Please Read.

This is an alternate universe, in that only Ellie was bitten.

After discovering she was immune, Riley and Ellie went in search of Marlene. The two of them were then seperated, leading onto the main storyline of The Last of Us.
So, in other words, for the past five years, Ellie has been led to believe that Riley has died, or been infected this whole time.

Five years have now passed since the events of The Last of Us.

Poet
1.

The military's corruption reeks from every pore.

Mankind is too busy killing each other to even consider a vaccine anymore. Murder has become more common than infection, and the amount of orders she's had to follow, the amount of blood splashed across her hands, becomes normal. Death is a familiar friend, and it is extremely hesitant to touch her. Dodging bullets isn't necessary a skill, although she does it quite well.

A grenade is thrown. Glass shatters, brick crumbles, and one of the men are victim to the tumble.

She fires her shotgun once. It hits bone.

Taking this opportunity, she flees the scene, bag full of the equipment Maria asked for. She slips slightly in the dirt, catches her balance, and climbs her way up across the river, over the barred wire, and through the trees. By now, the sound of gunfire has faded, and she hears nothing but the sweet song of birds.

'How many?'

The moment she arrives back to camp, Maria drags her in, hiding her in one of the offices. She searches through the bag, picking out guns, ammo, and even food. A smile reaches her lips, but no thanks is offered.

'A lot. You said there weren't any of those fuckers for miles.'

'I did, and sometimes I misjudge. Don't get upset about that.'

Ellie scowls. She's not upset. 'Whatever,' she sighs. 'You lost three of your men due to your "misjudgement".'

'Sacrifices are necessary.' Maria glowers at her. 'Would you like to discuss this further, or are you gonna walk away?'

A threat. Ellie knows for a fact that Maria has no intention to discuss. But if Ellie wishes to misbehave, it might be the last thing she does. She exhales, and shrugs –– a sign of defeat. She won't defend her argument. There's no point.

Ellie passes her, and heads outside. On her way, she nearly collides into someone patrolling the gates. He gives her a look of distaste, before continuing. Ellie doesn't intend to stay out for very long. In fact, she's searching for somebody. The only person within this goddamned place who'll listen, and give her at least an ounce of respect.

It has been that way ever since she stepped into this camp. Most people here know who she is. Or, at least, they have a vague idea. Those who insist on being immune are either insane, or rare. So rare that only one of them exists. And Ellie isn't insane. But it's not as if she flaunts her immunity either. Regardless, she'd held with suspicion.

Held at length. Avoided.

By the time she reached the age of eighteen, and after Maria discovered how efficient Ellie is with weaponry and agility, she's been sent out beyond the gates more times than most. At first, Ellie thought Maria simply liked her; she respected her and thought she could do the job well. It didn't take her long to realise that Maria had an ulterior motive.

Joel realised before she did.

Hence why he had barged into her private quarters, and demanded what joke she was playing at.

Now at the age of twenty, nothing has changed. Maria took no notice of Joel's concern, and even Tommy had entered the scene to defend his wife. Perhaps Maria might not like Ellie as much, but she's not stupid. Ellie is immune. She has a much greater chance of survival than everybody else. So why not send her out more often? Why not risk her life more than anybody here?

If a vaccine is out of the question, then Ellie's life is as meaningless as theirs.

She is disposable.

After so many years, Ellie has giving up on caring; and she's giving up on taking this personally.

When she eventually discovers Joel's whereabouts, he doesn't embrace her. This doesn't bother Ellie too much, until she sees the bloodied bandage he's wrapping around his arm. Her heart leaps, and she rushes over to him. 'Jesus, Joel.' He looks up, taken by surprise at her sudden arrival. Before he can protest, Ellie kneels before him, and inspects the wound. 'What did you do?'

They sit in an isolated, dark room. Old folders are scattered across the floor, forgotten about. The blinds over the window are broken, and barely give in any light. Joel has deliberately picked somewhere as isolated as this for a reason.

'Could be my age,' he says.

Ellie frowns. 'Are you being funny?'

He smiles crookedly, and allows her to deal with the bandage. She manages to do this efficiently, securing it tightly, before tying the end. Fortunately, the blood doesn't seep through. Ellie wipes a hand down her face.

'You got shot?'

'I got the bullet out,' Joel replies, standing to his feet. 'Thanks.'

Ellie follows suit, unconvinced Joel is revealing the whole story. Or the truth. 'What happened?'

'Nothin'. I'm glad you're back.' He pulls her to him and cuddles her. Ellie submits, and smiles slightly. Ever since returning to Tommy's five years ago, when Joel revealed the Fire Flies had given up on a cure, he hugged her. Every time. Every time she leaves, and every time she returns, they would always cuddle.

It soon became habit. Then it became necessary.

Joel's embraces are important. The last reminder that she's loved somewhere, before she's sent away.

'You know I don't believe you, right?'

