The Edge of Everything ¹ | THE LAST OF US |

five ; oops, right?

Five ;

Oops, Right?

Water droplets dripped on the outdoor patio as the quartet emerged from the hotel. Penelope followed closely behind Tess, following her every move. Penelope thought Tess was a better option than being stuck with Joel.

Sorry, not sorry.

But the grumpy old man scared the living daylights out of Penelope sometimes.

Who knows? If Penelope screws up once, Joel might turn and do something violent. At least...that's what Penelope's godforsaken mind keeps telling her.

Penelope's Converse-clad feet walk through puddles on the concrete ground as they walk through the patio to finally reach the state house. Then this godforsaken 'adventure' will be over. Then Penelope will be able to see her parents. After nine years. Nine long years.

Tess pulls aside a plastic sheet to reveal an opening. Penelope smiles as a thank-you instead of actually talking. Oh well. She ducks under the sheet, walking towards the concrete wall.

A strange gurgling, moaning, and gasping from below on the ground level reaches Penelope's ears as she approaches the wall. Ellie followed closely behind Penelope. Penelope, however, lingers, slightly–just slightly–afraid of the foreign noise.

"What is that?" Penelope whispers, not reaching the wall. She did not want to see the horrors of the infected. She glanced at Joel who was standing a little behind the three girls. He had his gun at the ready, a hard look across his features. Penelope slowly turned her head to Tess who was standing next to Ellie at the wall, resting her arms on the ledge.

Joel moved to rest a little ways away from Ellie, leaving a spot for Penelope. She gingerly made her way to the wall, finally getting a glimpse of how many there were. She gasped, her hand covering her mouth in horror. Her eyes were wide as they moved frantically. She has never seen infected before. Penelope was very sheltered, she realized. Something she isn't sure she's grateful for or not.

"There's so many," Ellie said in horror. She was gripping the ledge as she looked around at the infected.

Joel and Tess looked completely unaffected by this. It didn't surprise Penelope one bit.

"The last time we were here they were still deep inside the buildings," Tess spoke, evaluating the situation below them. The amount of infected has clearly doubled over the–what?–the year that they haven't been outside the wall. Oh, my lord.

"But I guess enough people came through looking for the QZ–went inside seeking shelter." Tess paused, licking her lips. "And that's how they get more and more of the city bit by bit, year after year."

Penelope absorbs this new information, her eyes locked on the hordes of infected, clinging to each other. Her eyes were still wide with fear, her hands now trembling once again with terror. Her eyes became unfocused as the sun decided to poke out of the clouds.

The noise of agony grew louder as the sunlight hit the hordes of infected laying on the ground, withering in hunger or pain–Penelope couldn't decipher which. It was weird how the infected reacted to the sun. Did they move away from it in agony–or in hunger? She couldn't see which it was. But did she care? God, no.

"They're connected," Ellie observed, her eyes locked on the infected. "More than you know."

Penelope tore her eyes from the infected in front of her, inching away from the ledge. The sight of the infected made Penelope's empty stomach churn unhappily. Out of habit, Penelope wrung her cannula cord in her hands. The oxygen sputtered in response, making Penelope jerk out of her thoughts.