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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ flashback sequence
JOEL WAS SCARCELY A NERVOUS MAN, yet, as the well-planned moment he'd long been anticipating is, at last, within his grasp, his every nerve-ending is set alight. A thin sheen of sweat coats his slightly shaking hands, and the distant rumble of his stuttering heartbeat echoes loudly within his eardrums. He so desperately needed for all to go as he'd planned, for today — Cassie's birthday — to be but one, peaceful day in the chaos that is their survival.
Despite the cruelty of the world the girl had been raised within — the horrors she'd been forced to commit in the name of survival — this sole day was to be dedicated to her. Joel, for years, had watched her grow; raised brutally within the absence of any semblance of a childhood. And, while he knew he could never offer her the life she deserved, he — despite his better instincts screaming at him not to — was set upon offering her a single, goddamn day of joy.
And, while they hadn't known it then, it would be their last good day together in a long, long time.
Still, the ever-lingering paranoia within his mind ignites sparks of hesitancy, despite his overwhelming determination. Casting his eyes upon Tommy, who had offered to keep watch as his brother was to carry out his plans, Joel once more asks, "You sure 'bout this?"
"Yeah, I got this," Tommy reassures, an edge of certainty poised within his words. Since the moment his older brother had mentioned his plans for Cassie's birthday, he'd been eagerly willing to help. He'd seen how, with time, Cassie had brought upon subtle changes within Joel — the shell of a man he'd once been slowly fracturing beneath the weight of his care for her. And, upon rare, yet heart-warming occasions when Joel and Cassie interacted, Tommy had caught glimpses of the brother he'd lost to grief long ago.
"If you see anything–" Joel begins.
"I'll whistle, I know," Tommy interjects, having heard his brother's lecture too many times to count merely within the last few minutes. With a small, yet genuine smile daring to creep upon his lips, Tommy encouragingly pats Joel on the shoulder, "Now go and make the kid happy."
Pushing aside the blossoms of paranoia that tempt him away from pursuing his goal, Joel offers a curt nod to his brother, before turning the entirety of his focus upon the now fourteen-year-old Cassie.
Absent-mindedly, she picks at the remnants of blood lingering beneath her nails, the dried, crimson liquid haunting her young mind. Throughout their years together, Joel had watched as the once vibrant light her eyes held began to wither away, the parasitic world they're trapped within rotting her innocence. And, with each passing day, she'd begun, more and more to resemble the broken survivor that was Joel — and he despised it.
