The Last of Us : Surviving the Years - (closed for Aussie_Wolf)

{Writer's Note: This is based 10 years after the end of the game. Sorry in advance if there is a bunch of 'time-skips' in the opening post, just trying to get ahead to where I need to be for my co-writer.}

Character Profile : Ellie - now Age 24.

"Joel! No, fuck. This is all my fault. You can't...you can't leave me here! Joel! Joel! Wake the fuck up! Come on! Joel!"

"Ahh!" Ellie screamed out as she woke up panting. She looked around the room she had come to call her own and moved the hair out of her face. "Another dream." She sighed as she got up looking in the mirror. She had truly grown up but darkness had consumed her mind. Depression. Regret. Guilt. Anger. So many emotions filled her, just not those of caring. She had lost so many that meant so much to her. Riley. Marlene. Joel. She sighed once again remembering her friend. He had become mostly her guardian. Almost like a dad that she never knew.

Memories flooded her mind of their travels. Even after the failure of finding a cure at the hospital, she and Joel had traveled back to his brother's place. Tommy accepted them with open arms. His wife had become pregnant and he wanted his family to be there. To survive. Together.

But 5 years later, things made a turn for the worse. The morning had been hazy from the fog and Ellie had just come from caring for the horses in town. The noise was deafening. Clickers. A few hundred of them had stormed into town. "No! Get everyone away! Run!" she urged as she picked up little James, Tommy's son. She rushed with the children of the town to the factory to try and hide out. Joel was already there because of making repairs. He ran out into the group of clickers and began to fight them off, protecting Ellie and his nephew.

"Joel! No!! It's not worth it!" Ellie screamed after him, her anger raging as she picked up a gun and began to shoot it into the crowd of clickers. There were runners in the mix but she dispatched of them quickly. But not quick enough. When she reached Joel, he was torn to shreds, already dead from the wounds he had suffered. She dropped to her knees and began to sob. "Jo...Joel.." she muttered under her breath.

3 years ago, a cure came in the form of deer meat injected with the cure. She's no longer able to infect people, but others still look at her odd. She's alone, to a point. Tommy looks to her as a nuisance, even though he protects her. He doesn't blame her for the loss of his wife and brother, but Ellie feels it is all her fault. "If only the cure had come sooner," is all he ever says.

"Yeah, if only," she muttered to herself as she finished getting dressed. She sat in the room pulling at the strings on the guitar, the familiar twang of the instrument the only thing that keeps her close to Joel even though he's not here any longer.

"Ellie!" James came in with a piece of paper. "Dad wants you to go out for supplies."

"Ugh, again?" she mumbled as she looked to him. She really didn't care to help people, especially those that would desire her dead.

"Yeah.." James urged with a smile. "Just be safe, Ellie.."

She sighed and got up from her seat, leaving the guitar on the stand. She twanged a string again before leaving out. She left through the front gate that she had traveled through many years ago. She took a horse and made her way for the edge of the forest reserve. She'd have to camp out for a few days on her trip since everything had been scoured and scavenged for 5 miles around.

She dismounted the horse and pulled an arrow out for the bow she used. She walked through an abandoned cabin campground, following a noise she had heard. She thought it was a deer until she heard metal clanging together. She stopped short and turned the corner. There was a young man, someone that looked to be about her age, rummaging through some food cans. "Who the fuck are you?" she asked with the arrow drawn, ready to kill him if she needed to.

Troy had been alone for a long time. In fact he actually couldn't remember the last time he had seen another human being. Oh sure there had been all those infected things his Father and Brother had warned him about, but they hadn't really counted right?

When they had first started to show up his Father had gathered him and his brother up and taken them up into the hills to their cabin. Underneath it was an area he had prepared for an emergency he told them and they were going to live there until things calmed down and the army got things back under control.

For awhile things had been good. They had water, food and power and nothing much changed, except they now lived in a cramped little world. His father always kept a countdown on the days and soon a year or two had passed. Troy who had been young was growing up. He had been 14 when they had entered and now he was 16. His Father had still insisted that he get an education but had also instructed him in the use of guns and knives as well as the use of bows and how to prepare wild game. Of course he never actually got to put any of it to practical use but he was trained in it.

