THE UNEXPECTED

32

Languidly, I peel my eyes open and immediately hiss out at the burn of the brightness. Beams of bright light filter in through blinds on the window and it takes me a minute to fully awaken, but quickly it probes the questions, where the hell am I and how long was I out?

I'm clueless to my surroundings, the walls are an ugly shade of blue and the bed seems to be some sort of hospita -

I'm in the fucking hospital?

Immediately I begin to wonder where the hell Joel and Ellie are and whether they're safe. I really hope they are.

As I swing my legs to the side, they hang off the bed and it's now that I realise just how stiff my limbs feel and how the pounding in my head is gradually worsening. I screw my eyes shut and grit my teeth before remembering my focus - Joel and Ellie. I just have to grin and bare it.

Kissing my teeth, I hop down from the bed and quickly realise that my pack and weapons are nowhere to be found which doesn't help the unease gnawing at the pit of my stomach.

All is eerily quiet which is the catalyst of the thumping in my chest, and I begin to wonder whether the fireflies are even here. My heart rate quickens as I near the closed door, I'm defenceless with no weapons and without a clue where my family are.

My ears prick at the sound of movement, there's shouting in the distance and all hell seems to break loose when a gunshot sounds. I feel my eyes widen and quickly, I yank open the door and rush out. Where is Joel and Ellie!? Is it hunters attacking the building? Are they safe?

Questions flood my mind but my focus remains sharp as I head into the hallway. More gunshots fire but I can't seem to determine where from, the sounds echo and ricochet around the walls so it's impossible to pin-point it's origin. I just need to find my way outta here.

The ache in my head is splitting and it's gotten a whole lot worse since leaving the safety of the room and now, I'm just following the endless hallways in hope of finding someone, anyone. I haven't a clue where either Joel and Ellie are but I can only hope that they've made it out alive.

Aimlessly wandering, I steer clear of any shouting or hunters and make a beeline for the stairwell, surely this will be my ticket out of here. It feels like I've been alone for ages as I follow the winding hallways - they all look the damn same.

"Emily!?" At the sound of my own name, my head snaps around to face the person shouting and lo and behold it's fucking Marlene. This is the last person I would have ever expected to see and yet here she is.

"Wha - ?" She leaves me no time to even speak as she quickly grabs my arm and drags me along with her. I'm clueless as to where we are going but I hope it's somewhere safe. "How the fuck are you here?" I just about sputter out as I try to keep up with her.

"Most of my men have been taken out but we left the QZ shortly after Joel did. Surprised to see you here but the devil himself said you tagged along the way." I'm out of breath as we continue forward, chaos still erupting in the background.

"You've seen Joel!?" My eyes widen at this new information and a beacon of hope forms within me. They're okay.

"I did. I'm hoping we can catch him, use you as leverage so that he doesn't take off with the girl." What the hell is she talking about? Leverage? Taking off with a girl?

Soon I begin to piece things together, the gunshots, the yelling and everything that has been happening in the hospital was Joel - not hunters. Ellie must be in trouble and he is scouring the place to find her I imagine.

"Don't worry, he didn't forget about you, he was shouting the place down looking for you." Marlene adds, clearly catching my perplexed look.

"Well take me to him." I demand.

"I am." She says, rolling her eyes at me. I knew that I never liked this woman but I follow her nonetheless, although I'm still skeptical about her motives.

Eventually, after practically rushing through the whole damn hospital, we reach some sort of parking lot which seems to be deserted apart from a few cars. Marlene opens the passenger door of one of them and reveals a gun to which she tucks it into the back of her jeans.

"Stay here." I nod, wearily staying behind as she nears the elevator doors and I watch as they spring open. I almost gasp as Joel rushes out while cradling Ellie to his chest, his lips are drawn into a thin line and his eyebrows are furrowed.

"You can't save her," I hear Marlene spit out and I'm unsure whether to stay put or not, I mean the woman has a damn gun which could easily shoot the two of us down. I'm antsy as I roll back and forth on my heels, "Even if you get her outta here, then what? How long before she's torn to pieces by a pack of clickers? That is if she hasn't been raped or murdered first..."

Joel exhales lowly, "that ain't for you to decide."

"It's what she'd want." Marlene presses further, "And you know it." There's a pause and I'm still debating on running out there and tackling the fuck out of her. "You can still do the right thing here, she won't feel anything..."

My eyes widen at this, Ellie was going to die? My hands are nearly shaking with anger that Marlene would allow this to happen. She's only a child! A child who believes that she has no purpose and has been manipulated into believing this is her only shot at that.

"Where is Emily?" He asks firmly, still holding Ellie to his chest protectively. He's anxiously looking around as if he'll spot me here.

"About that..." Marlene says, then approaching the car once more where I am. Anyone could tell that Joel wouldn't take no for answer and I've stupidly stood here like a sitting duck just waiting for Marlene to strike mayhem. "I won't hesitate to shoot her." That's it, I'm the leverage.

Marlene roughly grabs my arm and before I can retaliate she presses the barrel of the gun against my temple. The cool metal of it makes me audibly hiss as I struggle in her hold.

Joel looks furious as he glares holes into Marlene's face, "you let her go this instant." He demands.

"I can't do that." Marlene replies cooly, still jabbing the gun into the side of my head.

"Joel." I warn him, myself unsure of what to do in this situation. But all of a sudden, he leans forward to reveal a gun and with no further thought he releases the trigger letting the bullet rip into Marlene's stomach.

She lets out a guttural cry and I'm quickly relieved of her tight grip as she falls to the floor in agony,

"Oh baby." Joel says, swooping me into his free arm and pulling me into him. I smile gratefully at him but now his focus is trained directly onto Marlene, "take Ellie to the car, sweetheart." He utters out, gently passing the unconscious teen into my arms.

Grasping the severity of the situation, I nod furiously and hastily make my way to the back passenger door and swing it open. And as I do so, a second gunshot sounds ultimately making me flinch - I know for certain that she's dead now.

"You'd just come after my girls." Is what I hear Joel say and by the time I've securely set Ellie down, we're ready to hit the road, "let's go back home." He says.

Home. I like that.

"You did what you had to do. I'm with you." Joel turns to look at me and nods firmly. It's a mutual understanding.

"We tell Ellie nothin', she can't know." At first I'm hesitant but ultimately, I nod. Joel knows best and I trust him, I love him and I can't wait to go home with my family.