((A/N: :D yooooooo okay oKAY I know I have two other incomplete tkc fics but all I have to say is: my bad, I really couldn't get this out of my mind

If you don't know anything about The Last of Us, here's some basic info:

-there aren't "zombies"; in this universe, there was a fungal plague that spread rapidly across the U.S. So they're not dead, they're just infected and far gone. You can get infected by a bite or by inhaling spores released by the infected. Survivors usually carry a mask

-There are 4 stages of infection:

1) Runners – first stage, what you turn into a day or two after being bitten. Runners are the most human (because they were just turned). They're fast, aggressive, and attack in packs. They have bloodshot eyes.

2) Stalkers - second stage of infection; they're fast and vicious but they get their name from the way they both attack in groups and "stalk" their target. They're smart like that ;3. They also tend to use nature to their advantage as you can find many stalkers by bodies of water.

3) Clickers - third stage of infection; takes a year to reach this stage and by this time, the infected person is completely blind (the fungus targets the eyes). They look kinda gross. Since they're blind, they have heightened senses + they use echolocation to see (they'll def know when there's someone there with them). They're also significantly stronger than humans and other previous stages. Possess an intelligence like Stalkers do, they don't leave an area when they know someone's there.

4) Bloaters - last stage of infection and the most dangerous; takes years to reach this stage. They're like covered in fungus from head to toe (which makes them hard to fight bc it acts like armor), they're "bloated" hence the name, and they're able to throw sacks of toxin. Harmful to survivors but doesn't infect them. Once a bloater has you in its grip, it's an instant kill because of their insane strength. Incredibly aggressive but also slow because of how big they are.

-It's been 22 ish years since the outbreak (if you've played TLOU both parts, this takes place some while before Ellie and Joel arrive in Salt Lake City)

-this story takes place in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina

-there's no cure for the infection; once you're bit, you're done and like I said for stage 1, you have a day or so left

-All infected are vulnerable to fire, like most creatures lmao.

-Quarantine Zones (QZs) are government facilitated areas in cities that exist to protect surviving civilians. They're guarded by soldiers, they ration food around, they have things like curfews and mandatory bite checks, etc. From the events of the actual game, you see that people can still go in and out, with or without permission.

I think that's all, if there's more info, I'll explain along the way; thank you for reading! Reviews much appreciated!))

Sunday mornings were usually calming and peaceful. As peaceful as they could be given the state of the world. Sun rays, bird chirps, all that jazz.

The serenity this morning was interrupted by a series of rapts on her door.

Sadie groans, pulling a pillow over her head in an attempt to ignore the noise. She, by all means, had not had a crazy night. It was a casual evening, only light drinking and card games amidst the conversations about who would win in a fight, a pack of runners or a bloater. . For the life of her, she didn't know why she was so tired.

The knocking ceases, allowing Sadie to relax back into her bed. She closes her eyes, ready to fall back into a dreamless sleep.

Of course, it's short lived when her head is rudely smacked with what feels like a pillow.

Her brother's voice sounds above her: "Get up."

She sighs but sits up to meet him. "Good morning to you too."

Carter's dark eyes glare at her from where he's standing at the edge of her bed. He's holding his switchblade in his hand, most likely from jimmying her door open. His hair is as done as it can be, a contrast to his usual weekday look. He traded out his usual hoodie for a black plaid flannel shirt, looking as formal as possible.

Sadie smirks at him, mouth forming a teasing smile. "Well, don't you look handsome today."

He ignores her comment – though his cheeks heat up – and tosses the stolen pillow back at her face. "Come on, we're gonna be late to trade."

Sadie yawns and stands up, moving to shoo Carter out of the room. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

Carter rolls his eyes before heading out, closing the door behind him.

"Took you long enough," Carter comments. He jumps off from his place against the wall and hands her a pack filled with the various foods and objects. He carries his own pack, presumably filled with the same items. They start to walk towards the front gates.

