CHAPTER 2

Trouble In Paradise

A/N: I wanted to get Chapter 2 up on Friday night, but I was moving into a new dorm room all weekend. I was sore last night and still am today, but I wanted to get this chapter done. I am planning on actually uploading Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 one right after the other to maintain pace. I'm not sure if I'll actually do that tho.

This chapter will be a bit more action packed. Next chapter will jump ahead three years, and I think might incorporate a scene we've already seen from TLOU2. I hope you enjoy this one!

At first, he thought it was a part of the same recurring nightmare he'd been having for a while. The explosions in his dreamlike state always felt real, and this one proved to be different. It wasn't until he was shaken out of his sleep that he realized the explosions weren't just a figment of his imagination. "One of the nail bombs went off, come on! We have to get up." Lake's voice rang out inside his head as he desperately tried to pry himself awake. The second explosion, followed by a very familiar clicking noise did the work for him.

Calvin quickly gathered his bearings and reached for his hunting rifle. He quickly exited the tent and did a quick scan of his immediate surroundings. He didn't see anything, but he heard the clicking noises grow louder. From what he could determine, there were three clickers in the area. Another explosion rang out, which meant at least one of them had already been taken care on. The remaining clickers ran towards the sound of the explosion, and Calvin signalled to Lake that they should quietly follow along.

The two quietly followed behind the clickers, and were both able to grab one and stab it through the throat, killing the creatures instantly. Calvin stood up and took a preemptive sigh of relief before he was tackled to the ground by an unseen force. Snarls and screeches filled his eardrums as the attacking stalker clawed at his face. Calvin struggled to reach the hunting rifle he dropped, the weapon being fingertips away. A gunshot rang out, which caused Calvin to flinch and seal his eyes shut.

He heard Lake's voice calling from one direction, and footsteps approaching from another. Shoving the deceased infected away, he ran back towards Lake, who was already packing up the tent. "Don't forget the rest of those nail bombs Cal. We have to hurry." she ushered. Before either of them knew what was coming, the familiar sound of a shotgun being cocked froze the two in their tracks. "Hands up," a female voice commanded. "I would rather not make this difficult."

The sound of hooves approaching meant the woman had backup. Lake could see two horses in her view, and saw three more people join the woman. The woman, blonde and seemingly middle aged, slightly backed off once one of the men came to her side. Calvin, whose back was turned to the duo, tried to discern just how far away either of the two of them were by the volume of their footsteps. It was an old trick he learned during his times with the Fireflies and served rather useful in combat against FEDRA agents. He felt that the man was a bit behind the woman, and upon seeing Lake's slightly relaxed demeanor, he thought that the man might be taking point in this operation.

Calvin slowly lowered one of his hands and pulled out a small pocket knife. He wasn't sure if he'd actually use it, but the gesture of concealing something - anything - had the desired effect. One of the two moved towards Calvin cautiously to investigate, only for Calvin to sweep their legs out from underneath them. The shotgun cocked again, along with a second firearm, as Calvin started punching the man in the face. After a few right hands, Calvin heard the man ask him to stop, screaming "it's me!". The former Fireflies eyes bugged out as the realization hit him as to who this man was.

"Goddamn, I see the Fireflies taught you well kid." the man said, in between pained breaths. He slowly got his bearings about him and stood up, offering a hand to his junior. "Tommy? Jesus Christ man." Calvin expressed while being helped to a standing base. He gestured to Lake to stand up as Tommy pulled Calvin into a tight hug. "Jesus kid I thought I'd never see you again." he chuckled in a sort of relieved tone. "Yeah me too old man." Calvin responded.

The woman behind Tommy, and their companion behind her, lowered their firearms and joined Lake in wearing confused expressions on their face. Once the two had separated, Tommy introduced his friends. "This is my wife Maria, and my brother in law Sean. Guys, this is Calvin. I met him towards the end of my run with the Fireflies." he explained. "Speaking of, what are you doing out around these parts?" Calvin went into the tent looking for Marlene's journal as Lake decided to explain.

"We're looking for a settlement not too far from here. Jackson City. Do you know anything about it?" she questioned, not exactly keying into the dynamic between her partner and this man. "Yeah, he's actually who we've been looking for." Calvin interjected, emerging from the tent with the journal in question. "Tommy, we really gotta talk. Can you help us? It's important."

Tommy looked over at his wife, who looked between Calvin and her husband, a bit unsure about this whole thing. "Can you trust him?" she simply asked, to which Tommy said "with my life." Maria sighed, looked around, and gestured to the two to follow the trio. After packing up their belongings, Calvin and Lake hopped on their horses and followed them back to Jackson City.

The room looked like one of those old, cliche interrogation rooms Calvin saw on old movies. It was a bit cold, and had one light above the metal table in the center of the room. Calvin, Tommy, and Maria sat around this table making small talk as Calvin began to grow uneasy. It was a palpable feeling around the room, and the two adults took notice.

"Alright kid, what happened? Why are you here?" Tommy sighed, getting to the point. Flashbacks of the scene in St. Mary's Hospital came flooding back to the younger male, and he found himself slightly shaking at the remembrance. "What do you want me to say, the whole ordeal was fucked." Calvin started, trying to think of a way to explain the mess left behind in the smuggler's wake.

He laid it all out in front of the couple sitting in his presence. He spoke of FEDRA nearly eliminating the group in Boston, the group's failures in other cities such as Detroit and Chicago, and their eventual retreat to the University of Eastern Colorado. He spoke of the vaccine trials the militia carried out against animals such as monkeys, and their eventual retreat to the hospital in Salt Lake City. "We were already on a razor thin crew as it was, and that fucking smuggler didn't help matters." Calvin mentioned.

Tommy cocked his head in curiosity. Calvin sighed and looked down. "Some fucking smuggler brought this little girl in because she was immune. Marlene was certain this would work but I saw through the shit. Apparently the smuggler did too. Or, maybe he developed some sort of affection for the girl. I don't know. All I do know is this," he explained, propping his right foot on the table and revealing the gunshot wound he suffered two years ago. "The only Firefly who survived that night was me."

Tommy and Maria's expressions changed from curiosity to shock and horror. Maria looked to her husband and seemed to ask for some sort of conformation in whatever their suspicions were. Tommy, without a word, gestured for Calvin to wait a minute and walked out of the room. Calvin didn't know what was happening, but it didn't seem to be very good. The door opened once again, and Calvin spun around to see a gruff looking man who was about to kick the door into his fifties.

Calvin tensed up immediately as he came face to face with that fucking smuggler.

A/N: The next chapter will take place in 2038 and will feature Joel, Ellie, Dina, and Jesse for the first time. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and the next chapter should be up shortly after this writing!