Even When the World Comes Down (Sequel to Always & Forever)

Chapter 56 - Beth

Ellie was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs.

"Look, I know you guys mean well...but there's no half-way with this. Once we're done, we'll go wherever you want. Okay?" Ellie said.

"Well, we ain't leavin' without you, so let's go wrap this up," Joel said.

"Yeah. Let's get this over with," I said.

We got to ground level and were met with a triage that brought back a lot of bad memories.

"Jeez," I said.

Joel looked over at me and knew in an instant what I was thinking.

"This place takes me back," he said.

"How so?" Ellie asked.

"Right after everything went down, Joel, Tommy and I ended up in a triage just like this," I said.

I shuddered as I remembered all the things that we had seen in these places back in Texas.

"Beth? You okay?" Ellie asked.

"I'm fine, sweetie. It's just..." I started but couldn't continue.

Joel patted my arm and nodded.

"Everywhere you looked, you just...saw families torn apart. The whole damn world seemed to have turned upside down in a blink," Joel said.

"Was this after you guys lost Sarah?" Ellie asked.

"Yes it was," I said.

"I...I can't imagine losing someone you love like that. Losing everything that you know. I'm sorry, guys," she said.

"That's okay, Ellie," Joel said.

"We just have to keep going," I said.

I draped my arm over her shoulder and led her elsewhere. We needed to cross through a bus in order to get deeper into town when Ellie stopped us.

"Guys wait...I uh...I've got something for you," Ellie said just before we went into the bus.

"What is it, Ellie?" I asked turning around.

"Maria showed me and Beth this back at Tommy's. I uh...I didn't feel right leaving it behind so I stole it. I hope you guys don't mind," she said.

She reached into one of the pockets of her backpack and pulled out the rectangular piece of film that I had seen before. She handed it to Joel. I went over and rested my head on his shoulder as we both looked onto the photo of me, him and Sarah.

"Well, no matter how hard you try, I guess you can't escape your past. Thank you," Joel said.

He kissed my forehead and handed me the picture to put away. I made sure to put it in a safe place. I then went over to give Ellie a quick hug.

"Alright. Come on you two. We should keep moving. We're almost there," Joel said.

"Yeah. He's right. The quicker all this is done, the quicker we'll get to do all the things that we want to do for you," I said.

Ellie smiled up at me.

We made our way through the bus and to the other side. More cars and barricades filled the road.

"Through that tunnel over there seems like the only way to go," I said.

Joel looked around to see if there was any place else.

"Yeah. It's the only way. Let's go," he said.

"This time is gonna be different. I just know it," Ellie said.