Long, Long Time transcript

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"Long, Long Time"

The following is the full transcript of "Long, Long Time", the third episode of the first season of HBO's The Last of Us.

Transcript[]

EXT. WOODS - MORNING[]

[The just-rising sun shines straight at us, filtered and dappled through red oaks and eastern pines.]

[The soft, gentle creak of a New England woods. Bird songs. The hum of insects.]

[A large pond. Bullfrogs. Dragonflies.]

[Two old rock walls... a tiered mill dam, slouching from age. Streamwater pours through an opening that was once a sluice.]

[A brook in a glade. Cold, crystal-clear water rolls by over smoothed stones. We hold on it, and then:]

[A HAND, bruised and cut, lowers into the water.]

[JOEL - winces as the water rolls over his bare hand. His breath puffs out in the frigid morning air. He's not wearing his coat. Shivering. But he keeps his hand in the water. Even though it hurts.]

[After a few moments, his hand closes around a stone. He pulls it from the brook, and TOSSES it to the side, where it thunks softly on weedy grass.]

[ON THE STONE - thunk, clack, thunk, time skipping as more stones hit the ground... the pile grows...]

[Another little skip ahead, and we see:]

[A CAIRN - seven stones, one stacked upon the other, from largest to smallest as the cairn rises.]

[Joel places another stone on the top. Then a final one.]

[It's done. He rests on his knees in front of the cairn by the brook by the woods by the sunrise...]

[He's probably supposed to cry or something, but that's not happening. All he feels is anger at himself. Couldn't save her. Can't save anyone. Fucking useless.]

[A moment or two, and then he makes a vaguely apologetic gesture to the pile of stones.]

[This is the best I can do.]

[He gets up on his feet, and then looks back behind him toward the thick part of the woods.]

[Hard to say what he's thinking. But it's nothing good.]

[TITLE: 10 MILES OUT FROM BOSTON]

EXT. DEEPER IN THE WOODS - LATER[]

[On Joel's boots. Crunching softly on the dead leaves. The occasional snap of twig. A slow, steady pace.]

[On Joel's back - we follow him, his breath trailing behind as he moves inexorably through the woods.]

[crunch crunch crunch... as he walks past--]

[ELLIE - cross-legged on the ground, Joel's jacket around her like a blanket, sitting against the trunk of a tree.]

[She doesn't speak. Until she does.]

Ellie: You want your jacket back?

[He avoids her eyes. And he doesn't answer. He just sits down next to his backpack, and pulls out some beef jerky.]

[He tosses her some. Maybe like you would to a dog.]

[Okay. Fine. If that's how it is. She takes it and eats some. They both chew in silence. Then:]

Ellie: I've never been in the woods. More bugs than I thought.

[He gives a little shrug.]

Ellie: Look, I've been thinking about...
Joel: I don't want your sorries.

Ellie: I wasn't gonna say I'm sorry. I was gonna say that I've been thinking about what happened. Nobody made you or Tess take me. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery or whatever, and you made a choice. So don't blame me for something that isn't my fault.

[He starts to say something, but nothing comes. Because he has no argument for that. She's right.]

[And she's just a kid. What's wrong with you? So after a bit, he gives her the tiniest acknowledgment. It isn't her fault.]

[Good. Then:]

Ellie: How much longer? Joel: Five hour hike.

[She nods. Grabs her backpack and stands up.]

Ellie: We can manage that.

[Yeah. Five hours. He can.]

EXT. THROUGH THE WOODS - LATER[]

[Joel and Ellie hike silently up an incline. Ellie keeps looking around like a tourist.]

[She passes through a small cloud of moths. Holds her arm out, waves through them... it's beautiful...]

EXT. STONE BRIDGE - LATER (D6)[]

[Joel and Ellie from a distance, crossing an old stone bridge. No one else around. No one in sight.]

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - LATER[]

[Ellie and Joel walk side by side, right down the middle of an old two lane road.]

[Joel carries his rifle loosely in his hands. Looks to the sides of the road, toward the woods one way or the meadow the other way, as they follow the yellow divider line.]

