This is Not the Last of Us

Chapter 1

To say Ellie was struggling to cope with what happened to Sam and Henry would be an understatement. It seemed almost like she was cursed; any time she got close to someone, they had to be ripped away from her. It was almost as if it was her fate; to trust and be trusted, only to lose them.

She stared at Joel's back as he led the way. They had both been pretty quiet since it happened. Ellie wasn't stupid, Joel didn't do so well with loss either. The silence was deafening sometimes, but it was better than talking about it. In its own way.

"It's gonna rain soon." Joel said, catching Ellie off guard. His eyes were focused ahead, he was looking at the buildings; obviously trying to find a safe one for the both of them. "We need to find shelter soon."

"How do you know it's gonna rain anyway?" Ellie interjected. "Is it, like, some old man sense or something?"

Joel looked back at her and squinted, "The hell you mean? I ain't old."

"You know," Ellie shrugged, "It'd be much easier for both of us if you just admitted you're ancient."

Joel frowned for a moment almost as if he wanted to say something more about that, but he shook his head and turned around, "Kids..."

Ellie shouldered her backpack and jogged to catch up to his side.

"How much longer 'till it rains, you think?" Ellie pressed. "What are your knees telling you?"

Joel scowled at her before rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. "It's any time now, not that it matters much to 'ya. You just wanna bully an old man down on his luck."

"Are you...," Ellie paused for dramatic effect, "Are you joking back to me, Joel?"

He turned his head away again and looked at the road.

"I wonder..." he mused to himself.

"No way! Keep going, old man! I wanna hear what you have to say!" Ellie giggled and punched his arm.

Joel rolled his eyes and simply shook his head, but it didn't take a genius to see the tiny smile on his weathered face.

"How about there?" Ellie suggested enthusiastically, pointing at a building with a rounded roof. "That looks safe."

Joel grunted in response, quietly regarding the building. "That ain't a half bad idea, Ellie."

"Yeah?" Ellie remarked. "I mean, of course it is, I know how to pick 'em."

They walked up to the doors together, carefully treading through the now wild grass around the building. Ellie could never understand how something could look so together even after all these years of nature beating at it. Joel said once that they did constant maintenance on buildings like this, so how come it didn't fall apart without it?

There was a sign over the door that was missing too many letters, and vines covered the rest of it. If Ellie tried really hard, she could make out the silhouette of the letters B A S & N B E.

"BAS and N... nehbuh?" Ellie said out loud. "Sounds stupid."

"I think it's a bookstore — might find something you'd like here." Joel remarked.

"What kind of name is that, though?" Ellie asked. "Bas and Nehbuh?"

"That ain't it's name, Ellie. It was Barnes and Noble, I think."

"Ohhhhh," Ellie said, staring up at the sign while Joel peeked through the window. "But why'd they name it something like that?"

"Huh?" Joel said and stared at her. "Ellie I — I don't know. It was around before I was born."

"So this place is like... ancient?" Ellie asked.

"Damn near." Joel said without really thinking. "I think we'll be able to get in, but not through here. There's a window that's open around the back. You can see it through the window here. Looks intentional though, there's a couch underneath it."

"So?" Ellie asked.

"So, we need to be careful, Ellie. I'll go in first, you watch my back."

Ellie seemed visibly excited by that concept. She reached for her gun and flicked off the safety, and then dramatically reloaded it, doing her best to look cool. "Right, I've got your six."

Joel rolled his eyes again and led his way to the back. He kept his hand on his gun, laying low and scanning the area carefully. Finally, he brought himself to the window and let himself in. All Ellie heard for a while was his quiet grunt as he met the couch, followed by footsteps leaving the area. After a few minutes, Ellie finally heard Joel's voice sound out.

"Alright, Ellie you can come in."

The garbage can and then the window was an easy climb for Ellie, as simple as breathing. At least, if the last few months had taught her anything. She landed on the couch and lay there for a little while. Enjoying the musty smell of books and a smell almost like dirt. She could hear the noises outside, but they seemed distant; harder to grasp.

Joel approached her and brought a finger to his lips. He pointed ahead of them and Ellie listened. She could hear a heavy and painful wheezing sound.

"I thought you said it was safe?" Ellie said with a nervous smile, "If this is about the old man thing, I didn't mean it Joel."

"I thought it was clear but it ain't. Keep low and stay alert. It ain't a clicker, but there may be more than one of them."

Ellie nodded nervously. She put her hand back on her gun, and followed Joel.

"Dad? Papa? Is that you?" A soft voice spoke ever so softly, almost as if it was afraid to even say it, "You're scaring me."

Ellie and Joel glanced at each other hesitantly, and both simultaneously agreed to push forward towards the voice.

There was a coughing fit followed by a much more fearful sounding, "Dad?"

Joel slowly opened the door behind the registers and Ellie audibly gasped.

"Oh, shit." Ellie said out loud.

There was a young girl, about Ellie's age, buried in blanket after blanket. Two jackets were carefully folded where her head must have been a few minutes ago. Her hair was a mess, free strands everywhere, and she was staring at them in abject horror. She looked pale and was obviously not well. She was shivering as she sat, signs of an obvious fever on her face.

She turned away from them for a moment and returned to facing them, this time with a pistol pointed at them.

"I... I'll shoot! I'm not messing around!"

Joel instinctively raised his hands, "Now, we don't mean any trouble, young lady. We're just passing through."

She visibly hesitated and lowered her gun. "J... Just passing through?" She repeated hesitantly.

"Just passin' through." Joel repeated. "You alone?"

"No." She said immediately and kept the gun trained on Joel. "My dad and papa are here. They're getting medicine for me."

"Yeah?" Joel said. His voice was surprisingly kind, it caught Ellie a little off guard.

"Is it just you two?" She asked softly.

"Yes." Joel confirmed. His hands were still raised.

"Sounds lonely," the girl said softly, "Dad says everything is better in threes."

She patted the floor beside her. "You can come over. Dad left the heater on for me. He says it's going to rain tonight."