What's left of Anna - The Last of Us - Part 2
Pairings: Ellie x mother figure reader; Joel x reader
Warnings: canon violence, swearing, follows plot of the HBO series, I gave reader a name just in case that triggers you
Summary: Nearly fifteen years after the death of her sister, Anna Williams, Isabel Bailey journeys through post-apocalyptic America with her niece and a closed off stranger.
Ellie is fast asleep. Her head is in my lap, and I run my fingers through her hair with one hand. The other is covered in a mixture of Joel and the soldier’s blood. I have nothing to clean it with.
Tess and Joel sit a few meters away. They both clutch their guns, watching wearily. We had been hiding out in this decrepit building since late last night. It was the furthest we could go without the daylight.
“Why are you so attached?” Tess asks suddenly.
“Good morning to you, too.” I reply quickly, as though she and Joel hadn’t been taking shifts to watch Ellie all night.
“Seriously, Bel?” Tess raises an eyebrow. “How are we supposed to the trust you if we know nothing about you?”
“I know nothing about you, either. And my name isn’t Bel.” I don’t really care that she called me by my nickname. I’m just spiteful.
Joel lifts his head. “The soldier called you Bailey. How’d he know?”
I swallow. We’re out of the QZ. These two are the only protection I have. I can’t risk lying. “My name is Isabel Bailey. I’ve known Ellie since she was born, and before she was taken to FEDRA.”
“So you’re not her mother?”
“No,” Her mother, my sister, is dead, I want to say, but the words burn at my throat.
“And the soldier?” Joel presses.
“My turn,” I say quickly. “How do you know Marlene?”
Joel glances at Tess, before speaking again. “How did the soldier know your name?”
He stares at me intensely. His eyes are stony, and there is no trace of the faraway look I saw last night. The staring contest lasts for a few more seconds before Ellie stirred.
“Did you guys sleep at all?” She asks with a yawn. She moves to stand, and Joel raises his gun. “Do I look infected?”
“Show us your arm.” Joel insists.
“Yeah. It’s not getting any worse, is it.” Ellie snarks back.
“Ellie. Tone.” I remind her. My lips twitch slightly despite myself.
Tess and Joel exchange a look for the millionth time this morning. There has to be something between then. The thought makes my throat tighten. I didn’t have time to ponder the feeling before Ellie is talking again.
“If we’re out in the open city, why aren’t we getting swarmed?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Joel replies without looking at her.
Tess stares. “What was Marlene doing with an infected kid?”
“I’m not infected.” Silence. “She found me after I was bitten.”
“And she didn’t shoot you.”
“Clearly not. She’d lock me up and have her guys test me everyday to see if I was getting sick.”
“Test you how?” Tess asks.
I shift slightly, willing Ellie not to say much else.
“I have to pee.” Ellie says abruptly.
“That’s enough, Tess.” I warn.
“It’s Theresa.” She mocks.
“They made me count to ten then hold out my hand and keep it steady. But, you know, I think what impressed them the most was that I didn’t turn into a fucking monster.” Ellie stands up quickly. “Now, can I please?”
Joel stands too, raising his gun. I grab my own and move in front of Ellie slightly. He sends me an irritated look.
“Fine,” Tess says, breaking the silence. “Back there, you can find a spot. Here. Tear out a couple pages.” She tossed Ellie a magazine.
“Are you sure there is nothing bad in here?” Ellie asks as she disappears through a rotting doorway.
“Just you.” Joel respond, sitting back down.
It was quiet for a long moment, before the annoyance boiling in my stomach bubbled over. “Jesus Christ. She’s just a kid.”
“We don’t take chances.” Joel replies after a beat. He looks down at his hand. It shakes slightly as he stretches it, and the sores look painful. Some of the irritation gives way to pity.
“Let me see.” I say, stepping forward and holding out a hand. Joel glares and Tess raises an eyebrow. “Chill out. I know what I’m doing.”
I sit cross legged in front of him, taking his hand carefully. The skin on his knuckles is torn and beginning to bruise. “Make a fist.” I instruct. “Tell me where it hurts.”
“Tell me where it hurts.” Joel points to the knuckle of his middle finger. “Okay. Open.”
He stretches out his hand again, and I gently poke his hand, taking note of when he winced in pain.
“Marlene said you were a doctor.” Tess says.
I hummed, keeping my attention on Joel’s hand. “Graduated a few months before the outbreak.”
