Joel pushed himself into a sitting position groggily. A splitting pain enveloped his shoulder. His legs felt like they had been battered, and his head hurt as if it was being hammered. His clothes were torn in several places and bloody marks were scattered all over. All of his weapons had been taken away.

The light nearly blinded him at first. As his eyes adjusted, he looked around. It was a tiny room, devoid of anything but a blanket. It was lit only by a single flickering bulb that precariously hung from the ceiling. There weren't any windows. It was as if the room was meant to keep prisoners.

His memory was hazy as he tried to recall how he had gotten there. He remembered being accosted by the armed group when he'd left New Town. He remembered trying to escape on his horse and then the animal getting shot, sending him crashing into a tree. He remembered the sound of cars. He remembered being dragged in a dazed state. That was as far as his memory went, broken fragments of what had occurred. It gave him a headache to even think about that much.

He massaged his forehead, and then got onto his feet. He could barely even balance himself, stumbling around. Taking the support of the walls, he moved towards the door and tried the handle.

It was locked.

He tried to pull at it with all the strength he could muster, but it didn't help one bit. He then thrust his shoulder into it, causing himself more pain. It simply refused to move. He kicked and punched it. Again, nothing.

Finally, he took a step back. Why was he in a room like this?

There was nothing in there that he could use to break himself out. He suddenly realised he was shivering through his ruined clothes. He sat down and reached for the blanket, wrapping it around him and trying to force the cold out of his mind.

He heaved a sigh of exhaustion. Where was he?

Jene had never given him an explanation when that group had arrived. He had thought she knew them, but when they had pointed a gun at him and she had simply walked away, he knew he was in trouble. There were far too many of them for him to take on alone.

None of them had answered any of his questions, neither did he recognise any of them. But he was sure of one thing- this was something personal.

The Sinclair Chemical Plant identified itself by the lopsided signboard on the fence, although it would be hard to miss owing to the massive machinery that dominated the landscape. It was once the envy of many, now, just reduced to large rusted metal parts.

"What do you think they made in there?" Dina asked.

"I don't know. Some chemicals maybe," Ellie shrugged, earning a raised brow from Dina in response. "I've never been inside one."

"So, where'd you get that burn on your arm? I thought you were messing around in a place like this."

"Joel and I were in a warehouse. It was on a shelf. I was reaching for something and I guess I knocked the container over."

"Remind me to not be clumsy in abandoned warehouses." Dina eyed the chemical tanks. "Imagine working in a place like this."

"It wouldn't be easy. You'd need to know a lot of stuff.

"Yeah… I bet it would be really hard. I remember Tommy said it took months for him to learn how to repair parts of the hydro plant." She pulled the jacket closer around herself. "Is it just me or is it colder than it was ten minutes ago?"

"It's getting worse," Ellie agreed. She looked at the falling snow.

"You think we should find shelter until it passes? We both know how bad it can get if we're caught in it."

"No, we're nearly there. Look, there's the crossroads Jene told us about. The town shouldn't be very far off now. A couple of miles is what she said."

A rusted metal board stood at the juncture. It was completely bent out of shape and the writing on it had erased years ago. The road they were to take curved upwards.

"I don't remember the last time I was this far out of Jackson. Do you?" Dina asked.

"There's rarely ever any reason to. The last time I went out really far was the year before the last, when Joel took me to that town for my birthday," Ellie recalled.

"Yeah, I remember that. You grinned like an idiot straight for a week after that."

She chuckled. "That was a good day, yeah."

"I think I see the town," Ellie told Dina. The snow had reduced their visibility to just a few metres ahead of them. Chucky didn't seem comfortable either.

Dina squinted. "I can vaguely make it out."

"That's gotta be it. We'll walk it from here."

The two jumped off Chucky. They were fairly off the road leading to the town and there didn't seem to be anybody around them.

"Stay here, boy," Ellie comforted the horse. "We'll be right back."

"How are we going to get out of here if we find Joel? Chucky can't take the three of us."

"We'll figure it out. Stick to the trees," she instructed Dina as they began making their way towards the town.

The trees and the weather provided ample cover for them. The first thing they noticed were the abandoned vehicles. A couple of people moved around outside.

"They're still here," Ellie said with relief. "We just need to figure out if they're keeping Joel here."

