Asthma (The Last Of Us)

People are the monsters of the world

10 miles west of Boston

(TJ's P.O.V.)
A fallen tree extends over a calmly flowing river as I approach. I squat down and reach my bloody hand into the stream, gripping a rock so I can keep it steady. I eventually pull my hand out the cold water and turn the stone in my hand. My finger tracing the smooth edge. I stand up and continue to fawn over the rock I had pulled from the river. All around me rocky hills and cyprus trees aline the shore of the river. I pocket the small rock I found before walking away. Growing up, whenever dad and Tess went out behind the walls of QZ. Tess always asked what she wanted me to bring back for me. My young innocent mind always loudly and gleefully yelled for a stone or a rock. Now this time, it wasn't the mother who was collecting a rock for her daughter, this time it was the daughter who collected the rocks. I trudge forward, pressing on trees so I can climb the hill up from the riverbank, towards camp where dad and Ellie where. I pass Ellie who sits against the trunk of a tree, a jacket covering her legs. I spot my dad rifling through his backpack and I sit down with a tired sigh. "You want your jacket back?" Ellie asked my dad, who shakes his head for an answer. I tuck my knees to my chest and lay my chin on them, while wrapping my arms around my legs, before closing my eyes. Surrounding me I hear footfalls coming my way, before it stops. Curiously I open one eye and see my father standing infront of me. Thankfully blocking the sun with his body. I look down at his hand and see him holding out some food which was wrapped in some paper. I shake my head before turning away from him. "Tj, you've got to eat" he sighs with a plea. And I can hear the irritation that I had refused yet another meal in his voice, but there is a form of understanding as to why I refused. "I'm not hungry" I quietly state. Dad gives up and turns to Ellie to hand her the food. Who greatfully accepts it. I watch her briefly as she chews the burger patty and looks around. "I've never been in the woods" she declares with her mouth full, "more bugs than I thought". I give her a small smile, indicating I agreed. But you can still see the sadness written on my face, as I was not yet able to hide it behind a mask. I can see Ellie open her mouth to talk but stops for a second to really think about what she was wanting to say. "Look, I've been thinking about-" Ellie begins but gets cut of by my dad "I don't want your sorries" he snaps, throwing his pack onto his shoulder. "I wasn't going to say I'm sorry" Ellue replied back quickly, "I was gonna say that I've been thinking about what happened. Nobody made you or Tess take me. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery and inhalers or whatever. And you made a choice" she said and directed her look towards dad, "so don't blame me for something that isn't my fault". Ellie was right about what she said. In return dad just stares coldly towards Ellie, before giving a nod. Agreeing with her. I watch as everyone picks up there stuff to get going again. "How much longer?" Ellie questioned as she holds dad's jacket out to him, "five hour hike" dad replied simply, "we can manage that" Ellie answered back. "You maybe" I tell them and stand up, "but I don't have much left of my medication". I toss my inhaler to dad to show him. He turns the inhaler in his hand to look at the dose counter. Which tells you how many puffs are left in said inhaler before it runs out. He looks at me with that typical look of his that told me 'are you serious? Couldn't you have told me this sooner?'. I walk up to the two and take back my inhaler "oops, am I right" I told him sarcastically. There is a hint of recognition in his eyes, almost as if he heared Tess but seeing me. Like mother - like daughter. But he doesn't say anything else and turn around, telling both me and Ellie that we where heading out. We walk through different places, with different surroundings as we track the 5 hour hike. Like a vibrant green field with white flowers blooming, crossing a wooden bridge over a curving river, and now an empty muddy road with overgrown grass and moss. "You've gone this way alot?" Ellie asked looking up at my father, "no infected?". My dad thinks for a second before answering "not often, no". "Then what are you looking for?" I asked him. As soon as we came onto the road, which was around 45 minutes ago, I noticed dad continue to look around and keeping an eye out. "People" was the quick short answer. There is one thing more dangerous in this world than the infected, and that are people. "Are Bill and Frank nice?" Ellie asked looking over her shoulder at me, "Frank is" I admitted, "with Bill you just need to know how to approach him". Ellie turns back to face forward, but I can see her glance up to my father again. "What's that scar?" She asked. I feel myself get tense at the hearing the question, I knew the answer. But am not prepared to hear it again. Dad sighs, clearly not wanting to tell Ellie. But the girl kept prying "what? Is it something lame? Like you fell down the stairs or something?". "I didn't fall down any stairs" dad replied shortly, wanting to end this conversation, "okay, so what then?". "Someone shot at me and missed" dad answered back, "see that's cool. Did you shoot back?" Ellie said liking this story, "yes". "You get him?". "No, I missed, too. It happens more often than you think" he tells her. Ellie turns her head at me "where you there when it happened?". I look at her for a second before answering "yes". "Did you-" Ellie continued asking her questions but I cut her off, "I was 3 when it happened". Thr conversation thanfully ends there as we near a round a corner, where a tiny abandoned convenience store with a 1 pump gastation sits. "Cumberland Farms!" Ellie exclaims reading the sign as we head to the building. "Hang back a minute. I gotta grab some stuff I stashed" dad told us both, "stashed?" Ellie asked yet another question, "you sure do ask a lot of goddamn questions" I tell her, "yes, I do" she said with a proud smirk as we follow dad inside. "So, are you going to answer me?" Ellie asked stepling inside, "we hide supplies on routes. In case we find ourselves short in gear, which I currently am cause-", "no way!" Ellie exclaims, not listening further to dad's answer and walks away to the arcade machine she spotted. "You ever play this one?" She asked as she taps the buttons and wiggles the control stick, "I had a friend who knew everything about this game". She rambles on about a character, which I don't really care for. I judt wanted to see if I can find possible inhaler pumps or atleast some medication so I can refill it. I hear loud rumling and look towards dad "you forgot where you stashed it didn't you?" I askes him with a laugh, "no" he replied shortly, "yes, you do. Old-man is getting forgetfull" I snicker and continue searching. I look behind the cash register at the cabinet that was locked. I clocksize my head, intrugied that it hadn't been swiped yet after all these years. I grab my gun and slam it against the lock a few times before it breaks. My eyes where met with a filled cabinet of medicine. I push some boxes away but let out a deep sigh seeing no medication for my asthma. Although I did take the other stuff that was there. Like paracetemol, cold medicine, first aid supplies and some allergy relief.

