The Last Of Us: Past And Present

Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Joel stared down at the Wolf, trying hard not to run for the hills screaming. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him, telling him to open fire and end the son of a bitches life. To take him out before he could inflict any damage. But Joel knew that was a bad idea. If he were to take the Wolf out, the rest of the Hunters would attack Jackson, and that would be the end of probably the last safe place in the world. He had to find a way to scare the Wolf off. But how could he do that? The Wolf was almost unstoppable, was probably nearly impossible to scare him. If only it was just them alone, Joel wouldn't be so afraid to take him on if it was just the two of them. But Joel knew what kind of power that psycho son of a bitch had holding him up.

"Now I'm only gonna' say this one more fucking time! Let us in...or die!" Joel didn't dare speak, for fear he would say the wrong thing. What were you supposed so say in a situation like this?

Goddamnit! If I was any where else I'd shoot the prick down right now! But he wasn't anywhere else. He was in Jackson with his brother, sister in-law, and Ellie. And he couldn't do anything that would put Ellie at risk. He had to keep her safe. The Wolf saw the hesitation on Joel's face and smirked. "C'mon Joel! You know how fucking bad it is to wait! This isn't a give me a minute deal here. It's now or fucking never!" Joel swallowed, and looked to his left at Tommy. Tommy looked back at him. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Joel racked his brain, trying to figure out what to do. But he just couldn't find a solution! We're fucked! We're so fucked! Joel swallowed. He was beginning to sweat, despite the chill in the air. Joel closed his eyes and squeezed them shut. What to do, what to do? Keep him distracted Joel. Give Tommy enough time to evacuate the town. The voice in Joel's head whispered.

Joel's eyes shot open. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? That was an idea that just might work. If Joel knew anything about the Wolf, it was that you could get him talking, he could talk for a long time. Maybe, just maybe it could work.

"Tommy...Tommy," Joel hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "Start evacuating the town-try to keep it as quiet as possible. Get them out the back wall. I'll keep Devlin occupied." Out of the corner of his eye, Joel saw Tommy make an almost imperceptible nod. Joel looked back down at the Wolf, who now had the barrel of his M-16 against the ground, holding the butt of the gun like it was a walking stick.

"Sorry Devlin, you ain't gettin' this place." From where Joel stood, he could see the anger growing in the Wolf's eyes. They look like a wolf's eyes, Joel thought. He had never seen a more wilder pair of eyes. It was almost as if an actual animal had taken possession of a human's body. "Joel! Don't fucking fuck with me!" He thrust a hand out, pointing straight at Joel. "You know exactly who the fuck you're pissing off my fucking friend!" Joel didn't budge.

"I ain't backing down Devlin. You're talkin' to a wall." The Wolf's grip on the M-16 tightened for a fraction of a second...but then his whole body seemed to relax. A smile slowly broke across his face. Without saying a word, he turned around, and slowly made his way towards the pack of Hunters. He yanked something out of one of their hands before making his way back to his original spot.

"Just know Joel! You brought this on yourself!" Then he threw a molotov cocktail in Joel's direction. He had a fraction of a second to see it pinwheeling in his direction before it made contact with the wall in front of him.

Ellie ripped the doors to the stables open, and slipped inside, the doors slamming loudly behind her. She jogged down the aisle, searching for any sign of life. She was halfway towards the back, when Devin stuck his head out from one of the stalls, scaring the shit out of Ellie.

"When I said you could come back when you had free time, I didn't expect you to be here so soon." He said with that grin on his face. Ellie shook her head, and quickly flipped him the bird.