The Last Of Us: Past And Present

Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Tommy and Rebecca fired off every round they had. The Hunters soon realized that their enemy was out, and Tommy realized they were beginning to advance. "We're gonna' have to hide. C'mon." They moved quickly, not going too far from the warehouse. Tommy was sure the Hunters were going to find him. He was preparing himself for the end. "Let's split up! We can circle around in different directions. If we're lucky we can meet up back at the warehouse." Rebecca said in between breaths. Tommy nodded his head.

He quickly turned to the right, and began sprinting in a large half-circle. Rebecca said the same thing, heading to the left.

Joel stared at the Wolf, who stared back, that sadistic smile on his face. Joel didn't dare take the Wolf on in an armed fight. That was why he said; "Let's finish this. No weapons. Just you and me." The Wolf's smile seemed to grow even larger. He reached down to his waist and pulled off the Sam Brown belt. Joel pulled the 9mm from his waistband, set it on the floor, and did the same with his pack. He popped his neck, and clenched his fist. He wasn't even sure how he was going to do this with his right arm only.

The Wolf suddenly moved fast, and before Joel realized what was happening, a fist was crashing into his face. Joel was knocked off of his feet and landed on his back. He couldn't remember ever being hit that hard. Joel spit up blood, and stumbled to his feet. The Wolf slammed into him, knocking Joel into the wall. The Wolf wrapped his left hand around Joel's throat, and slammed his right fist into Joel's nose. Joel felt it break, and felt the blood flow down his face. The Wolf punched him again, his fist slamming into the skin just under Joel's left eye. He felt a horrible sting as a vessel popped and his eye slowly began to go bloodshot. The Wolf drew his arm back to punch again. But Joel moved quick.

He slammed his foot into the Wolf's nuts. The Wolf staggered back, and let out a yell of pain. Joel tackled the Wolf, and they both went tumbling to the floor. Joel got several very good hits in. Then the Wolf wrapped his left leg around Joel's waist and rolled, coming out on top, and beginning to pummel Joel.

Devin found Ellie on the third floor, in the second room on the right. When Ellie caught sight of him, she hurried over and wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug. "Hey, hey...it's alright." Devin said lightly. Ellie kept him in an embrace for just a moment longer, before pulling back. "Took you long enough." She said, punching Devin on the arm. "Where's Joel?" Devin motioned for Ellie to follow, then slid out into the hallway.

"He's working on Devlin. We need to find him-make sure he's got it covered." Ellie nodded his head. "Then let's move."

Tommy ran fast. He wasn't sure how many minutes passed, but when he found the warehouse again, he came sprinting into the clearing to find only one Hunter left to guard the place. Tommy rushed him. The Hunter had a pipe, and he swung. Tommy threw up his arms, stopping the pipe from hitting his head. Then he swung (doing his best to ignore the pain now flowing through his arms). He punched the Hunter in the face, the chest, the stomach. He delivered blows until the Hunter was hunched over. Tommy threw him to the floor and stomped down on his throat.

It was shortly after that, when Rebecca came rushing into the clearing. "I think I lost 'em." She said. Tommy nodded his head.

"Let's get inside, see if we can't find Joel and Ellie." Rebecca followed Tommy towards the warehouse.

Joel slammed his fist into the Wolf's throat, momentarily incapacitating him. The Wolf rolled off of Joel, and stumbled to hiss feet. Joel tried to get to his, but the Wolf grabbed him by the good arm, and dragged him over to the wall. He slammed Joel's head into it, and let Joel fall back to the floor. Joel felt blood roll from his temple, and felt a tremendous pain washing through him. Joel got to his feet, and took a swing at the Wolf.

He was too slow, and the Wolf was able to knee Joel in the stomach. Joel coughed up a bit of blood, and fell to his hand and knees. The Wolf pulled Joel back to his feet by his shirt and headbutted him. Joel saw stars. The Wolf shoved Joel back, almost sending him to the floor again. Neither one attacked again. Joel struggled for just a moment before getting his balance again.