When he was 17 both his brother and Father had decided it would be safe to venture out. They were running low on supplies and were hoping to find fresh game or maybe to scavenge something from a few cabins his father knew of in the area. They hadn't heard anything on the radio but he was sure everything was fine by now. Troy had waited a week but they had never returned.

With two people gone the supplies had lasted a lot longer. It wasn't until he was 20 that he had to venture out. For the first time in six years he had made his way back into the world. He was a pretty small and skinny guy. Growing up underground he was quite pale,but he had followed his fathers strict fitness plan and was very wiry. He had armed himself with a small handgun and a rifle,and set off to the nearest cabin his father had circled on his map.

He stuck to the shadows, the bright light hurting his eyes and made it without seeing anything. He found enough food in the place to last him about a month and packed it all up in the backpack he had brought and made his way home. He had been terrified the whole time but he had made it.

Over the next few years he had survived in the same manner. Raiding the cabins first then hunting the forest for the game it provided. He saw the creatures his Father had been afraid of and had shot one, but had found that one bullet had not killed it and the sound just drew more. He had been lucky to escape and from then on had carried his bow and arrows, only using his gun as a last resort. He became an excellent shot as well as becoming very useful with his knives.

He preferred to avoid the creatures instead of killing them and was very good at hiding and moving silently. He preferred to hunt at night as the light still hurt his eyes though. He was having to roam further and further to scavenge for food, although hunting was still okay nearer his place. He had learned to only take what he needed then and there and which animals to kill for the herds to survive.

He was now 24 and had ventured the furthest he had ever been away from his place. He had found a few half empty cans of food that would not make the trip back and had eaten their contents there and then. However as he was placing them back on the ground one had shifted and banged into the other causing a clatter. he had cursed under his breath. It was not really loud enough to cause any creatures to come running but you never knew.

He bent to pick up the full ones he had found when he heard the first human voice in a long time only it wasn't happy. "Who the fuck are you?" He turned slowly his hands out away from his body and looked at the girl with an arrow aimed at him. He had not seen one of those since he was young and she looked nothing like how he remembered them.

"Ahh hi," He began nervously his voice croaky through long disuse, "My names Troy and I was just looking for food. You can have some if you want," he said smiling hoping she wasn't about to kill him.

Sorry

My apology

(OOC to Elvenoff1: It's quite alright! No worries!)

Ellie kept her arrow drawn until she saw him offer her food. In truth, the town had been without for a while and even the people were thinking of eating the horses. But she had objected and Tommy supported her choice. They are a mode of transportation and needed in more ways than just the one. Her stomach growled as she looked to the man. "Troy huh?" she questioned. She moved forward and took a can or two from him. The expiration date was long faded, but the food shouldn't be too bad on the inside. It seemed sealed enough.

"Thanks.." she mumbled before turning her ear towards the forest. "Let's get inside one of these cabins. There's clickers in the forest."

She turned to head inside one of them and looked to him. "Come on, I won't kill you unless I have to."

Troy followed her into the cabin she had picked still keeping his hands away from his weapons. He had calmly adjusted his knives so that they could be drawn quickly, and had put his bow and arrows back in their usual carry positions on his back so it was actually pretty easy to act natural and not draw attention to his weapons.

He looked at the girl he was following and found himself fascinated by her. Of course he had seen pictures of older females in the books he had read and studied back in the bunker, but this was the first time he had ever seen one in real life and he had to say they looked nothing like the ones in his books. This one looked like she could happily go up against a tribe of clickers and then stop and have a meal. Although it looked like she was not getting too many of them lately.

She was a lot skinnier than him and not all of it because she chose to be. Perhaps he should invite her back to his place. Obviously wherever she was staying now was not a very good place if she was slowly starving her to death.

"I guess we are both out here for the same reasons. How about you tell me where you have been and I can tell you where I have. That way we don't waste time covering the same areas," he began, his voice getting stronger with each word. "Perhaps we could even help each other, as you said the woods are full of these infected."

Ellie looked to him as he spoke. He seemed kind of ragged, but not as much as others had been that she'd had met. He looked more well off than most of the men in town. She waited to speak, trying to decide whether or not she'd want to explain anything to him. She wasn't sure if she could trust him entirely or not, but hell, she wasn't really a good judge of character. She gazed at the floor as she sat back in a chair, the words finally coming to mind.

