Direct Dive into Terror

As we started to drive out of town, we came across families packing up and filling their cars. At one intersection, we passed two police cars heading towards Austin, and at another, a vehicle embedded in a power pole.

As we continued driving, with my father and uncles talking, we passed by Louis' farm, which had turned into a massive inferno. It belonged to a man they apparently didn't like very much. As we moved on, we passed a family—a man, a woman, and a child. Jimmy wanted to stop, but my father told him we were running out of time and that another car would stop.

After a few minutes, we encountered a real traffic jam on the national road that Uncle wanted to take, muttering, "Everyone had the same fucking idea..." as he watched a helicopter fly overhead. As we debated whether or not to continue, the man in the car opposite decided to get out to complain when suddenly an infected person, with a mouth and arms covered in blood, bit him and tore off a piece of flesh. Another infected individual entered their vehicle to attack the others inside.

Noticing us, one of the infected ran towards us as my father yelled, "Tommy! Tommy!" shaking Tommy from his stupor. "Holy shit!" shouted Tommy, throwing the car in reverse and making a U-turn to drive back into town as the infected slammed into the car.

As he sped into the city, Tommy yelled, "What the fuck just happened? Did you see that?" My father replied, "Yes, I saw it!" "God damn it!" yelled Tommy. "Turn here, turn here!" my dad shouted as we turned into a street full of people running in the opposite direction.

"No, no, no, no," my father whispered, "Come on, people. Move," muttered Tommy. I asked, panic rising in my voice, "What are they running from?" "Get us out of here," my father told Tommy. "I'm trying," Tommy replied, as he edged forward and nudged one of the runners who was slowing us down. "We can't stop here, Tommy!" my father urged. "I can't go through them, Joel!" Tommy responded. "Then back up!" Joel replied. "They're behind me too!" Tommy answered.

As we waited in the narrow alley blocked by a bus horizontally across the street, Joel shouted, "There! There! Hang on!" Tommy hit the gas, narrowly avoiding a few people as we sped past the bus.

Barely passing the bus without hitting anyone, a few seconds later, a chill ran down my spine as I saw headlights coming at us from the left at full speed. I barely had time to yell, "Look out!!!" before being thrown to the other side of the car.

I woke up to the sound of a woman screaming and distant gunfire. A hand shook my shoulder, and I heard, "Hey, hey!" Opening my eyes, I saw a shattered windshield in front of me, with Joel looking at Sarah and saying, "Get back, baby. Get back." I realized I had to be the one to kick out the windshield.

After kicking at the windshield, it finally gave way on the third blow. As I struggled to free myself from the car, I saw the Ford Explorer that had crashed into us, its headlights blinding me. Trying to regain my composure, I quickly stood up, only to see an infected person clawing at me, trying to bite me.

I pushed his face away from mine with all my strength, too distraught to do anything else, when my brother Tommy appeared from the side, smashing the infected's head with a brick. We exchanged a confused look as Sarah's cries reminded me that I had to rescue her from the car.

"I'm here, baby. I'm right here. Come on, give me your hand," Joel said, holding out his hand to his daughter, who was screaming in pain as she leaned on her left leg. "What is it?" Joel asked. "My leg hurts," Sarah replied. "How bad?" "Pretty bad," she answered. "We're gonna have to run," Tommy said, backing towards us.

"Oh my God," I said, handing Tommy my gun. "You keep us safe," I instructed him, before saying to Sarah, "Come on, baby," and lifting her into a princess carry. "Now hold on tight." "Okay," Sarah replied, holding on tighter as I ran behind Tommy, who led us through the chaos.

As we ran, following Tommy at a slower pace, we could hear gunshots, human screams, cries of pain, and desperate pleas right next to us. "Daddy, I'm scared," Sarah said, her voice trembling. "Just keep your eyes closed, honey," I replied as we continued to run towards a gas station. Suddenly, a car from the other street lost control and crashed into the gas station, creating a terrifying fireball explosion.

Shielding Sarah with my body, we ran down an alley to the right as Tommy yelled, "Keep running!" We passed a burning building, and Sarah said, "Those people are on fire." As I followed her gaze, a man emerged from the building like a human torch, struggling to extinguish the flames but eventually collapsing in agony, the smell of burning flesh filling the air as we passed him.

"Why are they doing this?" Sarah shouted. "Just keep looking at me, baby," Joel replied as a car exploded against a building and another crashed into it just a few meters from us, creating an infernal noise and overwhelming fear. "We're gonna get out of this. I promise," Joel assured Sarah.