The Wolf motioned for Joel to come at him.

Both rushed each other at the same time.

Joel didn't see the Wolf pull the knife until it was too late. They went into a grapple, and the Wolf shoved the steel deep into Joel. Joel lurched, but didn't end the grapple. "Don't you fucking get it Joel? I win! I always fucking win!" Joel gulped deeply, feeling the pain flow through him like a river. He moved his head back, so he was able to see the Wolf clearly.

"Not this time." His head moved forward, faster than the Wolf could react. Joel sunk his teeth deep into the Wolf's throat, grimacing as blood quickly filled his mouth to the brimming point. Joel felt his teeth cut through flesh, muscle and sinew. He felt the jugular give way under his teeth. He yanked his head back with all the strength he had, and spit the Wolf's jugular out onto the floor. When he looked back, he saw only a ragged hole where the Wolf's jugular had been.

The Wolf stumbled back, near the window, grasping at his throat, hacking and coughing as blood poured down his chest. Joel took several steps forward, and kicked the Wolf in the stomach. The Wolf stumbled back, went crashing to the window, and fell down to his death.

Joel grimaced at the pain in his abdomen. The old man was covered in cuts and bruises from the fight, but right now his full attention was on the wound in his abdomen. He looked down at it, and let out a hiss. The knife was buried almost hilt-deep. Blood gushed from the wound like water from a bottle. With every breath Joel took, pain coursed through him. He knew he was done for if he didn't move, but he didn't want to move. He knew moving might cause the knife to move around in the wound, cutting him further.

You can't just stay here, a tiny voice whispered in Joel's brain. You have to get to Ellie, that's your only chance. Joel knew the voice he was hearing was right, but he was having a hard time getting his body to move. It's now or never Joel. The voice whispered. It talked in an eerily calm tone, as if it already knew the outcome of the situation. As if it knew how this was going to end. But Joel wasn't going to let this end, not anytime soon. He was going to fight. With a grunt of pain, he gripped the hand of the knife with his hand, and held it carefully in place. Once he was sure it wasn't going to slip from his trembling hand, Joel pulled himself from his sitting position, onto his feet.

He looked at the door to his right. It just seemed so goddamned far. With every step, excruciating pain would swoop through Joel, nearly bringing him to his knees. His legs shook, as if they had turned to jelly. Blood continued to pump from his abdomen. Dark spots danced across his vision like phantom firetrucks. Joel knew he was running out of time. He knew he was nearing the end. He needed to hurry.

It took all of his strength to get him across the room to the door. When he reached it, he collapsed. He struck the door, and slid to the floor. There he lay, clutching the knife tightly in his hands, trying to keep it from moving. Joel's hand was caked in his own blood, and more of it continued to pour down his body. How much had he lost? He didn't know. But he needed to get out before he bled out. He needed to get to Ellie. If Joel was going to die, he would hold out until he could say his goodbyes to Ellie.

As Joel once again pulled himself to his feet, he let out a scream of pain. It was starting to feel like too much. He felt lightheaded, and when he stood, he almost toppled back onto the floor. Joel put his left arm against the wall, slowly let go of the knife, twisted the knob, and shoved the door open. Once again, his legs gave out. He fell forward, and landed on his right side. When he hit the floor, his left arm grazed the handle of the knife, shaking it around in Joel's abdomen. The old man let out a wail of pain, and began to shudder where he lay, in a slowly growing pool of his own blood.

Joel heard someone calling his name. Was that Ellie? Or was it Devin? He didn't know...and he didn't really care. This was it, it was the end. He could feel his life draining away. His eyelids became heavy, and he didn't fight it when they slid closed, enveloping him in a peaceful darkness...

AN: Well, now we've finally reached the point of the story where it began. I know, I know, I've ended with yet another cliffhanger-but don't fear! There will be one last chapter. But what did you think? Was the fight intense? Was it cool, the way Joel killed the Wolf? Is Joel even going to survive? Well, I'm not going to tell you. You're jut going to have to wait until the next chapter is up.

So until then: adios.

~Exangellion