"Well, I'm Ellie, since you gave me your name.. I traveled out from the town near here. It's run by Tommy. He's sort of the brother of....of my dad," she lied as she explained stuff to him. She had come to love Joel like a father figure and when she lost him, everything had changed. Her outlook on the world and the thoughts of people had changed as well.

She continued. "But he's not my uncle by any means. Just someone that is always a pain in my ass. He sent me out to look for supplies and well, here I am. Nothing special."

Ellie looked to him as she pulled out her bowie knife, to sharpen it a bit, its blade becoming a bit dull from stealth killing a lot of clickers. "What about you?" she asked.

Troy looked her over as she spoke. People sure had changed since he and his family had gone underground. He could remember the girl who used to baby sit him being about this girls age and she had looked nothing like her. Her hair had been glossy and golden, her skin fair and her clothes were always clean and tidy. It was amazing how different she looked. Her skin was bronzed from being out in the sun all the time he guessed. Her hair while long and nice was still a little grubby. Much like his, water was too precious to waste on showers anymore. As for clothes, well his were a lot better than hers. The advantages of not having to scavenge for them he guessed.

"Me, well if you can believe it I have been living in a hole most of my life. My father was what was called a ahh," he waved his hands a bit trying to find the word," oh yeah Survivalist. He built a shelter under our cabin. When all this started he took me and my older brother up there and well that's where we stayed. I was 14. When I was 17 my dad and brother went out hunting for food thinking the worst was over and just never came back. Since then I have been on my own learning to survive. This is the furthest I have ever been away from my place but food is getting pretty scarce up near my way. Oh you can hunt, but meat and wild berries can get pretty boring."

He looked over at her and smiled. "You know you are the first person I have seen or talked to in over seven years. Well besides those infected things and I don't talk to them."

Ellie listened to his story. She kept the whetstone that she had clenched in her hand as he explained his path and how he's made it in this world. She looked to him when he stopped. "Yeah, trust me. I've had several run-ins with those fuckers. They aren't much for talking." She sheathed the bowie knife and turned around to walk towards a window.

"Those fuckers killed everyone I've ever cared about. They even tried to kill me. But then the cure came and..." she raised up her arm, pulling back the sleeve. The bite mark scarred over and barely visible anymore. "...I'm no longer infected or able to infect, but...people still see me as a nuisance. They see me as a possible cause for the clickers coming in 5 years ago. If only...if only the cure had come sooner.."

She wiped a tear from her eye, before turning back around to him, trying to hide any fear she might have been showing -- the sadness deep within her for not being able to save Joel. Or even Riley. "So...I think at sun-up, why don't you travel with me back to town. I'm sure Tommy might have some work for you.."

She wasn't sure what to think of this man, but something about him seemed like he was completely harmless. Perhaps she could trust him. "What do you say?"

Troy watched her as she paced around. He had seen that look before. It had been on his face for a long time after his Brother and Father had not come home. She had obviously lost someone close to her, maybe even more than one, over the years. Then she had shown him the bite mark. He had recognized it as coming from one of the infected and wondered how she was still human. She was saying something about a cure but he had no idea what that was all about.

"Go back to your town." He wasn't to sure about that. He was used to being on his own. He wasn't sure how he would react to a bunch of strangers. It was kind of hard being with her. "I guess I can try it but I might not be too good around people. I am too used to living by myself."

He looked at her and smiled though. "Just don't let me get surrounded or too many people come at me at once and I should be okay. However if you came out here for food perhaps we should go hunting first. There is a deer herd just over the ridge. We can get one each and take them back with us. Would that be okay?"

She looked to him as he explained. He didn't seem like the type that would be a hermit. It didn't seem right. But there were a lot of people in the world now that were like that -- a few in town anyway that she had met. Perhaps there were others. And Troy was one of them.

"So, yeah...I believe that we can get some stuff before hand -- hunt a bit before we return. You can show me what you know type of thing."

She sat down on the chair and leaned back against the wall. "So, if you want to sleep a bit, you can... I'll keep watch. The clickers should pass by soon enough then we can hunt."

Troy chuckled at her. "Actually if you don't mind I would like to talk a bit more. As I said I haven't even seen another person in so long it is just nice to hear another voice," he smiled at her.

