The Last of Us

Twenty-Two

They stood around for a few seconds, looking around the main lobby area of the hospital. They didn't see anyone there, and they moved on, heading to the second floor.

"We'll have to take stairs..elevator's will be obvious." Sean said, his bow and arrow out. "Stay low, and make everything count. We can't turn back now."

The girls nodded, and they went up the first flight of stairs, heading to the second floor. Quickly opening the door, they stayed low near the wall, creeping along. They could hear a few voices, coming from ahead of them.

"Now that the leader is dead, we have to take it into our own hands." Someone said. "Anything happening yet?"

"No." Another voice said. "But I believe they're getting that girl ready. She's still out."

"I can't wait...I just want all of this to be over."

"I agree."

Sean's eyes widened. "Fuck...that's not good."

Getting his arrow ready, he peeked out, seeing the two people standing there, continuing to talk. Pulling the bow back, he aimed it, the tip pointing right at their back. Letting it go, he immediately hid again, hearing them yell in pain followed by a thud. Their friend reacted, hearing the familiar click of a gun being loaded.

"Who's here?? Come out!" They shouted. The group didn't move, staying absolutely still, Sean slowly peeking back out, but quickly hid again as he noticed their back wasn't turned to them. Loading up another arrow, he tugged it back, watching them slowly turn around. Heart slightly racing, he aimed it, and blindly shot it, not waiting for it to line up. It hit them in the back of the head, dropping them instantly.

Sean stood up. "Let's go..quietly."

Following behind him, they saw the dead bodies, a puddle of red around them as they walked by it. Moving on, they found the next flight of stairs, heading to the third floor. They came through another door, Jackie closing it behind them. It was more open, a couple pillars here and there for the support, but that was really it.

"Two more of our men are dead." Somebody said, making them hide behind a pillar, crowding around. "I know they're in here, they're just being very quiet."

"Well, find them and kill the shit bags!" A soldier shouted, their guess a commander. "Nobody is getting a goddamn break until I see their dead bodies!"

"Yes, sir.." They said, heading towards the door to the entry way of all the patient rooms. Sean loaded up another arrow, getting it ready to kill when he didn't notice his arm stuck out.

"Hey..hey hey hey! I think I saw movement!" The soldier shouted to the commander.

"Then fucking shoot, don't just stand there!" The commander yelled.

"Shit." Bridget hissed, taking out her gun. Getting a bullet loaded, she jumped out, shooting the soldier in the face. She swear she saw an eyeball fly out of his head as he dropped. Shrugging it off, she saw the commander run out to where they were. Jackie came out the other side, shooting her gun a couple times before they fell over. Sean came out of hiding, giving the girls a nod of appreciation before going through the doors to the patient rooms.

"Oh crap." Bridget said quietly as they crouched behind a leather couch. "I forgot I heard this floor is pretty well guarded. If you don't wanna get caught, I suggest we constantly hide as we move."

"Good idea." Sean said. "I'm almost out of arrows."

Staying silent, they walked slowly, keeping low as they watched the half a dozen or more soldiers guard the hallway, their flashlights attached to their machine guns shining in every direction they turned. A few guarded a certain door, and it made the group almost suspicious. Quickly running out of hiding, they jumped over the desk, staying there as Sean looked over the top, suddenly noticing someone standing in the middle, staring right at them.

"What the...?" He asked quietly, instantly recognizing the dark hair and eyes. "Holy..shit."

Bridget and Jackie looked, their eyes widening. "Oh my god.." Bridget breathed. "Is that..?

Jackie nodded, not taking her eyes off of him. "Yeah...it's Mark."

"But he's dead, though." Bridget said.

"We know..I think that's his ghost." Sean said, suddenly seeing him disappear. Right after that, the soldiers suddenly screamed in pain, blood oozing out of their chest as they fell, everyone else clueless as to what's going on. Watching it all with wide eyes, he reappeared after they were all dead, his arm covered in red.

"What did you do?" Jackie asked, hopping over the desk before the others did the same.

Mark smiled. "I got them taken care of for you." He looked back at Sean with a smirk. "Hey, man."

Sean was speechless, feeling tears sting the backs of his eyes. "I..."

"Thought you wouldn't see me again?" He asked, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Well..I have ways." He turned to the room in front of them. "This is it...she's in there. They already have tubes coming out from her arms, some of them already taking her blood. You gotta act now..go in and kill them all. I'll clear a path for you guys so you can get out."

"But what about Lily, though?" Bridget asked. "How would we get her out?"

"I'm sure Sean will carry her." Mark said. "Anyways, just do what I told you..and I'll get a path cleared so you can just run."

With that, he vanished again. Sean had his shotgun out, remembering he had a few bullets in his pocket, loading them up.

"You heard him..we go in, guns blazing..I don't care what happens." He said seriously. The girls nodded, taking out their guns, making sure they were loaded. Jackie gave the nod, Sean doing the same.

Taking a step back, he kicked the door open, his heart stopping from what he saw.