Ellie Williams

Age: 17. Full name: Ellie Williams. Birthday: 2019/April/11. Gender: Female. Sexuality: Lesbian. Height: 165cm/5'5ft. Weight: 59kg/130lbs. MBTI: ENFP. IQ & EQ: 112. Hair colour: Auburn. Iris colour: Green. Affiliations: • FEDRA (preparatory school, formerly). • FIREFLIES (informally; formerly). • Riley Abel (formerly). • Jackson Community (currently). Relationships: • Anna Williams (mother; deceased). • Joel Miller (surrogate father; he loves her deeply but Ellie is confused about her feelings towards him). Residences: • Boston, Massachusetts (formerly). • Jackson, Wyoming (currently). Occupations: • Military school cadet (formerly). • Jackson patrolwoman (currently). Phobia: Monophobia (the fear of being alone). Hobbies: Horseback Riding, Artistry, Singing while playing her guitar, maintaining her weapons. Sidearms: Fully Customized Baretta Model 70 and Colt Defender. Long Guns: Fully Customized Remington 700 BDL hunting rifle, Mossberg 500AT and Remington 870 shotguns, Military-Grade Recurve Bow. Skin: Fair complexion with freckles. Bite Mark: It is located on the under side of the right forearm and Ellie had chemically burned it with acid before covering it with a tattoo sleeve of a moth flying through Fern leaves.

Ellie Williams is the central character of The Last of Us series. She serves as the protagonist of The Last of Us: American Dreams, the playable deuteragonist of The Last of Us Part I, the playable protagonist of The Last of Us: Left Behind, the playable dual protagonist of The Last of Us Part II, and a playable character in the No Return mode.

Ellie grew up as an orphan in the Boston quarantine zone and attended a military preparatory school, where she met and befriended Riley Abel. When Ellie was fourteen, the pair were both infected with the Cordyceps brain infection, where Ellie discovered she was immune. A friend of her mother's and the leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, believed that she was the key to reverse engineering a vaccine. Marlene tasked Joel Miller, a smuggler, with escorting Ellie outside of the QZ. The simple drop-off turned into a year-long journey across America, and the two eventually formed a close bond.

Upon reaching the Fireflies in Salt Lake City, Joel learned that euthanizing Ellie could create the cure. Refusing this, he killed the head surgeon and escaped with Ellie to settle down in Jackson, his brother's community in Wyoming. For the next four years, Ellie resented Joel for depriving her life to have a purpose she believed in.

Ellie Williams was born in the spring of 2019, by which time the Cordyceps brain infection had spread throughout the United States. Her mother was a nurse named Anna. Ellie's father's identity is unknown. On the day of her birth, her mother passed away. Before her death, Anna entrusted her closest friend Marlene to look after Ellie. However, Ellie did not meet Marlene until she was 13 years old.

As a child, Ellie grew up as an orphan in an oppressive military quarantine zone in Boston, Massachusetts, with little knowledge of the world before infection.

According to Ellie, at one point in her life, she drove a car, and used a BB rifle to shoot at rats.

Having been raised in an environment where modern standards and values have deteriorated, Ellie is considerably rash, foul-mouthed, impulsive, and temperamental, and is unfazed by the notion of using violence as a means to an end or profanity as a way of expressing how she feels. However, she manages to maintain a particular innocence as she has yet to see the darkest sides of human nature, and retains a palpable trust in people. This serves as the juxtaposition to Joel's wary, morose, and cynical outlook on post-pandemic life. Ellie is also perceptibly clever and witty, and will do whatever it takes to keep Joel and herself alive. She has good survival instinct and she can be resourceful. She takes orders from Joel, but all the while makes it clear she does not "need any babysitting at all". Ellie is enthusiastic about the outside world, given her confinement to her quarantine zone during her childhood. She is obsessed with things she collects from others, illustrated through her interest in music, movies, books, and video games. Ellie states that when she was a child, she had a coloring book, and thought the gnomes in it were cute, but fairies startled her. She frequently remarks her amusement upon finding interesting collectibles throughout her trip, which often clashes with Joel's physical indifference. Ellie appears to be irreligious, as seen when she claims that she goes "back and forth" when asked by Sam if she believes in an afterlife. She says that she would like to believe it, but admits "I… guess not."

Ellie also suffers from a case of monophobia (fear of being alone) and states to Sam that she fears losing others she cares about such as Joel. She openly admits to Sam that "ending up alone" is what she fears most. Her phobia is reflected in how she has a habit of rubbing her nose and wringing her hands together, especially in situations that are stressful. The cause of this phobia stems from her estranged father, deceased mother, and the deaths of her best friend Riley and hired guardian Tess. Coincidentally, both were victims of the fungus and both had become infected while in her company. Soon after admitting her fear to Sam, he too, joins the list. This also links into her survivor's guilt she expresses to Joel when returning to Tommy's, where she expresses her guilt that they all died from the disease yet she continues to survive. Ellie showed difficulties in positioning herself as a young kid in an adults' eyes, and sometimes even tends to "supervise" adults. She also takes "justice" into her own hands on her relationship with anyone, and does not think she requires any adults' consent. This self-parenting trait is related to her time spent in the orphanage at Boston, where she had learned to fend for herself. An example is when Joel falls on an iron rod. Though not shown, she takes Joel (by horse) to an abandoned mall in order to find supplies to stitch his wound up. Afterward, she takes him to an abandoned house on a sled attached to her horse and continues to nurse him back to health, while at the same time getting them food, and medicine from David. Ellie is romantically interested in women.[63] She shares a kiss with Riley,[12] and she is romantically involved with Dina, and prior to the events of the game, was with a girl named Cat. Joel was initially not aware of Ellie's interest in women, mistakenly believing she had a crush on Jesse, though eventually learned of (and supported) Ellie's affection for Dina.

Shortly after turning 13, Ellie arrives at the Boston quarantine zone on a bus, to the sight of the military scanning a man for infection. She thinks nothing of it until the scan reads positive and a man is forced to his knees at gunpoint. This sight frightens her. Once she is safely inside the gates, she and the other survivors leave the bus. She is approached by a soldier who knows her. He warns her not to pull any of her "old stunts" once she has settled in and tells her that he can no longer look after her. Ellie asks that he take her with him, but he refuses, citing his responsibility to his own family. Enraged, Ellie declares she can take care of herself without his help.