"Perhaps you can tell me more about this place you are taking me too and I can tell you more about mine." He looked down and then glanced at her. "I will start I guess. I guess you must wonder why I am not sure how I am going to react around people huh. I mean I grew up with them before all this," he gestured around them." took place, so I should be used to them right? The thing is for the last 10 years I have called a hole in the ground my home. Oh it is reasonably roomy, I mean I can stand up in it and there are three rooms and it is all cemented and everything, but that was my whole life for over 6 years. It has been only the last little while that I have actually even ventured out onto the surface and believe me the first few times was scary as shit." he almost laughed as he remembered those times.

"If you want I can take you back there sometime. I do still have some rations there but it is all flour and rice and emergency stuff. God that stuff tastes awful but it does sustain you. I only eat it when I can't find anything though. Dad was pretty thorough when he stocked the place."

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "So that's why I am not sure why I am going to be good around crowds. I have been alone for so long I have forgotten what a group of people looks like let alone feels like. Hell I know you are a older girl but truthfully I am not sure if you are pretty or not but I am starting to think you are. My mind is still sort of stuck on fourteen year old you know in regards to people," he smiled sheepishly.

"So basically, you're telling me you've been in a hole in the ground?" She chuckled. "How did you survive without going, y'know -- crazy? I don't think I could ever handle that. But I don't like people either. They use me. That's about as good as I'm good for. Hunting. Killing. Supplying others that don't have the guts to go out on their own."

She hesitated before she spoke some more. She wasn't sure entirely that she could trust him with information on the town. But, he hadn't tried anything yet. He may look like a goon but hell, who was she to judge. A man in a hole in the ground. It's understandable that he'd look this way.

"Well," she said before taking a sip of water from the canteen she had on her person. "Tommy, like I mentioned before, is sort of the 'leader' there," she mentioned with skepticism. "He's just a jerk. He doesn't like to trust people, but with some -- he has no choice. He made promises only to have a bunch of them broken."

"He's not very skilled. But he's okay. His son is just a kid. The clicker swarm years ago killed a lot of people and Tommy blames himself." She sighed. "But I think he just blames me." She leaned back in the chair and looked to the dusty ceiling of the cabin, littered with holes from termite colonies that have long been gone due to the cold time.

"There's a water mill there that runs the lights and gives us fresh water. But there's a lot of work needed on the turbines. Not many people there know much about anything. They're just scared, is all."

Troy looked at Ellie. It sounded like she was not having much fun living at this place, and he was having second thoughts about going with her. If somebody that had lived there for awhile didn't really like the place what would he think of it?

"Oh it's not so bad living down there you know," he shrugged. "My dad was a pretty thorough guy and had been planning things for awhile. The place doesn't just have food and water and things, it also has a big library, a television with a DVD player and lots of movies and a Playstation 3 with lots of games as well. It was all designed to keep us entertained while waiting out whatever disaster had happened."

He looked at her and chuckled a bit. "I have to admit after watching Pirates of the Caribbean for the fiftieth time and clocking Battlefield 3 on Veteran mode with a pistol it does become boring." Shaking his head he brightened up a bit. "Of course the books are fun. I love reading the fantasy ones and imagining myself somewhere else, but I also love reading all the instruction manuals Dad left behind. If your people are having troubles I might be able to help out. You would be amazed at the different things he made us learn and the amount of things I have on my own from the books he stocked."

He then glanced over at her and hesitated a little. He wanted to ask her a question but he wasn't sure how she would take it. "Look, if you really are unhappy there, why don't you come back with me. Sure my place isn't much, but it is safe and secure, has it's own Solar power source and a well for water. With two of us hunting and scavenging it could be very livable. What do you say?"

He was pretty sure he knew what the answer would be but he had to put the offer out there.

The offer to go with him was odd enough. What were these things he was speaking of? She hadn't seen as much of a TV since Philadelphia and it was already broken in one corner to the point the pixels were messed up. It seemed odd enough, but she shook her head. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to pick up and go -- leaving everyone behind. They did depend on her, but on the other hand -- they only trusted her to get them food. They didn't care about her, whether she lived or died.

"I don't know, Troy. I'm not sure about that.. I'd have to check in with Tommy and..." she paused. Why did she have to report in to him? No one owned her. They would make it. Perhaps things would be better anyway.

"I might try it. But if anything weird happens, then I might not stick around. I hold the right to leave, correct?"

Troy was pleasantly surprised when she sort of agreed. He had not really been expecting that. "Of course you are always free to leave," he looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Why would I try to stop you? If you don't like it you can come straight back to your town and I might even try your way of life," he smiled tentatively.

