"Joel!" Ellie screamed, the elevator Joel had been standing on collapsed, and him with it. "Joel!"

"I'm alright!" Joel's shout came back up, Ellie sighed immediately, filled with relief. That could've gone really bad, luckily it didn't. "Are you okay?"

Ellie scoffed, feeling her stomach almost lurch in response. "NO!" She retorted loudly. "You scared the shit outta me!" She panted, feeling drained of everything as she placed her hands atop her knees, taking a deep breath. Ellie looked down into the elevator shaft, looking for a way down. "I'm... I'm gonna climb down there, okay?" As she sat down and propped her legs over the gap leading down but stopped her movements when she said Joel shout back.

"No!" It was no use the two of them being stuck down there, that much Joel knew. It wasn't a good idea. "Stay up there. I'll make my way up to you!" Ellie watched as his flashlight disappeared and with it, himself as he tried to make his way out.

"Fuck." Ellie cursed. "This is so fucked." Ellie shook her head and turned around. She was in a corridor, full of luggage bags and strollers, the room was fairly lit with light from the outside, so she had no use to have her flashlight on. "Okay, gotta find a way down."

Ellie took her time, walking past long faded and used rooms of the past. She often wondered what it would have been like to visit a place like this. How normal it would have been, except here now, it was anything but normal. The world filled with dread, misery and death, common occurrences in their lives. And then she looked down at her arm, pulling back the sleeve to reveal the bite back on her arm that had barely progressed past anything of serious threat, immuned. Lucky for her.

But she was so trapped in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps behind, running up to her until the last minute. She turned her head fast but it was too late. "What the- ah get the fuck off me!" Somebody had grabbed a hold of her. Ellie reached into her pocket and pulled out her switchblade and thrusted it at whoever grabbed her, stabbing them in the arm that had grabbed her.

"ARGH!" It was a male voice, the attacker. "You bitch!" He roared and Ellie jumped around to face her attacker dead on, her switchblade in hand. The man's eyes were wide in surprise, he shook it off and lunged at her as Ellie raised her blade but something made her froze up, hesitating almost. The man grabbed a hold of her forearm which held the knife and she in turn tried to stab him but the man knocked it from her hand and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"You're gonna die slow." The man hissed as he grabbed at her neck, an attempt to strangle her, but Ellie wasn't done fighting.

"Get the fuck off me!" She shouted, reaching behind her, she grabbed onto something, a brick and lunged at him, striking him in the face hard, enough to break it. The man screamed in pain and yelped back off of her, his hands covering his face as he staggered on the floor.

"I'll fucking kill-" But whatever the man had to say was drowned out as a knife was plunged through the back of his head and came out the front of his mouth, and immediately the blade thrusted out, the man's body thumping to the floor.

"Shit, shit, shit." Ellie scrambled as she manervoured backwards, herself still on the floor, so much that she ended up hitting the back of a wall. She looked up to see a boy, somewhere around her age, clutching the very same knife (covered in the man's blood) that had been used just seconds ago.

He wore ripped blue jeans, a pair of black style combat boots, and a beige jacket. He looked at her for a second, if trying to figure out who she was, as if he recognized her.

It wasn't until Ellie tilted her head further up to see the full scale of his height, he was about average. He was a head taller than her, with the crown of her head stopping at the base of his neck. Ellie immediately got to her feet, pushing herself up with the help of her hands and looked up at the stranger who had saved her life.

"Who the fuck are you?" She all but asked, watching him closely with slightly narrowed eyes.

The boy did something alongside a snort at the question, as if he found the situation amusing. The boy shook his head and turned around to examine their, "friend" who laid dead on the floor. He crouched down and searched through the man's pockets as Ellie watched him with both her guard up and caution.

Not answering made her surprisingly frustrated, she hated feeling annoyed.

"Hey I asked you a question." She huffed as she crossed her arms over. Her saviour as she would call him since he had yet to tell her his name, for what reason she could not tell. Just when she was about to ask again, he answered, his voice surprisingly low and quiet.

"You should be more careful, princess. Or you'll get yourself killed." Y/N said as he looked up from the dead body, staring into Ellie's eyes. It actually unsettled her, the way his eyes would bore into hers, as if searching for something, or someone?

"Princess?" Ellie scoffed, feeling anger coursing through her veins. "I'm not a princess."

