four ; Long, Long Time

The sky was dim, the sun rising in the distance. It had only been 12 hours since Joel dragged Ellie and Penelope out of the state house, leaving Tess behind.

Penelope knew there was nothing they could do for Tess, but it didn't help that Penelope had grown attached to her.

The whole night, Penelope had laid on her side, curled up in a ball, clutching onto her picture of her parents and herself. She tried to go to sleep, but when she closed her eyes, all she could see were the flames, and Tess' body standing in the middle of the room as Penelope was dragged away. She could hear Ellie's cries of protest swirling in her head along with her protests.

Penelope didn't notice she had been crying all night. Only to realize when she rolled over to see Ellie watching her. Penelope whipped her running nose, lifting her cannula away from her face to clean it with her sleeve.

Joel had left early in the morning to do whatever. Penelope didn't care.

Or maybe she did.

She can't tell.

Ellie had Joel's coat over her body as she sat against a tree.

The sun was rising on the horizon, creating a soft glow of light. Penelope sat up out of her curled position, the bitter morning air nipping at her body. She wrapped her father's coat tightly around her torso to block out the air.

Penelope's eyes follow Joel's figure as he returns from wherever he went. He moved to his belongings, going through his backpack.

"You want your jacket back?" Ellie asks Joel.

He doesn't respond, still going through his bag.

Penelope glances from Joel to Ellie. Ellie leans her head back on the tree. There's silence between the trio. Penelope has nothing to say. And neither does Joel. so she says nothing.

Penelope rakes through her backpack, searching for her dried beans and a jar of peanut butter she managed to fit in her bag. She took them out, handing Ellie some of her beans. Ellie scrunches up her nose, shaking her head. Penelope smiles and tosses the beans in her mouth.

They didn't taste good, but at least it was something. As she was chewing on her beans and peanut butter–not the best mix, but she was starving–Penelope saw Joel toss something to Ellie. Ellie snatched up the object, opening it up. She stuffed the food in her mouth, chewing it.

"I've never been in the woods." Ellie finally said, food still in her mouth.

Penelope glances around her surroundings. She finished her food, saving the rest for later. She was playing with a leaf in her hand. The green object crumbled in her fingers as she pulled it apart, inspecting it.

"More bugs than I thought," Ellie announced, looking around.

Joel and Penelope stay quiet. It's not like Ellie was asking questions. Penelope didn't know what else to say. Just, 'Oh, yeah, there are a lot of bugs.' or something like that. But it took too much energy to speak at the moment for Penelope.

"Look, I've been thinking about–"

Joel quickly stands up, pulling on his backpack. "I don't want your sorries."

"I wasn't gonna say I'm sorry. I was gonna say that I've been thinking about what happened." Ellie retorted, leaning forward. "Nobody made you or Tess take me and Penelope. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery or whatever and you made a choice. So don't blame me for something that isn't my fault." Ellie spoke defensively.

Penelope scratched her eyebrow, trying to stay out of the conversation. She glanced from Joel who was standing up with his gear on, to Ellie who was sitting crisscrosses-apple-sauce under the tree. The two stared at each other. Joel finally gave Ellie a subtle nod and Ellie motioned with her hands.

Joel bent down to get his gun. Penelope took his actions as a signal to get ready.

Penelope stood up, stretching a little bit. Her ankle was aching, but not as much as it was yesterday. Her black Converse was helping her ankle stay in one place. The night before she went to bed, she used some duct tape to secure the sneaker on her left foot, so she didn't have to move her ankle in any weird way.

She also had fixed her long brownish-blonde hair into a loose braid. Penelope's hair was so long that without a braid, it reached the end of her elbows.

Penelope shrugged on her backpack, walking side by side with Ellie. Ellie handed Joel his coat as she approached him. Joel took the piece of clothing, straightening it out in his hands.

"How much longer?" Ellie asked.

"Five-hour hike." He responded.

Penelope scrunched up her nose, mentally preparing herself. She shifted on her feet, trying not to put weight on her left leg.

Ellie tilted her head. "We can manage that."

Joel nodded, turning around and leading the way.

Penelope sighed, following after Ellie. Their footsteps thumped quietly on the dirt ground. They had been walking through the greenery, Penelope turning around in wonder looking at all the plants and leaves. The chirp of birds and bugs is the only sound other than the trio's footsteps.

The trio walked across a bridge. Penelope stopped for a moment, looking over the railings. She looked down at the water, seeing all kinds of fish and ducks in the water.

"Do you think Meatball would be around here?" Penelope asked Ellie as they stood together looking over the railing.

"Nah, I think it's too far away," Ellie replied, shaking her head.

Penelope shrugged sadly, pushing off the railing.

They resumed walking, catching up to Joel.

The trio were quiet for the first few hours. Penelope and Ellie say something every so often, mostly in awe of the environment around them. They were now on an open road, standing side by side. Trees surround them on either side of the road.

Ellie stood on Joel's right, Penelope walking a little bit behind Joel on his left. "You've gone this way a lot?" Ellie asks Joel. "No infected?" She pushes.

"Not often, no," Joel responds.

He was clanging around at his surroundings, looking over Ellie and Peneleope's heads. Ellie reached Joel's shoulders, while Penelope was a little shorter than Ellie.

"What are you looking for?" Penelope asks this time, glancing around just like Joel is.

"People."

Penelope hums in response, glancing at Ellie.

Joel quickens his pace, Ellie and Penelope copying his movements.