[Ellie occasionally takes an extra skip or two to keep up. They continue in silence, and then:]

Ellie: You've gone this way a lot? No Infected?
Joel: Not often, no.
Ellie: What are you looking out for?
Joel: People.
Ellie: Oh. (beat) Are Bill and Frank nice?
Joel: Frank is.

Ellie: How'd you get that scar on your head?

[Joel sighs; Not a topic.]

Ellie: What? Is it something lame? Like you fell down the stairs or something?
Joel: I didn't fall down any stairs.
Ellie: Okay, so what then?
Joel: Someone shot at me and missed.
Ellie: (just to shut her up) See, that's cool. You shoot back?
Joel: Yeah.
Ellie: You get him?
Joel: No, I missed, too. It happens more often than you think.
Ellie: 'Cause you suck at shooting or, like, in general?

Joel: In general.

[Ellie's already moved on to what she wants to talk about, which is guns. Like the revolver holstered on his belt.]

Ellie: You know, seeing as it's just the two of us, I was thinking I should pro— Joel: No.

[Ellie shrugs. Whatever, I don't care (yes I do).]

EXT. INTERSECTION / CUMBERLAND FARMS - LATER[]

[A cluster of three buildings here. A gas station. A convenience store. A podunk bar & grill.]

[Ivy has crept up through cracks in the asphalt and has engulfed the old gas pumps.]

[The bar & grill's roof has caved in... too many snows and rains. The walls slump inward.]

[The convenience store hasn't been reclaimed yet. ELLIE stands before it, looking up at the weathered sign.]

Ellie: Cumberland Farms.

[As Joel passes her...]

Joel: Hang back a minute. I gotta grab some stuff I stashed.

[He heads in, and she follows.]

Ellie: Stashed? Why do you have stuff stashed here?
Joel: You ask a lot of goddamn questions.

Ellie: Yes, I do.

INT. CUMBERLAND FARMS - SAME[]

[Joists creak under peeling linoleum, and glass crunches under foot as Joel enters.]

Ellie: So, are you gonna answer me or what?
Joel: We hide supplies on routes in case we find ourselves short on gear, which I currently am 'cause--

Ellie: (not listening) No way!

[She runs over to a MORTAL KOMBAT II ARCADE GAME up against the wall. No power, cracked glass, but Ellie is wiggling the joystick and mashing the buttons as if it somehow worked.]

Ellie: You ever play this one? I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There's this one character named Mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth, and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones!

[Joel gives her a disgusted look in the background. Gross.]

Ellie: Ah. Oh, man.

[Joel is walking around slowly, pushing on the floor with his boot in spots. Ellie watches for a moment. Amused.]

Ellie: You forgot where you put your stuff. Joel: (defensive) No. I'm just zeroing in on it. It's been a couple of years.

[Now bored with the dead arcade game, Ellie scans the space. Nothing in here but bare shelves and smashed display cases. But there is a door to a back room...]

Ellie: Okay, well, I'm gonna take a look around, see if there's anything good.
Joel: Trust me, it's all been picked over already.

Ellie: Maybe, maybe not.

[She heads for the back room door, then:]

Ellie: Is there anything bad in here?
Joel: Just you.

Ellie: Ah. Getting funnier.

[She pushes her way through, and exits into the back and out of sight.] [Joel stops. Looks around at the floor. Puzzled. He has definitely forgotten where he stashed that stuff...]

Joel: (sotto) Fuck.

[Ellie investigates the back rooms, discovering a trap door under some debris. Joel calls from the front of the store, making her jump.]

Joel: You all right back there?

Ellie: Yep!

[She opens the trap door, and jumps down into the basement below. She starts searching the shelves and finds a box of tampons.]

Ellie: Fuck yeah.

[She's interrupted by an infected snarl from nearby. Bringing her flashlight around, Ellie finds the infected helplessly trapped under rubble. It croaks and snarls as she approaches. Above, Joel finally uncovers the patch of false flooring where his cache is hidden.]

[In the basement, Ellie takes out her switchblade, slicing the infected's forehead to see the fungal tissue beneath, then kills it with a stab to the temple. Joel gathers the supplies he needs from the cache, and calls out for Ellie.]