'I know.' He sighs. 'One of Tommy's guys lost his temper. Paranoid I was stealing his food or something like that. Pulled a gun at me, but I beat him to it.' Ellie swallows, and clenches a fist. 'It's sorted. And, as far as you're concerned, nothing happened. I got the bullet out, and Tommy has decided to let this one slip.'

'You got shot here?'

'Hey,' Joel reasons, 'See it as a one off. We've been here a while, haven't we? And it ain't happened before.'

Ellie attempts to calm down, but can't help but feel a sense of betrayal. The last thing she wants is for Joel to be in danger, while she's busy avoiding clickers elsewhere. It's hard to look out for oneself, when she's too busy worrying about somebody else.

Her mouth tastes bitter. Ellie closes the door, and presses her back to it. 'I didn't wanna tell you, but if you need more convincing that we should leave this place, then––'

'We're not leaving. C'mon. We got a good thing here. Food, water. Sometimes the work is shit, but you'd rather that than be anywhere else.'

She sympathises. Of course Joel wants to stay by his brother's side, and he wants Ellie to stay with him as well. He wants a family. He wants his brother, his sister-in-law, and Ellie to be with him, right to the very end.

Be that as it may, Ellie can't picture such a fantasy. Not anymore.

'Maria lied. Told me the coast was clear. Next thing I know, I'm being ambushed by the fucking military. We were outnumbered, Joel, and she didn't even give a shit about me. You really think this is the best we've got?'

'Yes.' Joel's upper lip twitches. 'Just––stop, Ellie.' Silence. Joel breathes slowly, and carefully rubs his sore arm. Reluctantly, Ellie says nothing, but it's clear what she's caused. Joel believes her; he believes her, and he's furious with Maria, but this is all they have. It's tough, it's unfair, but where else are they to go? 'Look: if you want to leave, then I'm comin' with you, but you gotta think up a plan before you try anything hasty. You got that?'

'I got it,' Ellie mumbles.

He cocks back his chin. 'I'm on your side, all right?' Sometimes, his affection is like a blanket. Warm and secure, covering every inch of her. Like armour. Sometimes, his affection is so like a father, it's almost frightening. Almost enough to make her run away.

Just as she's about to respond, the two of them hear footsteps approaching. Heavy and quick. Instinctively, Joel grabs Ellie's arm, and pulls her towards him. It isn't danger, though. Tommy opens the door, and gasps out, 'We got a live one! Tryna to steal our goods.'

'Military?'

'Nah, don't think so. Maria has her in one of the holding cells. Thinks you might be interested.'

'Ellie, stay here.'

'Hey, wait!' Ellie steps forward between the two. She looks over to Tommy. 'You got me havin' to tolerate all the shit you throw at me.' She meets Joel's line of gaze. 'You seriously wanna leave me out?'

Tommy shrugs. 'I don't see why not. Fine; you can come with us. She might listen to you more anyway––you seem around her age.' Ellie is not only surprised by his obedience, but also the details of their prisoner.

As Tommy exits the room, she hears Joel chuckling. 'What?'

'Bossy today.'

She smirks at him. Bossy or just determined, she's finished with being dragged along all of these years. Taking responsibility for herself has been much easier since she's no longer considered a vaccine. Now her own person, choices are finally hers to make.

A little delayed due to his wounded arm, Joel follows behind Ellie towards the holding cell where Tommy waits. This place wasn't originally a holding cell, but rooms where people slept. Since the infection, the walls have cracked, and the floor is need of a good scrub. It's dark, gloomy. The odd insect or disease is a prisoner's company.

Yet, there aren't any prisoners; except for one.

Hostages are rarely caught. Mainly because they're dead before anybody can get their hands on them, or runners beat them to it.

To Ellie's relief, Maria isn't present. Tommy leaves the gate open for the two, and once they're inside, he locks it shut. Joel places a hand on Ellie's shoulder, and she turns her gaze to their hostage.

She's tall, and thin. Despite the scar travelling from her brow to her nose, she has a soft complexion, and freckles. Ellie notes that this woman doesn't wear the military clothes, or anything that closely resembles to the military. A rogue.

'Haven't got a name out of her yet. I'm willing to let her work for us, if she cooperates.'

'Should chop off her hand. Pay for what she almost stole.'

Tommy stiffens. 'You know I don't do that here, Joel.'

Ellie ignores their conversation. Joel has only revealed a small amount about his days with Tess. How his brother walked away, so disgusted by Joel's way of handling matters such as these.

Abandoning Joel's side, she approaches the hostage. The two of them watch each other, and Ellie is impressed by her silence. If it were her on the bench, she would be making a riot. 'How d'you get that?' She points to the scar.

The hostage shows signs of discomfort. 'Why's that relevant?'

'Just asking,' Ellie shrugs.

'What's relevant is who you are.' Tommy steps over. 'Listen: we all got things to do around here, so if you're quick to cooperate, I'll let you go.' He drags over a chair from the side of the room, and sits before her. 'You were gonna bring those things you stole to your commanding officer, right? Or whoever is in charge of you.'

The hostage shakes her head. 'No one is in charge of me.'