"Are Bill and Frank nice?" Ellie asks.

"Frank is."

Penelope pierced her lips. "What about Bill?" She furrows her eyebrows.

"He's…not so nice," Joel responded.

"Oh."

There's a pause in their conversation.

"How'd you get that scar on your head?" Ellie speaks up, looking at Joel.

Penelope turns her head to Joel, looking for the scar. "What scar?" She speaks up.

Joel sighs heavily.

"What? Is it something lame?" Ellie asks with a smile on her face.

Penelope moves from Joel's left to his right, standing beside Ellie trying to find the scar on his face.

"Like you fell down the stairs or something?"

"I didn't fall down any stairs."

"Okay, so what then?"

Joel pauses, glancing at Ellie.

Penelope stayed quiet, studying Joel's face. She itched at her cannula on her face as she watched Joel and Ellie's encounter.

"Someone shot at me and missed."

"See, that's cool," Ellie says waving her hand as an emphasis. "You shoot back?"

"Yeah."

"Did you get him?" Penelope speaks up, glancing back at Joel's scar.

Joel inhaled deeply. "No, I missed, too. It happens more often than you think."

"'Cause you suck at shooting or, like, in general?" Ellie asks.

"Ellie!" Penelope shoves Ellie's shoulder at her question. "That wasn't very nice,"

Joel slowly turns his head to look at Ellie. She shrugs.

"In general," Joel says simply.

It's quiet as Penelope and Ellie linger back a bit. Ellie's eyes catch a look at Joel's pistol in its holster and get an idea. "You know, seeing as it's just the three of us, I was thinking I should pro–"

"No," Joel says quickly.

Penelope giggles as Ellie sighs, piercing her lips. Ellie gives Penelope a look, and she instantly stops laughing. Joel leads them to a building, stepping over a fallen tree. The two younger girls follow him. They approach the building, Joel walking quickly to the entrance.

"Cumberland Farms." Ellie reads aloud, saying it with an accent.

The trio walks to the building. Joel turns to the younger girls saying, "Hang back a minute. I gotta grab some stuff I stashed."

Ellie continues walking, wrapping her arm around Penelope's to drag her to the door.

"Stashed? Why do you have stuff stashed here?"

"You ask a lot of goddamn questions," Joel said. He reached the building walking into the door.

Penelope tried to stop and 'hang back' as Joel instructed, but Ellie pulled her through the door.

"Yes, I do," Ellie said sweetly, following Joel.

The door creaks open as Joel enters the building.

"So…are you gonna answer me or what?" Ellie pestered Joel. Ellie led Penelope into the building, following Joel through the door.

The smell of dirt wafts through Penelope's nose as they enter the 'Cumberland Farms'.

Joel finally answered Ellie's question. "We hide supplies on routes in case we find ourselves short on gear, which I currently am 'cause–"

Penelope eyed something as they walked in between the tiles. Ellie did too, saying; "No way!" Ellie pulled Penelope to the old game, letting go of Penelope's hand to jam the buttons on the game. Penelope read the words, 'Mortal Combat' on the machine.

"You ever play this one?" Ellie turns to ask Joel. Penelope gingerly touched the joystick, unsure what this is.

"What is this?" Penelope asks Ellie.

Ellie blanches at Penelope. "This is only the best game ever !" She shakes Penelope's shoulders in excitement. Penelope laughs, her face brightening up in a smile.

"I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There's this one character named Mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones." Ellie jams her fingers expertly on the board, exhaling. "Oh, man." She sighs, throwing her head back.

"You'd love this game, Penny." Ellie finally says.

"Uhh, I don't think so." Penelope disagrees, shaking her head. Ellie swivels to Penelope, a look of shock on her face. Penelope holds up her hands in surrender. "I don't like gore!" Penelope tries to defend herself.

There's a crash behind the two girls. Penelope and Ellie turn around at the same time.

"You forgot where you put your stuff," Ellie stated.

"No." Joel denies, shaking his head. Penelope giggles, covering her mouth. Joel gave her a glare, instantly shutting her up. "I'm just zeroing in on it." He stutters. "It's been a couple of years."

"Are you seriously trying to find an excuse to convince a couple of teenage girls?" Penelope chuckles, fixing her backpack straps, glancing at Ellie. Ellie laughs, shaking her head.

Joel on the other hand turns away from the girls, trying to find his stash.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna take a look around, see if there's anything good." Ellie walks away from Peleope's side.

"Trust me, it's all been picked over already," Joel says quickly, kicking something.

"Maybe," Ellie agrees. "Maybe not."

Ellie reaches a doorway, " Is there anything bad in here?"

"Just you." Joel quips.

Penelope giggles at Joel's statement, wandering around the illes of tore down displays.

"Ah, getting funnier," Ellie muttered with a glare toward Penelope.

Penelope approaches Joel, kicking away some debris. Joel pushes a metal box, muttering, "fuck."

"Oh! Ellie! Joel said a bad word!" Penelope quickly ran from Joel's side to the doorway where Ellie disappeared. Joel sighed at Penelope's antics, shaking his head. "I am a grown adult, I can swear."

"Sure you are, Joel." Penelope turned from the doorway not waiting for Ellie's response.

It's quiet as Penelope makes her way back to stand beside Joel. Joel scoffed, moving to a different place in the room. He kicked at fallen-over displays.

"So…have you actually forgotten where you put your gear, or…" Penelope trails off, picking up a display to check under it. "What are you even looking for, anyways?"