“I thought FEDRA took everyone with medical training?” Joel asks. I stay silent.
“That soldier knew who you were because you’re FEDRA.” Tess guesses.
“It’s fractured. Probably just hairline. If you’re careful it will heal quick.” I reply, pulling away. Joel grabs my hand with his injured one. His face contorts slightly. “I just told you to be careful.”
“Answer the question.” He presses.
I glance at Tess. She is staring intensely at me, clearly irritated with both mine and Ellie’s attempts to evade their questions. I sigh.
“Yeah, I’m FEDRA.” Tess opens her mouth to shout, but I cut her off. “I joined as a spy for a Fireflies. It wasn’t hard, all things considering. Then Ellie was born, and I shifted positions to watch over her instead.”
Tess drags her hand over her face. “So, you’re just another mindless follower.”
“No.” I snap back quickly. Now the truth was out, I couldn’t stop. “Marlene wanted me to dump Ellie. She was pissed I gave up my position for her.”
“I can imagine.” Tess replies, rolling her eyes.
I look up at Joel. He hasn’t said anything, but his hand still clutches onto mine tightly. “I didn’t know that soldier, but he came to me a few weeks ago for a broken nose. I can promise you that I am not loyal to FEDRA, or the Fireflies, really.”
Joel looks up. “Then who are you loyal to?”
“Don’t be shitty. She made it through the night.” I snap.
“That doesn’t matter. It will happen, sooner or later, alright?” He turns to Tess. “We’re still close to the wall. We sneak her back into the QZ. We find a different way to get the battery.”
“This is our best shot. We take her back to the QZ, someone’s gonna notice her arm. They’re gonna scan her, and they will kill her.” Tess shoot back.
Joel squeezes my hand subconsciously. “Better her than us. We need to stop talking about this kid like she’s got some kind of life in front of her.”
“She is not gonna turn, Joel.” I hiss. “We are not turning around, do you hear me?”
I glare at him, and he frowns back.
“Are you guys gonna make out or something?” Ellie suddenly appears behind me. I jolt in surprise.
“What? You guys are holding hands, in case you didn’t notice.”
I snatch my hand from Joel’s, but regret it when I see him wince in pain. Ellie sits back down in the middle of the room, placing the rifle I took across my knees.
“You hungry?” Tess asks awkwardly. “You can share some of ours.”
Joel gives her an offended look.
“Thanks, but Marlene sent me with my own.” Ellie replies, pulling a sandwich out of her back.
Grinning, I rummage through the pack Tess gave me, finding a few sticks of jerky. I watch silently as Joel struggles to pull apart his jerky with his injured hand.
“Is that chicken?” Tess asks suddenly.
“Yeah,” Ellie replies nonchalantly. “Marlene says they get it from smugglers. Guess it’s not you guys.”
I snicker. “’Smugglers’ my ass.”
“You’re joking!” Ellie cries.
“Nah. The guy in the apartment next door has a room with just chickens. It’s inhumane, but fucking hilarious.”
Ellie laughs, but quickly sobers when Tess stalks forward. I scramble to my feet, and Joel quickly follows suit, gripping his gun.
“Why- it’s fine, Joel. Why are you so important to Marlene? And don’t lie to me, or we’ll take you back.”
Ellie gulps, glancing over at me. I open my mouth to protest.
“And don’t you say anything, Bel. We want it from her.” Joel cuts me off. I don’t argue. About Ellie or my name.
“You take me back you don’t get the battery.” Ellie replies confidently.
“You heard that?” Tess asks. Ellie shrugs. “Well then you must have heard he wants to shoot you.”
Ellie glances over at Joel. He looks away, only for his eyes to meet mine. I grasp my rifle tighter. He won’t shoot her. If he wanted to, he would have done it already. I saw how he didn’t hesitate before killing that guy outside the QZ.
“I’m gonna talk to you like you’re an adult.” Tess stalks closer, crouching in front of Ellie.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I warns.
“Let her speak.” Joel demands, shouldering his gun. He’s injured, but he wont miss. I lower my rifle.
Tess continues. “Joel and I aren’t good people. We’re doing this for us because, apparently, you’re worth something. But we don’t know what you’re worth if we don’t know what we have. So answer my question.”
Ellie puts down her sandwich. “She told me not to tell anybody, and I’m gonna tell the first people that I-”
“There’s a Firefly base camp somewhere out west with doctors. They’re working on a cure.”
