The wind blowing was harsh, it had her hair whipping around in every which direction. Thalia sat on the bed of the truck, baby in arms as she scoped out the area around them. No one had been seen for miles which somehow both comforted her and frightened her.
The less people, more infected, but there couldn't be too many infected living nearby if the Fireflies were here. That was the one thing they hated almost as much as FEDRA.
She inhaled a deep breathe and looked to her right at Ellie, eyes in her lap and head in a completely different space. Last night, stories were shared. They'd spent almost the entire night spilling their guts, at least Thalia did. She left out the couple, the man, but other than that she was an open book.
Ellie refused to share her stories, feigning that she was tired which left Joel to give his version of the story. Thalia recognized it all too well, that dazed expression she seemed to always have. It wasn't until she got some shut eye, when she dreamt of David being chopped into bits that the puzzle pieces truly connected.
The thought made her stomach churn, she then considered marching her ass right back into that town and making them all suffer for his actions. For the time though, it didn't matter, she was safe. Thalia swore nothing would harm this kid, fucking nothing.
Joel called out to Ellie, she didn't seem to respond until her got closer, "Did you hear me?" His wife hadn't heard him either, too lost in her own thoughts, "No... what?"
"Well, I found this in there." He held up a can of food, a prideful look on his face, "Beefaroni, Chef Boyardee." The girl could barely muster more than an unamused, "Oh, cool." Her heart broke in that moment, she hadn't been here to see that light inside her favorite girl crumble. Now, being up close to this, she felt herself shatter.
"And have you ever played this?" Joel brought up an old game and she couldn't help but smirk upon seeing what it was, "Boggle? It's a word game... well, if you wanna beat me at somethin' it would be this."
A smirk spread across her lips, everyone else kicked his ass in that game except for her. She could never complete those stupid word games, despite her best efforts.
"Well, alright then. We're gettin' close... hospital that way- may be the one we're lookin' for." Thalia stood up from the truck bed, along with Ellie. Daisy was asleep in her arms, drooling on the new shirt her husband had grabbed her from the trailer. It was a tad bit small, but stretchy and comfortable.
Joel waited for Thalia and Daisy trailing not too far behind them, giving her a sympathetic look. She did the same and offered a small shrug. As he tried to strike up another conversation, this one about playing guitar, it was once again shut down by her ever wandering mind.
"Joel?" Her husband turned around, eyebrow raised in question, "Think you could take Daisy? I wanna catch up with Ellie..." They both were hesitant, Joel hadn't held a baby since Sarah. As terrified as he was, he nodded, gently grabbing Daisy as she awoke from her slumber.
The baby wrapped a slobbery fist around one of his large fingers, big bright eyes looking up at him. Joel, though he would never admit it, felt his heart skip a beat. He now understood what he had been missing out on.
He walked forward, Ellie and Thalia walking farther behind and the teen feared what she wanted to talk about. "Five people... that's how many were responsible for the- thing in Pennsylvania." Immediately she felt the air leave her lungs, she felt herself stiffen even though she continued walking.
"I tore them apart. Every last one of 'em. They all died screaming- begging for their lives as I stuck my axe into their skulls." Their eyes met, "You're not a monster for killing a monster."
Ellie didn't say anything, simply allowing herself to soak in the words, "He-"
"I know..." She wasn't about to force her to say it again, it would be too painful for the both of them. "What you did... it was awful, but it doesn't make you an awful person, Ellie. You defended yourself."
The only sound was the wind howling against their faces. There was no need for more words, they carried on and into the city. Eventually, Thalia took Daisy from Joel and relieved him of the alert little baby who hadn't taken a nap in hours.
Little conversation was made, for the most part the little dysfunctional family was content to stay quiet. It was odd, for so many months there had been no peace, constant chatter between the two girls. Now, neither one could be bothered, minds too plagued by past memories.
Joel lead them to a large building, abandoned like all the others with little to nothing inside. They couldn't find a good way up so they went with the classic, Ellie on the shoulders of the couple. "If I get you up there, you can drop that ladder down, maybe we go through that way... come on, I'll give you a boost."
The teen was busy though, eyes trained on a table holding a few, dust covered items. "You ok?" Joel approached her and she was quick to shut him down, saying she was fine.
"It's just- you kinda seem extra quiet today, so." She paused, "Oh, I'm sorry."
She did that too. When she was with Bill and Frank, there were too many apologies given out when she'd wander off, lost in darkened thoughts and completely missing out on conversations.
He reassured her that it was alright before she insisted she knew the plan. Thalia swallowed thickly before moving Daisy into the fabric wrapped around her chest, settling her chubby little arms and feet into the slots created.
