Secrets And Hope {The Last Of Us Fanfiction}

IX

The clock's ticking echoed throughout the living room as Ellie sat by the window. She flicked her switchblade up and down with her thumb as she waited. She'd been waiting all afternoon for Joel and Nora to come back and she was getting worried. She let out a deep sigh that played on her lips as it left her mouth. Ellie never was one for staying still for too long, she stood to her feet and began pacing around in circles. After that quickly grew boring she decided to stretch out on the couch with her comics, but her reading was cut short as she heard gunshots in the distance. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed both her pistol and switchblade as she ran for the door.

Ellie followed the crowd of town's people, leading all the way to the front gate. She pushed her way through to the front to see men and women stood high on the lookout posts, all shooting at something. Looking around in the crowd she spotted Maria shouting orders in the mist of the chaos as she quickly ran over to her.

"Hey what's going on?"

"Infected. They just appeared outta nowhere. I reckon we'll have to-"

Maria was cut off as a voice called out, grabbing both Ellie's and her attention.

"Hold your fire, hold your fire! Do you hear that?"

Tommy rushed to the lookout post with the other men as they all narrowed their eyes looking out into the distance. Sure enough the sound of scampering and whinnies were heard as two horses came galloping from within the dense forest.

"Are they ours?"

Tommy's eyes widened when he recognized the horses as he quickly turned to the other men.

"Open the gate!"

"But Tommy-"

"Open the goddamn gate!"

As the gates were opened Tommy jumped down to retrieve the horses, taking one by its reins he gently stroked its nose to calm him down.

"Easy. Easy fella... Yeah these are ours alright, but where the hell are the riders?"

"Wait...aren't those the horses Joel and Nora took out this morning?"

Ellie didn't want to be right as she asked her question and the worry and dread in the pit of her stomach only became worst as a grim look appeared on Tommy's face.

"Oh shit... Alright I need a small group to help sweep the area. I want every town within a twenty mile radius searched, now we gotta act fast against this snow fall before it covers any tracks. Ya'll grab a horse and meet me back here."

Ellie nodded along with the small selected group, turning to grab her backpack before heading out. She didn't get that far though as Tommy placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back.

"And where'd you think you're going?"

"What does it look like? I'm coming with you!"

"The hell you are!"

"What?! You expect me to just fucking stay here and do nothing?"

"That's exactly what I expect you to do. You're staying put!"

Ellie scoffed while folding her arms.

"This is bullshit! If Joel and Nora are in trouble, then I am coming with you!"

"Ellie we don't got no way of knowin' what happened to em', so you go back to the house with Maria and stay there! Now Joel's asked us to keep an eye on you while he's gone and that's what we're doin', now go."

"Come on Ellie. He'll let you know he finds anything."

Ellie turned to Maria and sighed. Swallowing her pride she did as she was told. As she started walking back to the house with Maria she paused, turning back to Tommy with deep sadness in her eyes.

"Just-bring them home."

Tommy nodded grimly and took hold of his horse before quickly jumping onto his back.

"I'll try. I promise."

With that Ellie watched as Tommy shouted to the others as they galloped out of the gate, quickly disappearing into the dense forest. She felt the cold gripping on her cheeks and hands, making them feel numb. But it could in no way compare to the numb feeling she had in her stomach, now that she knew Joel and Nora were missing. She just hoped that Tommy could somehow keep his promise.

----------------------------------------------------

As silence sat with the darkness, time seemed to freeze with it. The dust floated through the air along with the rubble that tumbled through the cracks in the collapsed walls. Joel woke to the flickering of his broken flashlight as its beam slowly began to die. Looking up and around him, he saw what was left of the broken building that had come crashing down on them. He struggled to his feet, feeling every cut and bruise on his body screaming in pain.

He covered his face from the thick smothering dust in the air and stumbled through the concrete as he frantically searched for Nora.

"Nora? Nora!"

A faint groan caused him to freeze as he looked around to find her laid under a pile fallen debris. He rushed to her side, gently pulling her out from the rubble. Blood dripped from her forehead and nose as Joel pressed his fingers to her neck to check her pulse before her eyes slowly slid open.

"Nora, Nora can you hear me?"

"I'm fine. Joel I'm okay."

Joel let out a sigh of relief as he pulled her to her feet. The two looked around at the wreck of the building that had crumbled around them. Nora coughed from the dust in the air, covering her mouth as she flashed her light against the rubble.

"What the hell happened?"

"My guess'd be a hunter's trap. Must've caught a tripwire, caused the whole damn building to come down on us."

"You reckon they're still here?"

"I doubt it. Didn't look like anyone had lived here for a while. They must've set it for infected, give em' a good chance to get wherever they were going."

After what felt like hours Joel continued pulling at the debris, digging through the rubble one stone a time. Stumbling back he grunted in pain as he kicked at the collapsed wall that refused to move.

"Goddamn it! Any luck on your side?"

Nora stepped back from the rubble and wiped the sweat from her forehead before turning to Joel.

"No nothin'. When the building collapsed it must've sealed every exit in this damn place. There ain't no way outta here."

Nora glanced back at Joel as their eyes met, both holding the same hopeless looks of any escape. They broke apart as Nora's flashlight started to die, eventually leaving them in complete darkness.

"Damn it!"

Throwing the light into the rubble Nora sighed as she slid down a wall and sat with her knees tucked up to her chest.

"So now what?"

Joel cautiously stepped through the wreckage and sat beside her, resting his head back against the wall. He'd been through far worse than this but the fact was, there was no way out. And although Joel didn't want to admit it, there was still a chance that they might not walk away from this one. Nora shared a sigh of defeat with Joel as she rested her head on his shoulder, he closed his eyes and could feel the dread and worry creeping up on him again.

"I-I don't know."