LITTLE DARK AGE: the last of us

002: out of sight

They all followed Tess through the underground tunnels. FEDRA vehicles drove above them blaring the obnoxious 'observe mandatory curfew' message as they shone torches up and down each street. Once the noise had died down and they could no longer see flickering torch lights seeping through the gaps of the trapdoor, Joel took it upon himself to push it open.

He grunted and shoved it across the floor, climbing out before everyone else, pistol at the ready. Matt followed with a switch blade and handgun safely within reach. Ellie was next, refusing help from the others no matter how much of a struggle it was, and then Tess who climbed out with the grace of someone who'd done this many times before.

Joel, Tess and Matt crawled over and hid behind a wall no taller than three feet whilst Ellie rose in wonder. She looked around gleefully before exclaiming. "Holy shit. I'm actually outside!"

Tess pulled her down just as a guard's light threatened to fall upon her. If any of them were caught it was game over. They'd be hung. Every time Matt did what he did the thought loomed over his head. The thought that everything needed to be perfect, needed to go to plan, because if he made one wrong move he'd be gone.

Ellie and Tess exchanged a few murmured curse words before getting to the plan. The four of them huddled together as Tess began to explain.

"We're gonna take the left edge around the buffer zone." She said, turning towards Joel and Matt, "You stay close and you follow my lead." She continued, this time directed towards Ellie.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course. Definitely." The small girl replied, nodding her head along intensely. Matt gave her a pat on the back for effort.

"Let's go." He whispered.

Tess directed Ellie under a gap in between the crashed school bus and the ground besides them. She slid under the gap with ease, only murmuring a small complaint when she thought she had bumped her head. Matt wasn't really sure how that worked. Tess followed and then Matt. Joel waited behind, assisting them all under and shielding them from the other side.

Once on the other side they all stayed low, almost crawling in an attempt not to be seen. The lights wandered the near empty area, coming close to falling upon them numerous times. They moved together quietly and steadily, not to make too much noise.

Joel grabbed Matt's rucksack suddenly, pulling him down. He leant against the rusted car they hid behind and bit his lip in pain. Matt looked over to Tess and Ellie, hands clasped together hiding behind a similar looking car. Flood lights shone overhead and the intensity of the mission had just increased by around 100%.

"I told you not to come." Joel grumbled from beside him, eyes still fixed on Ellie and Tess though Matt knew he was talking to him.

"I'm fine." He hissed back, rubbing his shoulder. "You know, just almost gave me fucking whiplash."

They all waited for the sound of the vehicle to grow distant and the light to no longer flash around them before slowly getting up.

"Stop being such a baby and get goin'." Joel prodded, pushing him in the back. Matt grumbled but followed Tess' lead anyway, quickly hurrying away.

The group continued hiding behind car to car before they reached a small tunnel. Ellie climbed through immediately, eager to get out of the 'vehicle graveyard', as she'd called it. Rain pattered down on the tunnel as they moved through, sometimes falling through the holes of the rusted metal.

Lightning struck as they reached the outside, rain only falling more violently now. Matt rushed to the wall in front of them, everyone else following suit. He pulled out his knife and held it in his hands, ready to turn the corner.