Joel and Ellie had been on the road for almost a week before they saw the sprawling glass buildings of the University of Eastern Colorado. Just like Tommy said... Joel's shoulders relaxed a little, perhaps now they'd finally be done with all this and get back to the sweet life of Jackson. Ellie's arms loosened their grip around his waist; she had been quiet most of the day, but he could feel her excitement swell as he pulled the horse to a stop.
"Think they'll actually be there this time?" Ellie asked.
"Dunno, kiddo. I guess we'll have to see." Joel shrugged as he slung over the horse's side and peered down the campus road. There was no sign of life yet, and that ugly feeling in his stomach was starting up again.
"What do we do if they aren't? I mean we're kinda fucked right?" Ellie pushed. Joel could feel the anxious tension in her voice.
"If they ain't here, we'll look around for any clues. Besides that, there ain't anything else we can do. No matter what happens, though, it's not your fault; we've done all we could. Got it?"
Ellie didn't answer. Her attention instead was drawn to the chemistry building up ahead. The place the Fireflies said to meet; they had to be there! Pushing ahead, the pair made their way inside, Ellie glued to Joel's side, determined not to lose sight of him. It didn't take long, however, for that mission to fall apart. Out of the corner of her eye, Ellie spotted a strange-looking device on displace in one of the faculty labs. Opening the glass case, Ellie held in her hands wat looked to be some futuristic ray gun, a small knob was on its back and the barrel hummed gently in her hand. Turning the knob increased the volume of the hum until a small glow started to illuminate from the tip. In a somewhat playful manner, Ellie aimed it at a nearby chair and pulled the trigger.
A flash of bright green light burst from the device, and in an instant, the chair disappeared from view. Confused, Ellie walked over to where it had been. Aside from feeling a slight crunch under her foot, she couldn't tell what had happened and quickly gave up her search.
"Everything ok over there? The hell was that sound?" Joel shouted from across the room.
"I-I think so. Found this really weird-looking gun thing, and it made this chair vanish!" Ellie shouted back. Rushing over to her companion, she showed Joel the device.
"Should I keep it?" She asked.
"Use it as a last resort; who knows what it might do to humans?" Joel warned, but the thought did intrigue him for the future. After a couple minutes of searching, Joel's eyes spotted the terrifying glint of a flashlight out the window.
"Ellie, get down!!!"
Bullets crashed through the glass on top of him. Ellie scrambled behind a nearby desk, peering down the hallway towards the staircase they had come up. "Shit Joel! What do we do?!" Ellie shouted back at him.
"I count two coming up the main stairs, more on the way. We need to create a crossfire!"
"On it!" Ellie responded. Following Joel's orders, she dived into the opposite laboratory and hid behind one of the stations. Ignoring Joel's first rule, she turned the knob up as far as it would go and waited for Joel's signal.
Pow Pow Pow! The crackle of Joel's gun rang in her ears. She could hear the distracted man in front of her, completely blind to his flank. Aiming the device, Ellie pulled the trigger and watched as the man yelped in fear as light covered his body. His voice got higher and higher until it disappeared altogether. With the other now dead from Joel's gunshots, Ellie approached her target's remains as soon as the coast was clear.
Ellie's eyes scanned the ground for movement until she could just barely make out the bug-sized figure of the man she had blasted. He was screaming up at her, waving his fists in rage. Ellie's eye lit up with excitement, she was holding a fucking shrink ray!
Looking down at the pathetic man running frantically in circles, full of terror at her godlike form, Ellie teasingly lifted her foot over him. Watching the shadow of her sneaker overtake him in seconds sent chills down her spine. Never before had she felt this kind of power over others. Hearing Joel's footsteps approaching her, Ellie decided to hide her findings for the time being.
"Fuck you" She muttered under her breath before stomping down on the shrunken man. The feeling of his body crumpling under her weight was immeasurable! With a couple of twists of her foot, his remains were smeared into the ground. Ellie still couldn't believe she had just stepped on another human being like a bug. The worst part: she kind of liked it. Only assholes who deserved it. She vowed. Never on the innocent...
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