gone and I wish you all the luck in the world. We need to get back, get this mess explained and wake up to a fresh start."
"We're friends for sure." Curtis said.
Ellie nodded. "Yeah, the sooner we get back the better. Let's get back to the horses before it starts to get dark."
The three mounted up and rode back to base.

Upon their arrival questions were immediately asked about Zara and Damien's whereabouts. Bubbles began to get emotional, clearly play acting, but believable enough to make a scene of how infected had bit them and they'd had to shoot them.
Ellie, Curtis and Bubbles were separated and taken to different rooms, Ellie guessed an interrogation was coming.
She sat in Monica's office alone until the boss came in flustered and confused.
She sat and looked at Ellie. "What the hell happened out there Ellie? I want every single fucking detail." Monica wasn't playing, Ellie had to keep calm.
She raised her hands defensively. "I swear we split up, the next thing I know I hear either Zara or Damien scream, when I got to them they were bit. I don't know what the heck happened, if they were fucking and got caught off guard or what. But they pulled weapons on me by the time I got to them. They were babbling saying I would kill them now they'd been infected. I thought I was a goner until Bubbles shot Damien's gun out of his hand. Curtis put an arrow through his head and while Zara was distracted I shot her, they were next to the river and fell into it. I was defending myself, I know we were on bad terms but I didn't want to kill them, I just wanted us to all get back safe. We had an agreement to be civil while patrolling but only until we got back. We were angry at each other but we weren't stupid." Ellie swallowed hard and put her head in her hands.
Monica didn't know what to think, she had to say something though.
"That's the truth is it Ellie?"
Ellie looked up, Monica didn't see that feral look in her eyes, she saw confusion and fear. Monica desperately wanted to disbelieve Ellie.
"You'll sit right here and stay quiet, I'm going to see if Curtis and Bubbles' stories match up, they had better. I'll be back shortly." Monica got up.
"Okay, yeah, I-I understand." Ellie replied. When it was just her in the room she laid her head on the desk and put her head in her hands, she smiled. She had worked a bit of acting masterclass on her just like Bubbles had earlier, she just hoped she could pull it off. Ellie also hoped she and Curtis could keep to their story.
Monica finally returned, Ellie sat up exhaling sharply, raking her fingers through her hair, faking a flustered look.
"Do you want to know what I think?" Monica said sternly, this was no question, she would tell her either way.
Ellie shrugged looking at the floor. "I don't know, I never wanted this. I wanted everyone to get back safe, sleep it off, get up tomorrow and then Curtis and I could prepare to leave in two days. I know you and me have had some issues." Ellie looked up. "But you've treated me and Curtis fairly, I appreciate it, I didn't want to spoil it. I'm an idiot and I always mess things up, I'm honestly trying to do something good because I want to atone for all the bad things I've done."
"What bad things Ellie?" Monica looked straight at Ellie who looked away.
"I've...I've killed a lot of people, some probably...more than likely didn't deserve it." Ellie was trying to keep the charade up.
"I see. What I think is the three of you had a story ready for me when you came back." Monica replied.
"On the way back we couldn't talk about anything else, I guess we did? It wasn't on purpose, I was ready to take Curtis and just bolt, leave, take our chances."
Monica pursed her lips. "This is what's going to happen Ellie. Early tomorrow morning you and Curtis will leave here, you'll take Jane and Lance. You can continue your journey then, I don't want you here any longer than that. You've done your part for us and I'm grateful. Once you've fed yourselves tomorrow morning you all go. May you find what you're looking for, now get out."
Ellie got up gingerly. "I'd just like to say one more thing, you've treated us well, I-I will never forget it Monica."
"Get out girl!" Monica had lost tolerance of Ellie.
Ellie swallowed and nodded. "Okay." She whispered and left, she kept the solemn look going but was laughing like a hyena on the inside.
To their dying day Ellie and Curtis would never know that Monica had planned their executions that night.