"He could be in any one of these places," Dina said.

There were less than a dozen scattered buildings. They watched as a young woman exited the house closest to them. It appeared to be the largest.

"Let's check inside that one," Ellie decided. It was near the woods as well, so they would be able to make it there with relative ease.

Ellie peeked in through the window once they reached it. There seemed to be nobody in the house, though there were a few guns laying on the table. She tried to open the window, but it was locked from the inside.

"This isn't going to open up," she said. "We can't risk breaking it either. It'll be too loud."

"Ellie, up there. That window's open. You think you can get up?"

There was an overhanging ledge above the window, and just over that, the window that Dina was pointing to.

"I think so," Ellie replied. "Boost me up."

She placed her foot on Dina's hands and jumped as soon as the girl thrust them up. She caught hold of the ledge and pulled herself up, barely holding on with the narrow gripping space.

Steadying herself for a second, she felt the pain return to her arm. Some of her stitches had most probably been torn. Ignoring it, she pried the cold metal of the window open with her fingers, sending the gathered snow down onto Dina. She crept in and waited to see if anyone had heard her.

A few sleeping bags covered part of the floor, along with stockpiles of food and water. There were muddy bootprints all over. They led in and out of the room.

Discarded cans were piled up in one corner. Empty bottles of water and alcohol sat in another. She had counted about two people outside, but judging from the bags and other things in there, there would have to be at least twice that.

There was a diary that was half-concealed by a sleeping bag. She picked it up. It had a black cover. The pages had turned yellow over the years. It belonged to a Sophie. She flipped through it, until a random page opened in front of her.

There was a lot of indecipherable doodling on it and some writing.

Mel and Josh still haven't come back yet. They were supposed to return by night, but there's no sign of them. Trent leaves tomorrow with the rest of his group. It's just us for a while now.

Ellie turned the page when a noise caught her attention. She bagged the diary to read later and opened the door by a crack. She couldn't hear anything.

She stepped out. The stairs led down into the living room. The noise came through again, from the bedroom directly opposite her. Pulling out her knife, she pushed down the door handle and quietly swung the door open.

A blonde-haired woman rested on the floor, handcuffed awkwardly to the metal bedpost. Her wrist had turned raw from pulling at the restraint. Her face was covered with bruises. She was half-slumped half-sitting. An empty plate and a knocked over glass sat by her side. The window was ajar, clattering against the metal with the wind.

Ellie cautiously moved over to her and checked if the woman was breathing. She couldn't feel anything. Her skin had gone cold at this point.

There was no response, even when Ellie shook her. "Hey. Can you hear me?" She checked her pulse.

The woman was definitely dead.

Exhaling, Ellie stood up and looked around for anything that might be useful.

Then the stairs creaked.

She froze, listening. The creak sounded again. There was nowhere to hide in the room without cornering herself. Going out of the window wasn't an option either. It faced the street. Ellie quietly made for the open door, her blade on the ready. She prepared herself to swing out and take them by surprise.

Another sound.

Another.

Ellie swung around the corner and stopped her weapon just short of the woman's neck.

"Jesus!"

Dina stood in front of her, breathing rapidly. She clearly had had the fright of her life when Ellie had appeared suddenly, brandishing a knife.

"What are you doing inside?" Ellie asked.

"I-I got worried cause you were taking too long," Dina answered as she broke out of her stupor. "I found a way in through the basement and fuck… don't ever do that again."

"I thought you were one of them."

"No shit… Who's this?" She looked past Ellie into the room.

"I think that's the New Town woman that Jene said was missing- Jude."

"Is she even alive?" Dina asked.

"No. She's gone. I don't know how long she's been like this."

Dina took a long glance at the corpse before turning away.

"Did you find anything?" Ellie asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. This place is empty. Let's keep checking."

Ellie looked out of the window. Without a doubt, there was a storm headed their way. She spotted the same woman they had seen exiting that building hurry down the street towards a car, carrying something in her hands. "No, I have a better plan."

The woman placed the bag in the trunk of the military jeep. She shivered in the cold wind and rubbed her hands together for warmth. For a second, she looked to her side. She could swear that she had heard something. Shaking her head, she resumed her work, chalking it up to the heavy snow that was making her imagine things. She just wanted to get back into the house and ride the weather out.

