What If Things Were Different

What If Joel Left Ellie On The Operating Table?

April 28, 2034

Joel opened his eyes in a hurry. The scent of iodoform, a fragrance found in soaps and cleaners, filled his nose. The last thing Joel remembered was preforming CPR on Ellie after she drowned. 

"Ellie!" Joel yelled panicked. He stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head.

"She's safe. They are prepping her for surgery now." Marlenes voice echoed in what appeared to be an old hospital room.  Joel violently turned his head to look at Marlene. "How did the two of you manage to find us here? The guys we had stationed at the capitol building that you were supposed to meet up with went MIA. I'm going to assume since Tess isn't with you and that my guys are missing, things went south." Marlene looked down at the ground. Sorrow encapsulated her. 

"Well, aren't you so smart." Joel regretted accepting this run just for some guns. He regretted not protecting Tess even more. He regretted not leaving Boston when he had a chance. "Ellie, she...she fought like hell to get here, to help you with your hope of a cure. Don't let her down." Joel now standing up, brushed the debris off his pants. His gear and coat were lying on the raggedy hospital bed. He swiftly grabs his coat and pulls it over his arms. It's the end of April, spring was here, flowers were blooming but it was raining almost every day. He pulls his backpack over his right shoulder and starts to head for the door.

"Don't you at least want your payment?" Marlene was talking about the guns. The guns only Tess had saw. How was Joel supposed to know if they were all there.

"Fuck it. You keep em. This was a waste of my time." Joel reached for the doorknob only for it to be opened from the outside. A younger male figure stood in his way. He was armed and looked to be muscular. "Watch out Hulk, you might tear your shirt." Joel noticed how the man looked to be wearing a shirt two sizes too small for him.

"Ethan, please escort him so he can see the payment in the upper floors." Marlene nodded at the man standing in Joels way.

"Of course, ma'am'" At least Hulk Hogin had manners Joel thought. Joel unwilling obliged. Falling in Ethans footsteps they walked to the 7th floor of the rundown hospital. This part of the hospital looked like it was routinely cleaned every day since the start of the outbreak. Joel could see people in scrubs walking around in front of Ethan and him. As both men walked further down the corridor, Joel could hear a series of beeps growing louder. He saw a woman walking out of an old operation room. 

As he walked behind Ethan, Joel stopped dead in his tracks. He looked into the operation room full of surgeons and nurses. Ellie was hooked up to a series of random machines. Joels eyes flicked over to the Holter Monitor Ellie was hooked up, her heartbeat was so strong. He questioned whether he should actually leave Ellie here. Marlene wouldn't have had joel bring Ellie here is she wasn't safe, right? Joel fulfilled his promise to Tess, he brought Ellie here, but by doing that it got Tess killed.

"She's doing humanity a great service. She'll be remembered by everyone for years." Ethan was now standing behind Joel looking into the operating room as well.

"Remembered? What do you mean remembered?" Joel turned to face Ethan. By the look on Ethans face, Joel knew what he meant.

"The Cordyceps mutated in her brain. The only way to extract it is for her to die." Ethan looked worried, afraid Joel would retaliate. Fucking Marlene, knowing an innocent child would have to die. "It's the only way to save humanity. We can't go around infecting everyone just to see if there's an off chance someone else is immune." Ethan was hoping to convince Joel not to do anything hasty, but Joel didn't need to be convinced. He wanted this girl and all of the fireflies involved in this operation out of his life.

"I'm leaving." Joel muttered as he turned around and went back the way they came. Ethan stood frozen in place, baffled that Joel didn't care about Ellie in the slightest. Joel walked down all 7 flights of stairs and past Marlene, whose hands were on her resting on her hips. Marlene watched as Joel left through the hospital's double doors, never to look back.

August 2045

Harmonic sounds of windchimes seep through the rooms of a homestead. The house is empty, no people are rustling around inside of it. A shadow moves past a window in the kitchen. Outside the back door of the house lies an enclosed space, hording a flock of sheep. A man appears to be walking out of a storage hut inside the cage. He walks out of the cage and walks towards the homestead. As he walks closer, he stops and grips the bucket he was holding, tighter.

"What the hell could you possibly want, Marlene?" The man sneered at the woman on the porch. He walks forward towards the porch.

"It's a beautiful place you have here Joel." Marlene is sitting on the porch's glider. Joel sets the bucket on the steps and leans against the railing facing Marlene.

"You got your damn cure, and the world is perfect. Cut to the chase, what warrants you coming to my house? I'm done with the fireflies." He was furious that Marlene would think it was okay to bother him after all he did for her.

"It didn't work Joel." No, she has to be lying. It's been 11 fucking years. 11 years since Ellie died...11 years since Tess died.

"Bullshit Marlene. I have seen one damn infected in 4 fucking years." Joel hoped she was lying because if she wasn't that meant Ellie's death would have been for nothing.

"I'm sorry Joel. I believed it was going to work, we all did but it just didn't." Marlene was looking down at her feet. She stood up and pulled her shirt up to her ribs. On her stomach was a bite mark. judging on how far the spreading went across her stomach she only has a few hours left.

"Jesus Marlene." Joel never really cared for Marlene but felt compassion that she was suffering.

"It mutated. It didn't cure the Cordyceps, it fucking mutated it." Marlene let her shirt hem drop back down. She looked up at Joel who had aged since the last time they spoke. "Before, there were runners, clickers and bloaters but now...now there's ones that can see your heart beating in your chest, ones that eat clickers Joel."