Eternal Mind | The Last Of Us

14

Birds chirped. The sun shone down upon the dirt. Prim's eyes fluttered open. She had been lying on the ground.

Gradually she became aware of her surroundings. Her head whipped around. "Ellie", she called out. She stood up, her eyes scanning each inch of the forest.

"Ellie", she called out again. This time with more desperation. She was walking down an endless path. Tree after Tree after Tree. "Joel, Ellie are you there"?

A chill ran up her spine. Unexpectedly, a presence was behind her. Her eyes broadened with disbelief and her breath hastened when she saw who it was.

"Yin"?

The person smiled. "Hello". She stood in a state of shock. Words could not even express how she was feeling. Her gaze went to the ground.

"What's the matter, baby sister? Can you not even look at me after you bashed my skull in"?

She began to rapidly shake her head. "No, no no, I didn't... I...".

A laugh bellowed out of his chest. This interaction seemed to amuse him. "How many people have you killed since then"? He hummed. "How many mothers, sisters, brothers, and fathers have died by your hands".

The air around her felt like it was strangling her. Her feet moved backward. Step by step. Tears rolled down her skin. Her hands shook uncontrollably.

When she held them up to her face they were covered in fresh wet blood. In her left hand, she held a rock. Her eyes meant Yin's and she was greeted with a horrifying sight. His face was a bloodstained mess. Half of it was caved in. Despite that, he still smiled.

The sudden change caused Prim to lose her footing on an exposed tree root. The rock flew out of her hand. Her body fell back.

Yin picked up the rock and stalked towards her as she tried to crawl away. "Maybe this is your karma. Walking around like so sort of fucked up zombie".

Know Prim was full-on crying. She pressed her body up against a tree, hoping it would make her disappear. Her eyes stayed closed even when Yin stood directly in front of her.

He raised the rock above her head. "Know you'll feel what it's like to die". As the rock came down Prim's eyes shot open. Her breath was still a bit shaky.

"Looks like some's up", Joel spoke. Prim pat his shoulder to tell him she wanted to get down. He bent his knees a bit so she could easily get off his back.

A pair of arms came around her. "I'm so glad you're awake. I was so worried about you". Prim and Ellie locked eyes.

Ellie quickly looked away flustered. She chuckled awkwardly. "Um, uh, you missed some great conversation", she stated trying to switch the attention over to something else.

They continued to walk down the leafy path. Finally, they reached their destination. "Cumberland Farms".

"Hang back a minute I gotta get some stuff I stashed". The girls still followed after him.

"Stashed. Why do you have stuff stashed here"?

"You ask a lot of goddamn questions. You should take some lessons from the other one".

"Yes I do and that was a bit offensive". Joel yanked open the door to the deserted building.

"So are you gonna answer me or what?".

"We hide supplies on routes. In case we find ourselves short on gears, which I currently am because-".

A loud gasp interrupted him. "No way"! Ellie ran over to the busted-down arcade machine. She had only read about these things in books. In the old world, they had so many cool gadgets. Her hands fiddled with the controls. If only it still worked. She would have definitely kicked ass.

Prim stood beside her, not sure what to do. She was still trying to recover from that nightmare.

"Have you ever played", Ellie asked Joel. "I had a friend who knew everything about these. You know there's a character that reminds me of you Prim". The girl perked up at the mention of her name.

"She takes off her mask and she has monster teeth, and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones"!

Monster. That word echoed through Prim's head. Monster. A word she has heard so many times before.

Ellie did not seem to notice the sudden drop in her expression. "Ah, man", she sighed. Why did all the cool stuff have to be gone? She looked at Joel who was still hauling things around. "You forgot where you put the stuff didn't you".

"No, I'm just Zeroing in on it.". That was code for yes, yes I did. "It's been a couple of years".

It seems the search for the hidden goods would take longer than expected. "Well, we're gonna go look around, see if there's anything good".

"Is there anything bad in here"

"Just you".

"Ah, getting funnier". As Ellie walked towards the back Prim stood there lost in thought. Ellie walked into a room and kicked over some trash trying to find something of value. When she moved over a pile of newspaper she discovered a rusty hatch.

"You alright in there", Joel called out.

"Yep".

To see how far down it was she threw a piece of debris into it. Well, it seemed pretty safe to her. Carefully she dropped down onto a rock. She walked around a bit, shining a light on the empty stands. A pack of pads set on one of them. "Fuck yeah", she whispered. Stuff like this was hard to find.

As she went to go back up a snarl came from further away. Curiously got the best of her. Holding up her light, she saw an infected person stuck under a ton of rubble. Mushrooms had grown out the side of their head. They laid there wheezing.

As she got closer the being jolted up causing her to gasp. "He's hurting", a voice came from behind her, almost giving her a heart attack. She quickly turned, her light revealed that it was Prim.

Prim walked over to her but moved close to the man. "Years, Stuck". Ellie looked at her fascinated. "You can talk to them"?

She shook her head. "Not talk, listen". The two stood in silence for a moment. "What is he saying"?

"Death... is his wish". Ellie looked at the man. She handed Prim her flashlight and took out her knife. She bent down to his level.

He was long dead however his eyes were still so human. They followed her knife as she dragged it across his forehead.

Ellie halted and stared. Her face became more angry the more she did. She stabbed her knife right into his head. Prim turned away.

"We should go back", Ellie told her. She was already walking away before she was finished talking.

Prim took a step then paused. She gave one last look at the dead body. Was that her fate?

A/N - I just wanted to thank everyone for the support on the story! I did not think it would be this popular. I love reading people's theories and all the comments about Prim they made me laugh.