The Last Of Us (Fanfic)

Joel Lives PT.11

JESSE

Jesse had decided to go off on his own for a few hours to do some recon on a bunker in the lower part of town. He got it off a dead FEDRA soldier in a watch tower when they made it to the first check point of the QZ. Ellie was of course hell-bent on finding Tommy and Joel and so was he, but regarding the note, the bunker had supplies that might actually work and help them find the WLF base if their old equipment still worked. He also hoped the would be an alternative way of getting Dina somewhere safe while He and Ellie worked out the rest; he'd noticed her getting sick a week or so back and wanted to keep her somewhere she could rest. Ellie was adamant about getting to Seattle right behind - or maybe even catching up to - Tommy, which left them very little time to rest or eat. The inquiry of this bunker fell on deaf ears with Ellie, who felt it was a waste of time even though it was on the way to downtown Seattle, and Dina refused to leave her on her own. Before leaving Jackson, Jessie had taken some radios they used to use for scouting before they had proved to be more of a battery drainer than an actual help. In this case, he figures what the hell? He pressed the button to make the static on Ellie and Dinas' end make an SOS and told him they'd meet up later at the Serevena Hotel, promising to radio once they made it past the gate.

He needed time to think anyway and get his barrings on this new place as he'd never been outside of Jackson since before he could even remember. This bunker could at the very least have supplies, maybe it could even be their home base while they resided in Washington. He was on high alert as he walked through the streets, going from store to store gathering what he could find. Tape, a pack of batteries that had slid under the shelves, and a can of mixed veggies that expired over twenty years ago. On the electronics wall, he browsed the headphones, chargers, and phone cases wondering why people used to waste all their time glued to these things as his parents told him. His dad gave him a dirty Nintendo when he was fourteen that had four games on it, but only one made the time pass the fastest with two Italian men dressed in red and green. It had been so long that he'd forgotten the name once the old thing finally broke.
Everywhere he went he was met with silence With the occasional clicker held up in some building he thought best to stay out of. He hadn't run up on any WLF and hoped this bunker he was searching for would be out of their purview and a good place to hunker down once things started to get riled up. Not to mention somewhere they could take Joel to rest up if they found him alive, knowing there was no way they'd find him without a scratch after being here for so long. He just hoped that no matter how they found him, he'd be able to get everyone else home in one piece.

The building in the note wasn't that far away, maybe an hour according to the remaining street signs that hadn't been rusted beyond recognition. It started to get cloudy and he sped up his pace, his horse getting tired and skittish due to the changing weather. Thunder started to rumble and fat drops started to hit the ground and he wondered how Ellie and Dina were fairing. He made a mental note to check up with them over the radio when he made it inside; but when he made it to the address he was met with a convenience store... Well, half of one. The front was destroyed in some kind of fire judging by the char marks left on the wall and no food or supplies had been left behind. Jesse was frustrated, blaming himself for going on this solo mission that turned out to be a waste of time. Till he heard the water falling between the cracks in the floor and realized there was a basement. He looked around for the door and found it nestled between the freezer and bathroom hidden behind a wall of crates and boxes. Both doors beside the basement were left wide open and too dark to see inside from where he stood. His light would only reach in so far and even though it made him uneasy, he made his way in to clear it. The bathroom was dirty and wet with algae growing on the walls and in the toilet bowls, and the sink lay on the floor in pieces. When he made his way into the freezer, a chill ran down his spine when he saw the trails of blood leading toward the back of the large walk-in freezer. The shelves obscured his view as some had toppled over but he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to see. A mound of burnt skeletal remains sat in the corner with holes lining the wall and blood spatter that even reached the ceiling. In the remains, he found a firefly pendant with the name Ian Kane that Jesse pocketed as he backed out of the freezer. It was a massacre here, signs of that were all over this city and it made him wonder if coming here was such a good idea as they knew nothing about these people or what they were walking into.
The basement was still shut but not locked and he opened it slowly - listening for any movement or sound that came from inside. The stairs were brick, but still unreliable as he ascended into the dark room with ankle-deep water that continued to pour in from the slats in the floor above him. They had stayed down here, more than likely hiding here when whatever happened kicked off. Bunk beds lined the walls and what was left of the sleeping bags waded in the water he trudged through. What caught his eye were the maps that lined the walls of the surrounding areas, checkpoints that the WLF had taken or abandoned, and caches these people had left all over the city. He took the old map and folded it up and placed it in his jacket pocket before he searched the rest of the room. He found coms that had long since died due to water damage and he knew that even if it were salvageable, Dina wasn't here and they didn't have the parts to fix it. Journals and ledgers were strewn across the desk, notes of other frequencies, and even an SOS in Morse code sat next to the mic. The message before that read:

Sep 12, 2032
'Rebel group (WLF) took the weapons bay to enforce attack on FEDRA Factions in QZ at 2300, Requesting immediate assistance.'

[No Response]

'Rebel group has taken the courthouse and food distribution at the synagogue at 0000. Requesting immediate assistance.'

[No Response]

'QZ has been taken, remaining FEDRA in hiding. Plans to vacate to nearest QZ (Location Vancouver WA) Last transmission.'

Jesse looked through the previous notes leading up to September 12th and found that while they had some inside information on their plans, they didn't have enough to go off of. Besides a tip of a possible squat in a pet store that was meant to be off-limits to civilians. Jesse was enthralled in these ledgers and notes, learning more about the assumed leader of the WLF, Issac Dixon, and his associates Emma and Jason Patterson, Luise Sanchez, and Marcus Wilson. These names he had noticed on wanted posters all over the QZ, in one of these entries it noted the hanging of Jason and Luise after being detained for treason against the US government and harboring Issac Dixon. Information on them individually was minimal, all that was noted about Issac was his former military background and he wondered if Issac was still alive or if someone else had taken his place after all these years.

These questioning thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement in the water behind him. The sound of the water falling made it hard for him to notice to heavy breathing before, but now it was all he could hear, and it had been stalking him since he stepped foot down here.