His hands on my neck - Joel Miller.

40.

2 years after.

With everyday passing, it seemed as if humanity gave up on fighting the infection. There was no cure, or at least it seemed so. Infected were running around as if it was their planet now, while the last humans just tried to survive. The situation was worsening. Each passing day gave less hope, but more fear about the tomorrow day. However, hope is the last part of the human brain that dies before the actual death, so some were still hoping for the bright light to shine and finish the sufferings of humanity in one click.

There was beauty in destruction after the outbreak. The buildings were eventually falling down when nature was taking it over. Fewer things were reminding about the previous technological development of the previous years. The large cities looked like abounded forests with buildings that were put there.

The Middle of nowhere never looked so beautiful. The flowers were blooming, and nature was the queen of everything around, now showing its own power to the rest of the human beings. Following an old map, Joel led Ellie towards a two-story building, but what they needed was down in the basement. The last known lab where the brightest minds of the country were doing whatever they could to invent a vaccine, a cure, or something to stop the infection. It was stupid of them to assume that the building didn't have good security around. Watching every step the two tried to make as little noise as possible when the tall trees were hiding the two behind them. Natural noises of the forest were always the best cover-up, nobody would suspect anything if the bird is singing, or the trees are shaking under the power of the wind. It took them some time to understand that there were 8 guards outside of the building and an unknown number of them inside.

The two stayed in the hiding till sunset when it will be easier to attack under the darkness of the night. They decided to separate and take the two different sides of the building. Making either a fatal mistake or the best plan. Joel was holding a gun in his hands, as he was reaching toward one of the guards, who was stupid enough to look to the other side and ignore all the other noises around. Understanding that he didn't need the noise, the man put the gun back into his pocket, just to grab a knife instead. It took him a short moment before the guard was down on the green grass, covering it in blood. Maybe the peacefulness of the forest wasn't keeping the guards cautious enough. It turned out they didn't even have the guns on them, making the situation much easier for the two. It seemed as if nobody ever knew about the lab, and that's why the security of the building was weaker than it seemed to be at the first glance.

If Joel was done with the guards quietly, the sounds of the gunshot made him run to the other side where Ellie was. The man cursed to himself, hoping that this noise won't backfire them later. But, when he was ready to face a fight with the other guards, he found a girl surrounded by the dead bodies of 4 large men with blood covering part of her face. They both looked at each other and made their way toward the main door of the building. Joel kicked it with his leg, having for sure no time to look for a key. Inside the building looked like an old hospital. Long corridors, just like the labyrinth, and the dim lights on the ceiling were the main sources of light. It surprised them that there was no one at the entrance, or that nobody ran towards to inspect who even opened the main door. But, it gave some ease of mind to both of them, on the other hand, made them feel even more cautious.

-    I will check the upstairs, find the basement or let me know if you'll need a cover-up, - Ellie said to Joel, as they entered the first room on the first floor, checking if there was anybody else in the whole building. But, there of course should've been someone. The guards wouldn't be there if it was empty. They had walkie-talkies on them in case of the worst situations, having some connection was always important.

Joel nodded, noticing that indeed it was an old hospital. Small, but with a lot of places to hide if you need to. He was checking one room after another, finding only mess on the floors, and no people in there. Hearing silence from any other part of the building was also a good sign, but he knew it won't be an easy walk. There had to be something, and someone protecting it. The lab itself was the main danger. Whoever was in charge of the place wasn't planning on putting it right on the first floor, so he had to check everything before going down into the basement.