Joel: Ellie? [No response. Metal clanks as Ellie climbs a trash can back to the main floor] Ellie! [Still no response. Joel draws his gun, moving toward the back rooms.] Ellie?

[Ellie emerges with the box of tampons.]

Ellie: Picked over my ass.

[Joel stows the rifle he took from Lee with the cache and seals it up.]

Ellie: What are you doing?

Joel: There's not much ammo out there for this thing. Makes it mostly useless.

Ellie: Well, if you're just gonna leave it there...

Joel: No.

[Ellie sighs and follows Joel back out to the trail. As Ellie and Joel walk through the countryside, they come across a crashed airplane.]

Ellie: Holy shit. You fly in one of those?

Joel: A few times, sure.

Ellie: So lucky.

Joel: Didn't feel like it, at the time. Get shoved into a middle seat, pay 12 bucks for a sandwich.

Ellie: Dude, you got to go up in the sky!

Joel: Yeah, well, so did they.

[Joel walks off.]

Ellie: Grim...

[Ellie trails behind. A bit later, they walk along an open trail.]

Ellie: So, everything came crashing down in one day?

Joel: Pretty much.

Ellie: How? I mean, no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody's fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes, and then all at once? How did it even start? If you have to get bit to be infected, then who bit the first person? Was it a monkey? I bet it was a monkey!

Joel: It wasn't a monkey. I thought you went to school.

Ellie: FEDRA school. They don't teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic.

Joel: Well, no one knows for sure, but, best guess... Cordyceps mutated. Some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal... pancake mix. You eat enough of it, it'll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night, or Friday morning. Day goes on. They started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse. Then they started bitin'. Friday night, September 26th, 2003. And by Monday, everything was gone.

[They walk on a while in silence.]

Ellie: Makes more sense than monkeys. Thanks.

Joel: Sure.

[More walking. Suddenly, Joel holds out a hand, spying the area.]

Ellie: What?

Joel: We'll cut across the woods here.

Ellie: Isn't the road easier?

Joel: Yeah, it's just— There's stuff up there that you shouldn't see.

Ellie: Well, now I have to see it.

Joel: I don't want you to.

[Ellie saunters ahead.]

Joel: I'm serious. Ellie!

Ellie: Can it hurt me?

[Joel begins trailing behind.]

Joel: No...

Ellie: You're too honest, man. You should've said "axe murderer."

[Further down the path:]

Ellie: Uh... whatever it was, I think it's gone!

[Ellie slows as she comes across a flat area covered in half-buried skeletons. She turns to Joel, who looks pensive.]

Joel: About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers... went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you were goin' to a QZ, and you were... if there was room. If there wasn't...

[Cut to close ups of the remains. Back to Joel and Ellie.]

Ellie: These people weren't sick?

Joel: No, probably not.

Ellie: Why kill them? Why not just leave 'em be?

Joel: Dead people can't be infected.

[They look at the pit of bones. The wind stirs a scrap of green cloth beside a blue baby blanket.]

2003[]

[Cut to Lincoln on September 30, 2003. A woman wearing a green dress holds a baby wrapped in a blanket, matching the cloth seen in the bone pit. She shushes the baby as the residents of Lincoln are shepherded onto FEDRA transport trucks.]

Mother: Mommy's here. Mommy's here.

[From a bunker, Bill watches the evacuation on an array of security cameras. A door opens in the house above as FEDRA soldiers search the house for any remaining civilians.]

Soldier: No, sir. We're in the basement now. There's no one here.

Soldier (on radio): Let's check back with the others.

[A door closes above.]

Bill: Not today, you New World Order jackboot fucks.

[The trucks depart. Bill watches from his bunker. He takes up a gun and puts on a gas mask before emerging into the empty town. Finding it has been fully evacuated, Bill begins gathering resources from the abandoned stores while "I'm Coming Home to Stay" by Fleetwood Mac plays. While Bill is scavenging a Home Depot, the power is cut.]

Bill: That was fast.

