-All Gone (Alone)-

Note: This story is half homage to my favorite video game The Last of Us and half of a longer story that I am developing so this part may never be in the novel. I wanted to share it anyway even though I still have issues with the story as a whole. Enjoy!

The sun was bearing down on the road ahead of them, the heat was so unbearable that the streets looked like a distorted pool trying to attract a person to their doom. At least that’s what Madison thought as she walked ahead of her traveling companion. They had been walking together since they left New London three weeks ago. They didn’t know much about each other but they both had the same goal and that was to make it to the west coast. Neil was much older than she was his hair was peppered with flecks of grey and the lines on his faces suggested that he had been through much more than he would ever tell her since to him she was a naïve little girl even though she was sixteen. Other than that she didn’t ask many questions and just followed his directions. They had just entered New York State two days ago and their supplies were already running low. The summer heat was making everything worse since they both wore only long sleeve clothing. There weren’t many options for her anyway since she had left everything behind in New London with the exception of what she could carry. Madison hadn’t been paying attention to where they were walking since they had entered New York because the heat was so horrible, but something ahead caught her eye and she couldn’t figure out what it was.

            “Hey Neil, what’s that?” she called out to her companion as she turned around to see if he was behind her.

            “Madison I’ve already told you a thousand times don’t walk too far ahead of me. You don’t know what’s out there,” he said but he hadn’t answered her question.

            “Yeah yeah I know,” they hadn’t run into anything or anyone for the past three weeks but he was still cautious and that annoyed her. “Now answer my question, what is that?” she said pointing at the tracks coming out from the ground. She had never seen train tracks that went underground the ones in New London were above ground.

            “That little lady is the subway. There used to be an entire network of them that ran throughout the city fifteen years ago. Most of them have probably caved in by now.” He said

            “Cool, I wonder where they lead?” she said as she examined the tracks as they went underground. The tracks were covered in vines that reached up each column but she could still see flecks of yellows and orange from the old paint. A section of the track had collapsed ahead of where they were walking the broken tracks looked like a ladder that reached into the mouth of the dark cave.

            “We’re going to have to go in there.” Neil said as he walked up next to her. Sometimes it amazed her that he had lived in a time when all this was possible. New London had become a modern city and had buildings to house everyone that lived there but that was all that there was. Why he would choose to leave with her and attempt to walk cross country with her was as much of a mystery to her then anything. She wasn’t allowed to ask personal questions, and neither was he, that was the deal they made when they decided to go on this trip. So she only asked questions about what life was like fifteen years ago. The orphanage that she grew up in told them that there was a big war but never said anything in regards to what really happened so everything she saw was new to her so she always asked Neil questions about what had happened since he lived through it.

            “In there but it’s dark and we don’t know where it goes, and who knows what’s down there. There could be giant alligators that survive on the rats. They have rat snacks. I don’t want to be their rat snacks,” She told him.

            “Where the hell did you hear something so ridiculous?”

            “Well there was this old man who lived near where I was and he would tell me about the infamous gator that lived in the New York City underground.” It was then that she realized how silly it sounded.

            “Don’t worry it’s not the gator we should be afraid of. Just in case grab your mask and put it on and use your flashlight, but most likely there will be light in there somewhere.”

            “Yes Sir!” she said with a salute.

            The two of them climbed the makeshift ladder that the fallen tracks had created. She was careful on each step after she got half way up she looked up at Neil who was standing at the stop grabbing his mask and putting it on his face. When she reached the top she looked around to see where they were but the nearest station was too far away to see the name. She then looked at the street below them and noticed the amount of cars on the street they were either falling apart or corroded from the years of rain and snow. Ahead of where they were standing there was a brick wall that stood next to the tunnel. There was something written on it, though it was faded she could see names sprayed on it in different colors. Neil walked ahead of her carefully stepping on each wood track making sure they wouldn’t collapse under his weight.

            “Quit dilly dallying and get your ass over here,” his yell was muffled through his mask.

