CHAPTER THREE:

ENDURE AND SURVIVE

SNEAKING AROUND IN broad daylight was hard to do in Kansas City. However, the group of five knew that they needed to move now before the sun went down. They had to get out of the city as quick as possible before the resistance group caught them and killed them.

Henry led the way through the streets and inside a large building. Y/n kept her gun tight in her hand as she glanced around, making sure no one was around. The teenager stayed beside Ellie and Sam, trying to keep an eye on the her little brother as well.

"We need to get outta sight." Joel breathes out as they stop in the middle of a hallway. Glass windows surrounded them, revealing the outside.

"Uh..." Henry glances around with wide eyes, pointing down a hall. "I think it's this way." Quickly, he moved down the hall with the kids behind him.

As the hallway grew darker and darker, the group brought out their flashlights so they could see better. A door creaked loudly when Henry opened it, stepping inside and standing on a small staircase.

"This should be it." He tells them. "You ready?"

Joel looks at Ellie. "Get your gun out." Not arguing, Ellie reaches into her jacket pocket and brings out the gun Joel had given her.

Joel was the first to move, stepping down the stairs and by the group, showing he was gonna lead the way. The older man pushes a door open, revealing a long dark tunnel ahead of them. Water dripped from the ceiling. The tunnel was empty.

Henry smiles. "You see? It's empty. The plan is good." His voice echoes throughout the tunnel.

Joel quickly shushes him. "'The plan is good'?" He repeats in disbelief. "We've been down here two seconds. We don't know anything."

"Your dad's kind of a pessimist." Y/n leans towards Ellie to say.

"He's not my dad."

"I'm not her dad."

Both Ellie and Joel say at the same time. Henry and Y/n's brows raise in amusement as they share a glance with one another.

"Just point your light forward, and be ready to run." Joel demands.

For a little while, the group of five moved throughout the tunnels, flashlights aimed forward and guns held tight. Sounds echoed all around, yet there was no infected in sight. They turned down many corners, expecting to see some, but it was empty.

Eventually, they reached the end of a tunnel, the walls covered in drawings. Y/n was reminded of the attic and all of Sam's superhero drawings. As they looked around with their lights, Sam moved towards the door with a smile. Both Henry and Joel reached for him, but Joel was the one who grabbed him.

The man shakes his head. "No."

The eight year old moves back, grabbing his sister's hand. Joel slowly opened the door, peeking inside before he pushed it more, letting the others move inside. Y/n's eyes widen at the play area full of colorful kids toys. The word 'goal' was written in paint on the wall for a makeshift goalie net.

"I heard about places like this." Joel speaks up. "People went underground after outbreak day. Built settlements."

"What happened to them?" Y/n questions.

"Maybe they didn't follow the rules and they all got infected." Joel replies, staring at the large whiteboard that had the house rules on it.

As Joel and Henry continued to move around and look, Y/n let Sam pull her to a table where some toys were. Ellie followed them, grabbing one of the small racecars and rolling it off the table and onto the floor, making Sam smile.

Noticing something on the floor, Y/n leans down and grabs it. She instantly moves to show Sam the comic book just when Ellie notices it as well, crouching down beside the eight year old as her eyes widen in excitement.

Gesturing to write down, Sam grabs his magic slate as Ellie speaks out loud about which ones of the comic book she had before Sam writes down his own. Ellie had four, five, six, eleven. Sam had fifteen, six, eight. Henry smiles as he moves by them.

Ellie looks Sam in the eye as she says in a deep tone, "'To the edge of the universe and back'." Sam translates it in sign language as he reads her lips. "'Endure and survive'."

Shifting, Ellie repeats the sign language as she continues to repeat the words 'endure and survive' while her and Sam do the same gestures for those words.

"Fuck yeah, man!" Ellie exclaims as they high five.

"Hey, keep it down. We're not out yet." Joel reminds them.

Ellie sighs. "Come on. Can we just rest here for a while? There's, like, actually shit to do here."

Henry shrugs. "Wouldn't be so bad to wait the light out a bit. Safer in shadows when we pop back out on the other side."

All of them stare at Joel, waiting for him to give in. The man doesn't say anything and just shrugs, silently telling them that they'd stay there until the sun set. This makes Y/n and Ellie smile as they look at one another.

Within the next few hours, the girls and Sam had moved around a lot. Currently, they were kicking a soccer ball around the makeshift goalie net while Henry and Joel sat at the table, watching them. Henry couldn't stop smiling at the look on his brother's faces.

Joel pauses for a moment before speaking, "If you were collaborating to take care of them, I... I shouldn't have said what I said. I don't know your situation. And I'm not saying they should let it go but, all things considered, seems kinda cruel to send a whole army after you for that.

"You know, I wasn't, uh..." Henry licks his lips, deep in thought. "...exactly telling you the truth before..." This makes Joel snap his head to him. "...about me not killing someone. There was a man, a great man. You know, he was never afraid, never selfish, and he was always forgiving. Have you ever met someone like that? Kinda man you'd follow anywhere. I mean, I wanted to. Well, I would've. But Sam, he, uh, he got sick."

The young man looks in the direction of his siblings, watching as the three kids now stood at the smaller kids table. Y/n was behind her brother as she and Sam swerved while Ellie tried to get them.

"Leukemia." Joel's face softens as Henry continues. "Yeah, anyway, there was one drug that worked, and, woah... big shock... there wasn't much left of it and it belonged to Fedra. And if I wanted some, it was gonna take something big. So I gave them something big. That one great man. The leader of the resistance movement in Kansas City. And Kathleen's brother. Yeah, so, you still think they should take it easy on me? Or am I the bad guy?"

Joel doesn't respond with words. The older man looks away as he shrugs. He didn't know how to answer. He didn't know what to say.

"I don't know what you're waiting on, man. The answer's easy. I am the bad guy because I did a bad guy thing." Henry insists. "But you get it, though. You might not be her father... but you were someone's." Joel's face shifts at that. "See, I could tell."

A roar escapes Ellie as she pretends to be a monster. Joel suddenly stands up, grabbing his gun. "We've waited long enough." He grumbles loud enough for all of them to hear.

The others had no choice but to stop their playing and grab their things. They were finally going to escape Kansas City.