Lost Love {TLOU} [Joel X OC]

s e v e n

I'm thinking about doing an "alternate path" so after this one is finished do the one where they appear at her house after Joel is severely wounded and then maybe she dies/leaves so it's a lot shorter but a different concept?

Naomi sits there, waiting when an alarm sounds and she jumps up, unsheathing her machete. "The fuck is that?"

The door swings open and an unknown man grabs her before she gets a chance to react, slamming her against the wall and the weapon goes clattering to the floor.

She groans from the impact, her face pushed against the stone.

Struggling against his grip, the man grabs her hair and throws her to the floor, towering over her and she scrambles for the machete, but he kicks her stomach.

Naomi lies on the floor, clutching her stomach as the man smirks, pulling out a pocket knife and kneeling next to her.

The machete appears, landing in his neck and he gasps, blood spurting over Naomi's clothes as he falls, revealing Joel, who pulls the blade out.

He wipes the blood off, turning it so the handle was facing her and she grabs it as Tommy hauls her to her feet.

"Bandits." He answers her unasked question.

"Thanks." She breathes and Joel nods.

The trio make their way through the area, taking out the enemy until it goes silent.

Naomi pulls her machete out one of their backs and pushes his body to the floor as Tommy straightens.

"You guys see anything?" He yells to his crew.

"We got 'em."

"Let's get to the bridge."

They all make their way out when Maria radios Tommy that her and Ellie are in trouble. Naomi can see the worried expression on Joel and she frowns, ducking behind cover.

Crossing the bridge, they make their way into the building. "We gotta get to the girls!" Tommy shouts.

He watches Naomi take them out at a close range and as they cover behind a wall, he nods to her.

She rolls her eyes but vaults over the railings as they stay at top, shooting from above while she takes the closer contact.

"They're all dead!" She calls and the pair join her.

"Tommy?" Maria questions from inside the room.

"Maria!" He exclaims.

"I'm alright! The kid's with me!"

Maria comes out of her hiding place with Ellie, running up to him and he looks her over. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm fine." She reassures.

As the pair reconcile, Joel and Ellie does the same: "Joel, oh man... They were coming in from every direction. Then Maria was like 'we gotta run'!"

"Listen -" he tries to cut her off.

"And so we dove over these tables and this huge guy blasts in with a shotgun."

"Slow down. Slow down. Listen. Are you hurt?"

"No." She exclaims, adrenaline rushing.

Naomi watches them. How Tommy and Maria were in love, reminding her of how her marriage used to be. How Joel worried and cared for this young girl and it reminded her of Sarah.

—
Outside, Tommy tells Maria of what Joel told him which leads to an argument.

Joel sits, intently listening and he looks over to his ex lover, who stood staring at the photo she took. He goes to talk to her, but Ellie stops in front of him.