The Last Of Us: Past And Present

Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Ellie nearly collapsed onto the bed she'd been given, and let out an exhale of air. Joel wasn't there yet, but she knew he would make it. She would just have to wait until then. As she lay, she let her mind wonder to Joel. The last time she'd seen him, he had been sprinting towards the main wall, rifle in hand. He'd told her to get to the dam, told her to meet him there. But now she didn't know what to do. She had expected him to be there before she had been. She wasn't sure if she should stay at the dam and wait for him, or if she should go out looking for him. She shook her head, and decided she would wait three days. If he didn't show up in three days, she would go out looking for him.

She would find him. No matter what.

Joel slammed his right fist into the runner's rotting face, and yanked the revolver from it's holster. He shoved the barrel of the gun into it's mouth and blew it's brains out. He dropped the revolver from his hand, yanked his backpack and jacket off of his body and looked down at the bight. He gripped his left arm in his opposite hand and grimaced. The skin around the wound was bright red. Blood drenched his arm. His arms began to shake, and he groaned. He couldn't believe it! Of all the shit to happen, this had to be the worst. There was no getting out of this, there was just no way! What was he going to do?

There is a way Joel. Look in your pack. That voice whispered quietly in his head. Joel's head spun to his pack, and he dragged it over to himself. He pulled it open and peered inside. The first thing his eyes saw were three shivs he'd made several days before.

"No...no way." He whispered to himself. He couldn't-no wouldn't do that. He would not!

Joel, you don't have a choice. If you don't, you'll die. What will happen to Ellie if that happens? Joel's eyes squeezed shut, and he bit down on his tongue. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. Had to be. He bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood, then looked back at his arm. It was still bright red, and he was still bitten. Joel, you're not alone anymore. You have Ellie to think about.

Joel shook his head wildly. He wasn't doing it. He wasn't.

Joel...You have to. And than the voice was silent, and Joel was alone again. He sat there, staring down at his wound, tears starting to sting his eyes. He knew the voice was right. He knew he had to do it. He took several deep breaths, and reached into his pack. His hand closed around the handle of one of the shivs. He pulled it out, and held it tightly in his fist. He didn't think he was ready to do this. But he had to move, or he wouldn't be seeing the sun rise on tomorrow.

Joel raised his right hand up, and brought the shiv down, stabbing it into his left arm, just two inches under the elbow. He let out a scream as blood squirted from the wound. He felt the tendons and muscles in his arm tear as the shiv moved through him. He slowly began to saw at his arm. Blood spilled from it as he slowly cut through himself. He was almost halfway finished, when the shiv broke off, the blade sticking in his arm. He dropped the handle, and stuck his fingers in the wound, pulling out the blade. He pulled out the second shiv, and continued his gruesome work. He screamed into the still air as he completed his business. The wound was only bone deep, and circled around his entire arm. He knew he couldn't cut through the bone with shivs alone.

He gripped the his lower forearm in his hand, took another shivery, deep breath, and snapped the bone. He let out a wail filled with agony. He had to do this several times, before the bone snapped in two and he was able to rip the infected part of his arm off.

Joel felt the life-giving blood draining from his arm. Pain coursed through him. Blood squirted from his arm. Darkness circled his field of vision. He reached into the pack with his hand, and pulled out the medkit he had stored in there. It took several minutes, but he eventually was able to get it open. He pulled out the roll of gauze, and gingerly wrapped it around his ragged, bloody stump. Almost immediately the gauze was soaked. He stumbled to his feet, and looked at the dead body of the infected runner. He felt an old part of himself (the Hunter part) take over, and he pulled the third shiv from his pack before stumbling over to the runner. With the same care of a heart surgeon, he slowly sawed at the runner's ears, ripping them from the corpses head. He then took a lace from his shoe, and stabbed a hole in both ears before tying the lace around them, making a makeshift necklace. He put it around his neck, picked up the jacket and pack before slowly starting on his way again.

Houser felt like shit. It was cold outside, and he had been once again put on guard duty for the dam. He sat still as a statue, staring out at the surrounding wilderness. "Hey, Houser!" He turned and looked behind him to see Tommy.

"Yeah?"

"You're off duty in ten minutes!" A smile grew on his face. "Cool, thanks Tommy." The other man nodded before moving off, probably on his way to see Maria. This made Houser smile. Those two were almost inseparable.

"Like two peas in a pod." He looked back at the wilderness, and stiffened. His eyes squinted. Through the thick trees, he could see a shadow stumbling in the direction of the dam. I can make that shot. He thought to himself, raising his hunting rifle, and aiming through the scope.

He had made it. Joel had made it. He could see the walls of the dam through the trees. He wasn't sure if he had stopped the infection from killing him, but at least he had made it. He'd made it to the dam. If he was infected, at least he would be able to see Ellie one last time. "Almost there," he whispered in a hoarse voice. He felt his feet stumble, almost fell, and caught himself. He blinked a few times, fighting off the nausea.

Once he was sure he could keep his balance, he started walking again.

Until he heard a gunshot ring out, and felt a bullet slam into his head. He whipped around, and fell to the floor.

AN: So, how was that? Was it brutal, was it disgusting? Yes...and yes. I actually started feeling kind of sick while writing this.

So...Joel just got shot. Damnit why all the cliffhangers!

Well? What do you think? Do you think Joel is still infected? Do you think he's still infected? Is he immune maybe? (in which case, did he cut his arm off for no reason?) Well, stay tuned, and you'll get all of the answers soon enough. But don't forget to enjoy.