Back on the road we come across a field where a plane crash happened. We stop at it so that Ellie could admire it. "You fly in one of those?" Ellie asked looking at dad, "a few times, sure". "So lucky" Ellie tells him under his breath, clearly jealous.  "Didn't feel like it at the time" dad replied back, "get shoved into a middle seat with a baby crying her lungs out due to the compression on her ears and pay 12 bucks for a sandwhich". "Dude, you got to go up in the sky!" Ellie said almost yelling out, "well, so did they" I told her and nodded at the crash site of the plane. Before walking away, my dad and Ellie following. "So everything came crashing down in one day?". "Pretty much" I said shrugging my shoulders as I kick some little pebbles away, "how?" I mean no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody's fine, eating in restaurant and flying in planes. And then, all at once? How did it even start? If you have tk get bit to be infected, then who bit the first? Oh, I bet it was a monkey". "It wasn't a monkey. You don't see infected making monkey noises and climbing trees, and going nuts for bananas. I thought you went to school?" I asked Ellie, "FEDRA school. They don't teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandamic". Then dad begins to explain how he thinks it happened "no one knows for sure, but, best guess.. Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. Probably basic ingredients like flour or sugar. There where certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal-" Dad looks at me briefly "-pancake mix". Pancakes, something my sister Sarah loved making. "You eat enough of it, it'll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time, Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on, they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse. Then they started bitin'. Friday night, September 26th, 2003". Dad stops talking for a moment, to let his memory replay that dreadfull night. "And by Monday, everything was gone". "It makes more sense than monkeys" Ellie admits, "thanks". I look around me and see a familiarity in my surroundings. Dad does too and immediatly puts out a hand stopping us from continuing "We'll cut across the woods here". "Isn't the road easier?" Ellie questioned looking between me and dad, "yeah, it's just-" dad hesitates to really answer Ellie's questions, "there's sruff up there you shouldn't see" he reluctantly tells her. Ellie turns to look at me and I simply shake my head. I have seen it before and I didn't enjoy what I saw. "Well, now I have to see" Ellie said and walks forward, "I don't want you to see, Ellie I am serious!". "She isn't going to listen" I told my father and then trail behind Ellie. We continue and eventually reach what dad didn't want Ellie to see. "Uh... whatever it was... think it's gone" she told us,m as she still keeps walking eagerly. But her pace falters and sloes down when she spots the scene. Her bodylanguage going somber. She looks to the side of the road as I stop beside her. A muddy ditch is filled with dozens of decaying skeletons. Ribcages and skulls cover the ground, a mass grave. Dad walks up behind us and gives Ellie a look before explaining, with much trouble as it was a hard topic to talk about. "About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers... went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you where goin' to a QZ, and you were.... if there was room. If there wasn't". Dad stops to let it sink in. I look over the remains of a skeleton that pokes out of the dirt. "These people weren't sick?" Ellie asked but I can hear in her voice she already knows the answer to it, "no, probably not" dad replied back looking over the bones. "Why kill them? Why not just leave 'em be?". "Dead people can't be infected" I tell her and look over at the skeleton of a baby which is covered by a dirty worn out rainbow blanket, which lies next to a larger one. I turn to Ellie "Now you know why he is looking out for people"

Published: 10th of April 2024

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