Last of Us: A Story of Two Souls (BMD x EldritheWhisperwind)

Mariah tried her best not to fall as she followed Desmond. Which was hard considering that her legs felt like limp noodles. ‘I have to keep going.’ She urged to herself as her muscles screamed for rest. Mariah knew the barricade wouldn’t hold for long, and there was no telling what was up ahead. She needed to take control of herself and prepared for the worst.

The musty smell of the hallway tickled at her nose as the group of people pushed forward. Subtle trickling sounds of water echoed around them. The mass of people suddenly stopped, with Mariah bringing up the rear. She heard Desmond say something about pure lake water. Her mouth frothed at the idea of having something to drink, she hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. Pushing her way through the group, desperate to quench her thirst, she flopped down onto her knees. Cupping her hands together, she dunked them beneath the water and brought cupfuls of the liquid to her cracking lips.

Cold liquid sloshed down her dry swollen throat, clearing her thoughts and renewing some of her depleted energy. Oh how satisfying it was, so refreshing and uplifting. It was just what she had needed. Gulping the water down, she heard Desmond say something about following the water. He was right, they needed to keep moving, but it was so hard. Mariah flinched as she tried to stand up, her knees popping with each move. “Here, let me help.” Offered a stern voice.

“No, it’s ok. I can do it.” She replied while swatting his had away, not wanting him to see exactly how exhausted she really was. Finally gaining her bearings, she followed Desmond down the path in hopes of finding an exit.

The group of survivors continued down the sewer tunnels for what seemed like an hour. The tunnel slowly got darker as barely any light was illuminating this sewer aside from their flashlights. The sounds of screeching silenced to a whisper until finally vanishing. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the rushing water to their side as well as their footsteps and breathing.

Not far off, there was a ray of light. Finally, they came to a rusted ladder where light had shined through the holes in the sewage drain that led to the surface. He looked up the passage to examine its safety. He couldn't tell what time it was, but it was definitely the middle of the night. How long had they actually been down here for?

"Looks good. We'll camp here for the moment." He unloaded the small amount of equipment he was carrying and happened to hear a flopping in the water nearby. His eyes darted to the water to see movement.

"Fish!" Someone from the group exclaimed. "We'll have food!"

"Everyone, use what equipment you have to catch what you can. I'll start us a fire." Desmond commanded as he took note of the small group who was still among them. "Don't separate to far from one another. There could still be trouble down here." Desmond finally looked to Mariah who looked like Hell. He approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?" He asked in a low but caring tone.

Standing on exhausted legs, Mariah quickly collapsed against a moss-covered wall. A small gust of wind from the open manhole sent a chill through her sweat riddled body. How long had they been walking? What time is it? The mention of fish and possible food sent her stomach into a frenzy of yearning growls. Mariah groaned, “I don’t even think I have the energy to eat.” She whispered to herself. Standing up and glancing through the exposed hole to the surface, she caught a glimpse of the thousands of glimmering stars that dotted the night sky. It was beautiful. Mariah could feel her lips curve into a smile, admiring the sight before her. She used to imagine that the stars were the souls of the people that died to the cordyceps fungus; that her parents were up there, encouraging her to survive.

Lost in her thoughts, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. Desmond had wanted to know if she was okay. “I’ll live.” She exhaustedly replied to Desmond. Her eyes locked onto his. A soft brush of the wind sent a small chill through her body. “I just need to rest a little. I think all of us could use one.” With a sigh, she looked around at the survivors. They were hard at work to build a makeshift camp for the night. “It’s a little cold out tonight. Anyway, how are you doing?” She asked. Mariah motioned to the campfire that was beginning to roar. “Maybe we should sit next to the fire. To keep warm.”

The makeshift camp was setup relatively quickly and soldiers had caught fish in an instance using long poles and pipes attached with knives to stab them in the water. The warmth of the fire quickly dispersed over the area. Desmond nodded to Mariah in her suggestion to sit close to the fire. "I'm fine." He said in reply to her asking how he was. Of course even if he wasn't fine, he would lie about it. What good is a leader who cracks under pressure he always told himself.

He sat with her close to the fire as everyone grouped around it. Some holding the fish they caught over it to cook it. It was quiet in this tunnel. The only sounds that cooked be heard where the cracking of the fire, the sizzling of the fish and the wind as it passed through cracks in the wall. Once the fish were cooked, they were passed around to each member to be consumed. Desmond took a few bites from his and gulped it down. The fish was some form of trout that was native to this region.