[He breaks into the natural gas plant and reopens the gas valves. Back at his home, he starts a large generator in the back yard. Bill continues fortifying the town with an electric fence and other traps. He gathers produce from his homestead and cooks dinner.]

Bill: [Taking a bite of steak] Mm.

[Outside the town perimeter, an infected triggers an alarm. Bill pulls up a security camera feed and watches it walk closer to a tripwire trap.]

Bill: Keep comin'.

[The infected walks forward, setting off the trap and is shot with a shotgun shell.]

Bill: Oh. [Takes another bite] Mm. It doesn't get old.

2007[]

["White Room" by Cream plays as Bill drives up to the gate with a fresh load of supplies. He works in his bunker, welding a new type of trap, when an alarm goes off. He sees something has fallen into a pit traps and takes a shotgun to investigate. Bill racks the shotgun as he approaches the pit.]

Man in pit: I'm not infected!

[Bill pauses, rocking on his feet before he slightly crouches, adjusting his grip on the shotgun.]

Bill: Are you armed?

[An oddly long pause, then:]

Man in pit: No.

Bill: Why did you take that long to answer?

Man in pit: I don't know, I... I thought about lying, for some reason, but... a reason didn't come.

[Bill creeps over to the pit, aiming his gun at the disheveled, bearded man sitting inside, who holds up his hands, palms flat.]

Man in pit: Look, I-I'm just trying to get into Boston.

Bill: Alone?

Man in pit: We started with ten. But yeah, I'm— I'm alone.

Bill: From where?

Man in pit: Baltimore QZ. It's gone.

[Beat as Bill considers the man's words.]

Bill: Are ya hurt?

[Frank shrugs before cradling his elbow.]

Man in pit: There's just, just a bruise.

[He looks back up at Bill, who walks off. The man continues holding his hand in the air, face falling as he realizes his captor has left him.]

Man in pit: Oh fuck.

[He sighs before overhearing metallic clanking. Bill has returned with a ladder. He lowers it into the pit, and the other man climbs it. Bill steps back, training a handgun in the pit's direction while he holds a scanner with the other hand. The man reaches the top of the ladder.]

Bill: Stop there.

[The man complies and Bill creeps forward.]

Man in pit: How'd you get that?

[Bill does not respond, instead pricking the man's neck. It comes back green. Bill steps back and gestures for his guest to come out. The man does so, slow, while Bill keeps his gun on him. Bill points to his left.]

Bill: Boston is that way. You can make it by nightfall.

Man formerly in pit: I'm really hungry. I haven't eaten in two days. [beat] It doesn't sound very long out loud, does it? [He chuckles.] It feels long.

Bill: I'm letting you go, so go.

Man formerly in pit: All right, look.... First things first, my name's Frank—

Bill: Oh, yeah? Here's the thing, Frank. If I feed you, then every bum you talk to about it is gonna show up here lookin' for a free lunch. And this is not an Arby's.

Frank: Well, Arby's didn't have free lunch. It was a restaurant. I-I won't talk about it to any bums or hobos or vagabonds, I promise. [He drops his hands and scoffs.] I mean, you already know I'm bad at lying.

[Frank offers him a soft smile. Bill keeps the gun trained, showing clear signs of reluctant acquittal.]

Tess: Well, this really is just— It— It's amazing.

Frank: Right?

Tess: Mm-hm.

[Frank pours Tess a glass of wine.]

Frank: Can you not, please?

[Bill clicks the safety off his handgun, laying it on the table and pointing it at Joel. Joel considers it.]

Joel: I'm the same way.

Frank: Oh, you're a paranoid schizophrenic, too?

Bill: I'm not schizophrenic.

[Bill and Joel stare each other down as Tess and Frank continue their meal. Tess clears her throat.]

Tess: Well, can I just say, uh, gun aside—which I get, by the way... how nice this is to have a civilized meal in such a, a beautiful place. It's been so long. I mean, I just, uh, I wanna thank you. Even if we don't end up working together. I really needed this.

[Frank gestures to her with the glass.]

Frank: We are working together.

