This is Not the Last of Us

Chapter 17 (PART 1 FINALE)

The rest of the drive back to Jackson was an interesting one.

It was the furthest any of them had actually gotten with a car, even if it had mostly been pure luck. Siphoning gas had actually managed to keep them going, long after they should have run out. The car even got them over 100 miles, which surprised Ace the most. They could see the sign for the city of Jackson.

They were finally so close to something like home.

The van had finally broken down, sputtering its last few breaths to them. Ace exhaled and moved outside of the car. He raised the hood of the car, and went at it, trying to fix it to get them that final stretch.

Joel and Seth were out of the car and stretching, Seth offered to go look for food, and Joel ended up following him. If they were lucky, they could find and kill a rabbit. Fall had finally come for the earth and was laying claim to the nature it could. Which also meant that temperatures were perfect for hunting. Ellie and (Y/N) were seated on a fallen tree outside of the car. The two of them were stepping on crunchy leaves and smiling at them. They watched as leaves fell from the trees, and they watched how the wind rustled the very top of the branches. They were seemingly very amused by this.

Hours had passed, Seth and Joel had come back with a modest catch. Just one rabbit, but that was more meat than they'd had since they started traveling. After Seth skinned it and cleaned it, they ate lunch and Ace announced the terrible news:

The van wasn't worth salvaging and he announced they'd be traveling on foot from here on. As much as they enjoyed having the car to travel such long distances, it was kind of nice to hear they'd be traveling by foot from now on.

It was almost nostalgic, even.

The final trek was serene, a silence shared in comfort. They had plenty of time to talk while driving and walking. It was safe to say that by now, the five had no bad blood between one another. When Ellie ran out of jokes, it had essentially become a therapy session in the car. Even now, on the way to Jackson, they were still communicating their issues with one another.

"If we're going to act like a family, then we're going to be one." Seth had announced one day.

All grievances between one another were brought to the board. No matter how little, or how obscene. And the worst part was that no matter how angry they got with one another, they were stuck in the car.

By far, the funniest part was when Ace announced that he hated Joel's accent.

"It's like hearing that hunter from the Looney Toons."

"Now, listen here —!" Joel started to lean forward from the middle row of seats.

"Ah, ah! No hitting the driver!" Ace yelled and raised one of his arms defensively. "Watch the tone, Yosemite!"

"You can watch my boot up your ass, boy." Joel playfully sneered and smacked the back of Ace's head.

At this point, they didn't really have any issues to bring up. They'd let it all out to air, and now, it was almost a welcoming silence. As if the wind itself were the words they needed from one another.

"It should just be straight along from here," Joel said to break the silence. He never did well with silences, "It's actually kinda pretty out here, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Ellie smiled and looked at the woods, "but in a creepy kind of way, I guess."

Joel split apart a barbed wire fence with his hands and boot for everyone to crawl through, "What the hell d'you mean it's creepy?"

"I don't know, I just feel like if this were one of those old school horror movies you guys talked about all the time, we'd totally get murdered."

"Mmm, I could see that." Seth agreed, "Like Friday the 13th."

"Do you think Jason would be infected?" Ace mused. "I could see a movie about it."

"I can't even tell you what the plot line of the movies were," Seth snorted, "You're asking the wrong guy."

They continued along in the woods until Joel piped up, "I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but Sarah and I used to take hikes like this. I think, ah, I think all of you would have been good friends with her."

"I think so too, the more I hear about her," Seth agreed, "Although, I really hate hiking."

They finally reached a high hill that, if they went down carefully, would lead them straight to Tommy's home.

To their new home.

And the view of Jackson was breathtaking. The city was full of lights. It felt so warm and welcoming, even if it was just from this distance.

"Wow, would ya look at the view." Joel whispered as they all looked ahead in awe.

"It's so nice to see a city like this. Built all over again." Seth mused.

Joel nodded in agreement, "This'll be a new start for all of us, huh?"

"Oh, man," Ellie said and rubbed her jacket, "It's really kicking in, I think. That this is a home."

"A home." (Y/N) echoed and squeezed her hand, "I can't wait."

Ace stared at the town and smiled, finally he chirped and slapped Joel on the back. "Well, we're never gonna get in just standing here, right? Let's get going! I'm starving here."

Ace started on the way down and let out a loud laugh, "Last one down the hill is a loser for the night!"

"No fuckin' way!" Ellie shrieked. "You got a head start, that's cheating!"

Ellie started down the hill and pulled (Y/N) along. (Y/N) looked back at her father, and she grinned at him.

Joel and Seth shared a look.

"You heard the man." Seth smiled. "I'll see you at the bottom, old man."

"In your dreams." Joel scoffed.