"So... what now?" One soldier asked nervously.

"We shouldn't be that far away from the city." Another explained. The soldier looked to Desmond, "When do we leave?"

"We'll leave at daybreak." Desmond informed his team. "My job is to get you all back to town safely. I'll have no more of you die on my watch." He explained to them in his serious tone. "For now, everyone eat up and get some rest. I'll take the first watch of the night." Thankfully there was enough room on the path to have people lie down on the cold concrete. Des looked to Mariah, "You get as much rest as you can too." He said softly to her.

Warmth from the makeshift fire sent waves of comfort throughout Mariah’s body. The pulsing heat causing her muscles to relax. Mariah placed her elbows on her knees, her hands delicately wrapped around the back of her neck. She stared at the small fire as it quickly built up in intensity, entranced by the licking orange and yellow flames. Desmond was a lot stronger than she had thought; he didn’t crack under pressure and knew what needed to be done to survive. She respected that. After what happened today, she could completely trust him. He had her back. ‘Guess there’s a first time for everything’ inched a whisper inside of her own head.

Goosebumps erupted on her arms at the thought. She had never trusted her safety with anybody before; she was always one hundred percent dependent on herself. She had witnessed dozens of people die because their partner had abandoned them in their times of need. Most of the time they were abandoned because their partner had become scared or overwhelmed, so they ran. Only thinking of their own safety. But after the events that had taken place she knew that she had found someone she could count on, someone that wouldn’t abandon her.

The crackling sounds of cooking fish brought a smile to her face, it smelled wonderful. The mouth-watering fragrance beating back the old stench of the sewers. Sitting up, she graciously took a portion of the meat that was offered to her. Picking apart the fish meat, she gently placed a small morsel into her mouth and slowly chewed. It tasted like heaven.

Mariah looked around the group of gathered people as they discussed what was to happen next. One soldier had said that they couldn’t be too far from the city. Desmond said that they would be leaving at daybreak and offered to take first watch. As the rest of the group found places to bed down for the night, Mariah reluctantly swallowed the last of her meal and looked at Desmond. “I’ll get some rest in a minute. First we talk.” She explained to him “After what we just witnessed today, we need to get back to the city as soon as possible. We need to warn people.” She said in a hushed voice. “Also, what the hell were those things? They seemed smarter than the average stalker. And trust me, I know a stalker when I see one.”

Desmond was reluctant to answer the question that arose before him. He took the final bite of his meal, hiding the look on his face as the fish was severely overcooked. Quickly, he gulped it down and took a swig of water from a makeshift cup that had been passed to him from one of the soldiers. He knew long before that the city was in danger. Ill prepared for this new threat if it were to show up. It was only a matter of time before the rest of them started questioning him too. Although, it looked like everyone had begun to pass out from the exhausting adventure they experienced.

"You've got good eyes then." He began shortly after the question had been asked. "They're a new mutation of the cordyceps fungus. We first discovered them weeks ago, but there wasn't much to test on. Over time, more and more of them would show themselves. We became concerned because we didn't know what this change would mean for us. For the human race.." The flashbacks of what he saw down in the tunnels almost haunted him. He took a moment to calm himself, "The city will stay strong until we get back. There is no sense in us throwing ourselves in the open in the dead of the night, just begging for an ambush from these creatures. The night is their element. We will wait for the first sign of sunlight and make our way back to the city then."

Of course, it was believed that one of the new mutated infected broke down the subway door a few nights ago, but he didn't dare bring that up. He hoped that the city would remain untouched. With their current supply of equipment, it would be tough to defend the city. However, these creatures seemed to be testing them still. Biding their time for some reason. They were definitely smarter. It was only a matter of time before they might even be found in these sewer tunnels. His head tilted back and rested against the wall, eyes staring straight up at the ceiling, waiting for if she had something else she wanted to say.

“Wait, you knew about the mutation already and you haven’t said anything to anybody yet?” Mariah questioned, her face contorted in confusion. “The guys going out into the field need to know these things, that type of information could save their life. Plus, they would know what to look for and they could study their movements and behavior. If those monsters are changing we have a really big problem.” She closed her eyes in frustration, soaking in everything that Desmond had just told her. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and looked at him. “But right now is not the time to worry about it. We can talk more about everything tomorrow after we get back home.”

