borderline - the last of us.

39. wrong place, wrong time.

ALTHOUGH THE COMMOTION FOLLOWING HIS ARRIVAL, Ralph had made it to floor six and was now staggering through darkness and looking at signs that meant nothing to him, his bleeding hand pressed tightly against his jeans to try and stifle the flow.

He ducked his head into every room he passed, all of the doors left open carelessly in what were probably states of panic, in sight of the two girls and the people trying to chop them up into little pieces, but was useless in his attempts as he walked down the main corridor.

He took a right down another hallway, peering around the corner and finding a room at the end of it with a light shining through fuzzy glass. Along the wall of this corridor, there were illustrations of elephants and monkeys and rainbows. Perhaps he would've paid far more attention to the artwork if he wasn't feeling lightheaded and wasn't so determined to get the kids back.

After what felt to be an eternity, Ralph was shoving his shoulder against the door with the light behind it and found himself in a viewing room. One man and two women in medical scrubs crowded around a hospital bed, a different woman seated next to Lou in the far corner.

His daughter looked completely out of it, staring across the room at the doctors through half-lidded eyes and a slack jaw. She was slumped against the nurse, and the woman had an arm around her side comfortingly. It was nice to know that Marlene had called off Lou's brain inspection, only took a few damaged vocal cords to get his message across, but the trio at the far side of the room were still looking at Ellie as though they were about to eat her alive.

In the blink of an eye, Ralph was shoving the door open with his okay hand and watching every head in the room turn his way. He stood there, narrow-eyed and panting, as the doctors shared a look and the male one spoke up.

'Jesus Christ, who— What're you doing in here?' The man questioned, stepping back from the table and away from Ralph in general. 'Who are you?'

Ralph didn't offer him a reply, he only glared at the women that were handling Ellie, enough to make them ease away from the table as well. The surgeon made the connection, understanding what he was here for in an instant.

'I won't let you take her.' The surgeon rebutted, a shaky hand reaching for the medical tray by his side and raising a scalpel that was no bigger than Ellie's switchblade. Ralph began to reach for his back pocket in search of the weapon, although he was certain a gun would've been more efficient. 'This is our future. Think about it—Think of all the lives we could save!'

He was beginning to get a little tired of thinking about it, flicking the blade open and stepping forward towards the surgeon with confidence in his step. The doctor staggered away, colliding with a shelf far behind him and swinging the scalpel uselessly.

'Don't come any closer. I mean it!' Ralph ignored him, bringing his arm back and then driving it forward, knife aimed for the bottom of the man's stomach. After a surprising amount of fighting from such a skinny-seeming man, it broke skin.

Before Ralph could drag it upwards and do the honors of putting this fella out of his misery, a bullet was fired from over his shoulder and it got the doctor right in between the eyes. He dropped like a fly, blood pooling from his head and his blue uniform becoming purple as Ralph dragged his knife up anyways, gutting the guy.

'I had him.' Ralph scoffed at Joel, swiping the sides of Ellie's blade off on the bottom of his shirt, making sure it was clean upon return. He slipped it into his pocket and turned to face the man standing behind him. He had never been so grateful to see a pistol in all his life.

'Unhook her.' Joel demanded the two nurses, traumatized and shaking as they stood at the head of the bed next to Ellie's unconscious body, light shining down on her pale skin. The two women turned to each, frightened and squealing and whispering. The red-haired one made the mistake of looking at Ralph.