This is Not the Last of Us

Chapter 14

Seth woke up to the sound of footsteps outside of the door, he had always been a light sleeper. Joel was starting to stir just as the door opened and a young man stepped in.

He was tall and lean, built more for running than combat. His smile was soft and he seemed very happy to them. He offered them a proud salute as they all sat up.

"Hello, sir! I'm here under Miss Marlene's orders!"

Seth raised a brow and then nodded. "Well, what does she need from us then?"

"Well, she wanted me to bring you to the breakfast hall first, and then she wanted to speak with you privately." He responded.

"With me?" Seth echoed. "Has she said what she wanted?"

"No, sir. But I'm sure it's nothing important." He laughed and gestured behind himself. "Why don't we get that breakfast started?"

Ellie cheered and shot up, stretching up and grinning. "Oh, fuck yes! What do you guys have?"

"Plenty." He responded.

The perfect response to tell teenage girls.

Seth and Joel followed behind the two girls as they eagerly marched along.

Ellie excitedly made small talk while the others looked around the hospital. Seth seemed very interested in the equipment he was seeing. Most of it had been refurbished, but he didn't remember having such competent repair men in their ranks. The building was carefully maintained to a great extent, men constantly went around in rounds to watch all areas of the building.

Inside, it looked like a proper hospital building. However, there were no patients here. It almost struck Seth as odd, how many of the rooms were just used for equipment left unused.

The lunch hall was full of people right now. He could see a woman preparing plates of food for the men. The woman looked like she was insanely bored with what was happening and she seemed to be hoping they would finish this sooner rather than later.

The man leading them along gestured to the woman and smiled. "I have to get back to my rounds, but feel free to help yourself. I'm sure they wouldn't mind the kids getting seconds either."

"Oh, hell yeah." Ellie grinned and fist pumped the air.

Seth didn't mind waiting in line, he was certainly happy not to have to cook for once. The woman smiled at them, but it was a superficial one, meant to be a kind exchange without any substance.

They seated themselves where they could, and they ate like animals. Because they had gone right to bed, they missed out on food. Now, they're bodies craved sustenance. Desperate for something to fill their belly.

Ellie and (Y/N) eagerly had seconds, and no one batted an eyes. Some of them watched the girls get them, but nothing but small smiles rested on their faces. Seth remembered those kinds of looks from when he still lived on his base. There had been a lot of kids there, lots of families living under the protection of the Fireflies, and working to make the world a better place. Everyone always watched after the children, showering them with love like a little village. Even if they were struggling for food, the children always had as much as they wanted.

They ate their fill, and the men looked around.

"I suppose I should go and look for Marlene." Seth settled.

"S'ppose you should." Joel agreed with a nod. "I'll watch after the girls."

"I want to try and find Papa." (Y/N) said and rubbed her forearm. "I just want to make sure he's okay."

"We'll help you look!" Ellie said enthusiastically.

The group went their separate ways, and Seth let himself watch the environment. There were a few people running around, looking at notes. On second glance, Seth could tell that these weren't doctors, those were inventory binders.