The Colorado Mountain Plaza is a mall and one of two settings in Left Behind, the other being Liberty Gardens in Boston. As the name suggests, it is located near the University of Eastern Colorado
History
Pre-Outbreak
Prior to the outbreak, the mall contained a variety of stores selling different products such as clothing, medicine, and a pet store, among others. The mall also contained a small food court and a movie theater, although the theater was not seen in the game. [1]
The pharmacist
At an unknown point during the outbreak, the pharmacist of the mall became infected and turned into a Runner. Found by a passerby, he was incapacitated and trapped in another store, where he eventually died. He had the keys to the pharmacy on him and a picture of him and his lover, who had left sometime before. The person who locked him in, not yet understanding the infection, believed he was sick and so left a note explaining what had occurred. [2]
Captain Regan's crew
Roughly 20 years after the outbreak, a military helicopter piloted by a select crew of the 4th Infantry Division from the Denver Quarantine Zone crash-landed in the plaza. Although the soldiers survived, the pilot, Sean, was killed by an Infected patient. Another, Warrant Officer Larry Caulfield, was bitten by the same Runner but succeeded in killing it. [3] Although the leader of the unit, Captain Regan said that Larry was a hero, she ordered Private Ellis to subdue the him so she could execute him, following protocol, though she later regretted it. [4]
Regan and Ellis later searched for food but encountered Stalkers. Although they escaped, Ellis was bitten. Regan prevented him from committing suicide and proceeded to amputate his arm to save him. [5] Regan doubted that it worked but Ellis deemed it successful, only suffering from a fever. As time passed, food became scarce and the pair started to argue, Regan walking almost ten miles before returning, remembering they were family. [6]
Some time later, Ellis and Regan were talking when the Captain reached for her gun. Ellis, in fear, attacked and killed her. Only then did he realize that she had reached for her gun to face incoming Infected, who reopened Ellis' wound. Although he escaped, he later died in an air duct, wishing he hadn't killed Regan. [7]
Events of Left Behind
These events at the Colorado Mountain Plaza occur between the Fall and Winter chapters in the main storyline.
After he collapsed from shock and blood loss, Ellie takes Joel and Callus to the plaza to look for medicine, supplies, and a safer place to recover. Shortly after hiding the two in a yogurt bar, Ellie leaves to retrieve supplies and look for sutures for Joel in order to stitch up his wound. She enters a pharmacy, but quickly learns that the entire store was looted for its supplies long ago. After finding an empty first aid kit, she spots Regan's crashed military helicopter. Suspecting it could hold supplies, Ellie goes to investigate, but finds that the military had locked a gate that could only be opened if the power was turned on.
After killing a group of Infected and turning on a nearby Generator, she proceeds to the crashed helicopter, which is hanging precariously on the roof of the mall. She quickly finds a first aid kit, and grabs it.
She eventually runs into some of the group seen at the university. She manages to pit the the Infected against the hostile survivors, the two enemies killing each other in the skirmish, and proceeds back to where an unconscious Joel and Callus are hiding. Along the way she can find notes left behind by Regan and Ellis, as well as their corpses.
Nearing the pair, Ellie discovers that others from the group have tracked them down, due to Callus making noise.[8] After eliminating the humans and Infected that were attracted to the gunfire, Ellie manages to get back to Joel in order to stitch up his wound. Ellie then rides Callus out of the plaza, towing Joel on a sled.
List of stores
- American Princess
- Bighorn Portrait Gallery
- Bob's Burger Club
- CB Bake Shop
- Emi's Candy Shop
- Fletcher & Clarke's
- Geraldine's
- Glazed Dough
- Goldfish Kids
- Great Plains Electronics
- Jack Carter
- Jenn Pyne
- JSRD
- Leena Moreaux
- Magic Shop
- Max Rayner
- Mr. B's Pretzels
- Noodle Bowl
- Octopus Records
- Parker Books
- Petville
- Pixitek
- Rarity Nail Salon
- Rivers Cafe
- SEK Jewelers
- Swirls
- Sports Apparel & Gifts
- Summit Cimemas 6 [sic]
- Tazia
- TV Hut
- Weston's Pharmacy
Trivia
- The mall is one of the few locations in The Last of Us universe to feature Stalkers.
- There is a website for the Colorado Mountain Plaza advertising its mall hours , mall map , cinema , and list of stores . The website was likely created by Naughty Dog as a means of marketing the Left Behind DLC.
- The plaza acts as a parallel to Liberty Gardens, which serves at the setting of events of Left Behind in the Summer. The time of year at the mall is contrasted further by Ellie being alone in the cold snow of the forthcoming Winter as she searches the plaza while Ellie has her friend, Riley, in the warm Summer air when exploring the mall.
- The mall appears to have been a military evacuation site in the early days of the infection due to the presence of signs and a security gate.
- Three of the stores within the plaza have their own website.
- The websites were created by graphic design artist Lily Nishita (then of Naughty Dog).
- There are also Twitter pages for Drew Beckwith (pharmacist), Laura Brown (pharmacist's girlfriend), Petville, Weston's , Swirls , and Springs Hospital (retweeted by Weston's Pharmacy).
- Springs Hospital also has a website .
References
- ↑ Posters are seen in the mall advertising the University. A military note states that the military helicopter "crashed into a rural Colorado mall". As well, human enemies present are of the same faction of those seen in the university.
- ↑ Pharmacist's Note
- ↑ Salon Note
- ↑ Generator Note
- ↑ Atrium Note
- ↑ Atrium Recorder
- ↑ Duct Recorder
- ↑ A cannibal states that he heard the horse behind the door to Swirls Frozen Yogurt.