            “Alright already don’t get all worked up old man,” she said and then put her mask on. She hated the way it felt and the way it smelled like rubber but Neil was all about protection and she wasn’t about to go against him. They always used tunnels to travel because Neil didn’t want to be exposed to any attacks from others that may live in any area.

As they entered the tunnel she reached for her flashlight and turned it on and pointed it ahead to see what was there. The tracks ahead were flooded with water that reached her knees. Neil pointed at the side of the tracks where there was a walk way and the two of them made their way to higher ground. He didn’t like making much noise when they were walking through places that were once overly crowded he swore that something was going to jump out and attack. They walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached an open platform. Just before they stepped on the platform Neil grabbed a rock that was on the floor and threw it towards the center and then he waited. It was quiet on the platform except for her heart pounding in her chest and her ears.

“Everything’s quiet come on let’s keep going,” he said and began walking forward, Madison slowly followed behind him.

Neil stepped in front of what looked like an old map and began studying it, as she got closer she realized that it was a map of the underground trains. Towards the center it had a little red circle and just above it the words ‘you are here’ were written. She looked at it closer and saw the station name. They were on 149^th and Grand Concourse.

“So where do we go from here?” she asked

“We have to get into the city,” he said studying the map further. “We need supplies, where should we go?” he mumbled to himself “Our best option right now is to get in between the tunnels so I guess we’re going to 42^nd,” He said.

“The infamous 42^nd?” Madison asked and when he nodded in confirmation she smiled through her mask. The books she had seen growing up showed the city as on big bright light and Times Square was at the center.

“Not to get your hopes up but they bombed the hell out of the city fifteen years ago so there may not be much to look at,” he said.

“No worries, I’m still looking forward to it,” she told him and he nodded. “Can I ask you something?”

“As long as it’s not…” he started but she cut him off before he could finish.

“Yeah I know, it’s not personal.” She said

“Then go ahead.”

“Can you tell me how all of this happened?” it was an honest question because everything she learn was white washed and that when the war was over we were victorious. Except they never talked about who the war was against or how it started or even the fact that it wasn’t a war against countries but against something like a disease.

“Didn’t the school teach you all of this in history?” he asked but she shook her head. “What the hell are they teaching you kids then? This isn’t something that they shouldn’t have just glanced over.”

“Apparently they didn’t teach us anything useful,” she said.

“Well all I can really say is that a virus spread throughout the world fifteen years ago. All the governments of the world thought that they could contain it. In the end they couldn’t so they believed that the next best option was to bomb the cities that were the most affected by the disease. They swore it was the best way to contain it but they also killed millions of people in the process.”

“That’s kind of… morbid,” she said.

“It was their way of dealing with the problem. Come on lets go we have to walk through these tunnels and I don’t want to be stuck down here when night comes,” he said.

As the two of them walked down the station and into the next she thought about her life before she decided to leave New London. She had been an orphan all of her life with only her brother as her family but he had died when he was sixteen, she was five. Then in the state orphanage all of the children were subjected to a series of medical test and pills every day. She was allowed to go to school but the orphans had to follow the rules and take the medication because they didn’t have families. She knew that if she had stayed she would have been subjected to experiments and treatments for several diseases but now she knew that it was just for one. She looked at Neil as he stepped carefully towards the new station, always looking around checking everything that was in front of them. He was her chance at finding the one thing she had to hope for. Her parents. Before her brother had died he had given her a box he told her not to open it until she was old enough it was locked and she couldn’t open it so she remembered pushing it aside and playing with the only toys she had. She had forgotten about it until a month ago because she had found a key inside her brother’s old journal. There was a letter that was inside of the box, now it was inside of her backpack it was the one thing that she had that would keep her moving forward. All that was written on it was two simple sentences:

‘They’re on the West Coast. Find them.’

It was scribbled in her brother’s hand writing but she knew what it meant and she knew that she had to find her parents.

            “Pay attention,” Neil said as she almost stepped off the platform.

            “Sorry,” She mumbled.