Joel glanced over at Penelope. "A trap door or something." He responded.

"Ohh. Okay, I'll help you look."

Penelope walked over to a fallen-over display to pick it up. It wasn't heavy as she pushed it to the side. She ran her fingers over the ground, trying to feel for something to grab onto. Joel crouched down somewhere behind Penelope.

"I found it," Joel said, using his knife to trace the outline of the square.

Penelope abandoned her search walking over to Joel. he pulled out a turquoise metal box, propping up the board of wood to reveal the contents hidden. Joel opened up the box, rummaging through it. Penelope noticed all kinds of ammo, a medical kit, and a lot of cloth and alcohol in the box. She rested her hands on her knees as she hovered beside Joel.

Penelope was quiet along with Joel as he went through the items.

"Hey, isn't Ellie taking a long time wherever she is?" Penelope asks Joel, turning her head.

Penelope glanced at Joel.

"Ellie?" Joel called.

Ellie didn't respond.

Joel stood up with some difficulty, using some of the contents to help him up. Penelope straightened, moving to stand behind Joel.

"Ellie!" Joel tried again.

There was silence.

Penelope watched as Joel pulled out his pistol, cocking it. He walked swiftly motioning for Penelope to stay there. He moved to the doorway, peaking his head in. "Ellie?" He called once more.

"Picked over, my ass," Ellie replied sassily, holding up a box in her hand.

Penelope exhaled, shaking her head. "What's that?" Penelope motioned to the box in her hand as Ellie moved to her side.

"Tampons."

Penelope's eyebrows furrowed. "And those are…?"

This time, Ellie furrowed her eyebrows, her own look of confusion on her face. "What?"

"What?" Penelope replied, waving her hands to the box, a light blush on her face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ellie stared at Penelope. She took her backpack off to shove the box in her bag. She glanced over to Joel. "I'll tell you later." She sighed.

"Okay?" Penelope tilted her head, prominent blush on her cheeks.

From beside the girls, Joel closed the box, putting it back in the hole. He moved to put the gun back in there too, only for Ellie to say; "What are you doing?"

"There's not much ammo out there for this thing." Joel shoved the gun in the hole, "Makes it mostly useless."

"Well, if you're just gonna leave it there," Ellie whined motioning to Joel who was covering the hole back up with the plank.

Joel stood up."No." He denied Ellie, shaking his head.

Penelope glanced at her friend, seeing Ellie roll her eyes. Ellie quickly followed after Joel, stomping her feet. Penelope followed quickly after the two.

* * *

Over the long hours of walking, Penelope had worked up a sweat. She took off her plum-colored sweatshirt, trying it around her waits to reveal her striped tank top. She was glad that she decided to wear layers, and packed a few changes of clothes.

Penelope also pulled her long braid to the side, trying to get the flyaways out of her face. She was walking beside Ellie, looking around at the scenery.

Penelope couldn't get over how beautiful the greenery and plant life were. It surprised her how vibrant and untouched some of the places that they'd traveled to were. Over the long hike, Penelope had acquired countless rocks shoved in her pockets. She would stop every so often to pick a few up. Only small ones. None of the big ones she had seen sadly. She tried to stay out of Joel's view when she did this.

But little did she know, Joel walked ever so slightly slower just so Penelope could evaluate which rocks she wanted. He played it off like he was thinking of where they should go.

Ellie noticed this and would ask if Joel was lost. Joel would deny it every time.

To Ellie and Penelope's amazement, they walked by a clearing to find a broken-down airplane.

Penelope gaped at the sight.

"Holy shit," Ellie dragged out her words in amazement.

The trio came to a slow looking at the airplane.

"You fly in one of those?" Ellie asks Joel.

Joel looks over to Ellie before answering. "Few times, sure."

"So cool," Penelope breathed out.

"Didn't feel like it at the time." Joel countered. "Get shoved into a middle seat, pay 12 bucks for a sandwich."

Ellie turned to Joel. "Dude–you got to go up into the sky." Her voice was filled with awe.

There was a pause as Joel motioned to the airplane. "Yeah, well, so did they."

Joel turns to continue walking, leaving the two girls to follow him. Penelope licked her lips following after Joel.

"Grim," Ellie whispered to Penelope.

They were now walking on a sandy road, with lots of empty space between the trio and the trees.

"So everything came crashing down in one day?" Ellie asks Joel.

"Pretty much."

"How?" Ellie pestered. "I mean, no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody's fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then, all at once? How did it even start? If you have to get bit to be infected, then who bit the first person?"

Penelope's mind was reeling. She's never thought of the old world as much as Ellie seemed to. Penelope looked at Joel for an answer.

"Oh!" Penelope speaks up, her eyes lighting up. "Was it a monkey?"

"I bet it was a monkey." Ellie agrees with Penelope.

"It wasn't a monkey." Joel denied. "I thought you went to school." He addressed his statement to Ellie.

"FEDRA school. They don't teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic." Ellie stated. Joel is quiet for a moment. Penelope glances at Ellie, then back to Joel. She scratches at her nose, fixing her cannula.

"No one knows for sure, but, best guess, Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal, pancake mix. You eat enough of it, it'll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time, Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on, they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse. Then they started bitin'. Friday night, September 26, 2003. And by Monday, everything was gone." Joel finishes.

Penelope wrings her fingers as she thinks about what Joel said.

"It makes more sense than monkeys," Ellie said. "Thanks."

Joel hesitates. "Sure."