However, shortly after she is caught in a fight with a group of boys who attempt to steal her belongings. Ellie provokes them, but is saved by a teenage girl as their leader prepares to attack her. The girl intimidates the boys enough to scare them away. She asks Ellie what they wanted with her, and Ellie implies they meant to steal her belongings. She dismisses the girl when she tries to give her advice on how to function in the quarantine zone, inquiring whether or not she looks like she needs help. The girl notes she has "trust issues" and calls her "new kid." Seconds later, she advises Ellie to flee before quickly leaving. Ellie is confused by what she means and is caught by one of the authority figures in charge of the school. In his office, Ellie is flippant with his show of authority despite the open reading of her rap sheet in previous homes.

He assigns her to cleaning duty. While she is in the middle of scrubbing a bloodied jeep, she reaches for her Walkman and finds it missing from her jacket pocket. She realizes that the girl from earlier stole it from her and throws a fit, baffled by how she could have taken it without Ellie noticing. A moment later, she notices an amputated finger near the wheel of the jeep and is quick to imagine the fight that must have occurred.

She dumps the water on the tire and goes to confront the girl about her Walkman. In the mess hall, Ellie demands that the Walkman be returned to her, but the girl feigns ignorance. Ellie continues to press the matter until the girl gives it up with a backhanded comment about her poor taste in music.

Later that night, as Ellie lies awake in bed, she hears footsteps outside her room. She gets dressed and peers outside her door in time to catch the girl disappearing through an exit. Ellie follows her discretely and successfully sneaks up on her. Surprised to find Ellie behind her, the girl demands that she go back to her room. Ellie refuses; she wants her to show her a way out of the school and tells her to stop calling her "new kid." The girl hesitates for a moment before she obliges her request; she asks if she can keep up and Ellie remarks that keeping up is "not an issue." The girl finally calls Ellie by her given name, asking her not to make her regret bringing her along. The two manage to escape the building and cross the yard without being noticed. Climbing over the fence, Ellie asks how the girl knew her name. The girl states that she has "her ways" and introduces herself as Riley. Riley asks if she is ready for what is next and Ellie responds in confirmation.

Ellie struggles to keep up with Riley as she leads her across the rooftops. When Riley comes to a stop, Ellie, out of breath, asks if that is all the challenge she has to offer. Ignoring the question, Riley asks if Ellie ever thinks about her future. Ellie assumes she is being facetious and inquires if she means the future as seen in science fiction. Riley repeats the question and asks Ellie what she intends to do with her life. Ellie does not see much of a future for herself and Riley says that her mentality is exactly how the quarantine zone's authority figures want people to think.

Confused, Ellie asks Riley what she intends to do with her life. Riley tells Ellie she turns sixteen in three months and she intends on using that time to find out. Ellie demands to know what else life might hold for them, but Riley ignores the question. She asks Ellie if she has ever ridden a horse before and Ellie replies she has not. Riley leads Ellie through the window of an abandoned mall. As they travel through the vacant building, Ellie spots a mannequin standing behind a broken window display and takes a moment to mock its posture.

Moments later, she spots an arcade. She asks Riley to wait up and ventures inside, where she spots an old game called “Triple Phoenix” and proceeds to enthusiastically describe the television show it was inspired by. Riley dismisses her enthusiasm, saying the game is for children. She then begins to describe "The Turning," a violent fighting game with a female character named Angel Knives. Ellie points out the fortune of the kids that were born before the infection, never catching Riley's somber expression. Riley decides they are wasting time and leaves the arcade.

As Ellie follows, she stops to imagine what the arcade would have looked like before the infection hit and immediately after before moving on. Riley takes her to a camp where she meets her friend, Winston, a resident of the mall. Winston berates Riley for bringing another friend to the mall, knowing it will only cause him trouble. Riley assures him Ellie is cool and introduces the two formally. In exchange for bringing him whiskey, she asks that he teach Ellie how to ride a horse.

Ellie follows Riley to the stables; the girl explains to her how to behave around horses and tells her to make sure Winston takes her around the whole mall on Princess. As Riley prepares the horse, Ellie asks if she is trying to get kicked out of the quarantine zone by causing trouble. Riley tells her she does not want to be put into the general population where people receive terrible jobs and little rations to survive. Once the horse is ready, Winston helps Ellie climb into the saddle and warns Riley to behave as they head out. Ellie asks Winston about his life before the infection and listens to the older man reminiscing about his childhood roaming the mall and skipping school, enthralled by his memories.

They return to Winston’s camp to find Riley reading a magazine. Dismounting from the horse, Ellie thanks her for bringing her to the mall. Moments later, an explosion occurs outside the mall, prompting Winston to find his unit. He orders Riley and Ellie to return to the school before he departs. Ellie, shaken by the events unfolding around her, agrees with Winston, but is ignored by Riley. She turns to find her friend fiddling with a walkie-talkie. She realizes she was used to distract Winston and begins to shout at Riley when they both overhear that there may be Fireflies in the area. Riley becomes excited at the prospect of meeting the Fireflies, but Ellie believes she has lost her mind. Instead of arguing with her, Riley leaves without her. Shocked, Ellie remains there for a moment before following after Riley.

Following Riley, the pair reach a place overlooking a battle between the military and the Fireflies. Seeing that the Fireflies are losing, Riley decides to give them a chance to escape. Ellie is shocked to find that Riley managed to steal some smoke bombs when Winston was distracted. The pair throw the smoke bombs at the military, allowing the Fireflies to retreat safely. The girls cheer, but the military spots the pair and opens fire on them.

Ellie and Riley flee into an alleyway outside the mall behind a dumpster. Ellie is irritable despite Riley's assurances that they will be safe. However, a runner appears and attacks Ellie first. Riley reacts by hitting it with a stone before it can do anything, but the runner, having discovered her, begins to attack Riley and pins her to the ground. He seems to bite her before Ellie kills him with a brick. Ellie inspects the area and finds that only Riley's jacket is torn. Riley displays a brief moment of defiant bravado, but right afterwards admits she was terrified of turning and cries into Ellie's arms.

The Fireflies that retreated from the fight spot the girls. Riley explains that they were the ones who threw the smoke bombs, but is knocked unconscious by one of the members. Ellie is furious, but is later blindfolded and captured, with one of them shocked that Ellie was involved. Ellie wakes up to the Fireflies arguing about whether or not they should disobey orders. Ellie is able to shake the bag from her head and can see three men arguing. She slips out of the rope that is binding her hands behind her back and reaches for a glass shard when Marlene enters.

