The Last Of Us: Past And Present

Chapter 2

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Chapter 2:
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Joel rode calmly on horseback, listening to the sounds of the forest as he and Tommy made their way to the dam. Tommy had come by that morning and asked Joel if he had wanted to go and see how guard duty worked over at the plant. Joel had agreed once his younger brother had told him that Maria would be taking Ellie out to meet the other kids her age that lived in town. Ellie hadn't been too thrilled by the idea of being separated from Joel, but had eventually agreed when he said she would be with Maria. Joel couldn't help but crack a grin at that. Maria had grown a quick fondness for Ellie, and it looked like that feeling was mutual.

As the two of them rode on, Joel looked around him. The sun hung high in a cloudless blue sky, and it seemed to Joel that God couldn't have painted a prettier picture. Birds chirped in the trees, squirrels scurried through the underbrush and other animals moved about. The air was cool, and a light breeze blew against the two men, making Joel feel as if they were making their way through a wind tunnel. The whole thing felt perfect.

"Hey, Joel." Joel looked over at Tommy.

"What?" Tommy fiddled with his horses reigns as he said; "So what happened on the road? When the two of you got back, you looked like someone had shoved you into a wood-chipper headfirst." Joel chuckled, and thought back to their travels. It had been a tough ride, one Joel hoped to move on from pretty soon. But Tommy wanted to hear it, and Joel supposed he deserved to know.

So with a huff, Joel spoke. "It was a pretty rocky road for us, little brother. You wouldn't believe some of the things we went through." Joel paused for a moment, thinking about where to begin. After a moment, he decided to start with the University.

"When we got to the University, the first thing we found were infected. I ain't sure if they were fireflies or if they were being used as a sort of defense. To be completely honest, I think it's the second option seein' how there were clickers." He saw the shocked look in Tommy's eyes, and knew Tommy had been completely sure the fireflies had been there. Joel chuckled. "We found a voice recorder. The firefly who had recorded it said the rest of 'em had gone on to Salt Lake City to continue their search for the cure. Ellie and I were fixing to leave when we were attacked by a group of bandits.

"We were making our way down, trying to get back to the horse. On the second floor balcony I was blindsided by one of the bandits. We both went tumblin' off the balcony. That wasn't too bad, but to make matters worse I landed on a piece of broken re bar. Joel let go of the reigns with his left hand and lifted up his shirt, turning slightly to show the scar to Tommy. His eyes grew to the size of quarters as he stared down at the wound.

"Jesus Christ Joel!" The older brother nodded, and slid the shirt down before taking hold of the reigns with both hands again.

"Ellie managed to get me to the horse. Just as we were gettin' off of the campus I passed out. Don't remember much after that. Ellie had been taking care of me for weeks, keeping the infection at bay. Even managed to find me some antibiotics." Joel decided to keep the part with David out of the story. He wasn't sure he wanted to revisit that specific moment.

"Well...we got to Salt Lake City right around the beginnin' of spring. They were where the dead firefly had said..." Joel's story tapered off there, and he prayed that Tommy wouldn't ask anything else. But God didn't seem to be on his side that day, because Tommy asked; "What happened in Salt Lake?" Joel looked down at his horse's neck, and cleared his throat.

"We had to cut through an old highway tunnel. Near the end it was filled with flood waters. The two of managed to fall in, and I had to get her out. When I got us out of the water Ellie...she wasn't breathin'. I tried to give her CPR, but one of your firefly buddies knocked me unconscious." Joel stopped, and cleared his throat.

"I woke up and your friend Marlene was with me. She let me know Ellie was alright and I could go. One of those 'you finished your job, we don't need you' kind of situations. I asked to see Ellie, and she told me they were preppin' her for surgery. They were gonna'...cut her brain out and use it to try and find a cure." Joel stopped there. The entire time he spoke, he kept his gaze on the horses neck. He didn't have to see Tommy's face to know that he was slowly putting the puzzle pieces together.

"Joel...don't tell me you-" Joel looked at Tommy and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I did. Any firefly that got in my way died by my hands."

"And Marlene?" Joel swallowed. "She woulda' only come after Ellie." Tommy stopped his horse, and stared at Joel. His eyes filled with disbelief. Joel tugged on the reigns, bringing his horse to a stop as well.

"And what did Ellie think about this?" Joel swallowed, and didn't break eye contact when he said; "She doesn't know about it." Tommy's eyes widened even further, if that was even possible. "She doesn't know? Joel! You, you can't just keep something like that from her!"

"They were gonna' cut her brain out without even givin' her a choice!" Tommy shook his head, his eyes never downsizing. "You can't make that decision for her either Joel! You're not her dad-" Tommy was cut short as Joel's fist crashed into his face. Tommy was knocked off of his horse, and he slammed into the floor in a cloud of dust. Joel jumped off of his horse, and gripped Tommy the front of his jean jacket.

"Don't you ever tell me what I am to that girl again! You got me?" Tommy stared up at Joel in shock. But he understood now. Joel had lost Sarah all of those years ago. And now he had found someone he could love and cherish as his own. Tommy was fucking furious with Joel...but he understood why he did what he did.

"I'm sorry," Joel looked shocked by those words. Tommy saw his eyes flit down, then back. Hesitantly, he nodded, and slowly let go. "I'm sorry too. We square?" Tommy grinned, and excepted Joel's hand when he offered it. "We're square."
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AN: Hey guys. This chapter was actually intended to be longer, but I split it in two. The second half will actually be chapter 3 so...yeah. Next chapter, we'll see Ellie and the OC will be introduced. Are you excited? Do you want to see more? Don't forget to review! And above all: enjoy!

~Exangellion
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