A/N: Thank you for the 24k views ! :)

They had arrived at the Radio Tower sometime after. The building had been small, occupying one larger room for the group, while the other was a small side room. Enough for two people to occupy while the rest took the other.

Right now, in the larger space, was Henry, Sam, Joel and Ellie.

Henry was huddled around with his bag, rummaging through whatever he could find. The cans of food displayed beside him. Joel was doing much of the same, though frustrated, was looking for something he couldn't find. Sam was in the corner, sat against the wall by himself watching his older brother. And Ellie was near Joel, watching him, her eyebrows furrowed.

Y/N was... in the other room.

"What are you looking for?" Ellie asked Joel as she placed her elbows across her sleeping bag, and her hands reached up to cup her cheeks in a mock of boredom.

"The heat stove." Joel replied with a huff, bringing his hand up to wring softly across the tuf of his hair. "I had it a few minutes ago."

Yeah, she had seen him place it down beforehand. Looking around, she couldn't see it anywhere. She asked Henry and Sam if they had but said the same.

They had no idea.

"I'll ask Y/N, then." Ellie got up and onto her feet. "He might've seen it."

"Sure, that's why you want to talk to him." Joel said idly as he turned back to his bag, as he heard Ellie scoff behind him.

Why was it the people in her life could rile her up so much?

"Shut up, Joel." Ellie warned with a scowl, causing the man to huff with humour as she left.

When she entered the second room, she closed the door behind her, before turning to her left, and immediately spotted the heat stove.

Y/N was situated next to it, his beige jacket forgotten about, it slung across his bag in a mess, while he favoured the long sleeve white t-shirt that couldn't even be considered the colour with the spots of grime across it.

He was backed up against the wall, the heat stove in front of him.

That... and his knife was burning hot over the flame, colouring the blade in a smouldering orange glow.

"What the fuck." Ellie cursed as her eyes landed on Y/N and the stove. The sudden intrusion had him flinching, almost dropping the blade as he pulled back.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Y/N snapped as he pulled his knife away from the flame and slumped his shoulders.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ellie ignored his snap, and instead questioned as she moved up beside him, her green eyes narrowing as she sat down in front of the stove, and Y/N.

Y/N looked away, his gaze sharply avoiding her eyes, "Nothing." He mumbled back.

"Doesn't look like nothing." Ellie said, her eyes gazing over Y/N's face as he avoided her. So she pressed her voice harder. "What are you doing?"

Y/N sighed and rolled his eyes, before replying, "Trying to fix my leg."

She hadn't forgotten of course. But how did he expect to do that on his own?

"You need help?" Ellie asked with a smile that almost looked teasing.

"No." Y/N shook his head, and yet his gaze avoided her again.

'I'm seeing a pattern here...'

"Of course not." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. "C'mon, can't be too hard."

"Ellie—" He cut himself off, sighing and shaking his head as he looked to the ground in defeat. "It's pointless arguing with you, princess." He mumbled as he closed his eyes. Before opening them up again, and settling them on Ellie's grinning face. "Sure."

"Alright, I can go get Joel and—"

Y/N shook his head, "No, just you. I... I need your help."

"Woah," Ellie's mouth became agap, as she stared him down. "Can I..." She said slowly, biting the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing. "Can I get that in writing?"

"...Fuck off."

That time she laughed, a lot, at the look of pure contempt across Y/N's face.

"So," Ellie calmed herself, yet the smile still remained against Y/N's sour look. "What do we need to do?"

"Need to sterilise the wound and the equipment, and remove the bullet." Y/N said simply, his expression blank, as if he had done it before. "Then cauterize the wound."

"Wait," Ellie held her hand up. "Cauterize?"

"You said you wanted to help."

"Great." Ellie mumbled.

What had she got herself into?

Ellie looked down at the boy's blue ripped jeans and blushed, at the obvious, "Okay, well you should probably remove your — Okay, guess that'll work."

Y/N had taken his knife and cut through the fabric holding the portion of his wound trapped apart. Ripping the piece and the bandage off and throwing it away, creating a nice space to work with, the skin visible and wound clear to see.

And it wasn't pretty.

The area around the wound had turned to a ghastly smudge of brown, degrading, as it had tried to heal over time but failed. While the wounding hole just below his kneecap took on an irritated and rough texture. The blood dried and mixed between the fresh.

"Okay," Y/N mentally prepared himself. He produced the bottle of vodka from his side and a pair of small tongs, and opened up the bottle. Quickly he cleaned them with the vodka before handing them to Ellie, who gulped at what she was about to do.

Taking another look at the bottle, Y/N thought 'Fuck it' And took a snip. The alcohol burned his throat like nothing he had ever felt. He pulled back, coughing as he did. Before taking another, longer drink. Turning to Ellie, he handed her the bottle, along side a cloth.

"I need you to... clean the wound." Y/N said and Ellie took it with hesitation. "It'll be fine." He said with a nervous look, and she nodded.

She did as he said.

And damn did it hurt.