One of the Fireflies asks her how another one of their members, named Kerry, is doing. Marlene informs him that the doctor believes she has a chance of surviving. Marlene removes the binds from Ellie's legs with a knife and Ellie demands that Riley is untied. The Fireflies comply and Marlene hands Ellie an envelope with the instructions to open it when she returns to the school. Ellie sees Riley and Marlene argue before three armed men turn up and demand that they pay the toll for being in the smuggler's tunnel. The men become hostile and suddenly attack, with Ellie pulling a frozen Riley away from the firefight.

Ellie notices a way out but Riley refuses to leave and runs for a gun near one of the men. Before she can grab it, he pulls her back by her hood. However, before he can harm her, Ellie hits him with a brick. He turns his attention to Ellie and while he does so, Riley grabs the gun and shoots him, knocking him to the ground. When he opens his eyes, Marlene has a gun pointed in his face and shoots.

While Ellie is restrained by another Firefly member Riley and Marlene argue even more about the former wanting to join up. Marlene threatens to kill Riley as this will be her fate as a Firefly, prompting Ellie to bite the Firefly's hand and point his gun at Marlene. Marlene says that she wasn't really going to kill Riley. She fires a warning shot and Marlene says her name. When asked how she knows her name, Marlene responds by saying she knew her mother and that the envelope was a letter from her mother. Marlene continues to tell her that she has had people watching Ellie as she promised her mother she would. She asks Riley for advice on what to do and Riley tells her to lower the gun.

Ellie gives Marlene the gun and Marlene tells her that her mother was called Anna, and she will tell her more about her mother when the time is right. Marlene points to a ladder and tells Ellie and Riley it leads to behind the school. Before they leave, Marlene gives Ellie a switchblade and tells her that it was her mother's. The two girls leave and, after Riley tells her that there is no way out, Ellie gets angry and suggests running away. Riley gets upset and says that all this will give them is another way to die. Riley walks off and Ellie follows, over the fence and into the school. Riley says she will see Ellie the next day.

A while later, Ellie is listening to music. She has read the letter and picks up the knife before hugging it to her chest.

Sometime after returning to the school, Ellie and Riley took a picture together using Riley's camera. Despite Ellie accidentally breaking the camera sometime later, Ellie kept the picture they took on her wall in her dorm room. Ellie and Riley eventually had an argument and parted ways. Riley disappears from the school and Ellie assumes that her friend has been killed when she doesn't return. In the meantime, Ellie is drafted into the military and keeps a marginal connection with Riley’s friends. Sometime during Riley's absence, Ellie visited Winston's camp at the mall and spent some time with Princess, unaware she was being observed by Winston.

In the summer of 2033, Ellie is taken by surprise when Riley returns, waking her in the night. Relieved, but upset, Ellie asks where her friend has been, having not seen her for six weeks, and Riley reveals that she has become a Firefly. Riley, understanding her friend is upset, promises to tell her what happened while she was gone if she leaves the school with her. Reluctantly, Ellie gets dressed and follows Riley out of the school.

Outside the school grounds, they evade a coming patrol by ducking into an abandoned building. Traveling through the building, Ellie asks how Riley found the Fireflies. Riley recounts how she followed Trevor, a Firefly Ellie bit when they first met Marlene, and was ambushed and taken directly to Marlene, who allowed her to join her cause. When Riley asks if Ellie has made friends with anyone at the school or kept up with her friends, Ellie is evasive but tells her that she doesn’t really talk to anyone since she left. Entering another room, Ellie spots a Firefly symbol and jokingly asks if Riley has "found the light." Riley says that with the Fireflies she is not a soldier like Ellie. Overhearing a loudspeaker transmission on the state of the quarantine zone, Riley mentions that the military is lying about the number of infected that continue to appear in the zone.

Crossing the rooftops, they evade another patrol and climb down through the window into the Liberty Gardens mall, their usual hangout. When Riley asks if she remembers the first time she brought her here, Ellie asks why she brought her back. Riley evades the question and continues onward. Spotting a poster of a water gun, Ellie says that she attempted to get their water guns from "Corporal Dickhead's" office, but she got caught in the process of escaping. Riley tells her to give up on getting them back, but Ellie remains determined to steal them back.

Arriving at Winston’s camp, Ellie says that she heard that Winston had died of a heart attack, a rarity for survivors. Exploring his tent, Ellie discovers a photograph of Winston in his youth and comments on his looks. Riley discovers a bottle of alcohol and offers Ellie a drink. After Riley drinks in his memory they leave his tent and spot the saddle belonging to Winston’s horse, Princess.

Ellie guesses that Princess was likely taken by someone and lamented about the horse’s well-being, knowing it was easily spooked around strangers. Moving on, they attempt to find their way to the other side of the mall, Riley using a metal beam to lift up rubble from the fallen-in roof. As she pulls the beam up, creating a small passageway, the weight causes the tunnel to collapse on itself, making it impossible to pass to the other side. As they're looking around trying to find another way through, Ellie spots an open window over the door of a store and helps Riley climb inside. Ellie enters the store a moment after Riley opens the door and is startled by the mask her friend found inside. Riley gives Ellie a werewolf mask and reluctantly Ellie obliges her friend when she demands that she "fucking roar" when she refuses to concede with her antics. The two explore the store full of Halloween paraphernalia, trading masks and marveling over the odds and ends, including a fortune-telling skull.

Leaving the store, Riley suggests that they play a game. If either one of them knocks all the windows out of their car (Riley, blue, Ellie, red) they get to ask each other a question. Ellie beats Riley and asks why she left the school. Riley vaguely admits to being “in a weird space” and that she didn’t tell anyone she left. When Ellie questions if she is “just anyone” to Riley, her friend insists that they’re almost to their destination and moves on.

Heading into the back of the mall, Riley explains that the military lied about the power in the city and that there was still power inside the mall. Entering a room, Riley opens a junction box and motions for Ellie to flip the switch. Doubtful it will work, Ellie restores power to the mall, and the two head toward the exit. There, Ellie hesitates and admits to being aware of Riley’s attempts to win her back. Riley apologizes for the things she said before she left, to which Ellie evades the moment by calling her friend a "sap." They exit the back of the mall and head for the illuminated carousel.

Ellie climbs aboard the carousel and rides for a brief moment before she asks Riley to join her. Riley barely gets to ride for a moment before the carousel loses power. Noting her friend's disappointment, Ellie tells Riley she enjoyed the ride. A moment later Riley reveals she got Ellie another joke book. The two depart from the carousel as Ellie picks and chooses jokes to tell until they come across a photo booth. Entering, the two fool around with the machine's settings and are confused by the prompt soliciting Facebook.com. They attempt to print the photographs out but are denied by an error prompt. Moving on, Ellie overhears Riley whistling. When she attempts to mimic her friend, Riley tells her "it's about practice".

