Consequence

Chapter Seventeen

From the moment Joel stepped inside the building he felt uncomfortable. He'd left Duke outside grazing on the overgrown street corners that were now more grass and trees than sidewalk. He'd felt wrong walking towards the hospital, his every sense in his body telling him to turn around. Go back. But despite his every instinct he somehow managed to push forward. The hospital was deathly silent and still. At times Joel had to wonder if that was a good thing or not. The only sounds he could hear were his own. The sound of his heavy boots scuffing against the old stained floor, his own breath echoing through the wall of quiet and lifelessness. He surprised himself as he made his way through the winding corridors and wards, it almost felt like he knew exactly where he was going. Though he supposed the more he thought about it; a part of him did. The sense of familiarity was overwhelming at times, to the point it made his head hurt.

'Where are they?'

'They're safe...'

That voice...he knew that voice didn't he? It echoed through his head as his memories charged around in his mind, swirling back and forth till it made his ears ring. The sound of gunshots and heavy breathing. Shouts of orders and anger. Were they coming from him or someone else?

He froze when he saw the large sign on the wall pointing the way to where he was heading. Pediatrics. He pushed through the set of double doors and the stale air hit him like a tidal wave. The once brightly painted walls of multi-coloured sail boats now faded and old with age. The long dark corridor hidden from the light of the sun by the blinds and sheets covering the windows. The ward's rooms were left cluttered with old medical equipment and blankets. He followed it further down towards the office that was now left bare and picked clean of all supplies. He noticed a pile of aging paper on the desk and moved to take a closer look. It looked like copies of brain scans and test results.

'But it grows all over the brain' he heard himself say. ' It does', the ghost replied back. That all too familiar feeling of dread churned deep in the pit of his stomach. Joel felt a jolt travel down his arm as he threw the papers down back onto the desk. He felt like he'd been stung. A gasp of breath escaped him as he winced at the sharp shooting pain that burned across the back of his skull and split into a dull headache that he was all too sick of suffering from. The older man took a stumbled step back, almost losing his footing. Joel knew in that moment exactly where he was and what had happened here. This must've been the place he'd saved Ellie. His jaw clenched at the realisation, maybe Ada hadn't been lying after all. But it still didn't ease the pain of everything else that damn woman had done to him. Shrugging it off he continued out into the corridor and moved further down towards the final door in front of him. He didn't miss the Firefly symbol spray painted on the wall by the door. But still Joel pushed on. As he stepped into the operating theatre his blood ran cold. Hackles raised and jaw clenched once again, he felt a rush of adrenaline course through him as his body seemed to relive whatever had happened in this room. His breath trembled as he continued to look around. More boxes marked by the Fireflies symbol, filled with equipment and blankets. Nothing that seemed to point to where the Fireflies could have moved on too though. Joel shivered against the chill that ran up his back; his clothes were still a little damp from the rain the night before. It had seemed that drying them before leaving Jackson's outpost had proved not all that beneficial. The cold in the air didn't help either. As he made his way around the room he felt eyes on him. The shadows moving in the corners of his eyes. The figures hiding in the depths of the darkness, silently judging him. Though for what he couldn't say. He was stopped in his pacing when he noticed the smeared blood stains in the floor under his boots. They were dried and old, from a few years ago at least, if not more. The more Joel stared at it the more he wondered whose it was. Had he been the cause? Had he been in a fight? Was it Ellie's from when he'd saved her from whatever bad thing had happened here?

He slumped against the wall and sighed in defeat. He was so sick of questions. Of not knowing the answers to his own past. It was becoming exhausting. Leaning back with his foot against the wall, Joel pushed away from it and strode out of the theatre and back into the office. He hastily looked through the draws and cabinets again, just in case he'd missed something. His luck turned as he fumbled through one of the old bookcases and came away with a scrapped piece of paper.

Group 2- Eastern Colorado University- arrived three days ago, research papers to follow.

Eastern Colorado University. That's where the Fireflies must've traveled from to get to St Mary's. Perhaps there were more clues as to their whereabouts. It wasn't that far away. Two and half days on horseback at most, he estimated. With his mind made up he quickly made his way back out onto the street to tend to Duke, the horse nickering affectionately at the sight of his owner. Joel padded him on the neck with a kind smile as he kicked at the ashes of his campfire to put out the remaining embers, then pulled softly at the gelding's reins as he clicked his teeth for the horse to walk on. He pulled himself back into the saddle with a dull grunt then kicked Duke in a gentle paced trot.

University of Eastern Colorado...'G o Bighorns' Joel thought to himself sarcastically. Maybe there Joel would finally find the answers he was looking for. He gave another kick to push Duke on into a canter as they took off through the old broken roads and around the rusting and rotting cars that littered the streets; then back onto the freeway. He knew he had to pick up his pace before night fell, his dark eyes scanning every road sign until he found one that pointed the way to Colorado. Joel was so focused on the road signs, he failed to notice the twitching and the groans of the figures slowly creeping towards him as they dragged out their rotting bodies from under the cars. The screeches and clicks echoing through the wind. Duke's shout of fear shattered the silence as more infected charged for horse and rider, their deformed claws and bony broken nails reaching out for flesh to scratch and hack. Joel had no time to react as he was pulled from his saddle.