The Last Of Us: Past And Present

Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

For what felt like hours, Ellie and Devin slowly made their way through Jackson, just barely escaping being caught. Many times, Ellie found that she had to restrain herself from jumping out and opening fire. But after what seemed to be a millennium, they reached the back wall. Ellie looked left and right, making sure they weren't noticed, or being followed by some Hunter before climbing the ladder to the platform and hopping over the edge of the wall. Devin followed closely, and the two set off at a jog, both hoping to get some distance put between them and Jackson.

For at least an hour they kept moving, looking over their shoulders and around themselves, always on guard. They didn't encounter any stray Hunters, or infected who had been attracted by gunfire, which Ellie found odd. It must have been her lucky day. Yeah, super lucky, she thought to herself, still feeling disbelief at loosing the town. It had seemed like such a safe place. But it was like that saying Joel had told her once: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. But it didn't changed the way Ellie felt, as if she had been robbed. Robbed of the only chance she had of living a somewhat normal life.

Ellie was brought out of her thoughts when she bumped into Devin's back, and was almost knocked off of her feet. Devin was standing still as a statue, looking around him. In his hand was the .357. "You here that?" He asked. Ellie listened closely but heard nothing. "I don't hear anything." Devin nodded.

"It's bothering me. It's too quiet." He didn't speak for a long time, just looked left and right, trying to spot any movement. After several moments of tense silence, he said; "We need to get out of the open. C'mon." Then he holstered the revolver and started walking deeper into the woods. Ellie hurried to catch up with him, and said; "Uhh...I kind of need to meet someone at the dam." As she spoke, her mind turned to Joel and worry spiked inside of her. He had been up at the main gate, where the attack had started. Was he even alive? She didn't know, but she couldn't just drop him like a bad habit. He was a survivor. He'd be at the dam to meet him.

"Yeah, we'll make our way there, but not today. Hunters are gonna' be out everywhere. We'll find shelter and rest up. Tomorrow we'll get moving." Ellie nodded. She could work with that plan. It at least seemed solid enough.

Come on Joel, just hold on until tomorrow, she thought.

Joel's whole body ached. His head throbbed, and his throat felt like a piece of sandpaper. His tongue was dry, and it was hard to swallow. His eyes cracked open, and he was met by someone's back. They were crouched down on one knee, sifting through his backpack. Slowly and quietly, Joel reached into the holster on his leg, and pulled out his revolver.

He climbed to his feet, and aimed the barrel of the gun at the guy's head. He cocked the hammer back...and the guy spun around. Time around them suddenly seemed to stand still. The air was cool. No wind blew through the trees. Even the animals seemed to have frozen in place. When the guy saw Joel pointing the gun at him, he raised his hands in the air. "No man! I-I just thought you were-"

BANG! His brains and gray matter splashed against the grass and trees as his dead body was flung back, landing on the ground with a soft thud.

Joel walked over to his corpse, flipped it over and crouched down beside it. He pulled ruffly, snapping the straps of the guy's backpack before he opened it up and looked through it. A few cans of beans, several rounds for a 9mm. and a single bottle of water. Joel pulled the stuff out of the dead guy's backpack and transferred it to his before he'd realized what he'd done. When he did, his head whipped to the corpses. He hadn't mindlessly killed someone since...since his time with the Hunters. Joel suddenly felt sick. He took several deep breaths to calm himself. Come on Joel, don't let the Wolf get to you. Joel nodded at the voice in his head. It was right, of course. It always had been.