#keepfigh1n

𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐈𝐓 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃. the desperation in her chest , the fear that they wouldn’t get to ellie in time to stop the operation. while anna was ignorant at how many would die . . she knew that joel wasn’t going to make it through that hospital without having to kill to do it. they had ellie & they sure as well wasn’t going to let her go without a fight—jerry wanted to make a cure so bad , he’d worked for so long , & now he’s dead. dead leaving his daughter an orphan , the world without a cure yet anna has remained selfish in the the thought: ‘ ellie’s alive. she’ll be safe. she’ll get to live a life. ‘ a comfortable life with friends , with everything she could ever need. ; ❛ & you think i don’t , is that it ?! ❜ tone comes out more irritated than anna had intended. arm pushing itself out & across the air as she exclaims. green eyes , the same color as ellie’s , widen as lips downturn themselves. ❛ we made a decision, joel. we both did. we decided in that hospital that ellie mattered more than a possible cure. “ neither one of them is free of blame , free of knowing what they took from her. ❛ i hate myself for robbing her of what she felt was her purpose , but i- . . i couldn’t bear the idea of living in a world without her. she’s my purpose , the only reason i’m still drawin’ breath. ❜ something anna figures he can relate to. ❛ ellie gets to live. she gets to live & be-be happy. even if it means she hates me. even if i have this guilt till i die. ❜

@keepfight1n

holding the baby in her arms, kari continues to gently rock herself form side to side as eyes, occasionally, glance down to make sure she was still sleeping. it had been a hard night, a tired one, where all sarah wanted to do was fuss. ❛ we’ll be fine, joel, i promise. ❜ it’s also a silent promise to herself. hand reaches out to pat her husbands arm in the hopes of reassuring him ! ❛ she’ll sleep most of the day, i hope, after her outstanding performance last night. ❜ kari smiles, eyes lighting up a little. & as joel grabs his bag, woman makes a noise as she rushes over toward the counter. ❛ oh, don’t forget your coffee ! ❜ a travel mug is swiftly handed over. hand returns to sarah, gently patting her back.

𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄’𝐒 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒, 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃. still in her gloved hand she holds the rifle, a deer just in sight a few yards away from them. joel has been attempting to teach her how to use it on actual prey & not just dummies as target practice. he said she needed to learn to feed herself or them, if something happened. but, the key word here was attempting. the young girl was far too impatient, stubborn to the fact that she wanted to do things the way she felt were better than his instruction. even when she missed she didn’t ever blame it on her poor listening skills ! ; a sigh leaves chest in a puff of smoke, the cold having made her cheeks pinched pink just like the tip of her nose. ❛ listen, man, ❜ ellie begins in as quiet a whisper as she can. ❛ we’ve been stalking this thing for what feels like fuckin’ hours ! my knees hurt , i’m hungry , & this fucker won’t stay still either ! ❜ so, overall, the teenager was tired & getting fed up with waiting. ellie then turns from joel , aiming her weapon , with the deers midsection in sight. the prey is grazing on a surviving green patch of grass. breathing slowly, her finger lingers near the trigger.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐈’𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐏 , the arms wrapped around joel tighten & she breaths out a rather content sigh. the cold that’s taken over jackson this year leaves a puff of smoke when she breaths outward , it settles a chill in her bones , & a redness to the tip of her nose. winter , when you aren’t fighting not to starve , is one of her more favorite times of the year. especially here , in this place , where a real christmas can be had & children run around in the snow throwing snowballs until they fell over. it has a sense of peace to it , a tranquility that most thought to be lost to the world they live in ! ; ❛ well, ❜ muses kari , ❛ i’d hope so, mister. ❜ a gentle jest to lighten the heavy feeling of his words. head lifts from joel’s chest to peer at his expression into his eyes to try to decipher the real meaning behind his what’s being said. ❛ i did marry you ‘cause i love you. i wouldn’t brave the end of the world with jus’ anyone, y’know ! ❜ now , she laughs. a hearty type of laugh , one from deep inside her chest. the laugh she had on their wedding , the laugh she had the first time sarah called her mama. ❛ you’re it for me , baby. my one & only. so, it’s safe-ta say i’ll always love you too. ❜

𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 , 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 on getting all three of them out of the hospital before anyone could catch up to them. granted , they had killed just about everyone on their rampage to get ellie out of the surgery room—the fireflies , the doctor , the nurses. all of them who stood in their way . . it felt easy , kari remembers considering to herself. she wasn’t nearly as trigger happy as joel nor as comfortable in it in specific situations yet when she needed to be she was just as bad. when family was concerned & especially ellie who had become , in her heart , a surrogate daughter. ( they didn’t even tell her , they didn’t even let her make her own decision. they were just gonna put her to sleep , carve up her brain , & do something they would hopefully make a cure. ) ; the elevator to the parking garage opens , kari taking a quick glance to either side before stepping out. half way to the car , marlene appears with a gun pointed directly at her. joel lingers , shoulders tense. ❛ you don’t wanna do this. ❜ kari warns the other woman in a heavy tone. ❛ you won’t win , marlene. this . . her life , what happens with it , isn’t yours to decide. you said you wanted to protect her . . how is killing her for a possible cure doing that ? ❜ asked with a raised brow. ❛ ellie deserves to be safe , happy. not dead in the ground somewhere. ❜