The Full Backstory
If you don’t know the story of the first last of us, this is how the first part goes in the context of this au. It’s important if you wanna understand the story of the comic:
Tom was living in Green Hills with Maddie when the outbreak hit. It was his birthday and Maddie had just given him a nice watch that he had been wanting for a while.
Large crowds of people flooded Green Hills as they escaped the overrun larger cities in a panic. Many that were escaping were already bitten, and the large group led more infected to the small town until it too was overrun.
When the military arrived, they didn’t discriminate as they killed people, thinking anyone who had escaped into the woods and small towns were probably infected. Maddie was shot and killed by a soldier as she, Tom, and Wade tried to escape.
Fifteen years go by. The state of the world deteriorated to the point that most people lived in Quarantine Zones (QZ’s) in large cities that are overseen by the military GUN and it’s brutal tactics to maintain control. Tom and Wade split ways several years after the outbreak when they had a falling out and Wade went his own way.
Tom ended up living as a smuggler in the Boston QZ. He is asked by Lara-Le, the leader of a resistance group called The Guardians to smuggle Sonic out of the QZ and to the condemned downtown area where her men will be waiting.
Tom finds out that Sonic is immune when they are scanned by soldiers and Sonic is shown to be infected, but his bite is over 3 weeks old. Bitten people only last 2 days tops. Tom takes Sonic to the meeting place, but the Guardians that were supposed to be there are dead. He decides to take Sonic to Wade in Wyoming. Wade used to be a Guardian so Tom figures that Wade will know where to take Sonic.
Tom is a cold, grumpy, and distant guy. He rarely smiles and never laughs. Everything is straightforward and business with him. Sonic makes it his personal duty to make Tom laugh. He tells Tom jokes and stories, he is lighthearted and optimistic, and he asks Tom a ton of questions to get to know him better.
At first, Tom thinks Sonic is an obnoxious headache and he cant wait to just dump him onto Wade and be done with it. But overtime, Sonic grows on him. He remembers that Maddie wanted to have a kid, and he cant help but think that Maddie would have loved Sonic- they have a lot in common. Tom teaches Sonic survival essentials like how to shoot, stealth techniques, and fighting tactics. Sonic gets Tom to teach him little things too, like how to whistle, how football works, and what ice cream trucks were used for before the outbreak.
They finally arrive in Wyoming and find Wade at a power plant with a large group. Wade is happy to see Tom- he hasn't seen Tom in many years since they parted ways. Tom is extremely surprised to see Rachel is also there and she is not happy at all to see Tom. She is the leader of the town/community of Jackson, which is the town that owns and operates the power plant. She and Wade had gotten married and took care of building Jackson together for years. Rachel resents Tom because she blames him for what happened to Maddie. But she softens up a bit seeing that Tom has seemingly taken in Sonic.
When they’re alone and able to talk, Tom tells Wade that Sonic is immune and asks him to take Sonic to the Guardians. Wade at first refuses, he’s still a bit angry with Tom for their fight that drove them apart, but he agrees to take Sonic off Tom’s hands. Tom thinks this is for the best, and that getting attached to Sonic is a bad idea. He could easily lose him to Infected or military or anything else, so it’s best if they part ways and Tom wont have to think about it anymore.
Sonic overhears that Tom wants to give him up and runs away. When Tom and Wade find him, Sonic bares his soul to Tom. He admits that Rachel told him about what happened to Maddie- so he knows why Tom keeps two wedding rings now. He also says that he knows what its like to be alone. Everyone he has ever cared about has left him and he cant take being alone again and he doesn't want Tom to be alone again either.
Tom gives in and tells Wade that he’ll take Sonic. Wade lends them a horse and they head off to Colorado where Wade thinks the Guardians have a base. The Guardians are not in Colorado, but a recording that says they moved to Salt Lake City. Before they can leave, Tom is badly wounded in a fight with Hunters.
Sonic has to take care of Tom. During that time, Sonic runs into a man that’s the leader of a group of cannibals. He has to kill the leader with a machete to escape and the experience traumatizes him. Tom does all he can to comfort and cheer Sonic up. He knows how hard it is to kill like that, and he promises to stick by Sonic so he’ll never have to deal with the brutality of the world alone.
When they arrive in Salt Lake City, Tom tells Sonic they don't have to do this. They could just go back to Jackson and forget about the Guardians. Sonic disagrees and says he wants to do this and when it’s done, they can go back to Jackson and he wants to learn guitar and finally hear Tom sing for him.
On the way, they are washed away in a river and they are found unconscious by Guardian soldiers. Tom wakes up in the hospital where the Guardians have their main base. He asks about where Sonic is and Lara-Le tells him he doesn't have to worry about it anymore. He’ll be paid for the smuggling job and he can leave. Tom insists, so she tells him that to get what they need, they have to extract the infection from Sonic. Since the infection is in the brain, the procedure will kill him.
Tom tries to argue against it, but she doesn't want to hear it and tells the guard to lead him out. Tom retaliates and makes his way through the upper floors to the operating room, killing anyone who tries to stop him- Including the surgeon.
Tom picks up Sonic and takes an elevator down to the parking garage where Lara-Le is waiting. She points her gun at him and tells him to give Sonic up because it’s what he would want. Tom shoots her before putting Sonic in a car and taking off with him.
Sonic wakes up a few hours later and asks what happened. Tom tells Sonic that there are other immune people and they don't need him anymore because they stopped trying to find a cure.
Sonic is deeply depressed to hear that. He wanted to help the world so badly- it was all he really thought he was meant to do. When they get to Jackson, Sonic is still bothered. Before they enter the town, Sonic makes Tom swear that he told the truth about the Guardians and the cure. Tom swears it and Sonic believes him.