Pushing herself up off of the ground, Mariah looked around for some place to bed down for the night. She found the perfect place not far from the fire. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She told Desmond before turning around and heading off. Reaching the empty space she surveyed it closer, wanting to make sure that there weren’t any loose rocks that would poke her during the night. Unbuttoning her shirt, leaving her with just her flimsily white shirt to protect her from the cold, she used it as a broom and cleaned the area as beast as she could. Once she was satisfied that the area was debris free, she wadded up the dirty shirt and used it as a pillow.

Resting on her side, she cradled the shirt in the nook of her arm and laid her head softly down upon it. Closing her eyes, she couldn’t help but think about the mutation and what affect it could have in their survival. She had hoped that the settlement she was in would be able to survive the new challenge that was thrown at them. But deep down she knew that if the mutants had somehow broken into the city, that it would be every man for himself.

"We left it on a need to know basis. We also didn't know much about this new mutation until a few days ago. We only knew about the mutated stalkers, but it was apparent that there would even be a new breed of other infected that changed, but we had no real concrete evidence... Till now..." His eyes stared at the fire before him. The blazing warmth was slowly dying as the fire had reducing the wood to ash. They didn't have much more wood to use in the sewer to keep the fire lit. His attention turned to Mariah as she started to get comfortable. There was more he could have said to her, but he left it at that for now.

After a while of sitting and trying to tend to the fire to keep it going, he had to get up to stretch his legs and patrol around their miniature camp. He checked his equipment, now carrying just the pistol and only a pipe. He only had a few shots left, so he knew he had to conserve that until it was necessary. The tunnels were quiet with the exception to the flowing water below. It wasn't long before he returned to his original spot after patrolling. He got himself comfortable. He took a look at his watch. It was just after midnight. Not much longer before they'll have to try to head back to the city.

It wasn't long after that one of the other soldiers woke up to take the rest of the shift to watch over the camp. "Get some rest, sir." Desmond nodded and positioned himself to lie down on his back with his head laying on the concrete. His eyelids closed slowly as he drifted off. Please be safe... He thought as he dozed off, always thinking about the people that relied on him to keep them safe.

There was blood everywhere. The little girl looked down at her hands in disbelief. “Mommy?” she squeaked, her eyes glossing over with fear. The young red heads mother was laying on the floor, a dagger jugging out of her back, her left-arm a bloody stump. Heart racing, head pounding, body shaking. It was so dark, so very dark in the hallow building where she had felt safe. Not anymore. Safety evaporated when people started turning on each other.

“Mariah… run. Get out… of… here…” Coughed the blood-riddled woman, as she was face down on the floor. “Save… your… yourself…” The sound of blood gurgled out of her mouth, staining the floor in front of her.

Panic riddled, the young girl ran to her mother’s side. “No!” she screamed. “No mommy, I can’t leave you.” Tears cascaded down her pale cheeks. Yelling and arguing could be heard echoing from the opposite side of the large room. A group of disheveled people hung around a small fire. The smell of cooking meat wafted around the occupied space, masking the metallic scent of blood. The fragile girl ran over to them. “Please, please help my mommy!” she yelled at them.

A man covered in tattoos looked up from a piece of meat he was gorging on and grinned. “Don’t worry about your mommy, tonight she saved a lot of lives.” Confused, the girl cocked her head to the side; this caused the man to laugh. He bent over to grab something out of the fire. “Oh sweaty, don’t look so confused. Here, have some.” He presented her a cooked human arm. “Your mother wouldn’t want you to starve.” The young girl’s eyes widened and she emitted a blood-curling scream.

Mariah woke up screaming, her heart beating out of control. Tears rolled down her red face, sweat staining her shirt. Sitting up, she used her right hand to wipe away the sadness from her eyes. Why was that dream emerging now, after being dormant for so long? Rustling noise of people panicking sent her gaze reeling. Huddled over her were two of the soldiers, concern etched into their faces.

Desmond's light slumber was disturbed by the sounds of a screaming woman. He arose from his sleeping position, eyes looking about to assess the situation. He quickly came to the conclusion that it was just Mariah and there didn't appear to be any threats to the their camp. Soldiers were already crowding her with concern. "Are you okay?" The few of them asked as they tried to comfort her. "Get a hold of yourself. It was just a dream." Another soldier urged.