They head to the top floor and enter Raja's Arcade. Ellie is disappointed by the fact that the "Turning" gaming cabinet is broken, but Riley helps her visualize how to play the game, by describing the actions and button prompts for the character Angel Knives to fight against her opponent, Blackfang. Riley's help leads Ellie to victory, but Ellie decides it's time for her return to the school, despite Riley's insistence to continue further into the mall. Ellie tells Riley she doesn't have any more strikes left for sneaking out to the mall, and Riley admits that she's being relocated to another Firefly hideout.

Ellie pretends to not be bothered, but when Riley pushes the issue, Ellie demands why she was brought to the mall. When Riley's answer of just wanting to see her isn't satisfactory, Riley is at a loss for what to say. Frustrated, Ellie tells Riley to "go" and Riley decides to investigate the music regardless of Ellie's protests. Ellie goes after her and finds Riley inside a department store, admiring the view. Enraged, Ellie asks whether or not Riley feels guilty for the fight they had before she disappeared. Riley denies any admission of guilt as a motivator for crossing hostile territory to see her again, but admits she was trying to make things work between them again. Riley reveals that she got their water guns back, removing them from her backpack, saying she was nearly shot in the process of retrieving them. The girls play a game with their water guns. Afterward, Ellie reminds Riley that she must return to school and her friend offers to "walk her home". As they prepare to leave, Ellie encourages Riley to leave and that they'll see each other again one day.

A moment later, Riley asks whether or not Ellie still has her Walkman. When Ellie answers in the affirmative, Riley takes the Walkman and hooks it up to one of the audio systems in the store. The two climb on top of a counter and begin to dance. After several moments, however, Ellie stops, suddenly saddened, and sincerely asks Riley not to leave her. Riley removes her pendant and drops it on the floor as her answer. Ellie then kisses Riley. She apologizes almost immediately after, but Riley expresses that there's nothing to be sorry for.

As the girls try to figure out what to do next about each other and the Fireflies, they are caught off guard by the sudden arrival of runners attracted to the music. They escape and barricade the door, but the infected swarm the mall. Riley leads Ellie to the higher floors, evading close calls with the infected who catch up.

Riley leads them out of a window onto scaffolding. As Ellie catches up to Riley, the shelf she uses to climb tips over and she falls onto the ground. She defends herself against the infected until Riley arrives to help her; however, her friend is ambushed by another infected. Recovering, Ellie jumps on the back of the infected and slits its throat. Ellie assumes the worst is over now, but Riley brings attention to the injury on her arm. Ellie realizes she's been bitten, and Riley reveals her own bite on her hand.

Ellie becomes enraged and destroys several pots with a pipe. Riley tries to console her by telling her the two options they have to deal with their situation; they could resort to suicide, or they could wait out the infection together and fight to stay alive with what time they have left. Riley prefers the second option. When Ellie asks if there is a third choice, Riley simply answers, "Sorry." The two then leave the mall.

Though the two resign themselves to the end and choose to wait together until they die, Riley is the only one of the two that succumbs to the fungal infection; Ellie survives. Although Ellie is immune, she still carries a mutated form of the infection inside of her. She is later taken under Marlene's wing at the sight of this miracle for both of them. Ellie and Marlene later plan to head for Salt Lake City in order to reverse-engineer a cure for the infection, which Ellie agrees to since she feels that it will relieve her of survivor's guilt of Riley. Ellie is also unaware of the Firefly lab location. Ellie shows no signs of being affected by the fungus, though her bite does have small fungi growing around the mark. She does not show any other significant reactions to her bite.

Three weeks later, around the time Marlene and Ellie planned to leave Boston for Salt Lake City - Marlene is injured during her search for the smuggler Robert, a man she had initially hired to escort Ellie out of Boston.[14] Desperate to get her out of the city, Marlene hires two well known, feared, and experienced smugglers, Joel Miller and Tess Servopoulos, to escort Ellie out of the city before the military wipes out the Fireflies. She arranges for a small team of Fireflies to meet the three at the Capitol building. Although Ellie insists on staying with Marlene, the Firefly refuses, hoping that Joel will live up to Tommy's recommendation. While Tess goes with Marlene to verify the weapons Marlene has promised the pair, Ellie is taken by Joel to an apartment close to the outer wall. While making their way there, Joel asks where her parents are and why Marlene is so fixated on her, among other things. Ellie avoids answering why she is being smuggled but does inform Joel that her parents died and that she's 14. Once at the apartment, having avoided the military patrolling to see if anyone is out after curfew, they wait for Tess to arrive. By nightfall, she arrives, and the trio decides to commit to embarking outside the zone. The trio soon leaves the zone, and Ellie is in disbelief that she's "actually outside". Her joy is cut short when she and the others are captured by a military patrol. The soldiers check them for traces of infection, causing Ellie to panic and stab one of the soldiers. The man knocks her down, preparing to shoot but Joel tackles the man and kills him, saving Ellie's life. With the soldiers dealt with, Joel and Tess find that Ellie is infected, but are forced to bring Ellie along when another patrol approaches.

Avoiding the soldiers as they search for them, the trio manages to escape, taking a brief rest. There, Ellie reveals that the Fireflies have "their own little research lab out West", causing Joel to chuckle at the thought of such a thing. Ellie is angered by him but he ignores her as he asks Tess what they should do next. However, Tess believes what Ellie claims, desiring to deliver her as requested. Ellie watches as the two briefly argue before following them towards the outskirts.

After a night of facing infected, the three are almost at their destination. After crossing the plank to reach another building, Ellie is taken aback by the view, her child-like wonder briefly reminding Joel of Sarah. They reach the rendezvous point in the Capitol Building, but they find only bodies of Fireflies and the military closing in. Revealing that she has been infected, Tess insists that Ellie and Joel continue on their own while she buys them some time. Ellie and Joel overhear Tess being gunned down by the military, and they see her corpse whilst escaping the building. Ellie feels guilty about this, but Joel ignores her comments about the issue.

The two later reach a town where Joel believes they can meet Bill, a mechanic who owes Joel a favor and can provide them with a car. Ellie reveals during their journey to and through Lincoln that she has never been in the woods until that day nor has she seen real fireflies. She learns that Joel has also never been to Lincoln, making finding Bill difficult. When Joel gets stuck in one of Bill's traps, Ellie works to free him from, avoiding the approaching infected and providing Joel with ammunition to cover her.