She stepped onto the crate next to her husband, with some assistance they helped the teen on there as well. Joel gave a count down before she stepped onto their shoulders. The wife's right hand helped Ellie balance, the other was held protectively over the baby's head so she wouldn't get hurt.
Ellie was up, they were free to move and she turned around to look at her. Just as she grabbed the ladder, about to help her partners down, she froze. "Whoa..." The clunk of metal came crashing down and Thalia immediately turned as to not harm the baby.
Both Joel and his wife felt their stomachs drop, they had no clue what was up there, what she was running to so they moved as quickly as possible. He allowed Thalia to go first once the ladder was set up and she scrambled to find out what it was.
Once standing to her full height and looking in the direction of where she ran, she understood. For the first time in weeks, a true smile spread across her lips and she too ran to get a better look at it. The faint voice of Joel rang through her head, "Fuck... Thalia!"
She couldn't care less though, she ran and listened to Daisy squeal as they rounded a corner and up some concrete stairs to come across one of the most beautiful sights she's ever seen. Ellie was already standing there so she carefully approached her and the creature.
Her breathe was taken away by the larger than life giraffe, peacefully grazing on the plants that had grown on the building. Thalia suppressed a giggle and turned to the side, pointing a finger at it so the large animal would capture Daisy's attention. The baby couldn't be bothered, too busy gnawing on her own fingers.
Finally, Joel caught up and could understand what they were so in awe of. He set his gun down and with no fear, walked right up to the large animal. In a whisper, "Don't scare it."
"I won't..." He reassured her and went to grab some leaves for the giraffe, "What are you doing?" The husband plucked some, "It's alright." Thalia smirked as he tossed a small portion to her, then handing some to Ellie, "Come here, hurry up. Come on."
The beautiful creature came right over to where the food was being offered, taking some from Ellie and outstretching it's long purple tongue. The giggles she let out warmed hearts to no extent, the couple holding large smiles on their faces.
Thalia waited until Ellie's leaves were gone, handing out her own bouquet. The giraffe got greedy and stuck out it's tongue, accidentally brushing Daisy's head which lead to her huffing at the wet slime on her head, now matching her fingers.
The wife beamed, taking her sleeve to gently wipe her head before the animal walked off, now satisfied with their lack of food. "Aw, where's she going? Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Ellie ran after the giraffe and left the couple to trail behind her, climbing up even more stairs.
They opened a door to a small balcony, overlooking a large, what used to be a baseball field. Several giraffes were scattered through the field, living their best life despite the world being nearly completely gone.
"So, is it everything you hoped for?" She shrugged a shoulder, "Got it's ups and downs. Can't deny that view." Thalia smirked, thinking back to the words spoken so many months ago. She barely remembered them, too busy trying not to have a heart attack over the prospect of heights.
She stood behind them, admiring the view because Ellie was right, it was stunning. "Look, I don't know exactly where this hospital is-"
"Yeah, we'll find it."
"Sure, it's just-... maybe there's nothing bad out there but so far there's always been something bad out there."
"But we're still here." She had not a clue as to where this was going, what her husband was going at, somewhere deep within she definitely did.
"I know. I'm only saying there's risk... we don't have to do this. I just- want you to know that."
"What do you mean? What else are we supposed to do?" Oh.
"Nothing. We just go back to Tommy's and we forget about the whole damn thing." There was a look in Ellie's eye, she felt as though she didn't exist. The two had their eyes locked on one another and she was left to watch, standing by like a ghost.
"After all that we've been through... everything I've done... it can't be for nothing... I know you guys mean well, I know you wanna protect me- you have... and when we're done, we'll go wherever you want. Tommy's, sheep ranch, New Orleans, the moon... I'll follow you guys anywhere you go..."
Joel smiled, it was her first time seeing this and it struck something inside of her.
"But there's no halfway with this. We finish what we started."
***
The trio walked through the city, quiet and as abandoned as ever. The lack of infected suggested the Fireflies had long cleared this place out, showed that they couldn't be too far away.
Waking through a dimly lit tunnel lead them to an old army medical camp. This one, just like the rest of the city, was barren. "Was this a FEDRA thing?"
"No... army. They put these places up all around. Longest one only lasted- a few weeks, maybe..." He would know, she would know. Thalia forgot the sleepless nights she spent in a place similar to this, praying to whatever gods were out there to heal her husband.
Memories came flooding back and she felt her throat close up, tears brewing in the backs of her eyes. They were the last people to ever receive treatment at the one built in Boston. The doctor agreed to take care of Joel for a week until they would need to leave, by that time he had healed and they were back to their hellish reality.