The trio continues walking through the pathway. Their footsteps crunch on the ground. Joel holds out a hand in front of Penelope and Ellie, stopping them.

"What?" Ellie asks looking around.

"We'll cut across the woods here." Joel motions to the trees.

"Isn't the road easier?" Ellie pesters.

"Yeah, it's just…" Joel hesitates. "There's stuff up there you shouldn't see."

Ellie smiles, backing away from the trio. She walks backward saying; "Well now I have to see."

Penelope hesitates, watching Ellie as she retreated down the sandy road.

"I don't want you to," Joel says. "Serious. Ellie."

Joel follows after Ellie. Penelope walks beside Joel, playing with the straps of her backpack.

"How bad is it?" Penelope asks Joel.

Joel glances at Penelope. His face softened a moment before he shook his head turning back to Ellie.

"Can it hurt me?" Ellie calls from in front of Joel and Penelope.

"No."

Ellie quickly turns around to face Penelope and Joel. "You're too honest, man. Should've said axe murder."

Ellie quickly reaches for Penny's hand, pulling her further away from Joel. Ellie quickly walks deeper down the road. Penelope turns back to Joel for a moment, before matching her pace with Ellie's.

"Uh, whatever it was, I think it's gone," Ellie says in a sing-song voice.

Penelope glances around at her surroundings, looking for whatever Joel might've wanted the two girls to not see. Penelope's too distracted looking over at the hill to notice Ellie stopped walking. She bumped into Ellie's back, instantly apologizing. "Oh, sorry Ellie."

Ellie didn't answer, her eyes fixated on something below them. Penelope follows Ellie's line of sight, her mouth falling open in shock. There were skulls . And human remains. There were suitcases thrown around. Penelope's eyes widened in horror as she took in what was before her. The remains were in a ditch, on the side of the road. Penelope had stared for a while at the contents, unable to focus on anything else.

Joel had approached the two girls.

"About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you were goin' to a QZ, and you were if there was room. If there wasn't." Joel trailed off.

Penelope tore her eyes away from the scene in front of her. "These people weren't sick?" Her voice was hollow.

"No, probably not."

"Why would they kill them, then?"

"Why not just leave 'em be?" Ellie spoke this time, feeding off Penelope's thoughts.

"Dead people can't be infected," Joel responded.

Angry tears had pricked at the corner of Penelope's eyes. She looked away, exhaling.

* * *

After many more hours of walking, a town came into view.

There were leaves all over the paved road, some trees bare of their leaves. Penelope stepped on each crunchy leaf, completely bored out of her mind.

The trio hadn't talked much since Joel's speech earlier.

There was too much to think about.

At least for Penelope, there was.

The trio approached a gated-in town.

Penelope standing on Ellie's right, Joel in front of the two girls leading them to the gate. The gate looked rusted and unused.

"Stay there." Joel looked back at the two girls before turning to the gate. He punched in the code, the gate beeping, and opened the door. Joel held the door open for the two girls, Ellie entering first, and Penelope second. Joel came in last to close the gate. He took the lead as they walked through the community.

Penelope couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful structures. She's so used to the bland brick buildings in the Boston QZ, so it's nice to see a change of scenery.

Joel slows down as they reach a white house with an American Flag. The yellow flowers were wilted and dead. Penelope itches her eyebrow, following Joel up the steps of the house.

"Where are Bill and Frank, Joel?" Penelope whispers. She's afraid to speak up. Too nervous for someone to pop up out of nowhere.

Joel doesn't answer Penelope's question. Instead, he reaches for the golden doorknob, opening it. The door was unlocked. Joel quickly pulls out his pistol. Slowly walking in, Penelope is greeted with the smell of dust. She inhales deeply, falling into a coughing fit. She tries to be quiet, but her heaving chest disagrees with her.

"What the fuckkk ?" Ellie voices, looking around at the fully furnished house.

"Bill?" Joel spoke loudly.

Once Penelope's coughing fit is over, her eyes watering a bit, she takes in the house she's in.

It's covered in dust but still furnished.

It felt homey to her.

Like the people who lived here actually lived . And were happy.

The walls were covered in framed pictures, and stairs led up to the second floor right in front of Joel.

"Frank?" Joel tried again.

Penelope and Ellie looked at each other.

Where are they?

Penelope fixed her nasal cannula itching her nose beneath the wire. The dust in the house was really getting to her lungs. It wasn't very fun for her.

Joel turned around to the girls behind him. "You two stay here. Ya hear anything, you see anything, yell." Joel's voice was stern.

He turns, going to look around the house.

Ellie's voice stops him. It was tentative. Quiet. Not like Ellie at all. "What if they're gone?" Ellie asks, voicing Penelope's thoughts.

Joel turns instantly. He glances at her, then at the room in front of him. He turns back, advancing into the room.

Okayyy then.

Ellie and Penelope walk into the dining room, taking in the surroundings.

"Ellie, look at this," Penelope motions to the moldy food on the plates. "This is so gross."

Ellie's eye is caught on something else on the table. She moves past Penelope to pick the object up. "What's that?" Penelope asks from beside her.

"Uh, I dunno," Ellie responds. She hastily puts the object back where she found it like it had burnt her.

"Okay then," Penelope eyes her friend suspiciously, moving from the dusty dining room to the living room.

Ellie does the same, placing her hands on the piano in the room. It let out a noise, startling Penelope who was staring at the half-finished paintings. The colors of the painting were dull, with some of the paint strokes messed off and trailing off the canvas.