"Ugh." Y/N grunted, his body flinching as the liquid soaked cloth dabbed at the exposed are. He felt the rise to scream but held it back, focusing more on the ceiling as Ellie worked.

"Okay," There was sweat beginning to form on his forehead, as he gritted his teeth. "Now you need you to get the bullet out."

"Yeah, I..." Ellie spluttered. "I didn't think this through."

Y/N snorted, "Me and you both." Yet again that nervous look appeared and it did nothing to reassure Y/N himself. "Look, you'll do... great. Just carefully reach in and tug it back up." She nodded and made to move with the tongs, before Y/N hand's reached out and grabbed at her wrist, causing both to tense. "But be careful not to tick any arteries, yeah?"

She nodded more firmly at that.

Ellie took a breath, as the steel tongs shook in her hands. Willing herself to calm down. She reached down with them, the two pressure points that made up the piece of equipment open wide to catch the bullet in the hole of his leg.

And with a forced move, she pushed the tongs into the wounding hole.

Y/N immediately grunted at the pain, watching as Ellie dug into his leg wasn't a fun experience and he doubted she appreciated having to do such a thing. But he needed her help, as much as he wanted to deny the saying.

He really did need her help.

Y/N didn't want the others involved. A part of him didn't want them to see him in a weak state, still trapped in that backward thinking.

But Ellie, in a way, Y/N trusted her.

He trusted her enough to see him at his worst.

And that actually frightened him more than anything.

"Argh..." He began to grit his teeth, the pain worsening the further Ellie dug in.

"Think I'm almost there." Ellie said, as she concentrated on the wound, not even trying to attempt to catch a look at Y/N's state. "How do you know all about this anyway?"

Y/N sucked in a deep breath, and it wasn't because of the pain. Well, not exactly.

It had been the same in the sewer. When the two had opened up. Something about seeing the corpses in the corner, huddled with the bones of long dead children. It had... spurred something inside him. Something that had always weighed him, and even now, that weight felt lighter.

But still...

There would always be a part of him that wanted to hide away. To stay quiet and never tell another soul. But the mind could be easily frazzled when you have a alcohol stained piece of cold steel digging into your bleeding body.

"Rachel... taught me." Y/N admitted as he tried his best not to move or squirm as Ellie momentarily stopped her actions at his words, before continuing. "She... she was a nurse before the outbreak. T— Taught me how to fix myself."

Ellie nodded, "That was smart of her."

Y/N actually gave out a short chuckle at that, "Yeah, I'd say."

Without another word, Ellie continued. The only sound in the room was the small roaring of the heat stove's flame and the flat, heavy breathing of Y/N.

"I think I've got it." Ellie said softly, as the tongs made contact with something and a small clang followed. Clutching the two sides close on the object, she pulled. She ignored the grunting of Y/N and focused on the tongs, the sweating of her hands making sure she knew how nervous she felt. "There." She pulled and the bullet came out in a rush, clasped between the tongs as Y/N breathed a sigh.

Turning to her right, she deposited the bullet, it being thankfully intact, right in the empty tin can used to discard the objects.

"Okay," Y/N said, wiping his brow clean. "Now for the fun part."

He nodded over to the knife that had finished being heated atop of the heat stove, and they both visibly deflated

Ellie smiled sarcastically, "Oh joy."

Y/N rubbed his hands together, a sign of nervousness, as Ellie grabbed the knife from its place and brought it to bare in front of her. Carefully minding the scolding blade.

Looking up to face him, Ellie's eyebrows furrowed and she frowned, as she noticed Y/N pulling a belt from his bag, and carefully folding it, "What are you using that for?"

"So I can hang myself," Y/N said sarcastically, before continuing, "So I don't bring the infection down on our heads." He explained. "Plus the noise... wouldn't be pretty."

Ellie nodded, "Right." She mulled over as she stared down at the knife while Y/N began to place the belt in his mouth. 'Okay, I can do this. Just need to gently glaze the knife across the flesh... so it seals up. Wait...' She looked back up at Y/N. "Why aren't we using a thread and needle for this?"

Y/N removed the belt, "Can't risk the chance of infection If we do. Plus, we don't have any antibiotics if I get an infection." With that said, he placed the belt in and resumed his position.

After removing the bullet, she was surprised the others hadn't heard them.

Or maybe they had and they just wanted Ellie to suffer it alone, 'Assholes.'

"Ready?" She asked him one last time as she readied the knife in her hand. He nodded, biting down hard on the faded leather, and Ellie sighed, and moved, the length of the blade making contact with his bleeding flesh.

"Ughmm!" Y/N immediately cried out at the burning sensation skyrocketing through his system. 'FUCKING HELL!' He thought he had tasted true pain, but this... this was worse. He tried his best not to move or else he would damage it further, but god did it burn as he bit down on the worn material.

He thought the school's fire had been bad, picking up that burning rafter, but this...

'Argh!'