As we continued straight ahead, following Tommy, a theater sign appeared in front of us, with police cars turning into wrecks and a car bursting into flames before finally exploding, blocking our path. "Get back, there's too many of them," Tommy said, referring to the infected.

Heading for a small alley, Tommy yelled, "This way! Through the alley!" as he opened a mesh gate and closed it behind us. A few meters ahead, one of the infected jumped on me, but I managed to push him away with my elbow. Luckily, Tommy arrived a few seconds later, kicked the infected to the ground, and shot him in the head without hesitation. "Jesus," Joel whispered, "We're almost there. We're almost there, baby," he continued as we passed a fence with several infected pushing hard against it.

After passing the fence, we reached a bar patio with another fence that an infected was climbing over. Tommy opened the door and yelled at us to hurry. Barely making it through, he didn't have time to close the door fully, leaving an infected's arm pushing through, desperate to reach us.

As Tommy struggled to hold the infected back, he yelled, "Get to the highway!" "What?" Joel responded, thinking he had misheard. "Go! You've got Sarah, I can outrun them!" Tommy yelled. "I'll meet you there!" Joel shouted from the back door, to which Tommy replied, "Hurry!"

Pushing open the back door of the bar, I came face to face with an infected attacking an uninfected person, biting off a chunk of flesh from their right arm. Trying to get away as quickly as possible, I saw a collapsed fence with a spot of light. "Probably a clue from the developer," I thought to myself as I continued along a dirt road.

Growing more tired, I heard the infected who had been eating the person getting closer and closer. Following the dirt road as fast as my legs could carry me, I came across an overturned ambulance. As I passed it, an infected jumped out. Trying to climb the hill in front of me, I could feel the infected closing in. Just as I was about to give up, shots from an automatic weapon rang out, killing the zombies chasing me.

Cradling Sarah in my arms, I looked behind me to see if there were more infected, finally reassuring Sarah, "It's okay, baby. We're safe." Looking ahead, I saw a soldier in full uniform with a flashlight pointed at me. "Hey! We need help; it's my daughter. I think her leg is broken," I said. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" he shouted, shining his flashlight in my face.

Realizing something was wrong, I decided to play it safe: "Okay... We're not sick," I said. The soldier spoke into his radio, "I've got some civilians in the outer perimeter. Please advise." Sarah asked, "Daddy, what about Uncle Tommy?" "We'll get you to safety and then go back for him. Okay?" Joel said to calm her.

As I turned my eyes back to the soldier, he said into his radio, "Sir, there's a little girl. But, yes, sir," as he started to aim his weapon at us. Sensing danger, I pleaded, "Look, buddy, we're all just out of hell. Please, we just need..." The soldier pointed his gun straight at my face, and I understood what had been said on the radio. "Oh shit," I muttered as I started to turn to run, but he opened fire on us. Falling to the ground, I felt the pain coursing through my body.

The soldier approached, aiming his gun straight at me. A cold sweat ran down my spine as I realized what was about to happen. "Please don't," I begged, putting my hand in front of my face to shield myself from the light. That split second felt like the longest of my life. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate, but then I heard a gunshot. Thinking I was dead, I opened my eyes to see the soldier collapsing to the side, with Tommy standing there, holding a smoking gun. "Oh no..." Tommy whispered, realizing what had just happened.

Remembering that I had Sarah in my arms, I heard her weak cries. I rushed to her, half-crawling, as I reached over and saw the huge pool of blood spreading across her abdomen. Shocked by Sarah's gasping and the severity of her wound, Joel said, "Move your hands, baby." I placed my hands over the wound, causing her excruciating pain as she moaned and tried to push me away. "I know, baby, I know. Listen to me, I know it hurts. You're gonna be okay, baby. Stay with me," I whispered, trying to reassure her.

"All right, I'm going to pick you up," I said as I tried to lift her. She moaned in pain, and I kept repeating, "I know, baby. I know it hurts." Tommy, understanding the gravity of the situation, knelt at Sarah's feet as she continued to moan in pain. When I finally lifted her, she made no sound and stared into space, her eyes wide open. Realizing the terrible truth, Joel tearfully pleaded, "Don't do this to me, baby. Come on," he repeated, in shock.

Holding his daughter in his arms, Joel cried even more, her now lifeless body in his grasp, her breath gone, her eyes staring blankly. "Please, please, don't do this. Oh God, please," Joel sobbed, his voice breaking with despair.

As sad, mournful guitar music began to play, Hylia was suddenly thrown into a black room with the words "The Last Of Us Part 1 Demo End" written on the wall.