These people were living in luxury , Penelope thought.

Still studying the paintings, Penelope called out to Ellie. "Hey, so do you want to tell me what that box was, from earlier?" Penelope's voice trailed off as she noticed Ellie looking intently at something in her hands.

"What's that?" Penelope motioned to Ellie.

The two were caught off guard as the front door slammed shut. Penelope jumped out of her skin, trying to suppress her shriek. She latched onto Ellie's coat in fear.

Ellie froze in shock. Once they were sure it was nothing, Ellie laughed at Penelope's reaction. "It was just the door, Penny."

"Ellie?" Joel called out.

The two girls moved from the living room to the dusty dining room. Ellie didn't answer.

"Penelope?"

Joel rounded the hallway corner, walking right into the dining room. Ellie had pulled out a chair, along with Penelope. They were both bent over a piece of paper.

"It's from Bill, Joel." Penelope pointed to the letter in Ellie's hand.

Ellie gathered the envelope, and read out; "'To whomever, but probably Joel.'" Ellie paused. "I figured we fell under 'whomever.'" Ellie dropped the envelope on the disty table.

"It came with this," Penelope pushed forward the key that she was playing with. It made a mark on the table as she pushed it towards Joel.

Joel walked forward, setting down his backpack. He took the key into his hands, inspecting it. "So, they're dead?"

Penelope hummed in response, nodding her head solemnly.

Joel nodded, turning around. Away from the two girls. He exhaled, shaking his head.

"You–you wanna?" Ellie asked, motioning to the letter in her hand.

Joel shook his head. "Go ahead. You do it." his voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

Penelope looked at Ellie, nodding her head, mouthing, 'You read it'.

Ellie took in a big breath, readying herself. "'August 29, 2023. If you find this, please do not come into the bedroom. We left a window open so the house wouldn't smell, but it will probably be a sight. I'm guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would've been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps."

"Hehehehehehehehe." Ellie paused, speaking in a monotone. Penelope looked at Ellie incredulously. In response, Ellie pointed to the lettering on the paper, to which Penelope nodded.

Ellie continued, "'Take anything you need. The bunker code is the same as the gate code but in reverse. Anyway, I never liked you, but still, it's like we're friends, almost. And I respect you. So, I'm gonna tell you something because you're probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That's what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That's why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do, and God help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep–" Ellie cut herself off.

Penelope glanced at the paper once again, blurry tears in her eyes. Her eyes widened as she read, ' To keep Tess safe .'

To Ellie's reaction, Joel walked over to the two girls, taking the paper gingerly out of her hands. He read over the paper, staring at it. Well, more like glaring at the paper. Joel folded it up, straightening. "Stay here." Was all Joel said as he exited the dining room.

The two girls sat, stunned. They heard the door opening and closing, loudly after Joel.

"So…that went well," Penelope muttered. She shifted in her seat, pulling her legs up.

The two girls stayed quiet. What else were they supposed to say? The letter Ellie just read aloud was…Grim.

Five minutes after Joel left, he returned.

He stood in front of the two girls for a moment. Instantly, Penelope and Ellie straightened up.

"Show me your arm," Joel instructed Ellie.

Elie moved quickly to stand up, pulling up her coat and her sweatshirt sleeve to reveal her bite mark. Joel stared at it.

"I just finished makin' a truck battery. It's charging right now."

"Okay," Ellie replied quickly. She still had her arm up for Joel to look at.

Penelope had pulled off her cannula, not wanting to waste any of the oxygen she needed for later. She turned off the tank too, stuffing the cord into her bag. While doing so, she brushed her fingers over a piece of paper. Joel and Ellie's conversation drowned out behind her as the piece of paper required her full attention.

"...used to be a Firefly. And my–" Joel said.

"A Firefly?" Penelope interrupted, standing up. Joel looked over to Penelope from behind Ellie.

"Yeah." He said, questioningly.

"My parents said they were a part of the Fireflies." Penelope started, a small blush coating her cheeks as she had just interrupted Joel. "Do you think they'd be with your brother?"

Joel paused. He answered her slowly. "He might. Tommy might know where some of them are out there. Maybe they can get Ellie to this lab." Joel finished. Penelope nodded wordlessly as she clutched the paper in between her fingers.

"All right," Ellie answered. The tree paused for a moment. Ellie spoke uncertainty into the silence. "Listen, about Tess."

Joel holds up his hand, stopping Ellie from saying anything more. "If I'm takin' you two with me, there's some rules you gotta follow. Rule one, you don't bring up Tess. Ever . Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves. Rule two, you don't tell anyone about your condition. They see that bite mark, they won't think it through. They'll just shoot you. Rule three, you do what I say when I say it."

"We clear?" Joel glances at Penelope who is sitting straight as a board, her eyes forward.

"Yes," Ellie answers.

"Yeah," Penelope replies quickly.

"Repeat it." Joel prompts.

"Ellie nods slowly, piercing her lips. "What you say goes."

Joel motions to Penelope. "Uh–yeah. You're in charge. Listen to you," She quickly mumbles, pulling on her braid anxiously.

Joel nods his head slowly at the two girls. "Okay." He whispers. Ellie exhales looking at her feet.

"So what now?" Ellie recovers asking Joel.

"We grab what we can."

Joel leads the two girls down into the basement, thudding down the stairs. The room is pitch black, and covered in dust. Penelope breathes out heavily, trying not to inhale all the dust and fall into another fit of coughs. Ellie looks around in wonder, her eyes entrapped by all the guns and survival supplies around the room.

