Ellie's uneasiness didn't fade much after Joel left with Tommy, but Maria so far seemed nice enough, so she simply followed her. Besides, so long as she kept her guard up and was given the food she promised, it couldn't go that wrong.

"Just so you know," Ellie spoke up, "I'm not good at the whole 'girl talk' thing."

Maria laughed. "Well, how about just regular talking then? And some food?"

"Food would be nice." Ellie smiled.

The woman laughs again. "Come on, this way."

She walked Ellie toward another building, a little farther into the town. Being there gave Ellie a better look at the inside of this little community. A small group of people, even maybe an area of peace among vast woodlands and the entire shit storm of infected raging just beyond.

"Quite a place you got here," Ellie said, watching some people lead the horses back into their stables.

Maria slowed so she strolled alongside Ellie. "Well, we work hard to keep it that way."

Ellie looked at her. "How long have you guys been here?"

"About eleven years now," Maria said proudly. "My father started it. He was always quite the humanitarian, believing that everybody had some good in them. And if they lived in a community together and did their part, it would get along. And, I guess, when you're in a world as bad as it is, people pull together." Maria looked at her. "Only dreamed it would get this big, and we're still growing. By staying self-sustained, we've managed to survive this."

"Huh."

They walked in silence for a bit. Ellie, trying to imagine 20 years prior, the beginning of this whole thing— the survival of humanity long before her role ever came into play— while Maria responded to a few people passing by.

"So," Maria asked, "Where did you guys come from?"

"Boston." Ellie replied as Maria gave an interested look. "There's a quarantine zone still there."

"Ah. No wonder you left," she grinned. "That's quite a distance. Whatever you're traveling for, must be pretty important."

"Yeah." After meeting her, Ellie noticed that Maria didn't ask personal questions. Obvious ones like why she and Joel were traveling together, or even why they were traveling at all. It was nice. Ellie got an uncomfortable feeling thinking about lying to her. Maybe Maria knew better than to pry. Everybody here must have come from somewhere, and a lot of them must have had a past too dark to share.

"Well, enough talk," Maria said, opening a door to a large room with several long tables filling the space. "How about that meal?"

Ellie nodded eagerly and practically rushed in.

"How old are you anyway?" Maria asked, after setting a large plates of veggies, chicken, and a brown looking grain in front of Ellie, whose mouthed watered instantly.

"Fourteen," she responded, loading her fork. "Pft, not that it matters."

"It matters here." Maria said, taking a spoonful off her own plate: a small side of fruit. "Fourteen years of life. Not many are that lucky. Fourteen is a good thing." Ellie only shrugged, reflecting on all her close calls, touching her scar self-consciously from the outside of her jacket. She didn't feel that lucky. "You know, we have some kids here that about the same age. Maybe if you're here awhile you could meet them."

"Sure." Ellie responded, unenthusiastically. She doubted they'd even stay the night. But it seemed rude to mention it.

They continued eating for a while. Maria mostly watched Ellie, who didn't bother to hide her hunger. She ate full heartedly. "You may be fourteen, Ellie, but you're strong."

Ellie paused between mouthfuls. "Why would you think that?"

Maria shrugged. "I have a good sense for people's strength, what they're capable of. Besides, you wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't."

Ellie scoffed. "That was all Joel. I just tried to stay out of his line of fire."

Maria chortled. "Well, that's another thing. You survived Joel. Tommy always says he can be as stubborn as mule. And the worst road trip partner— barely says a word and doesn't play a single game even to pass the time."

That made Ellie laugh aloud, becoming more relaxed. Maria gave off a really friendly vibe. It was a huge relief compared to other fucked up people Joel and her kept running into.

"Joel isn't the easiest person to be around. But when it comes to facing Clickers and bandits, he's the best," Maria continued. "Even so, even he couldn't have made it here alone. He can be this closed-off, gruff type of man sometimes, but he's used to looking after people."

Ellie grinned, considering Maria's words and trying to imagine Joel as a little boy, looking after Tommy years before the world got fucked up. "You seem to know a lot about Joel, you know, considering you just met him and all." She stuffed some chicken in her mouth. "He doesn't sound like the guy you're talking about."

"Well, I only know as much as Tommy has told me," she told her. Maria took on a distant look, as if recalling everything Tommy had said about his brother. "Joel changed though, after the Break."

This made Ellie stop eating. "What do you mean?"

Maria sighed, her voice becoming softer. "Let's just say the Break hit Joel at his weakest spot. Hasn't been the same since."

Maria continued eating, but Ellie didn't feel as hungry anymore. She'd been with Joel for several months now, but this seemed to be the first bit of real information that explained who he was. She wasn't about to pass that up. But watching Maria's reaction, she realized that the topic was sensitive, and she'd have to be careful about she treaded to get her answers.

She asked, tentatively. "How?"

Maria stopped, releasing another heavy breath. She didn't seem surprised that Ellie would ask, but she didn't look entirely eager to answer either. There was another second, Maria seeming to consider something before she said, "You finished eating?" Ellie nodded. "Then come on."

Maria got up and started to walk out of the mess hall. Ellie stuffed a few last bites before rushing up behind her.

They made their way back across the village, passing several people who worked to do their part of the labor. Ellie took it all in. This place wasn't exactly cheery, but everyone seemed to know each other, everyone seemed to be together in a way. All of them productive people working to keep this place running. No military, just… people. All doing their part. Ellie wondered if that was how the old world worked too, or if stupid things like money really did control things like she heard. All in all, it seemed a much better place than the military zone back in Boston. She wondered what it'd be like if she grew up here instead of the orphanage. She'd never have gotten bitten. She'd have never met Riley. She'd had never met Joel. The thought suddenly didn't seem like a good idea anymore.

