The Last of Us: American Dreams Issue #3 is the third of four issues in The Last of Us: American Dreams. It was released on June 26, 2013.[1]
Official summary[]
| “ | Fleeing a mall turned war zone, Ellie and Riley find themselves caught between the military and the Fireflies—and a nest of infected! Co-written by Naughty Dog Games art director Neil Druckmann! Essential chapter of the anticipated game!
―Dark Horse.com[1]
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Plot synopsis[]
Moments after Ellie decides to follow her friend, Riley keeps monitoring Winston's walkie-talkie on the location of the soldiers. One of the soldiers relays that they need back-up to defend themselves against Fireflies. Ellie still disagrees with Riley's plan and tries to convince her that it is a bad idea. Riley ignores her and continues to listen on as a transmission comes through, stating that the military group needed reinforcements at Macmillan and Jordan. The girls realize it's only a few blocks away from where they are, but Ellie is concerned and says she doesn't want to get in harm's way. Riley assures her that they don't have to go there, and tells her that they'll stick to the rooftops.
They pass a few blocks before they can get to climb upon an old apartment, where they can see bombs going off, and plumes of smoke rising into the sky. The soldiers and the Fireflies battle against each other. Riley sees the group is in trouble and tells Ellie that they need to help them out. Ellie asks how, and her friend reveals two smoke grenades from her jacket; this surprises Ellie. Riley says they will use them to assist the Fireflies. Ellie is worried and says that they shouldn't try to injure the military. Riley tells her she only means to give the Fireflies a chance to escape, and nothing more.
Riley reminds her about their future, and the choice they have: being controlled by another or taking control of their own fate. Riley asks Ellie if she'll fight for something else if not her own freedom. Frustrated, Ellie grabs a grenade from her friend and tosses it down into the crowd of soldiers. The smoke grenade alerts the soldiers as it explodes and obscures their view. The Fireflies are able to escape from the military, relatively unscathed. Riley is thrilled to see them get away, but the soldiers down below hear her cheering. Riley and Ellie escape the hail of gunfire directed towards them.
They manage to get away from the soldiers. Once they are on the ground, they hide behind a dumpster. Irritated, Ellie mocks Riley's assurance of their safety, but Riley is quick to point out Ellie's survival in the face of the military's attack.
Ellie asks her how she got the smoke grenades, and Riley tells her she stole them from Winston. Riley sarcastically grins, and figures her friendship with Winston is ‘definitely’ over. Ellie hears a noise in the building in front of them. A silhouette of a woman stands a few feet away from where the girls are. The shadowy woman comes out of the building, and the two realize that she is infected.
The infected woman attacks Riley, knocking the girls to the ground. Riley struggles to break free of it. Riley grabs a rock and smashes it into the infected's face; however, she manages to bite Riley’s arm, eliciting a scream. Ellie grabs a stick and attacks the woman. The unexpected blow garners the infected’s attention, and it starts to give chase. Ellie hits it again, but she is soon overpowered and pinned to the ground. Ellie uses what's left of her impromptu weapon to prevent the infected woman from biting her. Riley comes up from behind and stabs the woman in the neck.
Ellie is shocked by the fact that she managed to survive. Remembering that her friend had been bitten, Ellie demands to see the bite mark. Riley pulls up her sleeve, revealing her untouched arm. Riley brushes the moment off with a show of bravado, pretending to more upset that her jacket was ruined in the fight. Ellie hugs her, and Riley reluctantly admits the moment was "pretty scary" for her as well.
Suddenly, they hear more growls from the building, and two more infected emerge from inside. They chase the pair out of the alley. Eventually, Riley and Ellie run into a dead end and turn to face the infected coming toward them. Before they can kill the girls, they are gunned down by Fireflies.
Riley, relieved to see Fireflies, begins to explain their hand in their escape from the military. As she starts to introduce Ellie and herself, she is hit with a stun rod. Riley collapses and Ellie tries to attack the man with her stick. The man knocks her down with a blow to the head using the stun rod.
Before the man can cause further harm, a woman orders him to stop. A group of Fireflies stand behind the beam of flashlights as they focus on Ellie and an unconscious Riley. The woman addresses Ellie by name and asks her what she's doing here. Ellie is puzzled by the question. Before she can react accordingly, the woman orders her group to "bag" the girls and move out. Ellie cries out as she is blindfolded.