"Holey shitt," Ellie exclaims. "This guy was a genius."

Joel stands in front of many scenes, poking at the keyboard. Penelope wanders from Ellie's side to Joel's side, looking at the screens.

"Why was the music on?" Ellie asks.

"If he didn't reset the countdown every few weeks, this playlist would run over the radio."

Ellie comes to stand behind the screens, bending over to look at the screen just like Penelope and Joel. "80s." Ellie declares proudly.

"Is this outside?" Penelope points at the security cameras, looking over to Joel for an answer.

He nodded, to which Penelope became engrossed. She clicked some buttons on the scenes, changing the pictures. She breathed out in wonder. "Woah," She whispered.

Joel moved to stand closer to the screen, tapping on Penelope's shoulder. "Grab some cans from over there. Nothin' dented or swollen." Penelope nodded quickly, moving to start inspecting the cans in the pantry.

Ellie on the other hand, had something else in mind. She moved to the wall of guns, pointing. "Dude."

"No," Joel replied, not looking up.

"There's a wall of them." Ellie reasoned.

Penelope glanced up from the cans, shaking her head. "What about my gun, Joel?"

Joel glanced at the younger girl, instantly shutting her up. "Okay…" She whispered, waving Ellie over to her to sort through the canned food.

* * *

Moments later, Penelope and Ellie moved from the basement, back into the hallway. Who knew how many supplies Bill and Frank stashed over the years? It was mind-blowing how much stuff they had stashed.

Ellie was pulling rolls of toilet paper from the closet that was in the hallway. Penelope found a large duffle bag deciding to fill it up with whatever supplies they were going to need. Between three people, they were going to need a lot of supplies. Thankfully, they wouldn't have to carry all of these supplies since they were going to use Bill's truck.

Penelope wandered upstairs, finding a spare bedroom. It was filled to the brim with clutter. She walked through the room, searching under the bed, and in the dresser for supplies. Joel came upstairs to see Penelope rummaging through the room.

"What'd you find?" Joel asked Penelope from the doorway.

"Oh." She jumped up from looking under the bed. "There's a closet, but I think it's locked." Penelope pointed to the closet door.

Joel nodded making his way through the room. Using the key Penelope gave him earlier, he opened the door. It was pitched black in the room. There was a string that Joel pulled on, turning on the light.

Penelope smiled as Joel grabbed a box. The box read 'WOMAN'S SHIRTS.' Penelope eagerly pulled open the box, searching through the contents.

"Eli!" Penelope yelled. "I found the jackpot!" she was pulling shirt after shirt out of the box.

Ellie bounded up the stairs eagerly.

"What room are you in?" Ellie called out.

"Straight, then left!" Penelope called out excitedly.

As Ellie came into the room, Penelope was holding up a fist full of shirts in her hand. "Look what Joel got!" She was waving it around excitedly.

Ellie quickly sorted through the discarded shirts, looking through them. Penelope made sure to give Ellie most of the long sleeves, remembering how Joel told Ellie that she needed to cover up.

Penelope found a green tank top covered in stripes and gasped. "Ellie, look–do you think this'll look good on me?"

Joel watched the girl's interaction, pulling out more boxes for them to scrounge through. He himself grabbed clothes for him to bring along. Not as much as Penelope looks to be, but definitely enough to last.

* * *

As Joel went to check the car battery, the girls brought their overstuffed backpacks to the car. Penelope had found two spare backpacks for herself and Ellie. She couldn't find one for Joel, no matter how hard she looked around the house. Since the two girls had found extra backpacks, they put their clothes and luxury items in there.

Like their shampoos, blankets, hygienic products, and just extra stuff they didn't need in their actual backpacks. This was helpful for Penelope specifically because that meant she didn't need to take her two oxygen tanks out of her already overfull backpack.

"It needs another hour," Joel called out to the two girls in the garage. Penelope was laying in the backseat, flipping through a magazine.

"Penny! They have hot water!" Ellie exclaimed from outside the truck.

Penelope jumped up in excitement, throwing the magazine somewhere in the backseat. She jumped up, running past Joel to Ellie. "Really?!" She asked in excitement, feeling the hot water flow over her hand.

"Yep," Ellie said, smiling. "I'm takin' a shower."

"Ugh, me too," Penelope decides following Ellie out of the garage.

"And then you're showering because seriously." Ellie trailed off, waving a hand in front of her nose, addressing Joel.

"Eli!" Penelope laughed, pushing Ellie out the door. "I'll race you!"

Joel watched his– the two girls out the door, shaking his head.

* * *

After Ellie had taken her twenty-minute shower, Penelope shoved Ellie out of the way. "About time," Penelope said before slamming the door shut.

"Hey!" Penelope heard Ellie screech through the door. "Now, you don't take a twenty-minute shower!"

"Sure, sure!" Penelope rushes.

Penelope walked into the room, dropping her backpack filled with clothes on the floor. She had her towel in her hand, along with her brush. Penelope whipped the bathroom mirror of its condensation to stare at her reflection in the mirror.

Penelope's eyes looked more sunken in, her naturally reddish and blotchy cheeks looked hollow in her reflection. Her brown eyes evaluated her hair before her. Penelope's blondish-brown hair looked very frizzy and flat in her braid. Her usual curls were wrapped up into a knotted braid.