Once Joel is free, a masked man arrives, saving the pair from the approaching infected and escorts them to a safehouse. Once there, Ellie thanks the man and tries to shake hands. However, the man is irritated by their presence. Having disabled many of his traps and alerting an overwhelming swarm of the infected to their presence in the process, Bill subdues both of them, fearful that they have been bitten. While Bill checks Joel, Ellie manages to break free of her restraints and beats Bill with a pipe, but Joel quickly gets up and stops Ellie from causing further harm. After a brief argument, Joel asks Bill for a car. Bill agrees to put together a car for the two, but tells them that once it is done, he owes Joel no more favors. Joel agrees to his terms, using the given keys to unlock Ellie from the handcuffs.

They head toward a church which Bill has converted into an armory. As Bill and Joel converse while loading shotguns, Ellie investigates a pile of comics and magazines on a shelf. She secretly takes two of them, a pornography magazine and a Savage Starlight comic book. While putting them away, she is caught by Bill who proceeds to shout at her. Ellie tries to defend herself, lying that she was "just fixing [Bill's] stupid pile". In response to the man's ranting, she replies with an obscene gesture, much to Bill's anger. He turns to Joel, stating she will get him killed.

As the pair go to leave, Bill threatens her, but she slyly says she "doesn't need any of [his] shit". Ellie and Joel learn that they have to reach the local high school, as a military vehicle crashed there a while ago, with a new battery still inside. They leave the church, Ellie noticing a pile of burnt cadavers. Joel tries to dissuade her from staring but she claims she has "seen worse". While making their way through a block full of infected, Ellie proves to be useful when she can fit through small gaps in doors and over railings. Bill even remarks that "maybe [they] should have given her a gun". When they do reach the school, they find the battery in the truck is gone. With no other options, they fight their way out the back of the school, having to kill the strongest of the infected—a bloater—to do so.

The three make it to a house. While Joel and Bill bicker, Ellie finds a seemingly operational truck in Frank's garage. She is rudely ordered out by Bill, who checks to see if it is working, finding the battery drained but the cells alive. He and Joel proceed to kill several infected on the street but manage to make it to the top of a hill, where Ellie finally starts the truck. Hopping in the back, the pair signal Ellie to keep driving, since more infected are on the way. They safely make it back to Bill's church.

Bill makes Ellie stop the truck and goes to leave, Joel getting out to say goodbye. Both briefly remark that Ellie held her own against the infected, but Bill still believes Joel will die soon. Before leaving, he gives Joel a siphon hose so he can obtain gas from abandoned cars. The pair drive on in the direction of Pittsburgh.

During the start of the journey, Ellie spends her time in the back reading the Savage Starlight article she stole from Bill. Despite saying she isn't tired, she falls asleep during the journey. When, she wakes up, she finds Joel has driven all the way to the blocked entrance to Pittsburgh. Joel detours into the city itself, but are ambushed by a group of hunters. Although they crash, they escape thanks to Joel killing some of the attackers.

As they make their way through the city, Joel spies a truck with a mounted machine gun being used by the hostile survivors to kill "tourists", the hunters word for unknown survivors. The two bond as Joel answers Ellie's questions regarding life before the disease destroyed the world. One question in particular, regarding a Dawn of the Wolf poster, causes to reveal he saw the "dumb teen movie" right before the outbreak. Wanting to know why, Ellie asks such but he dodges the question, claiming he can't remember, wanting to avoid telling Ellie he once had a daughter. To "lighten the mood", Ellie reveals a jokebook she possesses, quoting several jokes from it as they go to take their minds off of the dangers in the world, if all too briefly.

Ellie eventually becomes separated from Joel when the pair climb an elevator shaft, the elevator giving way, sending him plummeting to the bottom. Ellie, safe on the ledge, tries to climb down to Joel but he makes her stay put, wanting to make his own way to her. Becoming worried and impatient, Ellie makes her way through the hotel, going back down to try to find Joel. She does so, appearing at the last second to save Joel from being drowned by a hunter; shooting the hunter dead. She admits her sickness at having "shot the hell outta that guy". However, Joel tells her off for disobeying him, causing Ellie to shout at him, frustrated he won't at least thank her.

Joel coldly ignores the question, wanting to press on. As they walk, Ellie tries to explain why she ignored his order but just gets more frustrated at Joel's response. They soon come to some abandoned scaffolding. Joel grabs a hunting rifle from the side, telling Ellie to stay behind cover. They see a group of hunters below, unaware of their presence. Ellie wants to help but still thinks Joel will not let her. To her chagrin, he does so, giving her the hunting rifle, testing to see if she "can handle that". Despite admitting she has only ever shot a rifle at rats, Joel trusts her with the job of covering him. He also thanks her for saving him, warming up to her. Ellie warms back, pleased Joel is start to bond with her. After they kill the hunters, Ellie both feeling impressive but sinister for having killed them, Joel finally feels Ellie has earned the right to carry a pistol, though he declares it is "for emergencies only". She admits she knows how to take the safety off, ensuring Joel she will be "careful".

Soon after, the pair encounter the Humvee in person when traversing through the streets, managing to outrun it despite its heavy fire power. The two decide to enter a building via the balcony in order to get off the streets.[9] While doing so, Joel is grappled from behind by what he presumes is another hunter Ellie watches as Joel overpowers him, quickly informing him a boy has a gunned trained on him. Joel subsequently ceases his assault. Once acquainted with the two, Henry and Sam, they agree to chat at their safe house. Once there, Sam offers her blueberries, having found "a whole stash of them". She gladly accepts, the pair trying to toss blueberries into their mouths while doing so.

By night time, she wakes Joel, the pair joining Henry and Sam on the way to the bridge. They make it to the bridge but, as she is pulled up by Henry over a container, the Humvee once again returns. She tries to get Henry to pull Joel up but the man panics, racing off with Sam. Although she could go with the brothers, she jumps back down to Joel; "we stick together." After barely dodging the Humvee's bullets, they come to a halt when they find the upper section of the bridge has fallen through. With the Humvee pounding against the vehicles blocking its path and Joel unable to discover a safe escape, Ellie takes matters into her own hands. Though she knows she can't swim, Ellie recklessly jumps off of the bridge, causing Joel to do likewise. Barely afloat in the water, she calls for Joel's help, her carer managing to grab her only to be knocked out when crashing against a large rock.