Now that he knew she was actually coming he was getting excited. She could sleep in his dad's old room to give her some privacy. He understood from his books and movies that girls liked that sort of thing, especially ones her age. They could shoot a deer closer to home just as he had planned to for meat, but they would still need to forage for food.

"I have managed to find a few cans of stuff around here, but did you want to check out the last few huts with me before we move out. Hopefully we can get enough for the two of us and can head back home. I planned to kill a deer when I was almost there and butcher it in a little hut just beside our cabin. Is that okay with you?"

Troy seemed kind enough. She could trust him, she thought. Ellie moved around the room and grabbed some extra supplies. "Yeah, let's kill the deer on the ridge and take some back to my town to leave it outside, then we can head to your place." She looked to the forest as the sun was just starting to come up over the rise. "I think we can go, but...we're going to need to kill some clickers on the way." The infected stumbling around the forest, shaking and clicking with their teeth.

"Are you ready?" she asked, bowie knife in hand to stealth kill some of them.

(OOC: Sorry for the lack of a post. Will be more come next post)

Troy was ecstatic. She had accepted his offer. He wouldn't be alone anymore. No matter what he had told her it was still not fun being all by yourself.

"Sure," he told her holding up his powerful bow. "I have always found this works better at killing them though. You are really going to need one. Luckily there are several more back home."

He led the way out of the cabin and up towards the ridge where he had seen the deer. He moved slow and quietly, sticking close to the undergrowth and using it for cover but not traveling in it. Doing that led to noise as a person stepped on dry twigs and rustled branches.

He saw the first clicker moving slowly through the woods a minute after leaving the cabin and motioned for Ellie to stop. He was actually very impressed with her. He had only heard the soft footfalls of her following him and that was only because she was so close. No wonder they had sent her to do the hunting. He couched down and pulled back on his bow. It had a 70 pound draw weight which he had no problems pulling back and holding as he sighted on the clickers head. With a calming breath in he lined up the shot, then breathing out he took it.

The arrow whizzed through the air and struck the thing right in the temple, penetrating so deep it appeared out the front of it's head. It fell down as if it had been hit by a four by two from behind and lay still. Troy waited, another arrow already on his bowstring, scanning the surrounding woods. Finally after a minute he signaled Ellie forward and he approached the thing. He drew his own knife as he did and upon reaching it he cut it's throat to make sure then tugged on his arrow. It didn't budge, so he calmly pushed it through until he had retrieved it. He couldn't afford to waste precious arrows.

Looking at Ellie he pointed up the hill and again they disappeared into the undergrowth making their way up towards the ridge line. From the sounds all around them they knew this would not be the only clicker they faced today.

The way he took down the clicker impressed Ellie. It felt so odd to be hunting with someone. She had only ever been out in the wild by herself. But that wasn't just because no one was talented enough to do it -- she just didn't want casualties and this way was best. But now having seen Troy take care of the clicker with ease, it was enough for her. She knew that she wouldn't have to carry him anywhere. He could handle himself. She moved on with him as they walked through the forest. The sounds of clickers echoing in the silent air. It was eerie. But they needed to move fast enough to not be trapped by them.

She moved and took aim at the next clicker. The arrow sent flying through the air with a swift whizzing sound as it penetrated the Clicker's head and came out the other side. It was a quick kill but she'd have to stealth kill the next one right next to the fallen body. Ellie moved up, pulling out her bowie knife to take care of the clicker, but she failed up and stepped on a branch, the infected coming at her.

Troy was impressed with Ellie's skills. She was a good traveling companion and he didn't feel the need to watch out for her all the time. It was actually enjoyable to be with someone he could trust to look out for him as they moved towards his place. Especially given the amount of noise he could hear. It seemed like the Clickers were out in force today.

As they rounded a stand of trees he saw her raise her bow and take out a Clicker with a clean head shot. The arrow actually passing completely through it's head. Hmm that would make retrieving it easier. As she moved forward to do so another one appeared and she pulled out her knife.

Troy immediately knocked and pulled back his own arrow but he didn't have a great shot, so he let her take it on while he started circling for a better one. She should be okay unless she...'CRACK' made any noise.