She started to pull her hair out of the braid, getting her fingers stuck in the strands. After a long time of pulling the–not so simple–three strands from each other, it left Penelope's hair an absolute mess. Her hair was uncontrollable, it was frizzing and poofing up around her face.

Don't even get Penelope started on brushing her hair.

It was an absolute pain.

Penelope rarely brushed her hair dry, but was she willing to go into the shower with her knotted hair? She thinks not.

Penelope sections her hair off, repeatedly brushing through the ends of her hair, before getting her hairbrush stuck in some of the knots. Nothing is more frustrating than hair. After repeatedly assaulting her hair, there are no more knots, but it is now poofing everywhere.

Ignoring her reflection, Penelope pulls her mane of hair to the side, turning on the hot water.

Penelope hears a knock on the door. She pauses.

"Hurry up in there," Ellie yells through the door.

Penelope rolls her eyes, opening the door. "Yeah, try dealing with my hair." She motions to the mane of her hair before slamming the door shut in Ellie's face. She can hear Ellie's laughter through the door.

Ignoring her friend's laugh, she strips off her striped black Converse, her tank top, and her jeans. Free of her clothes, she steps into the shower.

The stream of warm water instantly relaxes her muscles. Back in the QZ, they didn't have hot water. All they had was cold water, making showers short and unpleasant. Not to mention the warm mist makes her lungs feel revealed. She sighs contently, her body enveloped in the hot water.

She washes her body of the girt and grime, making the water at the bottom of the tub becomes sudsy with soap and discolored with brown. The feeling of nice quality soap on Penelope's body feels so nice, compared to the ration stuff she got back at the QZ.

Getting her hair wet, the frizzy curls fall wet. She wrings them around her fingers as they are drenched in water, trying to tame the curls. She separates her hair in layers to make sure her hair is all wet before using shampoo. Earlier in the day, Penelope snatched a mint-scented body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. She saw there were other scents, like lavender, or roses, but she prefers mint to the stuffy scents of flowers.

She lathered her hand up with a generous amount of shampoo and massaged her scalp with the contents. Her hair turned sudsy with her efforts. After mashing enough shampoo in her hair, she squeezed her hair to get rid of some of the suds before rinsing her hair out. As she looked down at the tub once again, the water was discolored once more. But on the bright side, her hair felt so much cleaner now and smelt so much nicer than sweat.

Once the shampoo was cleaned out, she applied the conditioner to the ends of her hair. Penelope does not put the conditioner on her scalp, learning the hard way. Since then, she's only applied the conditioner to her ears and to her ends. Nowhere above that. After that was done, she rinsed out the contents, leaving her hair feeling smooth. She wrapped all of her hair around her hands, squeezing the extra water out before turning off the water.

Exiting the shower, Penelope dries herself off. She wraps her hair in the towel, leaving it there wrapped up while she gets dressed. She just pulls on her new jeans she found earlier today, along with a plane tank top. Feeling it growing colder, she pulls one of her favorite sweaters out of her bag. It was a creme color, with deep maroon around the neckline and hemline with a deep blue along the edges. She pulled on her socks and her Converse, before getting ready to leave.

She puts away her body wash, shampoo, and conditioner in a separate part of her bag.

Before leaving, she uses the bathroom. As she wipes, she feels a throbbing pain in her abdomen. She clutches her stomach in discomfort. Brushing it off, she pulls up her pants, going to flush. Penelope's eyes widen in horror as she sees crimson red in the toilet. Penelope freezes. Involuntarily, Penelope lets out a shriek.

She hears a thud outside, then banging on the door. "Penny?" Ellie calls, knocking on the door. "Penny, what's up?"

Penny doesn't reply, instead muttering, "Oh my god. Oh my god!"

Penelope can hear the door knob rattling, and then opening. "Penny, what's wrong?" Ellie turns Penelope around to face her.

Penelope is trembling, the dull ache in her abdomen growing stronger, no longer discomforting, now throbbing. Her knees were growing weak from the pain. "I'm dying," Penelope mutters, shaking her head.

"Penelope." Ellie tries.

There's another knock on the door, and Ellie swears. "Go away, Joel."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes!" Ellie yells. "No!" Penelope also yells.

"We're fine, Joel. You can go." Ellie says, opening the door enough for her head to peek through.

Ellie turns back to Penelope. "Penny, it's alright. You aren't dying."

Penelope shakes her head. "Yes, I am! I'm bleeding– down there!" Penelope says in embarrassment, hiding her face in her hands.

Ellie sighs, sitting on the wall of the tub. "Listen to me, Penelope."

Penelope slowly looks up through her fingers.

"It's called a period. You get it every month. You bleed from your vagina each month, and there's a lot of pain. There is nothing you can do about it." Ellie speaks slowly, placing her hands on Penelope's shoulders.

Penelope's face pales as she looks at Ellie. "Every month?" She whispers.

"Yes," Ellie speaks. "Every month."

"Oh, my god."

Ellie sighs. "That box I got from earlier today that you asked about?"

Penelope nodded her head.

"Okay, those are tampons. They're for your period. But you can use a pad. I'll go grab one." Ellie stands up, reaching the door. "I'll be right back," Ellie assures Penelope.

All Penelope can do is sit on the floor, clutching her stomach. She looks shellshocked at the new information, and like she's about to hurl. Ellie comes back quickly, holding an unopened box in her hands.

"Okay, here, these are pads." She opens the box, grabbing two pads out of the box. "Uh, do you have underwear for me to show you how to do this?" Ellie asks.

