The Last of Us: The War

Eighteen

He heard voices around him, talking about something he didn't know very well about. His eyes were slightly open, seeing lights around him, a white ceiling, and..tubes? Letting out a loud gasp, it startled whoever was there, hands gripping his shoulders.

"Hey, it's okay!" A girls voice said. "You're safe!"

He rapidly glanced around, seeing a woman there in a blue shirt and pants. His vision cleared, realizing the tubes went into his arms, hearing a somewhat steady beeping noise next to him.

"Wh..where am I?" He asked in a raspy voice, his nose feeling weird. Looking down at it cross-eyed, he saw breathing tubes up his nostrils.

"You're in the hospital." She said. "You're safe now."

He slowly laid back down in a bed he was in, completely confused. "When...when did I get here?"

"A couple weeks ago." The nurse said. "We though you wouldn't wake up from your coma as well as your other friends in here."

His eyes widened as he remembered what happened to her, sitting back up in a panic. "Lily..where is she??"

"Don't worry, she's to your left." She said with a reassuring look. "She hasn't woke, yet. Nobody else has except you."

"What about Mark?" He asked. "Is he okay?"

The nurse now gave him a sad look. "Mark Fischbach? He's been dead for a while now...he got infected a few weeks back..why?"

Everything clicked in his head right then. Everything that happened, everything he saw, was all in his head. It was a dream. But how is that possible? Considering everything felt real?

"He's dead..." Sean said quietly. "I..I shot him.."

"Well..it was for the best.." The nurse said. "You did what you had to do." She took out a clipboard, writing a couple things down. "But right now, you need to rest so you can recover."

Just as she finished saying that to him, another long gasp came from across the room, and they both looked to see Jackie awake, also just as confused when Sean woke up.

"What the...?" She breathed.

"It's alright, miss." The nurse said. "You're in the hospital. You're safe."

Jackie's eyes widened. "What? How did--"

"We took all of you in when we found you a couple miles away from here." She explained. "You were all knocked out from being hit in the head pretty hard..we were thinking you wouldn't wake up but..guess we were wrong." She headed over to Jackie, checking over a couple things. "You few were lucky when we found you..that we were out there in general."

"So..the apocalypse never happened?" Sean asked.

"Oh no, that did happen." The nurse said. "Just everything after you got knocked out wasn't real..it was all a dream."

"So..Mark isn't even..alive?" Jackie asked, sadness in her voice.

The nurse shook her head, guilt in her voice. "No, hun..I'm sorry."

She felt tears stinging her eyes, trying to hold them back as she laid back down on the bed.

"Wait a second.." Sean said, glancing around the room again. "Where's Bridget?"

"She's finishing up with her brain scan to check for anymore damage." The nurse said. "She'll come back in a moment."

He nodded, trying to relax himself, but it was a little tough, considering he's still trying to wrap around his head that everything after getting hit in the head was one big dream when the door to their room opened, a doctor rolling in a patient on a wheelchair.

"From what we saw, there's no other damage to her brain." The doctor said. "She's okay. She'll need to stay for a couple more days as well as the others to recover."

The nurse nodded. "Good. Get her back on her bed."

"Bridget." Sean said, getting her attention.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god..I already got the whole speech of how it wasn't real..which is still weird."

He smirked at her, watching them get her up on the bed when he heard a long intake of breath. Looking to his left, he saw Lily waking up, feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

The nurse looked surprised. "Well..looks like all of you woke up." She said. "That's good." She walked up to Sean. "Would you mind explaining it? I gotta run a couple more tests."

He nodded. "Yeah."

Smiling at him, the nurse walked off, the doctor following behind her.

"S..Sean?" Lily asked in a tired voice. Turning his gaze to her, he reached for her hand, gripping it firmly.

"It's okay..you're in the hospital as well as everyone else." He said. "You're safe."

"When--"

"I know, I was confused too." Sean said, cutting her off. "But..and this might sound crazy..but everything that happened..after we got hit in the head..it was all a dream. We were all in a coma for a couple weeks."

Lily's eyes slightly widened. "Oh my god...so Mark.."

"Is still dead." He said, finishing her sentence, glancing at Jackie and back at her. "Which I feel terrible for her..."

"Yeah me too." Lily said softly. "But at least we're okay."

He only nodded, lacing their fingers together. "Yeah..anyways, if I heard this right, we get out in a couple days."

"Thank god.." She said. "After realizing I was in here..I wanna get out."

"Me too." He said, the nurse coming back inside.

"Alright..we took a couple samples from all of you when you were out." She began. "And from the looks of it, you guys should be out of here in two days tops." She took out a needle. "So..for now I'm gonna inject this, and all it'll do is make you fall asleep for a while. Then after that..you can go home."

Sean narrowed his eyes. "Home?"

The nurse smiled. "Yes..in Ireland. That whole country is cured. That's the only safe zone we found. Don't worry, we already took care of everything. So by the time you leave, a taxi will be waiting for you, and it'll take you to the airport that's still running."

They all nodded, the nurse going around and injecting a little bit into each of the clear tubes on their arms. And not a few seconds later, they were all asleep. Sean felt a little more happy, knowing he really does get to back home, to the place he lives in along with his friends and his girlfriend.

So, how about that for a twist? haha. Comment and vote! :)