Damn! what was a dry twig doing so far out in a clearing! The Clicker immediately oriented on her and ran straight at her. To her credit she stood calmly, ready for it with her knife poised. Troy wasn't having any of it though. He didn't have a clear shot to kill but he did have a good shot to do this.

His arrow flew towards it and suddenly the beast was knocked to the ground as the arrow pierced both of it's upper thighs, pinning it's legs for a second. The carbon fiber shaft bent a long way but held as it tumbled. He wanted to call out in triumph and yell at Ellie to finish it off, but he was sure she knew what to do and he dare not risk yelling. That would only bring more of them running here.

Instead he turned with another arrow on his string and surveyed the area, waiting until Ellie gave him the all clear to move on.

It was certainly a close call, but the other clickers hadn't heard -- just yet anyway. They had a long way to go. Ellie motioned for him to follow. Along the path, she kept her head down -- watching closely to avoid any branches. Any twigs or any leaves that were on the path, she quickly moved them to the side with her boot. She was trying to make it where they would have a path on the way back and then they'd go from there to his place.

Walking down the hill, she stopped short. She raised her hands to her head, spreading her fingers wide as if to show antlers. Then she pointed, keeping quiet, to show him where the deer were. Two young bucks and about three doe were in the clearing. To get them all, they'd need another set of hands to shoot the arrows. But, as it was, they were all alone. They'd have to quickly down about three of them before the other two were to scatter off.

She pulled Troy close to her, pressing her lips against his ear. "We fire at the bucks first, then try for at least one doe. I'm not sure if we'd be able to get that many, but we have to take the bucks first. More meat." She nodded pulling back and looking to him, pulling her bow out to dock an arrow before ducking behind a fallen tree. It wouldn't be too long before other clickers appeared, so they'd have to be quick.

She pulled the arrow back and waited for his signal.

Troy nodded. He would have preferred to keep one buck alive and take two does instead so at least one breeding pair remained alive, but he supposed there were enough other groups of deer around that the remaining two does would soon join up with them.

He carefully took position and then took aim on the buck on the far right. He looked over at Ellie and held up a three fingers, and then indicated the right with his bow. Then he put one finger back on the string, then another, then as he put the last finger back on he rose up smoothly and let fly. His arrow flew true towards it's target but he was already drawing another arrow and aiming at the closest doe and firing again, aiming for it's heart.

Ellie let her arrow fly at the same time as Troy's. Their timing in perfect sync as one buck dropped, followed by the next. She watched as he docked another arrow, letting it fire towards the doe that was startled. She wanted to take aim at the other two, but they were already gone -- scattered off into the forest. The ones they managed to knock down were quite large. They seemed to be feeding well, anyway.

Ellie moved on towards the first trophy, keeping her bowie knife in hand in case there was a clicker that might stumble upon them. She waved Troy over. "Good drops. Seems we'll be able to drop either the doe or a buck off at the settlement gate and then just go to your place."

Ellie's plan was to complete her mission at least, then just leave. Never to look back. They wouldn't miss her. And besides, Troy seemed certainly nice enough. Quick to attention and able to handle combative situations as well.

Troy nodded. So that was why she had wanted both bucks. It made sense now and he smiled. For her to still want to fulfill her mission to her old settlement made her more desirable as a friend.

"I would suggest a Buck. We will have more than enough meat with a Buck and a Doe. In fact we would have to smoke some of the meat. Perhaps we could make do with just the Buck and give them both the Buck and Doe."

Troy moved closer to Ellie and kept an arrow on the string while scanning all around. "Anyway why don't you dress the animals while I keep an eye out. Just gut them and take their heads off. We should be able to carry the rest, or we can fashion a sled and drag them."

Ellie nodded looking to him. She was feeling bad about not being able to get the other doe but it would work out fine in the end. She took out a large machete and began chopping the heads off the deer. She gutted and cleaned the meat away from the intestines, skinning a majority of the hind quarters to be dried later for skins. Possibly water skins if she could manage some thread and a needle.

After she was done, she motioned to Troy. "Go find some big branches and some type of thick vines. The buck is too heavy to carry on our own." She stood up, wiping the blood from her hands. "We drop it off, ring the bell and head out. No need to interfere with them, for your sake."

She thought about the group. Is this what Joel would have wanted her to do? She shook her head. She couldn't dwell in the past anymore. This was the future and Joel was long dead. She couldn't worry about what he might have wanted her to do.