Penelope nods, taking a pair of tattered underwear out of her bag. She slowly hands them to Ellie.

Ellie takes them in her hand and opens the package. "Okay. So what you're gonna do is open the flap on the wrapping. All you have to do is pull both sides open, then it'll lay flat. From there you pull the pad out, and lay it on your underwear." Ellie demonstrates, with a funny look on her face. She shows Penelope the underwear with the pad on it before continuing. "Then you take the wrapper in the middle and pull it off. Then wrap the two sides under the underwear. See?" Ellie asks Penelope.

Penelope stares hollowly at the underwear. "Got it." She whispers.

"Uh, okay. Here, I'll let you try it. I'll leave to give you some privacy." Ellie nods, throwing away the pad, and setting the piece of clothing on the counter. She leaves, closing the door behind her.

What the fuck is going on? Penelope thinks dazedly.

* * *

Moments after that whole…fiasco in the bathroom, Ellie was playing with the grandfather clock in the dining room. Penelope trudged heavily down the stairs with her backpack on her shoulders, her wet hair soaking through her sweater.

"Oh hey, Penny. You alright now?" Ellie turns away from the clock.

Penelope nods weakly with a small smile on her face. "Yeah, I am. Thank you." She whispered, moving to take the chair Ellie sat in a few hours earlier.

Ellie turns back to the clock, playing with something in it. Something clatters out of Ellie's hands as she struggles to catch it. Penelope lets out a laugh, clutching onto her abdomen in pain as she laughs. "Oh…my…god, Eli, you should see your face."

"Oh ha ha. Shut up." Ellie mumbles closing the grandfather clock.

Ellie moves to snoop through the house, pulling on a prince of furniture, and revealing a desk. "Oo, that's cool," Penelope voices. Ellie closes it, searching through the drawers. Ellie pulls something out of the drawer. A second later, she rushes to her backpack as Joel climbs down the stairs. She shoves the object in her bag zipping it up quickly. She recovers quick;y as Joel stands in the hallway.

Penelope gives Ellie an odd look, before closing her eyes in pain. She rests her head on the table.

"Well, don't you look pretty," Ellie states, smiling.

Joel stands in the hallway for a moment before responding, "Shut up."

Joel tosses Ellie two objects which she catches. "Nice."

Ellie taps Penelope's shoulder, holding the second deodorant in front of Penelope's face. "Oh sweet, thanks Joel." Penelope quickly replies, snatching the object. She pulls up her shirt to apply some, Ellie doing the same.

* * *

Ellie leads Penelope to the truck, Penelope following behind her tiredly.

Penelope opens the back seat door, opens it up, and climbs in. She throws her backpack to the side, pulling her oxygen tank out and her blanket. Instantly she puts on her cannula, her lungs aching after a while.

Ellie throws her coat and backpack into the back seat. "Hey! Watch out for my head, Eli!" Penelope shoves Ellie's stuff to the far side of the backseat, brushing her hand on the rifle. She recoils her hand, instantly going to her cannula.

Joel fixes the rearview mirror to face Penelope. Penelope smiles as she sees herself in the reflection. She throws the blanket over her shoulder, laying down on her side. She used her backpack full of clothes as her pillow.

"This car will never not be cool," Penelope breathes from the backseat.

Ellie touches everything in the car. From the mirror to the buttons on the door, to the visors above her.

"It's your first time in a car?" Joel asks.

"It's like a spaceship," Ellie responds with a smile on her face.

"No, it's like a piece of shit Chevy S10, but it'll get us there, I think." Joel turns to get his seat belt on. "Seatbelt."

Ellie and Penelope both give him questioning looks. "What's that?" Penelope asks.

"Seatbelt," Joel repeats, pulling on Ellies.

"So cool," Ellie whispers.

He turns around to the backseat to point to Penelopes. He sees Penelope laying on her side, instantly reprimanding her. "Hey, sit up. If we get into a car accident, you'd be dead, lying like that."

Penelope instantly sits up, straightening. "Right, nice mental image, Old man." She pulls on the 'seatbelt', clicking it into the buckle by her hip. "This is so cool," She whispers.

"Would ya leave it?" Joel asks as he drives out of the garage.

Penelope watches, leaning into the 'central console'. She rests her elbows on there, much to Joel's dismay. "Put it back."

Ellie jams a tape into the music player, and the car lets out noises. "Ellie," Joel says sternly.

"Oh my god! Eli! It plays music," Penelope exclaimed in wonder.

Ellie moves to take the tape out like Joel told her to, instead, Joel says, "Oh, no, wait. No, leave it. Leave it."

The music plays softly through the car. The sun setting in the distance, blinding Ellie and Penelope. Ellie puls down the visor to cover her eyes.

"This is good. This is Linda Ronstadt. Do you know who Linda Ronstadt is?" Joel asks, quizzing Penelope and Ellie.

"You know I don't know who Linda Ronstadt is," Ellie says sassily, rolling her eyes.

"Uh, no?" Penelope says uncertainty.

The trio is quiet as they absorb the music, reaching the gate. Joel stops the car, sighing. "Oh, man."

Ellie shrugs. "Eh, it's better than nothing."

Joel smiles at Ellie's statement. He clicks the pin on a device. Penelope sighs and leans back into the door. She rests her head on the window, pulling her blanket around her body. She watches from the corner of her eye as Joel glances at her and Ellie as he drives, trying to hide his smile.

Joel drives forward from the gate, starting their long journey.