“I’ve heard this before.” Joel grumbles, putting down his gun. I follow suit.
“What ever happened to me is the key to finding the vaccine.”
“That’s what this is?” Joel snaps. “We’ve heard this a million times. Vaccines, miracle cures. None if it works. Ever.”
“Fuck you, man. I didn’t ask for this!” Ellie shoots back, standing up.
“You and me both. This isn’t gonna end well, Tess. We need to go back.”
I picks up my pack and rifle. “Fine. You go back to that hell hole. You look Marlene in the eye and tell her you’re too afraid to follow through.”
The quiet was deafening as Joel stared me down. I glower back, willing him to deny that he was afraid.
“Let’s just finish it.” Tess insists. “It doesn’t matter if she is or isn’t what they Fireflies say. If they believe she is, then we get when we want.”
Joel glars at me for a few more seconds. “Fine. But if she so much as twitches.”
“If you pull a gun on her you’ll be the one with the bullet between your eyes, alright buddy?”
Ellie makes a noise somewhere between a gurgle and a choke. I spin around, and she’s grinning. “Don’t you dare.”
“Sorry.” She whispers, looking slightly ashamed.
Joel exhales sharply picking up his rifle and attempting to shift the cabinet he showed in front of the door. I move to help, but he sends me a scowl. “Don’t call me buddy.”
Barely two minutes later, we’re outside, and Ellie is flabbergasted. “Woah…”
I was frozen, too, but for different reasons. Boston was in ruin. Sadness tugged at my gut. I wonder what my house looked like if this was the rest of the world. The only thing truly left of my sister is Ellie.
“Looks different in the daylight, huh?” grins Tess.
Joel hops onto a fallen chunk of cement, surveying the area. “We should get moving.”
It takes about five minutes of walking for Ellie to find her voice. She peers down a large crater, and I grab her pack to stop her from falling. “It looks like a fucked-up moon. Is this where they bombed?”
“Yeah,” Tess replies, slowing to a stop. Joel keeps walking. “They hit most of the big cities like this. They had to slow the spread somehow.”
“Worked here, but it didn’t in most places.” I speak up. It certainly didn’t work in Colorado.
Joel slows and comes to a half right on the edge of a huge empty street. There are no old cars or debris. It’s unnerving to see such an undisturbed space in an otherwise ruined city.
“State house is just across there. About a ten-minute walk if you could go straight.” Tess explains.
“’If’?” I ask at the same time as Ellie says, “So?”
“Long way, or the short way.” Joel replies, ignoring me.
“Well, it’s the long way of the ‘we’re fucking dead’ way.” Tess corrects. Well, that answers my question.
Ellie looks between the pair. “I vote long way based on that very limited information.”
“We have to check the hotel first.” Joel insists.
Tess takes the lead again, and Joel brings up the rear. It had been a long time since I’d walked freely. Or how ever free you could be when the world has ended. A little part of me misses the five years after the outbreak began. We never knew if we’d see the next day, or when we’d eat again, but after we met Marlene, I was free to do what ever I wanted. Anna wanted to settle, but I was wanted to explore and find survivors. My stubbornness got the better of me far too often, and Anna was dead because of it. The most I could do was keep Ellie from making the same mistakes. I owe my sister that much.
“Why are you still here?” Joel asks suddenly. I look up, surprised. Back to the present, where Anna was dead.
“Why are you here? You have stayed in the QZ. I don’t understand why you’re risking so much for that kid. And don’t say for the cure. If I’ve heard that once I’ve heard it a thousand times.”
I watch Ellie talk Tess’s ear off a few meters in front of us. “I told you. I’ve known Ellie since she was a baby.”
“But?” Joel presses. For someone so reserved, he had a lot of questions. “You said Marlene gave her to you to leave with FEDRA. Why would she give her to you?”
“I owed Ellie’s mother a debt.”
I adjust my grip on my rifle anxiously. “One you don’t break.”
Silence falls. Even Ellie didn’t know I was her aunt. I wasn’t going to tell a stranger. Especially one who wanted to kill her. Tess and Ellie draw to a halt in front of us. I miss what Tess says, but I could see a bit of pride gleaming in her eyes.
Ellie tries to hide her grin. “Thanks.”
Slinging my rifle over my shoulder, I follow the pair over an upturned car.
“So,” Tess start talking again. “No ones gonna come looking after you? Mom, Dad… boyfriend?”