"They had me in one just like this..." Thalia looked down to the ground, her hands clamming up, "With Sarah?"
"No, she was gone already." They kept walking, the silence of the surrounding area was deafening, "So what was wrong with you?"
Joel pointed to the scar on his head, "It was for this." Ellie made a sound of understanding, "Ah, the guy who shot at you and missed. I figure that would've happened later." Her steps slowed, guilt building in her throat.
Say it, Joel, that was what she told herself.
Tell her that I'm the reason you tried to end your life because instead of trying to comfort you... I shoved our loss in your face.
Tell her I reminded you of what we no longer had so you tried to put a bullet in your head.
That wasn't the truth, but that was how she saw it. She was so selfish that she nearly got her husband killed. "Two weeks after."
"Well, I've gotta hand it to the army people. They were way better at stitchin' you up than I was-"
"It was me... I was the guy who shot and missed."
By this point, she was no longer walking, frozen a few feet behind Joel who had come to a complete stand still. Her heart skipped several beats, eyes skipping from Joel to Ellie. Back to Joel, then back to Ellie, a repetitive process.
He sat down on a slab of cement, the teen joined him but Thalia couldn't be bothered to move. She was stuck, hands in a frenzy as she awaited what he had to say about this.
"There's no story. Sarah died... and I couldn't see the point anymore. Then I found out-..." He stopped himself, "Daisy..." Joel felt his eyes widen as he looked to Ellie, then to his wife. She gave a nod and wiped a tear drop away, this was her way of saying she'd told her.
"I wasn't scared, either. I was ready. I knew Tommy'd take of her. I couldn't have been more ready... when I-... when I-... went to pull the trigger I flinched... still don't know why. Anyway, the reason I'm telling you all this is-"
"I know why you're telling me all this."
"Yeah, I reckon you do."
Silence settled thick before Ellie spoke once more, "So time heals all wounds I guess." He then glanced at her, "It wasn't time that did it." Before his wife could react, he was turning his head towards her. She painted a sad smile on her face, blinking away the tears before they could fall down her cheeks and atop the baby's head.
"Well, I'm glad that... that- didn't work out." Thalia nodded, voice no more than a broken whisper, "We all are." Joel nodded, the moment was soaked up, all of it in it's entirety, before they were forced to move and continue.
Thalia finally picked her feet up, joining them in step, her right arm slung around Ellie's shoulders and her left hand wrapping tightly around Joel's.
For the first time in twenty years she felt that feeling of family once more.
"You know what I'm in the mood for?" Ellie perked up, "What?"
"Shitty puns." The girl was immediately pulling herself from the embrace, reaching into her backpack while the couple swung arms, hands locked together.
"People are making apocalypse jokes like there's no tomorrow." They both paused at the joke, the wife couldn't help her fit of laughter at the irony of the whole joke and situation. "Too soon?"
"No, it's topical." She scanned the next one, "Oh, I love this one! Moon rocks taste better than Earth rocks. Why?"
She waited only a beat, "Because they're meteor!"
"That's terrible-"
The two went to arguing and Thalia simply listened, a smile on her lips as she listened to the banter. "What did the green grape say to the purple grape?" Her face lit up, "I know this one! Breathe!" Ellie laughed and gave her a loud high five, "Fuck yeah!"
Bang.
Thalia fell to her knees, her hands grabbing at Daisy, the baby screaming at the top of her little lungs. The smoke made it impossible to breathe, she feared for the poor child's life, she feared for Ellie and her husband.
The brunette crawled forward, trying to escape the haze but before she could reach the end of that tunnel, a harsh blow came to the side of her head.
She fell on her right side, rolling onto her back as it all went black, the last thing on her mind was fear. Yet when she awoke, in the hospital with Marlene standing over her, all she felt was rage.
Ellie was gone, taken off to surgery so they could use her for the cure. To get the cure, the chance at a cure, she would have to die. Daisy was gone, Joel was gone, Ellie was gone. Thalia sat on the dusty old bed and stared at Marlene.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way." No, you're not sorry, but you will be, that was her last thought as her mind became a rage filled haze, all she saw was the color red.
"You won't take her..." Their eyes met and as Marlene went to shut the door she felt the last of her sanity slip, "I already did."
She was alone in this room, a guard outside the frosted window. Thalia sucked in one last sharp breathe, the realization crushing her at what she would have to do to be able to live the rest of her life.
She could live in a world where Ellie hated her, alive, rather than a world where she cared for her, and was dead.
I will kill them all.