Miraculously, Ellie survives, Henry returning to the two in time to save them. He carries them to the shore someway from the bridge, reuniting them with Sam. After a brief confrontation, the group start toward the sewers to the radio tower. They escape the hunter area through the sewers and suburbs. The pair has slowly bonded with the brothers but this ended when Sam became infected and Henry commits suicide out of grief for killing his brother.

By Fall 2033, Joel and Ellie have moved on to Jackson County, Wyoming, where Joel believes his brother Tommy, a former member of the Fireflies, can show them their location. Just as the fall draws in, the two find Tommy in a dam providing electricity to a revived permanent community. During their stay, Ellie learns from Maria of Sarah, Joel's daughter who tragically died at the start of the outbreak. She also sensed that Joel planned to leave her with Tommy, leading her to run away to an abandoned ranch house. When Joel catches up to her, the two have a heated argument where it became obvious to both of them how much they have bonded and cared for each other during their travels. Joel eventually changes his mind and sticks back to accompany Ellie. With Tommy's direction, Joel and Ellie reach a university where the Fireflies are thought to reside. The Fireflies are, however, nowhere to be found, instead the two are met with a large group of both infected and cannibals. During a brutal fight, Joel is impaled in the abdomen and leaves the fighting to Ellie.

Ellie manages to hide Joel in an abandoned mall, where she dresses his wound with her old shirt from and some duct tape she finds when rummaging in the drawers. She then decides it will buy her and Joel some time, and goes to find something to stitch up Joel's wound with while Callus keeps an eye on him. After climbing up a broken escalator, Ellie finds an abandoned store in the mall, Weston's Pharmacy. Ellie hopes to find medicine, but to her disappointment, it has been picked clean of any useful supplies. Heading to the checkout aisle, and finds a first-aid kit behind a locked door. From a note Ellie finds on the ground, she finds that the pharmacist "went crazy", and that one of the employees, unaware of the Cordyceps outbreak, locked him in an American Princess Store next door, and locked away the keys to the first aid kit as well. The note gives the combination to the American Princess Store, 35-30-31. Ellie finds the infected corpse, and removes his key, along with a picture of the man and his daughter in a photo booth.

As Ellie leaves the store, she comes upon a lone clicker, and quickly kills it with her switchblade. She unlocks the door and quickly opens the first aid kit, but is disappointed to find it is empty, its supplies stolen by other survivors. Ellie kicks it out of frustration, but her disappointment quickly turns into excitement when she finds a crashed military helicopter, convinced it will have something she can use to stitch up Joel's wound. Puzzled on how to get up there, she finds a gate, but it is locked, and the button used to unlock the gate has no power to it.

She finds cables, and remembers Joel's advice to follow them. She attempts to start the generator, but finds it is out of gasoline. Ellie finds an empty gas can in a flooded parking garage, and after killing some stalkers, fills it up from gas taken from a truck. Ellie refuels the generator, and manages to get the electricity running. Two more stalkers come running in knee-deep water, but a power line falls into the water, electrocuting the stalkers in the process. Ellie has to find her way to the other side of the parking garage without touching the water, or she'll "get fried to a crisp."

After encountering and killing more infected, Ellie makes it back to the gate. She jumps onto the helicopter, and is relieved to find medicine, embracing the med kit, stating that she's not going to let Joel go. She makes her way back after being ambushed by cannibals and infected multiple times, having to quickly distract some when they find the place where Ellie hid Joel and Callus. After killing the cannibals and infected, she makes her way to Joel, who is still alive. After telling him she's an "expert-ish" at sewing wounds, she manages to sew up his wound. She then ties him to a blanket on a sled, and then ties the sled to Callus, and starts to ride him.

She eventually gets them both to the Lakeside Resort. There, Ellie hides Joel in a house to take care of him, while also going outside to hunt for food. While traveling in Lakeside, Ellie carries numerous artifacts with her, many of which she acquired from her life in Boston. These include her mother Anna's letter, Riley's pendant, her switchblade, her Sony Walkman that she possessed during her time at the orphanage, the jokebooks she read from in Pittsburgh and a photo of Joel and Sarah that she stole from Tommy in Jackson.

By the winter months, Ellie is running short on food. She leaves the house she is caring Joel within and searches for food in a nearby forest. She rides there on Callus and comes across a deer. She uses a bow and arrow to kill it but is confronted by two men, David and James. David offers to exchange supplies for a share of the meat from the deer that Ellie had tracked and killed. Ellie demanded antibiotics in return, threatening them with her bow and arrow if they tried anything. James leaves to get antibiotics at the group's settlement, leaving David alone with Ellie. David and Ellie take refuge from the cold weather and David asks for Ellie's name. She refuses to say. Infected soon attacked their shelter. David helped Ellie fight them off and complimented her skill with a rifle. As they worked their way through the nearby buildings, fighting off several waves of infected, Ellie's attitude toward him softens slightly. After completely clearing out the buildings, he and Ellie return to their original refuge. He discusses the philosophy that everything happens for a reason, to which Ellie strongly disagrees. David decides to prove his theory by revealing that it was in fact his men who attacked Joel and Ellie at the university. A returning James overhears the conversation and holds Ellie at gunpoint, but David demands Ellie be given the medicine and set loose, and James reluctantly complies. Ellie returns to the nearby town she had taken refuge in. While there, she administers the medicine to Joel then goes to sleep. David, having let Ellie leave, has his men track her down. His men mention that they are under strict orders from David to keep her alive, but these orders were ignored when they found out from James that Joel slaughtered half of the raiders at the university. Ellie, riding Callus, attempts to get away from David's group and they begin tracking her which ultimately results in Callus getting shot and killed.

While trying to flee on foot, Ellie makes her way through a lodge but David finds her in the dining hall and renders her unconscious. When Ellie regains consciousness in her holding cell, she witnesses James chopping up a corpse on a bench and discovers that David and his group are cannibals. Ellie is visibly disgusted and is hostile toward David. They argue and Ellie reluctantly eats the food that David gives her, claiming that it is venison, nothing more. David pleads with Ellie that he has her best interests in mind, and offers her a place in his group. He then affectionately touches Ellie's hand (he is implied to be a hebephile). Now realizing his intentions, Ellie breaks his finger and attempts to retrieve his keys, to which David responds by slamming her against the cell bars and threatening her life. The next day, David and James arrive and pin Ellie down onto the table attempting to slaughter her for food. Just before David strikes her, Ellie exclaims she is infected and states that David is infected too because she bit him before she was thrust upon the table. David at first is skeptical, but Ellie insists that he should roll up her right sleeve to show him her bite wound. Upon finding out from Ellie that she is infected, James becomes frightened and disgusted but David claims it must not be real because she would have turned sooner. James weakens his grip on Ellie's left hand and David begins to observe his bite from Ellie. Ellie takes this chance to grab a butcher knife with her left hand and strikes it towards James' throat, killing him. James' death infuriates David, where he retaliates by firing at Ellie with his gun, missing every shot. Ellie escapes from the room, leading David and the cannibals to pursue her through the town.

