The Imagination Latibule: The Last of Us - Don't Dream it's Over

Chapter 2

"y/n, c'mon," he said, thinking you were making a joke, but you were deadly serious. 

"Then, Robert... what do you want?"

"I want you to forget this ever happened."

"Done."

"Don't do that."

"What?" you said, stating the facts. "It's just a truck battery. I paid you for it, you sold it to someone else, and you spent my money. I mean, you think I've never done shit like that?"

"My guys fucked you up," Robert said anxiously. 

"Yeah, so discipline them. You cut off a finger or whatever the fuck you want. I don't care. They're your fucking guys."

What about your guy? 'Cause when he sees you, I mean, put yourself in my shoes." 

your guy. You liked how Robert called Joel 'your guy.' It made you feel a warmth inside that nothing else did. 

"Look, he answers to me," you lied. "So, I give you my word that he won't hurt you." When Robert groaned and shook his head, you fought impatiently against your restraints. "I'll tell him that I got jumped by... some guys, and then you and I can just move on."

Silence, as Robert contemplated everything. 

"Now your shit has pretty much ruined my week, and I'd like to go home and drink 'til my face stops hurting," you said. "So, are we good?"

"Yeah," Robert said, and he stood up to untie you. But as he did there was an explosion that made your vision go white and your ears ring, and you flew backwards, hitting a wall.

For the second time in the same number of hours, you'd been knocked unconscious. It couldn't be healthy. When you came too, you were covered in rubble and ash, and had to push your way out of the pile and exit the basement through what was once just a wall. As you crawled onto the street, coughing up your lungs, you could hear a siren going off.

"All citizens must clear the surrounding area immediately Do not return until FEDRA authorities permit." It seemed so distant, but then you could hear gunfire, and saw Fedra agents marching down the street. You sunk down b the wall on the corner of the street, sweat making your hair cling to your face. 

"Oh shit," you panicked. If Fedra agents saw you, they'd think you a firefly bomber, and --

"On your knees! On your knees!" You raised your hands in surrender as a group of agents charged at you, knocking you to the ground despite your surrender.

"No, no! I'm not a F..." you cried out as you took a boot to the jaw. "I'm not a, I'm not a Firefly!"

But they didn't listen to your protests as they dragged you away.

***

A night in the slammer wasn't something anyone wanted, and when you got out, you could barely walk. Fedra punishments were brutal. Some were pressured by their peers to doll out corporal punishment, some needed to relieve their stress on something that would react, and some were just plain sadistic. You seemed to have been saddled with the plain sadistic, and had taken a beating like no other. 

You limped home, having no choice but to take the long way as you knew that fireflies would be out and causing more trouble in the centre of town. It was early in the morning when you opened the door, and Joel was still fast asleep, so you crept over on tiptoes.

There had been a few times in the past when you shared a bed; the first time you had to burn the body of a child, Joel couldn't get you to stop crying, and he'd held you gently, rocking you back and forth until eventually the mental exhaustion put you to sleep. The second time was when you'd lost another friend to a trigger happy Fedra agent, and the third was when you'd been beaten by an agent when smuggling him pills. You asked for the plastic bag that they were in back, and he'd had you on the ground within seconds. Thankfully Joel had found you, otherwise it would have ended very differently.