save who you can save- joel miller

Part 10

"She told me not to tell anybody." Ellie quietly spoke as she put down her sandwich. "And now I'm telling the first people that I--" she stopped and took a breath before crossing her arms on her knees. "There's a Firefly basecamp somewhere out west, with doctors." Ellie began "They're working on a cure." Ellie finished "I've heard this before." Joel said and Scarlett sighed, still looking at Ellie. "And whatever happened to me, is key to finding the vaccine." "Is the key to finding the vaccine." Joel spoke over Ellie. "Is that what this is?" he asked. "We've heard this a million times. Vaccines, miracle cures, none of it works." Joel said and Scarlett turned her head to look at Joel. "Ever." he finished and Ellie quickly stood up "Fuck you, man. I didn't ask for this." Ellie said, angrily "You and me both." Joel replied "This isn't gonna end well, Scarlett." Joel said as he looked at her. "We need to go back." he told her "We have a life there, it may not be great, but you and I have a life." he continued.

"Let's just finish it." Tess spoke. "She has a life too, Joel. I don't care if you think she does or you think she doesn't. She does. She is a kid who didn't ask to be born during this and I won't sit around and listen to you act like this is her fault. I know you and I have made a life together but what is the point of doing this to save someone else if you don't want to save her?" Scarlett fought "Tommy is my brother." Joel looked Scarlett in the eyes "You think I don't know that? We don't know what this kid has been through. What she's seen, who she's lost. This will all have been for nothing if we can't save her. And if neither of you will do it, I'll take her myself and get this done." Scarlett threatened. "It doesn't matter if she is or isn't what the Fireflies say she is. If they believe that she is, you get what you want." she stopped talking. "I'm not going to continue arguing with you over this. You either come with me, or you don't. This doesn't make me love you any less it just means I just might not come back if I'm on my own." a flip again switched in Joel. Realizing if he lets her do this by herself, he may never see her again. He couldn't bring himself to lose her and feel as if he was the reason she was gone.

He took a deep breath and looked at Scarlett. "If she so much as twitches." he said and Ellie began imitating an infected "Don't." Scarlett turned to look at her and then back at Joel. "Okay?" Scarlett asked. "Okay." he threw his arms up and walked over to his things. "Thank you." Ellie said as Scarlett walked past her. Scarlett turned to look at Ellie and nodded. "Can I have a gun?" Ellie asked as she watched Joel pick his up "Absolutely not" "No" Joel, Tess, and Scarlett spoke over each other. "Okay, Jesus, fine. I'll just have to throw a fuckin' sandwich at them." Ellie said. "It's clear." Joel said as he opened the door and looked around. "Scarlett, come here." he said as he walked out. She followed. "Woah." Ellie said as she walked outside and looked around at the crumbled city "Yeah. Looks a lot different in the daylight, huh?" she looked at Ellie. 

They started walking until they came into a completely destroyed building. "The state house is across there. A 10-minute walk if we could go straight through." Tess told Ellie. "Long way or short way?" Joel asked, "Well it's the long way or the 'we're fucking dead' way." Scarlett looked at him. "Well, I vote long way just based on that limited information." Ellie said. "We have to check it from the hotel first." Joel said and Scarlett nodded before they began walking again. "Where the fuck are they, already?" Ellie asked Scarlett while Tess and Joel walked behind. "What the fuck's going on with her?" Tess asked Joel "You'll know it when they're close." Scarlett told Ellie. "Don't know. She's getting really protective of that kid." Joel told Tess "It's her motherly instinct." he told her as he watched Scarlett and Ellie talking. "Well, I didn't know last time." Ellie told Scarlett.

"How did you get bit? If you don't mind me asking." Scarlett asked "You know the old mall in the QZ?" Ellie asked. "Still, Joel. It's good to know things. You could be upsetting her without even knowing because of things you're saying." Tess mentioned. "The one that's sealed up and boarded off and no one's supposed to go in, ever?" Scarlett asked "That one?" she looked at Ellie "Whatever. I snuck in." Ellie said and Scarlett shook her head and chuckled. " I wanted to see what it was like, didn't think there'd be anything in there." Ellie began "Then one just came at me out of nowhere. Thought I got away, but." Ellie stopped "So it was just you in there? Alone?" Scarlett continued asking questions. Ellie paused. "Yeah." Ellie said as Scarlett stopped walking "How old are you?" she asked Ellie "14." Ellie told her "Wow. You got some balls on you, kid." Scarlett said as she began walking. Ellie smiled to herself and then followed Scarlett "Thanks." she kept smiling.