David eventually finds Ellie at a decayed restaurant, struggling with her as she attempts to escape from his people out the back door and commenting that she is easy to track. He holds her at gunpoint after throwing her to the ground, asking her how she managed to escape alive. He is momentarily distracted by the building being lit on fire by a lantern knocked over during their struggle. As the restaurant slowly goes up in flames, he locks the exit and taunts Ellie, telling her that she has nowhere to go and would need to take the keys from him if she wanted to leave. David proceeded to stalk her throughout the restaurant, taunting her creepily and expressing his disappointment that she did not accept his offer to join the group. Ellie simply expresses more of her disgust at David and his obvious insanity as she hides behind the dining booths attempting to take the keys from him by subduing him with sneak attacks.

After Ellie stabs David from behind once with her switchblade, he throws her off and attempts to shoot her with his revolver, missing as she takes cover. He then draws a machete from a back sheath and continues to stalk her, attempting to shoot or slash her to death. He makes use of broken plates on the floor throughout the building to find Ellie if she steps on them. She manages to elude David and stabs him two more times, causing him to panic and bash her into a table behind him before grabbing her hair and throwing her to the floor. Despite being stabbed multiple times in the upper torso, David is still able to run and threaten Ellie. He and Ellie then black out beside each other.

When they regain consciousness, David is the first to recover. He taunts a weaker Ellie as she crawls towards his machete underneath a cabinet, saying that it's okay to give up. At this time, he doesn't notice the machete he dropped is a short distance off. He strikes Ellie again and pins her down while grabbing her firmly by the throat and nearly strangles her to death. Ellie manages to reach the machete underneath the cabinet and slashes his arm. Gaining an advantage, Ellie proceeds to violently hack at David's head multiple times in a state of intense rage, until Joel suddenly arrives and pulls her away from his corpse, embracing and consoling her as she breaks down in tears.

The spring arrives as Joel and Ellie reach Salt Lake City, the intended final destination on the 27th of April, 2034. Ellie has now turned fifteen years old. During the first half of the trip, Ellie is still shaken by the events from Winter, remaining distracted and quiet. Joel, after sharing a heartfelt moment with Ellie, tells her they can turn back now and return to Tommy's. Ellie thanks Joel, but declines, explaining that after everything that they've been through, it has to be worth something.

While encountering multiple infected in an abandoned tunnel, Joel is trapped in a submerged bus. Ellie tries to help him, but is unsuccessful and almost drowns. While Joel is performing CPR to save Ellie, Fireflies arrive and, after demanding his surrender, knock him unconscious. Ellie is resuscitated and, on Marlene's order, immediately taken to be studied by the medical team.

When Joel awakens in the Fireflies' hospital, Marlene explains to him that Ellie's immunity can be reverse-engineered to create a vaccine to the lethal fungus, but to do so the mutated Cordyceps must be extracted from her brain via surgery, killing her in the process. Joel is immediately opposed and demands Marlene find someone else. Marlene refuses, explaining that there is no one else and no other choice, and it has to be done to save humanity.

She instructs the Firefly guard, Ethan, to escort Joel out of the hospital; if Joel were to resist, Ethan is granted permission to kill him. On the way out, Joel overpowers and kills Ethan, and makes his way through the facility to the operating room where the surgical procedure on Ellie is about to begin. Joel rescues her, killing Doctor Jerry Anderson in the process when he attempts to stop him.

After fleeing the remaining Fireflies by taking an elevator down to the parking garage, Joel is confronted by Marlene, who begs him to reconsider. She suggests various terrible scenarios that could happen to Ellie if he takes her back out into the world, such as death by being torn to pieces by a pack of clickers, sexual assault, and murder committed by thugs. She then tries to reason with him, saying that "It's what she'd want, and you know it". Still unwilling to give Ellie up, Joel shoots and kills Marlene. Later on, Ellie awakens inside Joel's car on the way out of Salt Lake City, wondering what happened during the time she was unconscious.

Joel and Ellie finally reach Tommy's settlement, where Joel remarks that they can return to a somewhat normal life. Before that, Joel tells Ellie what happened with the Fireflies when she was unconscious. She appears depressed and seems to have survivor's guilt. Joel claims there were dozens of other immune people being studied by the Fireflies, and that it had done no good in helping to find a cure. Upon reaching the settlement Ellie tells Joel that on the day she was bitten, she was with a friend Riley who also got bitten. She states that they promised to wait together until the end, and that she's still waiting to turn and join her friend. She asks Joel to "swear to me that everything that you said about the Fireflies is true." Joel replies, "I swear". Although she accepts this, it is left ambiguous as to whether or not Ellie believes him.

In the weeks after their arrival, Ellie and Joel settle into life in Jackson. At some point, Ellie chemically removes her bite mark on her arm, scarring her forearm but making it easier to conceal her immunity. One evening Joel visits Ellie's home, a converted garage in his backyard. Joel knocks and calls for Ellie from the doorway, but Ellie does not hear him because she is drawing and listening to her Walkman. He enters, and nudges her chair with his foot to get her attention. Ellie is startled, and chides Joel that he "almost gave [her] a heart attack." Ellie asks Joel why he is visiting, and Joel says he is just checking in. He mentions that people in Jackson are impressed with how Ellie has been helping out. As they talk, it becomes clear that there is still some tension between Ellie and Joel, indicating she is unsatisfied with Joel's answers about the Fireflies ending their search for a cure. Joel starts to tell Ellie about a joke Tommy told him that he thought she would like, but he can't remember it. Ellie interrupts him, noting that it is late and she needs to get up early. Joel says he will get out of her hair, but he has something to show her. He steps outside, and returns soon after with a gift. "What's this?" Ellie asks.

"Some folks call this thing here a gee-tar." Joel says, dramatizing his Texan accent. He asks Ellie if she would like to hear something, and she says yes. Joel says she needs to promise not to laugh, which she does. Joel sings Future Days by Pearl Jam for her. The lyrics, which include lines of seeing "future days/Days of you and me" seem to resonate with Ellie, and she softens listening to Joel sing.