"I had to make sure I looked pretty enough in case that mysteriously cute trader girl comes by." Sadie says, grinning when Carter snaps his gaze towards her. "Oh wait a minute, that's you."

He grumbles something under his breath. "No, it's just..I should look presentable when negotiating with allies, so they can respect my position."

That earns him a snort. "Oh yes, we should all strive to look presentable, what, with all the infected around to judge us."

He doesn't respond to that, instead he asks, "Did you eat anything?"

"Nah, had to rush out, remember? I'll eat when we get back."

Carter sighs, reaching into his pack to pull out a wrapped sandwich. They reach the front gates of their town, taking their horse and waiting a moment for the doors to open. "You have time, just don't choke while we're on the move."

She rolls her eyes but takes the food anyways, making sure to wave her goodbyes to the gatekeepers. They jump onto their horse and ride off.

The trade doesn't happen every Sunday; more so every other week, depending on what they need. They always make sure to travel as far as possible, never taking the same path back twice. The people seem genuine enough but you never know what people are capable of. It takes them nearly an hour to arrive at the meeting place, an abandoned neighborhood hidden between the trees off the road.

The trade goes off well enough; no declarations of war, no bandits, no infected to jump in and ruin the day.

Sadie keeps watch around them as Carter speaks to the others, chiming in here and there with her own takes on what they should take or give. She pretends not to notice the apprehension in his eyes when a certain someone doesn't show up. Making a mental note to cheer him up later, she leans towards his ears to mention that they could use more threading needles.

Movement on her left catches her eye and she watches neutrally as a short woman awkwardly walks up to her.

The woman gives her an uneasy smile. "Hello."

"Hey."

The stranger nods towards Sadie's hand. "That's a lovely bracelet."

Sadie's eyes flicker towards the wrap bracelet on her wrist before raising an eyebrow. "Yes, it is."

"I'll trade you for it."

"It's not up to trade."

Disappointment flashes on the woman's face but she keeps pushing. "I don't have much but I have these books I found the other week. I know you have a thing for exotic animals–" she takes out a couple of thin books out of her pack. "–so if you'd like them…or anything else really, this is all I could bring." It's clear she doesn't believe she's made a case but there's a hopeful look in her eyes that's hard to ignore.

Sadie keeps her face neutral, though she eyes the books being held towards her. They don't look familiar, so she's most likely never read them before. She considers for a moment before she raises her hand and takes off the bracelet. "Deal. Though, I'd like to know why you want it, if you don't mind sharing."

The woman's face lights up, eagerly answering, "My niece collects bracelets and her birthday's coming up in a few weeks. She'd love that design."

Sadie allows a small smile to grace her face as she trades the bracelet for the thin books. "That's a good reason. I hope she likes it."

The woman thanks her before returning to her own group. Sadie bags the books and turns her attention back to Carter, who's finishing negotiations and packing up their newly acquired items. He hands her a couple of pocket knives, jeans, a small pack of threading needles, threads and yarn to put in her own bag.

They say their goodbyes and make their way back home. They came from the mountain side so they opt to go along the river. It's a quiet ride, the only sounds coming from the horse hooves and nature's own music.

"What'd that lady want?" Carter asks once they're a good distance away from the trade circle. He's behind her on their horse, letting her ride them back home. They trade off every other day, depending on who calls it first.

"Just my bracelet." She waves her now-bare wrist in the air for him to see from behind. "Traded it for some books."

"Oh, you read now?"

"Shut up. They're for Felix, you know he has a thing for exotic animals."

"Look who's getting sentimental in her old age."

"Nineteen is barely old," She hums, pausing for a moment. "I'm sure she's fine, by the way."

"What?"

"Your trader girl. She didn't show up today."

Carter doesn't answer for a moment, squeezing her elbows in a silent show of thanks. "Yeah, she probably is. Then again, I have no way of knowing that."