“Nope. I’m an orphan, and… no.” Ellie replies, wrinkling her nose slightly. I grin. “Bel’s my only family. And my only friend.”
“What about you, Doctor Bailey? No family?”
“No one but Ellie and Marlene.” I reply truthfully. The end of the world tends to do that to you. It takes nearly everything from you. Like sisters and courage.
Ellie looks around again. “Everyone said the city was crazy. Like, swarms of infected running around everywhere.”
“Not exactly like that.” Joel replies. It was the first he had spoken in a while.
“People like to tell stories.” Tess adds, smiling humourlessly.
“So, there aren’t super-infected that explode spores on you?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Shit, I hope not.”
“Or ones with split open head that see in the dark like bats?”
Tess looks at Joel, then me. I purse my lips, and Joel stares at the ground.
An uncanny scream echoes through the buildings. We freeze, straining to listen past the screeching crows. Subconsciously, I check my knife is still on my belt and pistol is within reach. Just in case. Ellie holds her breath, so I reach over and take her hand reassuringly. She squeezes back, holding tight as we waited.
“What was that?” She asks. None of us answer.
“Let’s keep moving.” Joel says instead.
Any inkling of companionship that we had built was gone.
A better name of the ‘hotel’ would have been the ‘lake’. Joel heaves the door open, scattering a few ducks and revealing the entire first floor was flooded. Once upon a time, the hotel would have been a grand establishment.
“You gotta be kidding me!” Ellie cries. “Did you ever stay in a place like this?”
“No, a little out of our league.” Tess admits.
“I did.” I answer with a grin.
Joel glances over at Ellie. “How do you even know about this stuff?”
“Have you heard of books?” She sasses back. “What was it like? Tell me everything. Don’t skimp on the details.”
I laugh out loud. It takes me by surprise. I haven’t laughed in a while. “My sister took me to a concert for my eighteenth birthday. Apparently, this is part of the experience.”
“Cool.” Ellie breathes. When I don’t say anything else she adds, “And?”
Joel takes off down the steps towards the water.
“Wait, are we going in there?” Ellie asks, her fascination temporarily forgotten.
“Yeah. We gotta get to the stairwell on the other side.” Tess replies, following behind Joel.
Ellie looks petrified. “I, uh, I can’t swim.”
“Seriously?” Joel looks dumbfounded, and I send him a dirty look.
“Do you think we have pools in the QZ?”
He rolls his eyes. “No, smart ass. I mean-” He jumps off the last step. The water barely went past his knees.
“I don’t know how I was supposed to know that.” She replies, heading down the stairs more confidently. Still, she hesitates on the last step.
“It’s okay, El.” I reassure her, striding past through the water. I try not to think about what creepy crawlies could be swimming around.
“This is so gross.” Ellie laughs, rushing towards the service desk, and tapping the bell. The dull clunking caught Joel’s attention, and he turns to watch. “Ding ding! Yes, sir, I would like your finest suite please.”
I hoist myself up onto the desk. Shoving my finger under my nose like it’s a moustache and putting on a fake accent, I reply, “Yes, ma’am. Would you like me to take your luggage?”
“Yes, sir!” Ellie giggles back.
“You guys are weird.” Joel remarks.
Ellie grabs the luggage holder, pushing it forward. “You’re weird- oh fuck!”
A body falls from the holder, knocking against Ellie’s leg. I point my gun towards it, but it quickly becomes clear that the skeleton is harmless.
“Oh my god…” Ellie pants.
“Are you okay, honey?” I ask, hopping down from the desk. I notice Joel is suddenly right in front of me, gun raised. Last I saw, he was nearly at the stairs.
Joel offers Ellie his hand, helping her up from where she leant against the piano. Too late, he realises its his injured one, and he flinches as she let go. I glance at it as I walk past. The bruising is purple now. I make a note to check on it soon.
“Are you okay?” Tess calls out.
“Yeah. Fucking fabulous.” Ellie replies with a sigh.
I shake my head. I wonder where that kid got her mouth, because it sure as hell wasn’t her mother.
Climbing the stairs made me miss elevators. My heart is pounding by the time Joel announces we were there.
Tess pauses to catch her breath. “Fuck. Holy shit.”
“You can say that again.” I huff.
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad.” Ellie insists. The kid was barely swayed.
“Cut me some slack, girl.”
“Is it ‘cause you’re old?”
I scoff. “I’m forty-five, not ninety.”
“Try climbing ten flours with these knees, kid.” Tess replies, gesturing for us to follow Joel.