            The two of them continued forward through the dark tunnels, some were filled with water that went up to her waist and she had to struggle through the water hoping that she wouldn’t drown. At every station Neil would check to see if there was a way out but most of the entrances were blocked by giant gates beyond them were cars and debris from the surrounding buildings. When they reached the 59^th street station they saw the fading light of the sun streaming through one of the gates. They didn’t have much time until nightfall and she knew that it worried Neil when they were out in the open at night.

            “One more station kid.” He said as we walked on.

They were going further into the tunnels that went underground but there wasn’t any more water on the ground. Almost as if something was blocking the water from rushing into the area.

            “Something’s weird,” she said to Neil

            “Yeah I can see that.”

            They continued on towards the station without the water on the tracks it was easier to move forward without the sloshing sound but now her sneakers squeaked because of all the water they had already walked through. The squeaking sound got louder and louder as they entered the station, echoing off the grime covered tile walls.

            “Come on I’ll give you a boost.” He said motioning her forward towards where he was standing.

He squatted down and folded his hands together and boosted her up towards the dirty platform. As she climbed up her hands slipped on the grime covered platform, her hands were covered in the dust and dirt that covered most of the station and she tried her best to rub it off on her pants. As she stepped away Neil climbed onto the platform and stood next to her. Once again he was listening for something though she was never sure what it was that he always listened for. He put his finger in front of his mask motioning for her to stay quite as they walked forward. She followed him towards a nearby staircase and tried her best to keep her shoes from squeaking was they walked forward. When they reached the top he gave the okay to talk and then took off his mask.

“Is it safe?” she said motioning towards his face and when he nodded she took hers off too. “How do you know?”

“There’s light coming from the escalator over there, which means that a part of the roof collapsed,” he said.

“So if there’s fresh air coming in that means that it’s safe to breathe?”

“Sometimes yes and sometimes no. This time yes there’s enough fresh air coming in here. In the tunnels it was more about the fumes that may have built up that’s why I had you wear your mask.”

“Fumes from what the rats?” she had seen a couple of them running around when they were walking.

“Yes and possibly those gators too.” He said to her with a wide grin on his face. “Come on, you want to see something awesome?” he said and she nodded.

Neil walked forward and she bounced on her heels as she followed him up the broken escalator and down the corridor towards the center of the building. A piece of the ceiling was broken which allowed the light to filter inside so when she looked up she saw the ceiling. It was an aqua blue color with designs flowing amongst each other. There were stars next to many of them signaling the constellations that were always in the sky.

“That’s the greatest painting I have ever seen,” she said grinning back at him.

“Alright that’s enough sightseeing for now let’s see what we can find in this place.”

For the next hour or so the two of them explored the insides of the ruined palace of the stars. They found little bits of supplies that could get them through a few days until the next stop on their journey. There was a small bookstore on one side where they found a map of the United States which Neil found useful to lead them forwards. She found a couple of candy bars in the drug store that was next door to the bookstore.

“We’re all set?” she asked.

“Yeah we are little lady!” he said motioning towards the doors that were on top of the ramp. They were going outside again and hopefully she would get the chance to see the infamous Times Square as they made their way towards the river. As they rounded the corner towards the ramp Neil stopped her and pulled her back against the wall. In the distance they could hear two voices coming towards them but she couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. He motioned for her to stay quiet and then he turned off his flashlight, she did the same so they wouldn’t be spotted. The sound of the two men was coming from behind them where a set of doors were at the far end of the corridor. If Neil took them up the ramp they would be spotted immediately and she didn’t know what they would do to the both of them if they were captured. Neil motioned for her to stay in the shadows and the two of them moved back towards the center of the building.

“Hide in the ticket station,” he told her handing over his backpack and taking out the only weapon he had available that still had ammunition his handgun.

“I want to help,” she said but he shook his head. The only weapon she had was a crossbow but she was down to three arrows and they needed them for when they hunted for food in the woods.

“Just go,” he said and she wasn’t happy about the fact that she had to leave him to defend them without her.