"You sure looked like it to me." Y/N mumbled quietly, enough that she didn't hear it.

Goddamn damsel in distress.

"Who the hell are you?" Ellie questioned again as the boy got up from the floor, after grabbing anything of value off the guy. He didn't answer, did he not want to share his name? Maybe not.

Y/N placed his knife back in it's holster (after wiping away whatever blood remained on his jeans) and grabbed his rifle, lifting it up. For a second, Ellie backed up, thinking he was intending on using it, but stopped when she realised he was just showing it to her. 'A rifle...' She thought, thinking back, her eyes lit up for a moment, as if she had figured it out. "It was you." She almost gasped at the realisation.

"You were the sniper?" And the boy nodded his head slowly, averting his eyes elsewhere, feeling an odd sense of embarrassment for being figured out so quick. "Guess we owe you one." But it made Y/N chortle quietly as his eyes returned to her direction. Ellie's eyes narrowed again as she watched.

"Twice," He answered, turning around and walking ahead of her, as Ellie remained still for a second before following. "That's two times you owe."

"I didn't need your help." Ellie argued, wanting to defend herself of the situation. "I had it handled."

Y/N merely nodded in confirmation, not bothering to speak. Until he stopped in his tracks, and Ellie had to force herself to a halt to avoid crashing into him. He turned around and faced her, holding something out to her. Her switchblade, she had dropped it after the fight and she hadn't realised. She grabbed it quicker than she meant to, a blush almost creeping up to her neck, 'Fuck.' From sheer embarrassment.

He looked at her, and for a second, Ellie thought she saw a ghost of a smirk on the boy's lips. "Sure thing... princess." And she groaned again, the new nickname annoying her to no end. Ellie looked back at the dead man on the floor and then to Y/N walking ahead of her. She sighed heavily and rushed after him, she had no choice but to follow him.

--

"You got a name?" Ellie's voice brought him out of his thoughts. The two were quietly but surely making their way through the floor and down to the next level. Dispatching any infected in their way. He had to admit, she knew how to use the knife, no donut about it, but she could be annoying, a lot.

Y/N merely huffed in response, sneaking ahead and going up behind an infected and grabbed hold of it, cutting its throat. When
Y/N let go, the body fell to the ground, looking at the dead, runner, (the name's self explanatory) he heard her sigh dramatically. "Back to the silent treatment." It was true, Y/N hadn't really said much, a lot less than Ellie for sure. He just wasn't one for small talk, he lost any appreciation for it years ago.

"Well," She started with some hesitance. "My name's Ellie." Her response made him stop mid-walk, until he started again, heading past various rooms. He nodded to confirm he heard her (but a part of him groaned at her stupidity for revealing her name) Ellie almost huffed at the no verbal answer that came from the tongue or vocal cords.

They entered into another corridor, this one far less ominous than the previous ones but it was fine. After rummaging through more things in their way, Ellie tried again, her voice rising slightly louder but not too much. "You can't ghost me forever, you know?"

Y/N went to answer and his response definitely wished she hadn't said anything. "Sure can do, princess." As he walked into another room for supplies.

Meanwhile, Ellie stayed put outside, "Ugh!" crossing her arms over again as she laid her back against the wall of the corridor.

After checking the rest of the rooms, Y/N and Ellie made their way down another set of stairs, this one thankfully not blocked off by the dickheads that thought it was a good idea. The two hit the bottom of the stairs. The entrance to the first floor, where they- Ellie, could hopefully find Joel.

Y/N was about to walk through the opening to the floor, when he stopped in his tracks at the sound of Ellie's voice, it being far quieter than the obnoxious one he had first heard twenty minutes before, and maybe even a hint of vulnerability? Something like that.

"What is it-" But whatever Ellie was going to say trailed off, her thoughts going elsewhere as she looked down at the ground.

Y/N turned around to see her staring at the long deceased skelton of her person, too far gone to tell what gender. "What?" He asked her, his voice more like his old self, the far higher pitch and more comfortable voice, not the usual quiet and wary one, Y/N was genuinely confused as to what she meant. And Ellie hadn't noticed.

"What's it like to-" But she cut herself off again, biting at her lip slightly, trying to think of the correct wording for the sort of question. "What's it feel like... To kill a person?" The question stunned him, making him once again stop before he even had a chance at walking. His eyes widened in surprise at the question, making himself think of an answer, but why? He didn't have to answer, yet he felt like he had to, like he needed to.

