Story Summary Joel is a single father living in Austin, Texas with his 12-year-old daughter, Sarah. On the night of his birthday in 2013, there is an outbreak of a severe brain infection. The infection has been spreading throughout the United States. Joel and Sarah, along with Joel’s younger brother Tommy, prepare to flee the area. When Joel and Sarah are separated from Tommy, a soldier protecting the perimeter of the area opens fire. Tommy returns and shoots the man, but it is too late for Sarah who tragically dies in Joel’s arms. 20 years have passed and Joel is now living in the post-apocalyptic Boston as a smuggler. He resides in a quarantine zone with his friend and partner, Tess. After she returns from a recent deal, she explains that some men jumped her. They go out to find a man named Robert, who recently stole guns from them. When they find him, he confesses to giving the guns to the Fireflies, a militia group using military tactics to restore the government. After Tess shoots him, they find Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies. When she explains she needs the guns, she tells them that she will exchange them if they smuggle something out of the city. That something is a 14-year-old girl named Ellie. Their job is to take Ellie to the Capitol building. Along the way, they are confronted by some soldiers who test them to see if they are infected. When they manage to kill the soldiers, Joel sees that Ellie tested positive. Ellie explains that she was bitten three weeks ago and the infected usually takes two days to take over the brain. She is immune. After escaping more soldiers, Ellie tells them that Marlene believes that Ellie could be the key for finding a cure. The three of them make their way to the Capitol building, fighting numerous infected along the way. Upon getting there, they realize the Fireflies they were supposed to meet have been killed and Tess reveals a bit she received just hours ago. Joel doesn’t want to continue this mission but Tess says he should take Ellie to Tommy if it means finding a cure. Tommy used to be a Firefly and may know where Ellie should be taken. Some more soldiers are outside and Tess tells Joel and Ellie to run. She would rather die than become infected. Joel and Ellie make their way to Bill, a paranoid man living on his own who may have access to a running car that will get them out of the city. After confronting some more infected, they get a car running and say goodbye to Bill. As they are passing through Pittsburgh, a group of hunters attacks them. Joel and Ellie try to escape and run into two other travelers named Sam and Henry, brothers. When Henry tells Joel that they are looking to find the Fireflies, they decide to travel together at nightfall to a radio tower. When more hunters confront them, Sam and Henry desert Joel and Ellie. They run onto a bridge and are chased by a Humvee. Their only choice is to jump into the turbulent water.
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OCTOBER 2020 | LEVEL STORY