[Bill and Tess clink their glasses. Frank asserts to Bill:]

Frank: We are. [He takes a sip, then wipes his face.] You know what? Let's go inside. Tess, I wanna show you something.

[They both get up from the table and walk towards the house.]

Tess: Actually, I have been waiting to see inside...

Bill: No. Not inside—

Frank: Bring your wine!

Tess: Thank you.

Frank: Yes!

Bill: Frank. Frank!

[The pair laugh, walking inside. Bill clicks the safety off and rest the gun back on the table.]

Joel: I understand. If my, uh... If mine... brought strangers into our situation, I wouldn't be happy either. But of all the people you could've found on the radio? We're actually decent people just trying to get by.

Bill: Oh. Well, aren't I the lucky one?

Joel: There's stuff we have in the QZ that you don't have here—books, medicine, machine parts. We can help each other, and get that gun out of my face.

[Bill holsters the gun and picks up his silverware.]

Joel: So, what, you were a... prepper, or something?

Bill: A survivalist. Maybe you are "decent people", maybe not, it doesn't matter. We're self-sufficient here. I don't need you or your friend complicating our lives. Is that clear.

[Joel gestures towards the electric fence.]

Joel: That fence has got a year on it, tops. Galvanized wire already started to corrode. I can get you ten spools of high-tensile aluminum. It'll last you the rest of your life. Lives.

[Bill eyes him.]

[Much later, Tess and Frank make their way towards the town's exit.]

Tess: Are you sure about this?

Frank: Yeah! I mean, it's not a gift. You'll come back, we'll trade.

Tess: All right.

Frank: Oh! And I had this idea that we should, uh, we should use codes for the radio, in case anyone's listening?

Tess: Oh, that's a good idea! Like with what?

[Tess kneels down to re-pack.]

Frank: Like, I was thinking, like, the decades. Like, 80's, trouble, of course.

Tess: Oh, yeah.

Frank: 70's, uh, uh...

Joel: FEDRA's never gonna come up here. And you're well-protected against stray infected. But sooner or later, there'll be raiders. And they'll beat that fence and your trip-wires. They'll come at night, quiet and armed.

Bill: ...we'll be fine.

2023[]

Joel: So they're dead?

[Ellie nods and hums "mm-hm". Joel staggers a bit, looking around the house.]

Ellie: You— You wanna...?

[Cut to Ellie, holding the note out.]

Joel: Go ahead, you do it.

[Ellie pulls the note in and starts reading.]

Ellie: [reading] "August 29, 2023. If you find this, please do not come into the bedroom. We left the windows open so that the house wouldn't smell, but it will probably be a sight. I'm guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would've been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps (hehehehehehehehe). Take anything you need. The bunker code is the same as the gate code, but in reverse. Anyway, I never liked you. But still, it's like we're friends. Almost. And I respect you. So, I'm gonna tell you something because you're probably the only person who will understand: I used to hate the world, and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong, because there was one person worth saving. That's what I did. I saved him, then I protected him. That's why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do, and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep—"

[Ellie stops herself. Joel takes the note and reads the rest—"keep Tess safe."]

Joel: Show me your arm.

[Ellie pulls up her sleeve, revealing her mark. Joel contemplates it.]

Joel: I just finished makin' a truck battery, it's charging right now.

Ellie: Okay.

[Ellie rolls down her sleeve.]

Joel: And I have a brother out in Wyoming. He's in some kinda trouble, and I'm heading out there to find him. He used to be a Firefly. And my guess is, he knows where some of them are out there. Maybe they can get you to wherever this lab is.

Ellie: All right. Uh... listen, about Tess, uh–

[Joel holds up his hand.]

Joel: If I'm takin' you with me, there's some rules you gotta follow. Rule one, You don't bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves. Rule two, don't tell anybody about your... condition. They see that bite mark, they won't think it through. They'll just shoot you. Rule three, you do what I say, when I say it. We clear?

Ellie: Yes.

Joel: Repeat it.

Ellie: What you say goes.

[Joel shakes his head.]

Joel: Okay.

Ellie: So, what now?

Joel: We grab what we can.

← "Infected"