"Why do you wanna know?" He asked her, causing Ellie to lift her head up from looking at the dead and look him, almost in the eyes before averting them, yet still in his general direction.

"I-" She almost choked back the words, hanging her head low, before raising it higher and speaking, her lips feeling parted. "I could have done it, back there." She said, referring to the guy who had attacked her. "But I didn't, I froze."

Y/N remained quiet for a minute, his own head wracking around for an answer, his eyes searching the stairwell before landing back on her. With a slight huff, he replied, "You hesitated, it happens." He reassured her, though he didn't know if he was justifying her actions or that of his own from some time ago, he remembered when he first was put into the situation and it almost cost him his own life.

"It's not easy... at first." He told her, propping himself against the door frame of the exit, fearing that he may fall without support. "First person I ever killed, it was self defense." And Eliie nodded, wringing her hands together as Y/N watched her. "It's not something you get over. It'll make you tense, numb, and probably even guilty."

Ellie nodded, walking past him and out into the hallway of the first floor, Y/N following shortly behind. "Do you still feel that? When you kill someone, I mean?" Ellie asked him quietly, as if dreading the answer.

Y/N didn't say anything first, as they began rummaged through the floor, while keeping any eye out for anyone. But he finally did, walking up beside her, his eyes narrowing back to the cold and distant ones they always were. It was quiet, but not unhearable. But Ellie questioned whether she wanted to know at all.

"No... Not anymore."

He stopped still, Ellie standing to his left, as if the words even shocked himself. Feeling something pull at his heart strings, maybe he didn't want anyone to have to go through with what he had. But, with complete surprise of himself and Ellie, he placed his left hand atop Ellie's shoulder.

"Next time..." His eyes widened slightly, noticing himself getting too close, and so he let go and let his hand slide to his side, Ellie herself feeling just as surprised. "Next time, don't hesitate," Looking into her eyes, almost pleading, as he turned and walked ahead. And his next answer sent chills down Ellie's spine.

"Because they sure as hell won't."

--

It had been a while since the last time Y/N talked, let alone to another human being. He almost felt awkward from having to talk to her, yet there was a slight comfort in doing so. To be able to speak something on his mind, It was a great feeling (Though he would never admit it openly, he quite enjoyed having someone to talk to, even if it was Ellie) Yet he was worried he was getting too close. He'd only met the girl about thirty minutes ago but still, he couldn't let his old trusting nature split back in, or he'd end up regretting it later.

The two of them passed by more rooms before entering into what looked like a foyer. But before either one of them could do or say anything, they heard a loud and echoing thud, followed by a splash of water. Immediately, Ellie bolted, running past the wide open doors while Y/N called out to stop her, and slow her down, but it was no use. Ellie rounded a corner and found herself standing on a balcony or an arch way, looking down into another room.

Then she saw it, Joel being toppled over and drowned in a big enough puddle of water, a massive sized man standing over him, gripping harshly. Y/N caught up with her and immediately saw what was happening. He looked at Ellie for confirmation, but he caught on who her friend was, the sheer desperation and fear in her eyes proved much. Y/N pulled out his pistol and aimed for the man choking Joel to death and fired, but nothing happened. He pulled the trigger and it jammed. It seems he did need to clean it after all.

"Fuck." Ellie said as she jumped down the base of a ladder and onto the ground, and spotted Joel's pistol on the ground, she rushed up to it and grabbed it. Without a second thought, she took aim and fired, hitting point blank in the face. Joel immediately lunged up out of the water to catch his breath, to find Ellie huddled over, watching him. Y/N just a couple meters away, out of Joel's line sight.

"Man." Ellie breathed, her eyes locking onto Joel, her eyes wide. "I shot the hell outta that guy, huh?"

"Yeah, you sure did." Joel retorted bitterly as he pushed himself up off the ground. Y/N watched as the scene unfolded. He almost scoffed at the man's attitude. Was that how he repaid her? With bitterness? 'Oh yeah sure man, just saved your life and everything but okay be moody.'

Ellie sat down on an old air duct vent that had been left out. Y/N had been right, she did feel tense, absolutely worse and even a bit guilty, though the guy had it coming. "I feel sick." She said as she laid her hands out across her legs, panting slightly.

