The Last of Us

Twenty-Three

They saw the doctors react immediately, their hands thrown in the air as the group pointed their guns at them. But when Sean saw her on the bed, he immediately felt horrified, seeing red go up the many tubes attached to her arms.

"Please don't kill us! We're trying to do a good thing!" A doctor said.

Sean glared at them, walking up to them, pointing his shotgun in their face. "Yeah...well here's my answer to that, you sons of bitches."

He shot them in the face, feeling the blood spray everywhere as they fell dead. The others screamed, trying to find something they could use to defend themselves, but it was no use. They all fired their guns like crazy, bullets flying everywhere until it hit someone eventually. Once the room was silent, red was all over the walls, but they didn't care. Sean immediately ran up to Lily, who laid in the hospital bed, her skin grey from the blood loss.

"It's okay, Lily. We're getting you out of here." He said, yanking the needles out. Bridget and Jackie watched the door, making sure no one comes by. Once he got her unhooked from everything, he picked her up in his arms, her skin slightly colder than usual.

"We gotta hurry. Mark said he'd clear a path for us." He said.

Bridget had a worried look on her face. "Hopefully she's still alive."

Checking her pulse on instinct, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Still there, but it's slow." He went out the door. "Let's move."

Right away, they saw the path Mark made for them, bodies all off to the side, some of them with their throats and insides ripped out, dangling out of their body. Cringing in disgust, Bridget went ahead of the group, leading them out. They suddenly saw a black arrow that wasn't on the wall before, pointing at the elevator. Immediately pushing the down button, they impatiently waited.

"Come on...come on.." Jackie said, constantly looking behind her. Sean's arms were getting a little tired, but he didn't care. As long as he held her, he knew she was safe now. The elevator dinged, the big silver doors opening up, just as they heard rushing footsteps come towards them. Quickly getting in, Jackie pushed the first floor button constantly, seeing the soldiers get closer. Readying their guns, the soldiers fired, everyone ducking as the doors slowly shut until it was sealed. Hearing the pinging of the bullets, they were lucky everyone was alive.

"Is Lily okay?" Bridget asked, looking over to Sean.

He nodded. "She's fine."

The elevator stopped, indicating it was on the first floor, but once it opened, more stood in front of them, their weapons at the ready.

"Drop the girl and stand down, or get killed trying to get out." The lead soldier said. 

They knew they couldn't take on this many of them, but when they saw Mark smile at them from behind, they knew it wouldn't last very long.

"You might want to rethink that." Sean said, just as he saw Mark attack, snapping their necks and shoving his arm through their chests. Screaming in pain, he made the guns fly out of their hands, defenseless before he finished them not a minute later.

Sean stepped out of the elevator first. "Thanks, Mark."

He smiled. "Anything for a friend."

Sean suddenly thought of something. "You know...I wish it didn't happen..I keep thinking about it all the time."

Mark put his hand on his shoulder. "Sean, it's okay. I'm happy now, like I told Jackie. I'm not pissed off at you, otherwise I wouldn't have done this."

His friend only nodded. "We should get somewhere safe for the night. Give her some time." Looking back up at Mark, he felt a couple tears run down his face. "It was good to see you again, man."

Mark patted his shoulder. "You too." He walked over to Jackie, touching the side of her face. "You did good in there."

Suddenly leaning in, he kissed her on the lips. Sean's eyebrows shot up, Bridget's as well. A few seconds later, he vanished again.

Jackie smiled as they started to walk back, the two of them looking at her.

"So, I guess I have a right to get you back for teasing me and Lily." Sean said, giving her a goofy smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Sean."

They all laughed, finding a place to stay for the night.

***

After a good while of walking, they found another home, stepping inside. Sean laid Lily down on the couch, grabbing an old dusty blanket that was on the ground, setting it over her.

"We're gonna get some rest..lots of running today." Bridget said, heading into the room closest to her. Jackie took the one next to hers, Sean staying out in the living room. Finding another blanket, he laid it on the ground next to the couch, balling up his jacket for a pillow. Laying down, he turned to look at her, noticing some color returned to her skin. Feeling relief go through him, he raised his hand, gently playing with her hair.

He knows that she's a tough person, knowing she'll wake up soon. He's glad they got her back, considering what they went through to get to the hospital, he's lucky he's still alive, Jackie and Bridget also.

He doesn't know how long he stayed awake, until he dozed off at one point after taking her dangling hand, gripping it tight as he drifted to sleep.