Des had relaxed in a more comfortable position after seeing that there was no need to fret. He was concerned, but they all have their own nightmares. Since this ordeal with the fungus surfaced, this world has been a living nightmare that they deal with everyday. At this point, it only seemed to be getting worse rather than better. He recapped on his surroundings to see that everyone was awake. The fire had died and looked like it had been so for a few hours. How long was he out? Was the sun already up? He squinted his eyes as he looked up the ladder to the surface that was nearby. There was some light. Time to move... He thought to himself.

Soft grunts escaped under his breath as Des gathered himself to stand up, using the wall as a crutch somewhat. It had been a while since he last slept on solid concrete. His body was sore, but he tried his best to compose himself. A leader can't show any weakness. Just then, a soft sound echoed through the tunnels. "Shhh! Quiet!" He exclaimed to his team. He tried to listen closely to what he had heard. The sound became clearer. It definitely sounded like screaming and screeching coming from down the way in the opposite direction in which they came from. "Pack up. We're going. Quickly." He commanded softly. He grabbed his equipment and helped his fellow soldiers to grab their things before sending them up the ladder one at a time. They needed to get out of these sewers before they were ambushed.

No mater how hard she tried, Mariah couldn’t stop her body from violently shaking. Her frayed nerves continued to prickle the surface of her skin. Fear still lacing its way through her brain. Many of the solders were crowded around her now, trying to calm her down. With a deep inhale of breath she slightly closed her eyes, allowing her muscles to slightly relax. ‘Come on Mariah, you need to snap out of this.’ Opening her eyes, she pinched her features. “I’m sorry everybody, I didn’t mean to wake you all up. It was just a silly nightmare, nothing to worry about.”

“You know you scared the living shit out of us right? I thought the infected were here.” Laughed one of the men while he combed a hand through his dark hair. Mariah frowned, allowing her shoulders to slump.

“Don’t worry about it.” Said another. “It’s not like none of us have had a bad dream before.” He said while slapping her on the shoulder.

Mariah’s ears perked up when she heard Desmond hush the group. Everything went abruptly quiet, except for the distant sounds of screaming. The infected were coming. Is it her fault? Without hesitation, Mariah grabbed the shirt she used as a pillow and tied it around her waist. Pulling the shiv out of her pocket, she gripped it in the palm of her hand. The infected were close now.

Standing with her back against the wall, a runner came barreling around the corner. One arm extended while the other was lying at its side, flailing in all directions as it sped by. Before it could get to far, Mariah jumped from the wall and jammed the shiv at the base of her skull, severing the creature’s spine from its head. With a thud, Mariah and the runner went tumbling to the concrete floor. “We have to go now.” Grunted Mariah as she attempted to stand, her legs still exhausted from the events that occurred earlier. This was all her fault, if only she hadn’t of screamed. She’s the reason the infected were alerted to their location.

One by one, the group ascended the stairs. There wasn't time to play it safe and check surroundings, what was important is that they got out of the sewer. Des stayed down below as he assisted people up the ladder while defending the area. The narrow passage way made it easy for them to funnel the infected and keep them at bay. He saw Mariah from the corner of his eye take down one of the infected and struggle to get up.

Quickly, he rushed his moved to her location to assist her to her feet. "Get up the stairs! I'll hold them off!" He commanded as he urged her toward the stairs. His attention turned toward the infected racing toward them. He grabbed his sidearm and fired off the last of the bullets in the clip. Each bullet meeting the forehead of an infected, dropping most to the cold concrete, while others fell into the sewer water in the middle of the sewer tunnel.

He had time before the next wave of monsters would reach him. He equipped himself with a metal pipe that was recovered earlier. The first infected that reached him got the worst. Desmond held the pipe with two hands and in a batting motion, swung the pipe toward the head of the infected. The pipe crashed into the cheek as metal and bone collided, knocking the former man into the wall. Without hesitation, Desmond brought the pipe back and swung again, smashing the face into the wall as blood and skin blended into the wall. The infected's body slowly dropped to the floor, blood smearing on the wall on the way down.

Patience was normally not a characteristic of Desmond, and it showed here as he yelled for his party to hurry up the ladder. Hoping that they'd give him some kind of signal that it was clear for him to make his way up. It was lucky for them that this was a group of normal runners unlike their first encounter. Hopefully, he too would make it safely out of the tunnels.

(Waiting for partner. Currently on short-term leave.)

(Waiting for partner. Currently on long-term leave.)