When Joel finishes the song, Ellie says that it "didn't suck." Joel chuckles and says he will take what he can get. He then holds out the guitar to Ellie, and says it is hers. Ellie initially tries to refuse, saying that she doesn't know anything about playing guitar, but Joel reminds her that he promised to teach her. Ellie is touched that he remembered, and accepts the guitar. Joel says they can have their first lesson tomorrow night, and Ellie agrees. Joel makes to leave, but Ellie stops him as he reaches the door, asking if he remembered the joke. Joel thinks for a moment, then smiles and asks "What is the downside to eating a clock?" Ellie shrugs, not knowing the answer. Joel provides the punchline, "It's time consuming." Ellie smiles and says that is dumb. Joel chuckles and agrees. He lingers a moment longer, then wishes her goodnight and shuts the door. Ellie looks pensive for a moment. She then plucks at the strings of her new guitar.

From 2034 to early 2038, Ellie lives in Jackson, becoming acquainted with Dina, another resident of the community. Ellie and Dina's friendship develops and, along with Jesse, they help other Jackson residents patrol the outskirts to defend against hordes of infected and any wandering marauders that could pose a threat. At some point, Ellie gets a tattoo of a moth on her right forearm from her ex-girlfriend Cat. On her sixteenth birthday in 2035, Joel takes Ellie on a three-day journey to an abandoned museum elsewhere in Wyoming. During the trip, she practices her guitar, with Joel encouraging her and insisting she will get better once she develops calluses on her fingertips to make playing less strenuous. As they near the museum, he pushes her into a river, laughing at her surprised reaction but also observing that her swimming is improving. Ellie chides him for doing so and later does likewise to him while the pair are watching a nearby deer. Once at the museum, the full-sized statue of a Tyrannosaurus Rex near the entrance leaves Ellie in awe. To Joel's concern, she climbs to the top of it's head, roars and then jumps into the water below. Climbing from the pool, she heads inside with Joel and the two look around at all the other dinosaur statues. Ellie takes a worn-out guidebook from the entrance and uses it to read up on all the different types of dinosaurs. She also finds numerous hats in the area and tries them on, and makes Joel wear one. Joel resists but Ellie makes him wear it, insisting he should because it is her birthday.

Later on, they climb to a higher floor, where a space exhibit is found. Having wanted to be an astronaut for years, Ellie remarks that it is her favorite room as she plays with the numerous interactive activities and reads up on the various space suits and rocket ships, impressing Joel with her knowledge. She eventually finds a space capsule that she climbs into. Joel joins her, in awe at all the technology still intact within it. Ellie wishes she could fly into space, prompting Joel to take out a cassette tape. Ellie asks what is on it but he insists she play and close her eyes while she does. As it starts, it is a recording of NASA's Apollo 11 launch. Ellie sits back, eyes closed, and allows herself to imagine flying into space and seeing the moon. Once the recording ends, Ellie thanks Joel for her best birthday present. Upon exiting the pod, Joel gives her a badge to signify her success in landing back down on earth. Not wanting the day to end, Ellie insists the pair check out the other building in the museum. Joel reveals he hasn't cleared one of them of infected but Ellie swims and climbs inside anyway. While looking around, Ellie finds messages written on the wall from a man who apparently hid out there. She eventually finds his corpse and a suicide note, revealing he was a former Firefly and came to the museum in the hopes of "finding the light" only to lose all hope that humanity could be saved. She enters the next room and is tackled by a boar trapped there. Hearing her cry, Joel forces his way into the room. Ellie claims she is fine but stares at a Firefly insignia on the wall with the word "Liars" written below it. Joel coaxes her to leave and forget about the group.

A year later, Ellie is on patrol with Tommy, lost in thought about the fact that she is dating her friend Cat while wondering about Joel's possible reaction to that and confused how that is affecting her relationship with Dina. Tommy has her snipe far-away infected to take her mind off her worries. Once done, he asks why she seems uneasy with Joel but she dodges the question.

The two return to the lookout at the lodge where Joel is playing Ellie's guitar. He reveals her strings need changing, confusing Ellie, unaware the strings could wear down from extensive playing. Tommy suggests the pair search a music store in downtown while he keeps watch at the lodge. Despite some animosity, Ellie agrees. While riding down, Joel talks about he found some issues of Ellie's Savage Starlight comics and read them, admitting their not exactly his favorite fiction but good reads all the same, brightening Ellie's mood. Once down the road, Ellie and Joel find their path to the store blocked, forcing them to cut through a nearby hotel. Inside, the pair find it filled with spores. Despite not needing a gas mask, Joel insists Ellie wear one in case they stumble upon other survivors. While inside, they take down numerous infected before a bloater ambushes them. The bloater nearly kills Ellie but Joel attacks it with his machete, chopping its arm off and slaying it, saving Ellie.

Finding their way into the hotel's restaurant, Ellie discovers two bodies on the floor, one shot dead and the other a mutated clicker. Joel quickly leaps forward, pinning the clicker down and shooting it dead, saving Ellie once more. Ellie thanks him and then reads a note next to one of the bodies. The note, and the fact the bodies were wearing backpacks marked with the Jackson community's signature "J", confirms the pair were two teenagers who ran away in an effort to find the Fireflies and help "save the world" only to be attacked and infected by a horde, causing their deaths. Further ridden with guilt, Ellie confronts Joel about what happened at the hospital in Salt Lake City. Joel insists there were other immune patients but Ellie calls his bluff to which Joel retorts that other immune people could be hiding such like he makes Ellie do. He then shuts down the conversation before Ellie can argue further. The pair then leave to fetch Tommy to help carry the corpses back to their families in Jackson.

Soon after, Ellie returns on her own to St Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City, sneaking out in the middle of the night and leaving a note for Joel. While there, she finds it abandoned and discovers a tape recording left behind by Mel, a member of Fireflies, that stated she was the only one immune, and that the only doctor who could make a vaccine was dead. While sitting outside listening to the tape, Joel arrives on his horse and rushes to Ellie, hugging her while chiding her for running away. Ellie pushes him away and demands he tell her the truth, threatening to leave him forever if he lies once again. After much hesitation, Joel finally reveals the surgeons were willing to kill Ellie to make a vaccine, so he stopped them. The news devastates her and, although she agrees to ride back to Jackson, she declares she will sever her ties with Joel for good.