We round a corner and stop dead before a pile of rubble. What that supposed to be there?
“When the fuck did that happen?” Tess grumbles. Guess not. They try the doors. Blocked. “Okay, I guess maybe I could climb up there, work my way around. Open it from the inside.”
Ellie pipes up, “Uh, no, I’m the smallest, so it’d be easier-”
“No. I’ll go.” I cut her off.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m perfectly capable.” Tess scoffs. “Help me up?”
I shrug. “You were just complaining about your knees, you know.”
Joel moves to help Tess, but I get there first. Kneeling, I cup my hands. Tess steps up, and I give her a boost. She crawls into the gap, disappearing in the debris. “You good?”
“Yeah, it’s just a bit of a mess. Might need a few minutes.”
Ellie slumps to the floor, leaning her lead against the wall. I follow suit, and eventually, so does Joel.
“I could have done that.” Joel mutters.
“Not what that hand you’re not. Let me see.” I demand. He holds it out reluctantly, and I examine the bruising. “I told you to be careful with it. That means don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”
“I haven’t used it.” He retorts.
“Don’t lie.” I reply simply. “It’s childish.”
Ellie pulls out her knife, flipping it in her hand over and over.
“Nice knife,” Joel says. Ellie glares at him, before tossing the knife again. “Where’d you learn to do that?”
“The circus.” She snaps. She folds the knife up. “Where are you from?”
“Texas.” Joel replies after a moment.
“Detroit. It’s in Michigan.”
Ellie scoffs. “I go to school, I know where Detroit is.”
I continue to stare at Joel’s hand, partly to hide my grin and partly because I like holding his hand. Wait, what?
“So, are you and Tess like…”
“Pass” Joel answers quickly. I’ll take that as a no. My stomach flips a little. What is wrong with me? I’ve known this man all of about five minutes.
“How did you get to Boston?”
“Pass. No more questions about me.”
I huff a little and Joel gives me a look. He doesn’t move his hand from mine.
Ellie let the silence continue for less than thirty seconds. “How long do infected live?”
“I thought you said you went to school.”
“Yeah, it was a shitty one.”
“Ouch.” I grin. “I though I was a good teacher.”
“Oh, shut up. You were. Everyone else sucked.” Ellie replies with a smirk.
Joel exhales, thinking for a moment. “Well, some live for about a month or two. But there’s others, been walking around 20 years.”
“You guys ever kill one?”
“Yeah, a lot.” Joel replies without hesitation. Ellie looks at me expectantly.
“Um, yeah. A bunch. Too many.” I shift uncomfortably, and Joel’s thumb traces a circle on my hand.
“Is it hard knowing they were people once?” Always with the difficult questions.
Joel doesn’t answer. I sigh. “Yeah. But they aren’t people anymore, honey. It’s kinder to kill them then let them live like monsters.”
Ellie thinks it over for a second. “Joel?” He hums in recognition. “What about that guy last night?”
Joel freezes, his hand clutching mine a little tighter. Ellie notices, but she doesn’t say anything. A thud sounds from the other side of one of the doors. Joel grabs his gun, his hand slipping from mine.
“You can put the gun down, Joel.” Tess’s muffled voice calls out. She pushes something heavy out of the way, then opens the door.
Tess doesn’t meet his eyes. Instead, she leads us through the room and out onto a balcony. I lean over the end, looking down into the street. Sprawled below are dozens of infected. They groan and twitch, but otherwise remain motionless. The sight is unsettling. “Jesus.”
“There is so many.” Ellie whispers.
“The last time we were here they were still deep inside the buildings. But I guess enough people can through looking for a QZ, they went inside seeking shelter, and that’s how they’d get more and more of the city, bit by bit, year after year.” Tess explains, and I feel nauseous.
The infected writhe in a sort of Mexican wave. “They’re connected.” Ellie realises.
“More than you know,” Tess replies. “The fungus also grows underground. Long fibres like wires, some of them stretching over a mile. You step on a patch of cordyceps in one place, you’ll wake a dozen infected from somewhere else. Now they know where you are. Now then come. You’re not immune from being ripped apart. You understand?” Ellie looks surprised, doubtful, almost. “This is important. I’m trying to keep you alive.”
Ellie nods, stepping back from the balcony. “So, what now?”
“Short way?” I ask, looking over the buildings.
Tess and Joel stare at each other, another silent conversation. “Museum.” Joel says finally.