To Quell the Wrath

Prologue - ''I Have to Finish It''

The Farmhouse, March 2039

Ellie crouches next to her sun-bleached grey backpack and packs a few things into it. She reaches up and grabs her Beretta 92FS Inox with wooden grips from the countertop and places it inside her bag. She gathers a few more items and hears a floorboard creak behind her. Ellie closes her eyes, knowing she's been found out and sighs silently to herself.

"Hey." A bright voice says.

Ellie stands and turns to face the visitor. It's Dina, in her pyjamas, coming to find out what Ellie's up to.

"Hey." Ellie replies, after a beat.

Dina looks at her then towards the door, before speaking again. "Man, it's been a while since he slept this long, huh?" she asks, referring to her son, JJ.

"He had a day." Ellie replies.

Dina nods. "Yeah. He's fine. Come back to bed. We'll talk about it in the morning. Okay?" She turns to leave and there is a moment of silence.

"I have to finish it." Ellie says in a small voice.

Dina, still with her back to Ellie, closes her eyes, fighting back tears. She turns to Ellie and sighs, before putting her hands on her hips. "You don't owe Tommy anything." She says, with a hint of crossness in her voice.

Ellie looks at Dina before replying "I don't sleep. I don't eat. I'm... I'm not like you, Dina."

Her girlfriend scoffs, and steps towards Ellie as she speaks. "What? You think this is easy? For you, and for him, I deal with it."

"I love you—" Ellie begins.

"Prove it." Dina says, sounding pissed off and disbelieving. "Stay."

Ellie looks at the floor, her eyes filling with tears. She has come too far and fought too many people just to see Abby walk away, but Dina was right. If she loved her, then she should stay.

"Fuck" Ellie says, quietly to herself. She closes her eyes, thinking about what would actually happen if she were to let Abby walk away. How could she justify it? She had watched as Abby killed Joel with a golf club, and that shit gave her nightmares every time she closed her eyes. She had promised Tommy that she would avenge Joel's death and would find and kill Abby.

Dina takes two steps towards Ellie and holds her face. "We've got a family. She doesn't get to be more important than that."

Ellie clenches her jaw against Dina's hands and sighs. She hears what Dina is saying, she really does, but she made a promise. She turns to leave.

"Ellie Williams, if you walk away right now, I'm done, I'm leaving you and I'm not coming back. Do you hear me?" Dina snaps as Ellie takes one step towards the door.

"Fuck." Ellie says again. "I made a promise, Dina." Ellie says, still facing the door.

"But why can't you just let this go? Aren't I more important than killing her? Don't stoop to her level, be the bigger person. Please."

"I can't." Ellie replies, quietly.

"So, what? I'm just supposed to sit here and wait for you, for God knows how long, just thinking you're fucking dead the entire time?"

Ellie turns to face Dina. "I don't plan on dying."

"Yeah, well, neither did Jesse. Or Joel."

Ellie stays where she is, thinking over everything: If she stayed then Abby would just walk free. She had promised Tommy to find and kill every last one of them, and she already broke that by leaving Abby alive. Dina was the most important person to her, but Ellie needed to end this. If she killed Abby, would she be able to sleep? Would the nightmares end? Would she feel satisfied? Remorseful? Angry? Depressed? What would it be like knowing Abby was finally dead, and this was finally over? Could Ellie live with herself knowing Abby was still alive? Would she be able to heal from her trauma if she lived in peace at the farm? Could Ellie channel her trauma into something more useful, or would she be bound to it forever; would it control her forever?