Ellie grimaced as the blade continued it's path, her eyes stinging at the glare as the blade cuatorised the small gaping hole. And she cringed at the muffled pain that came from Y/N's bounded lips.

He owed her big time for this.

In reality it hadn't taken too long, less than a minute to fully cauterise and make sure it was fully sealed, but for Y/N it had felt like hours.

Pulling back the blade from the wound, Ellie inspected the result as her nose crinkled at the smell of her friend's burning flesh and found that it had indeed worked.

It left a large scabbed, red marking. Scarred, and crisped up like a fucking barbecue.

She felt sick.

Y/N was panting hard, sweat across his brow like nothing seen before, and face twisted in a tight grimace. And Ellie wondered how he hadn't passed out at all.

He removed the belt, throwing across the room as if it had personally wounded him, and cursed, "Fuck!" He did his best not to stress his leg, and backed up against the wall further. "I'm never doing that again."

"You and me both." Ellie agreed, placing the knife down in the tin can and shook her head. "You owe me."

Y/N couldn't even argue with that. "Big time." He nodded, closing his eyes as he backed his head against the wall. "Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph." He cursed as the wound bared him a pain like no other, and his stomach churned uncomfortable into knots.

"Who?"

"Not important." Y/N said as he opened his eyes, and took another look at Ellie, and spoke hesitantly, "I... thanks for the help, Ellie."

"Yeah, no problem." Ellie shrugged, her eyes wide and glancing at his frizzled appearance. "Just... take it easy, yeah?"

"Yeah." Y/N agreed. The pain was unbearable, but it beated having to deal with further injury and possible infection. "Just gotta—"

"I got it." Ellie interrupted him as she reached for the freshly cleaned bandages by her side and began to carefully and gently wrap his wound up.

"...Thanks."

Y/N shook his head. It seemed all he was doing nowadays was thanking people. He almost forgot what it was like to actually depend on people. Taking his eyes off her, he turned to the bottle at his side and grabbed it. Without much of a word, he took another sip, and felt his throat tighten with the contact, but it felt better this time.

It helped with the pain.

That was an excuse, well kinda, but he still felt shaken up. After everything they had dealt with in the last few hours. And Y/N knew the booze would take the edge off.

"You want some?"

Ellie shook her head, "I'm good."

"Suit yourself."

Though, on second thought, she stared back at the bottle in his hand with a keen curiosity. It wasn't like she hadn't tasted alcohol before. Riley had seen that come to fruition. But after that mess of medical attention...

Ellie finished wrapping the bandage around the length of his wound, and wrung her hands together, "On second thought, sure."

Y/N stared back at her with a mixed response, before handing it to her. He watched her reach out with her left hand and grabbed the bottle.

But just as he made to let go, he noticed it, something with the hem of her red long sleeve t-shirt. The sleeve had been pulled back slightly, from working on him, he guessed.

It was the same area he had spotted her before, in the sewer, scratching at her forearm. Just as he scratched at the scar on his wrist whenever he felt trapped back in that hellhole, that untold nightmare that haunted him everyday.

But when he squinted his eyes for just a second, he noticed the area around the rim of the clothing was scarred red, a mark... a small wounding mark. And the shallow marking of a tooth implant along the edge.

'Huh.'

He was seeing things, being delirious from the treatment. He was sure of it, had to be.

He let go and Ellie pulled back, the bottle in hand and took a sip, well a bit more than a sip. Y/N grinned when she wretched with a fitting cough when the liquid hit the bottom of her throat.

"Goddamn — Fucking. Argh." She coughed, the bottle left on the floor, forgotten about as she held her hand to her mouth in a tightened fist. "That's horrible."

Y/N agreed, yet he still chuckled, before he could catch himself.

"It's nice to see you having fun." Ellie said sarcastically, rolling her eyes playfully as she straightened herself up and smiled.

"Yeah..." Y/N said slowly, his eyes moving from Ellie and to the window that led out into the wide world. He could see the sun setting in the distance. Night would soon be upon them. He turned back to her, coughing awkwardly. "I never asked, what did you come in for?"

"The heat stove." Ellie responded, making Y/N flush with embarrassment. "Joel was looking for it. Gotta say, I didn't think you had it in you to steal from him. I'd be scared shitless."

Teasing as usual, or was she?

He didn't want to cross Joel. He'd flatten him like a goddamn pancake.

"Sorry." Y/N mumbled an apology, feeling almost sheepish as he turned away from her green eyed gaze that threatened to spill him open wide.

"It's fine." Ellie shrugged her shoulders as she got up from the seating on the floor, intending on exiting as she turned off the heat stove and picked it up. "You know," She started when she turned to him, noticing the sudden and bashful sheepishness. "You should come join us."

"I don't know..." Y/N said slowly, watching her with a hesitant stare in his eyes.

Turns out, Ellie could be pretty convincing when she wanted to be.

"Oh, come on. I just pulled a fucking bullet out of your leg and burned the wound shut. The least you can do is join us for dinner."

"...Fine."

A/N: Chapter 17 - A Cruel Reality: Part II is next!