Ellie followed Maria into the same building they were in earlier, making her think they would follow the boys. By the sound of an engine in the background, it sounded like the power generator Tommy was talking about earlier.

Inside the next room, it was pretty sloppy, not that Ellie would complain. It looked like a sleeping quarter of some sort, the bunk beds against the wall being a dead giveaway. Besides the junk that littered the place, it was obvious people lived here, despite it being currently empty. A bag on the far wall seemed to catch Maria's attention. She paused at it, her back to Ellie, rummaging through for something. Ellie tried to keep patient, but she found it difficult without stuff to mess with or something interesting to look at. When Maria found it, she took a moment more holding it, before tentatively holding it out to the girl behind her. It was a small, thin object. A photograph, Ellie realized.

Ellie took it, feeling it wrinkled and aged. Maria looked at her solemnly as Ellie tried to identify its importance. She gasped before she could stop it. There was Joel, smiling, much younger than she knew him, his arm around a small blond girl in a type of sports jersey holding a trophy.

"That's his daughter— Sarah."

A daughter. Whoa. This information was like a revelation. She'd given a lot of thought during those silent walks across the states about life before the break. Sometimes tried to imagine Joel's life. But it never occurred to her that he may have had a daughter.

Ellie looked up, seeing the saddened expression on Maria's face. It seemed to age her, displaying the burden of the last 20 years. She was almost afraid to ask. "What happened to her?"

Maria's mouth pulled down. "When the outbreak first started, people panicked. The military tried to keep control, separate the infected from the healthy. Guess you could say they went to extremes. The soldiers had been given orders to shoot anyone who approached the border. And when Tommy, Joel and Sarah tried to escape to the military—"

"They were too late." Ellie finished, her disbelief forcing her to speak the thought aloud.

Maria nodded. "Sarah got shot. She bled to death in seconds." Maria's face contorted with remorse. "Joel lost her. And there was nothing he could've done. He tried, but it wasn't enough. I reckon, it's haunted him ever since."

The atmosphere gained 100 pounds. Maria's face seemed to deepen with grave memories of her own. Ellie empathized. She didn't know what it was like to lose a kid, but she knew enough about loss. And she knew enough to know it sucked.

Maria's walkie beeped. "Steve to Maria. Over."

This seemed to drag her out of the past. She unhitched the walkie before turning to Ellie. "Hey, put the picture back for Tommy?" Ellie nodded.

Maria started walking outside while talking into the walkie, the static crackling every now and then. Ellie took a final look at the photo. Sarah was pretty, she noticed. And despite the cropped blond hair, she could see the resemblance between her and Joel. She couldn't have been any older than Ellie, maybe even a few years younger. That made it worse— knowing that innocent people like Sarah had paid the price for this hysteria. How it changed people like the smiling man in the photograph to a hard-ass killer like the Joel she traveled with. Her curiosity turned to Joel in the picture, smiling and… happy. She doubted she'd ever see him like that in her lifetime. But she couldn't deny that this photograph had impacted her impression of him. Maybe… maybe there was potential. This man couldn't have disappeared, just changed, damaged. At least, that's what Ellie hoped for. And it was enough to slip the photo into her backpack.

Maria finished her conversation by the time Ellie walked back out to meet her. "Everything okay?" she asked her.

"Yup," Maria said. "They got the engine purring like a new machine. Anyway, do you mind stopping by the control room? I'd like to check it out."

"Sure." Ellie replied, trying to hide her uneasiness. She wondered if Joel would be gone much longer.

They were much closer to the engine room than she thought, based Maria's brief layout of the town. But it was still a walk away, and Ellie tried for conversation. "So… how long have you and Tommy been married?"

Maria smiled, warmly. "About 6 years now. Some days it feels longer, some days shorter."

"Must be nice," Ellie said, slightly awed by the amount of years, "to have someone in your life that long. That's pretty rare with all the shit that's going on."

Maria gave her a funny look. Somewhere between confusion and perplexity. "Isn't Joel—"

Gunshots exploded around them, missing them by inches. The harsh, all too familiar sound of metal clipping against each other, creating dents along the walls.

"Get down!" Maria tugged hard on Ellie's jacket, forcing her to duck behind a supply crate.

"What's going on?" She asked, tensed, reaching for the pistol behind her back.

"We're under attack!" Maria yelled, either to Ellie or to warn others, she didn't care. She whipped out her gun, her eyes turning to steel as adrenaline pumped through her, readying her for a battle. "Shit! We're sitting ducks out here!" Maria muttered, somehow heard over the spray of gunshots littering the air. Ellie watched as Maria searched frantically around them, until she spotted a door and told her urgently, "Ellie! We got to run!"

Though we didn't get the see much of Maria, she's survived the apocalypse and leads an entire group of survivors. So I like to think she's pretty tough, however with Ellie, she definitely lets her sweet side show. And she definitely understands/takes seriously the sad parts of the Break as well, so basically this is how I portrayed her. As for Ellie… I bet her thoughts can get pretty deep, but she's still the same sarcastic, badass girl inside and out. What can I say, I did my best.

But anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. I really loved the Last of Us, it hit me so emotionally, I got easily pulled into the game. And of course I fell in love with characters. I do have several of these Last of Us scenes which you'll probably see either as a next chapter or a separate story so keep updated! Thanks again guys. Tell what you thought of in a review!