Joel folds his arms, and leans against the wall. 'Keep tellin' yourself that,' he says. 'How did you get in here anyway?'

'Mainly 'cos your security is shit.'

Ellie hides a smile. Tommy scoffs at her. 'Yeah, yeah. Doubt your place could do any better.' The hostage sighs impatiently.

'I don't have a place. Not anymore.'

'So you were gonna keep it all for yourself? Greedy.'

'I don't see you in a hurry to share your stuff out.'

Tommy cocks a brow, and exchanges a look with Joel. He faces the hostage again, and doesn't say a word. Ellie feels on edge, wondering if he might suddenly lash out, or give up and walk away. Allow somebody else to handle the woman.

Then he reaches out, yanks a necklace tucked under her shirt, and rips it off. She grimaces, but doesn't fight back. Instead, she sit motionless while Tommy inspects the necklace. 'A Fire Fly.' At that, his expression softens. 'Shit.' Ellie narrows her brows, and glances at the hostage. All at once, her confidence shifts, and she no longer feels responsible for her decisions anymore.

She should not have come here.

'I thought you had all been wiped out,' Tommy whispers, passing the necklace to Joel.

The hostage hesitates. And then: 'Why d'you think I came here?'

Joel turns over the tag attached to the Fire Fly emblem. He looks over to Ellie, then at Tommy. 'We have a name.'

'Oh, yeah?' Tommy asks.

'Riley Abel.'

'Cute.'

A wave crashes into her at an almighty speed. Ellie stops; she freezes over entirely, and she's drowning. She feels as if she's grasping for the air, desperately tearing apart the waves for oxygen while her lungs quickly suffocate––

––and her heart bursts.

Ellie exhales shakily, blinks, and looks at their hostage properly.

I know her.

'You're alive,' she gasps.

Joel looks at Ellie in puzzlement, but Ellie doesn't notice. She can't pry her eyes away from the girl she's been friends with for so long. It takes a moment, a brief moment, and Riley suddenly realises who Ellie actually is.

How hard it is to recognise somebody so dear to her, a large weapon strapped over her back, torn clothes, and dirty cheeks.

What has this world done to her?

'You know each other?' Tommy queries, standing up.

'Shit. Ellie, you look terrible.'

Ellie can't help herself. She can't remember the last time she has felt so much joy. She beams ear-to-ear, and nothing, nothing, could be a more perfect sight. If it weren't for Tommy, she would have flung herself at Riley into a tight embrace.

But she resists. Ellie manages to control her expression.

Tries to breathe.

'I––' She swallows. Forgets Joel and Tommy are here even, and just looks at her. Looks at her, and enjoys this moment, be it for just a minute longer, or even less than that. She doesn't care. Riley is here, and Riley is alive. 'After I was bitten, you left me with Marlene, and… I… I didn't see you again. I just thought you were dead.'

'Yeah, a whole lot happened after we split up. I didn't die though.'

'You're alive,' Ellie whispers. She can't even believe her own words, let alone the sight of Riley.

How is this possible? How is that after five years Riley is still breathing? That they're both still breathing? Ellie trembles all over, and she still hasn't managed to catch her breath yet. She nearly wants to laugh, wants to laugh at the situation; how wonderful it is, how amazed and happy and just overwhelmed she feels to see her best friend.

'So are you.' Riley starts to rise, but Tommy jumps forward, and pushes her down.

Ellie widens her eyes, and takes a step forward. Joel grabs her arm before she tries anything foolish.

'Don't get me wrong,' Tommy says. 'This reunion is sweet and all, but I don't need any distractions.' He looks pointedly in Ellie's direction. 'You're not going anywhere,' he says to his hostage, 'And Joel? Take Ellie back upstairs. Where she's out of the way.'

'The fuck..? Joel!' Ellie tries to fight Joel's strength, but he easily wins, and manages to drag Ellie out of the holding cell by the scruff of her collar.

The image of Riley's soft face is destroyed all too quickly. Ellie continues to fight him off her, but it's fruitless, and soon Riley is out of sight.

By the time they're outside, she's still resisting, and even manages to yank out of his grip. She doesn't get far. Joel grabs her around the waist, and lifts her off the ground momentarily, placing her away from the door.

He barricades her path. 'Don't even think about it, kid.'

'What's he gonna do to her? I know her, Joel! She's no one bad.'

'I believe you.'

Ellie stops. Blinks. Looks at him. 'You do…?'

'Yeah. I do. But if you start makin' a scene like this, no one's gonna pay any attention. If you want to get your friend out safe and well, you need to do what you're told.'

Desperate, Ellie tries to look at the door, down to the holding cell where Riley has been taken. It takes everything in her to obey Joel's command, and she turns away, the world oblivious to the tears welling up in her eyes.

author's note: Thank you very much for reading. I do intend to continue this, as well as my other story. Keep in mind I shall slip in a few details from the comic book series (plus I find her relationship with Ellie much more developed –– I think Ellie learnt a great deal from Riley, before all of the shit happened).