"Can't believe we're finally leaving," she said to the man who was checking the engine. "Another day and I would have gone nuts." She waited for a response. "Ken? You hearing me?"

She began walking around to the front of the car and found him lying in the snow. She immediately reached for her pistol, but a hand clamped down on her mouth and a knife pressed against her neck.

"Don't make a sound," Ellie hissed. "Where is Joel?"

The woman didn't reply.

"Tell me where he is or I'm going to start with you and kill every one of you here."

"You won't be able to."

"Don't test me," Ellie snapped at her, bring the cold steel closer.

"They took him back to the city a few days ago," the woman answered.

"City?"

"Salt Lake City."

Ellie felt a cold descend through her. "What's in Salt Lake City?"

She didn't say anything again.

Ellie reached for the locket around the woman's neck. It would only confirm her fear.

"The Fireflies…" she whispered. Her throat went dry. They couldn't possibly have taken Joel.

"Fireflies? What do they want with Joel?" Dina asked, confused. "I thought they were gone. That's what Eugene said."

"We're stronger than ever," the woman said proudly. She went quiet. "You must be that girl he did everything for. Your old man is with Abraham now. You can forget about seeing him ever again. He's going to get what's coming to him."

"Ellie, what is she talking about?"

Ellie lips tightened. "You should have thought twice about coming here," she said, sliding the knife across the woman's throat.

The first bullet whistled past her, embedding itself into a tree.

She instinctively ducked, looking around. Pushing the dying woman away, she jumped behind the vehicle with Dina. She slumped down with her back against the metal, staring at the blood-soaked snow.

"They killed Sophie!"

"We have to get back to Chucky," Dina urged Ellie. She took a quick glimpse around the side of the vehicle. "They're coming. Ellie! We can't sit here. Move!" She grabbed Ellie's hand and broke into a sprint. "Can you see him?"

"There!"

The two got on and Dina flicked at the reins.

"Don't let them get away!"

One of the bullets ricocheted off the tree, sending splinters flying their way.

"Do you see them?" Dina yelled.

"Barely! There's two of them!" Ellie loaded her rifle and fired at the men on their horses. The shot missed.

There was incomprehensible yelling from the Fireflies. They distanced themselves, firing from different angles.

"We can't keep this up!" Dina urged Ellie. "We're going to have to lose them and get out of this storm! None of us are going to make it otherwise"

"I'm not fucking missing on purpose!" Ellie flinched as a bullet narrowly missed her. Any of the next could have their name on it.

"Keep shooting!"

Ellie pulled back the bolt and shot. One of the men collapsed from the horse. "I got one!"

The other man continued to come at them.

"Hold on!" Dina veered Chucky off path and further into the trees. She swerved in and out of the giant trunks in their way as Ellie continued to fire in the direction of their chaser.

"I think we lost him!"

"I can't see properly with this snow! We need to get inside somewhere."

After a few long minutes, Ellie sighted a store. "There! We can stop there!"

"Help me get this up," Dina said, lifting up the shutter after they had barely made it alive. As Ellie held it high, Dina led Chucky in. It closed with a slam when she let go, although most of the sound was drowned by the howling wind.

"That was too close."

Dina placed her hands on her knees, taking a moment. "What happened to you back there? What did she mean by 'you're the girl he did everything for'? What did Joel do?"

"It's… a long story."

"Ellie, how did she know you?"

"Dina, I… watch out!"

Ellie pushed the girl out of the way just as the stalker ran towards them. It jumped onto her, sending her crashing onto the floor. She held its neck in both hands, trying to keep herself from getting her throat torn out.

It thrashed wildly above her. It was stronger, and she was one momentary lapse away from death. She tried to push it off of her, but it was moving far too much. She reached for her knife and plunged it into the creature just in time as its teeth were a hairbreadth away from her skin. It fell limp over her.

She rolled the body off her and saw Dina struggling with another stalker. She rushed over and pulled it away from the girl, thrusting her knife deep again.

She stepped over the body and faced Dina, short of breath. The sweat trickled down her face.

"We should've cleared the place out first," she panted.

"Ellie…"

Ellie looked at Dina's horrified face. She followed her eyes and looked at her shoulder.

Her t-shirt was torn. She touched it and found her fingers sticky with blood.

She had been bit.