Sadie makes a face and rolls her eyes, despite the fact that he can't see it. "Have you met her? That girl could scare off a bloater with just a look. She's alright."

"I don't doubt her abilities. Did I tell you about last month? I took her out to the mountains for a bit so she could try out this gun I was trading her. She's such a great shot, I don't know anyone else who can make the shots she did. She told me she's been around in groups and you know, it really shows in her fighting. Really unpredictable. She–"

"Carter. You're rambling. You've also said this a thousand times."

"It's just…"

"If anything were to happen, you'd have no way of knowing. For all you know, the last time you saw her was the last time you'd ever see her."

She felt him wince and a rush of sympathy coursed through her. "Yeah."

Sadie doesn't say anything back, instead shifting her focus on the path in front of them. The rest of the ride back is spent in silence, both siblings lost in thought.

By the time they arrive back at their gates, it's sometime after midday and the town's buzzing with its usual daytime movement.

The Nome wasn't a city; no, it wasn't big enough for that. It'd built up from this old watermill near the western border of North Carolina. It was abandoned but functional and their parents had settled down here along with their uncle.

They were on their own for a while, rotating shifts and jobs between the three of them. Though they'd never lost their kindness; they took in a wandering pair of teens and from there on, they made it a point to open up their doors to anyone.

Sadie leads their horse to the stables, preparing to get off. She takes out the books she obtained and passes her bag to Carter. "Meet you home?"

He nods, petting their horse goodbye. "Say hi to Felix for me?"

"Of course." She grabs his arm before he can walk off. Ignoring his questioning look, she steps forward and gives him a hug. "I'm not gonna tell you not to worry because you'll do it anyways. But if you need a distraction or something, you know I'm right next door."

He squeezes her back before stepping back. "You really are getting sentimental."

"Shut up, ugly."

He barks out a laugh before turning and heading back to their shared house.

Sadie skims the pages of each book, content with her trade. She closes the books and heads towards the pseudo-farm.

Felix was one of the teens in the village, having turned fifteen a couple months back. Him and his mother were found in Virginia by Amos on one of his trips. He'd given them directions to the Nome and told them they would be safe there. Six years later, they're still here.

One of the first things Sadie had learned about Felix was his fascination with exotic animals. Penguins were at the top of that list ever since she took him with her to scout out a nearby high school and he saw an abandoned display board filled with facts about the bird. It was mind blowing to him that all these animals even existed. Perhaps one day he'd get to see them.

For now, he was content to help out his mother at the farm. They'd managed to secure some animals from a farm a town away some years back and Felix had jumped at the chance to interact with them. They only had cows and chickens, but a steady stream of milk and eggs was never something to knock down.

Sadie finds Felix in the chicken pen, feeding the birds some apples. With the way he was glancing around, she had a suspicion that he wasn't supposed to be doing that.

"Hey, Felix," Sadie calls out to him. She watches with slight satisfaction as he whirls around and stumbles onto his bottom.

"Ow," he grumbles. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome." She replies, holding out her hand to help him up. She motions towards the discarded apple that was now being torn apart. "Sneaking them fruit again?"

"...Don't tell my mom."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" She shakes her head in mock disappointment. "Of course I won't."

Felix grins at her. "Thanks." His eyes fall to the books in her hand and his eyes light up. "Books?"

"Yup. Some woman had them today at the trades so I got them for you."

She hands him the books and he takes them excitedly. He rifts through them before frowning up at her. "You didn't trade anything important, did you?"

"Just my bracelet. Don't worry about it, it was worth it."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Sadie smiles at him before taking a step back. "Anyways, I have to get back to Carter and get ready for patrol later on. He says hi, by the way-"

"Hi."

"I'll tell him you said that. See you later, kid."

"I'm not a kid!"

"Alright, kiddo."

Felix rolls his eyes, huffing out, "Goodbye." before turning back to the chickens.