When she reached the ticket station she quickly went through a hole in the wall that was barely big enough for her to fit through. She could hear the mumbles of the two men who were walking through the building they were still too far away from where she was so she couldn’t hear much of what they were saying. She looked through the small opening at the window she was standing at Neil next to a broken down kiosk near the center of the room. Her heart was pounding inside of her chest it felt as though it would break free. Minutes felt like hours as she waited to see if the men would bypass them and keep walking. There hadn’t been a single person as they walked through the city earlier that day so where did these men come from? She watched Neil carefully as the men began approaching the center of the room, she was still too far away to hear what they were saying but as they approached the lighted area she noticed that they were wearing army fatigues like those she had seen in New London but they also had a small arsenal of weapons. They were shinning a light around the building as though they were looking for something and when the light hit her she ducked. That’s when one of the men shot the glass that was above her head. They had spotted her from across the room or maybe they thought it was a shadow. Neil didn’t wait to find out and shot at the two men. The sound of each bullet made Madison’s heart pound even more. She folded her legs towards her chest and tried her best not to cry. She knew then that she couldn’t help especially since her only weapon would have taken a very long time to reload. The tears began to roll down her face after another bullet had shattered a piece of the wall near her.

“I don’t want to die,” she whispered a silent plea when the sound of the bullets had stopped.

“Madison come out,” Neil shouted from the center of the room.

As she grabbed their bags and looked out through the shattered window panel and saw that Neil was still on the ground he was clutching his chest as the blood began to pour through his hand. Without stopping she jumped over the counter and ran towards him leaving their heaped on the floor inside.

“Oh my god. What happened?” she said the tears falling freely from her face.

“I got shot at what do you think happened,” he said.

“Don’t make jokes, not now,” she told him.

“Madison I’m not going to be able to go on the rest of this trip with you.”

“No… No” she said silently as he wiped the tears off her face.

“I need you to do me a favor please.” He said and then began to cough. She knew he was dying and it scared her even more.

“Anything.” She said in a silent whisper.

“In my bag there’s a picture of my son…. it was taken a really long time ago…. Can you find him for me and tell him that I never stopped looking for him and his sister.” He said coughing between each sentence. All she could do was nodded at him as the tears started coming down harder. “Before you leave grab as many of their weapons… And take my gun too…” when he coughed blood started coming out of his mouth in small splatters. “You’ll do good little lady.” He said to her.

“But how am I supposed to find him,” she asked but Neil was coughing too much to answer.

“Just… try,” he said whispering please in between another coughing fit.

“I’ll try,” she said even though she knew it was impossible to look for someone based on a picture.

Madison sat there next to him as he took his last breaths and then stayed there as the sun set the room on fire with a reddish orange glow.

“Thank you.” She whispered to him.

Walking back to the ticket area she jumped over the counter and grabbed their backpacks and going out through the hole in the wall. She walked back to when the three men laid and grabbed as much ammunition and weapons that she could carry, and then worked on consolidating Neil’s things and hers into one bag. She couldn’t bring herself to take out the photo because it meant that she would have to face his children. So she turned back to Neil’s lifeless body and took off two things that would remind her of his sacrifice. His watch which had a compass so he would always guide her towards the west coast, and his gun even though it was empty it would remind her that he died protecting her.

“I’ll find them for you,” she said as she walked out of the building onto the streets with the sun fading in the distance.

###

Not remembering how she made it across the river or into the next state, she just kept walking forwards only stopping when it was necessary. It wasn’t until the leaves began to reflect the sun on the day Neil died that she decided that it was time to face his children. Sitting down by a river somewhere in Pennsylvania she took a deep breath and took out the picture of Neil’s children faced down. She closed her eyes and said a silent ‘I’m sorry’ to them before turning it over. The picture showed a happy couple the woman was holding a baby, Neil was standing next to her grinning. Madison smiled a little remembering her friend before looking down at Neil’s son.

“Oh… My… God…” she said as she saw the little boy. It was her brother, she remembered the way he looked when he smiled at her when she was a little girl.

Neil was her father.