The Last Of Us: Past And Present

Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

Joel walked fast, his legs pumping furiously. He reached Tommy's shanty to find him and Maria hurrying in his direction, probably on their way to find out what had just happened.

"Joel, we heard someone yellin' and-" Tommy was cut off as Joel slammed into him, knocking Tommy into the wall of his shanty. Joel's forearm dug into Tommy's throat, blocking off his airway. Maria went to pull Joel off, but he shoved her back before replacing his arm on Tommy's throat. "You said she would be safe." He hissed at Tommy, who was starting to turn blue. Joel's baby brother tried to speak, but was only able to make a sickly hacking sound. Joel loosened his grip just enough to give Tommy air. For awhile, all he did was take in large gulps of air. But then he croaked: "What are you talkin' about?"

"Ellie. You said her first run on her own would be a breeze. But do you know where she is right now?" Tommy stared at Joel, unable to answer. "Devlin's got her. And I don't know where he is." Tommy's eyes widened. Joel stared him down, neither one of them spoke. "I...I don't even-" Joel was unable to hold himself back any longer. He just needed to get one good hit in, he threw his head forward, slamming it into Tommy's nose. Blood squirted from Tommy's nostrils, onto Joel's face. Tommy let out a small yelp of pain, and Joel let got completely.

He spun around and began moving. He had an idea. He would leave the walls and try to track the Wolf down. Try to find him and kill him before he could do anything to Ellie. Before he would get his filthy paws on her. But first he needed to go by his shanty and get his gear. Once he had that, it'd be back to the road for him.

Ellie sat hunched forward, her hands clasped together, between her knees. On the other side of the room sat Pete, who stared at Ellie as if she were the most interesting thing in the world. Neither one of them spoke, just stared at each other. Pete looked down at his belt, and back at Ellie, who was still looking at him. "Don't you know it's not polite to stare?" He asked, his voice filled with sarcasm. Ellie didn't let it faze her, just continued staring at him.

Pete slowly pulled the knife from his belt, and twirled it around through the air. "If I were Devlin..." He trailed off for just a second. "I'd stomp the shit outta' you." Ellie continued to stare at him. Pete stood up, and sauntered over to Ellie. He bent down, and put the knife up to Ellie's face. And that was when she moved. She jumped up, slamming into Pete, and knocking him off balance. As he fell onto his ass, Ellie grabbed the knife and pulled it from his hands. She was about to attack, when he drew a pistol and aimed it at her.

At this moment, the Wolf entered the room. Pete stood and quickly put the gun away. The Wolf looked from Ellie, to Pete. "What did I tell you?" He asked Pete. Before he could even open his mouth, the Wolf thew out a fist, slamming it into Pete's face, breaking his nose. Pete fell back onto his ass, and clutched his nose. The Wolf took the knife from Ellie and threw it to the floor by Pete.

"Get the fuck out of here." He said, his voice calm. Pete clambered to his feet, and walked quickly from the room. The Wolf shook his head, and sat in the seat where Pete had been. "You know, I ain't a fucking monster...I won't bite." He suddenly face palmed. "Alright, bad fucking joke."

Ellie watched the Wolf carefully. The Wolf watched her back. "You know, I'm not going to fucking hurt you. I'm just using you as fucking bait for that fuckface Joel. When I finish him off, you can stay here. If you don't want to, I'll let you go, drop you off somewhere far form here. I'm not a fucking animal." Ellie didn't buy any of it for one second, and the Wolf picked up on this.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Can't say I didn't try to make you believe in me, but...that's your fucking loss." He stood, and moved to the door. "I'll be back soon with some food for ya'." Then he was gone, and Ellie was all alone.