Ellie felt her hands slightly shake but suddenly stopped as Joel yanked the gun out of her hand and placed it away behind him, holstering it into the back of his pants. "Why didn't you just hang back like I told you to?" Joel questioned harshly.

"Well, you're glad I didn't, right?" Ellie retorted just as bitter as him, and Y/N couldn't blame her for acting the way she was, though he couldn't completely blame Joel either, he had a point, even if it was a bit exaggerated.

Joel turned back to look at her with his face filled with anger. "I'm glad I didn't get my head blown off by a goddamn kid."

Y/N stepped out of the shadow to get a better look at the man, he was gtuffy, perhaps closer to his late forties or early fifties.

"You know what? No!" Ellie almost shouted from pure anger she felt. She had saved his life and he was being pissy, well fuck him. "How about, hey Ellie. I know it wasn't easy but it was either him or me, thanks for saving my ass." She shook her head, her eyebrows raised. "You got anything like that for me?"

Joel went to answer but found himself stopping as he spotted another figure in the room, stepping out from the sideline. Joel immediately brought up his gun and aimed his gun at him, Y/N did the same, his rifle snapping to him just as quickly. "Who the hell are you?" He questioned harshly and just as Joel was about to shoot, Ellie practically lunged at Joel and placed her hands atop his gun, stopping him. "Ellie." Joel warned her.

"Wait!" Ellie told him, "He saved me." she said to him, and Joel lowered his gun but not enough to count as friendly. He frowned as
Y/N came into full view and just a couple inches away from. The boy looked no more older than Ellie, maybe a bit taller but that was it. Pistol and knife in holster, a rifle pointing at him, though Y/N had lowered it just as much as Joel had with his.

"Him?" Joel questioned with a huff, finding it ridiculous that someone like him had survived for so long. Looking at Ellie he looked for confirmation, but he soon found the new boy answering him instead.

Y/N frowned as he raised his gun slightly higher but nothing threatening. "You got a problem with my age?" He questioned him defencefully, his voice far louder than the quiet one he used when he first found Ellie.

"No," Joel said with a huff, looking at Ellie who looked slightly nervous at the confrontation, either that or from killing that guy earlier. "And we were doing fine." He argued. They didn't need help, well that's what Joel thought.

"Yeah right." Y/N scoffed, frowning at the man, who by the way, he helped save. "It looked like you needed all the help you could get."

Joel's mouth practically turned into a snarl and he lowered the gun enough and marched forward an inch, closer to the boy. "We don't need your help." He hissed.

"Hey, fuck you old man. You and Ellie here would've been dead if it weren't for me." Y/N growled, feeling anger rising through him. This is how he repaid him? Screw him.

Ellie's eyes immediately widened at the mention of her name, which coming from him, she was glad in a way. But it all went away when Joel sent a condensing look, making her wince. "You told him your name?" He questioned, almost rolling his eyes.

"What was I supposed to say?" Ellie asked with a deep frown, feeling herself get defensively.

Joel took a lasting look at her and then scoffed, feeling his iration rise, to which Y/N, as much as he hated Joel right now, kind of agreed. And the aged man answered. "...Nothing."

Y/N watched the two, feeling his frustration swim away. "Look," He started, bringing their attention towards himself instead. "Okay, I don't have to help you." Shaking his head, he really didn't, after getting out of the city he would be long gone. "But I should at least tag along, you know." In theory he didn't have to go with them. But they were the first decent-ish people he had met in almost a year, so what harm could it do? Well, he was already breaking one of his rules, why not another? "Besides you both owe me for saving your asses."

For a minute, Joel remained still and quiet, pondering what the kid had said, after a promising look from Ellie and his own decision.

He sighed and nodded his head. "Fine..." Joel agreed. Turning around and walking up to the adder, he place his left hand on it. But before he moved up, he stopped and turned around to face Y/N.

"You got a name?" He asked with a huff, obviously not wanting to have to ask but he had no choice.

Ellie's eyes lit up at brightly at the chance to learn it. She looked back at the boy, he seemed to be pondering a thought of his own.

'How long has it been since he last said it?'

He looked down at the ground for a second before looking back up, returning each of their gazes before sighing. He nodded his head and answered, his voice quiet but enough to hear.

"Y/N..." He said with some hesitation in his tone of voice. "My name's, Y/N."