TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 288: Luke: I’m the Cute and Charming Villain Now (Patreon)

Ellie was fourteen.

Before the apocalypse, someone her age would have been in middle school, right in the middle of that rebellious teenage phase.

And after everything she had seen and experienced today, she had formed her own opinion of this place.

Seeing was believing, after all. She had seen the real [Ark] with her own eyes. There was no way everyone here could be putting on an elaborate act just for her.

“Joel... anyway, this time I want to make the decision for myself. Can you listen to me?” Ellie asked.

“That lab really has developed antidotes before. I saw... I heard them say it myself. They’ve beaten several different viruses. If I cooperate with their research, maybe they really can find a way to save humanity!”

“They promised they wouldn’t put my life in danger.”

“I said no!” Joel’s voice suddenly rose.

This time, his tone was unusually harsh, stubborn and uncompromising. “Enough. You have to listen to me on this!”

“Why?” Ellie snapped back. “You always say no, but you never tell me what actually happened!”

Joel suddenly fell silent.

He found that he couldn’t say a single word.

Why?

Because he couldn’t tell her.

He couldn’t tell Ellie that the true price of the surgery at the Firefly hospital had been her life.

Joel knew that if Ellie had been allowed to choose for herself, she would have sacrificed her life without hesitation to make that surgery happen.

But he couldn’t bear it.

He couldn’t endure the pain of losing a daughter again. It would hurt worse than dying himself.

And he certainly couldn’t tell Ellie that he had killed everyone in that hospital to get her off the operating table.

Those truths were a wall Joel had built around Ellie with blood. Behind it, she could still be a child without having to shoulder such a crushing responsibility.

Why should saving the world require an innocent girl to pay with her life?

He would rather carry the burden alone.

“You... you don’t need to worry about any of that!” Joel stammered.

Even Ellie could hear the guilt in his voice.

“Just listen to me, girl. Would I ever do anything to hurt you? Wait for me. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

Joel’s evasiveness and obvious unease made Ellie’s heart sink.

She had always been afraid to examine the matter too closely. Lies rarely survived scrutiny. Once the smallest seed of doubt took root, that was enough.

Joel really was hiding something from her.

Could it have something to do with the Firefly hospital...?

Luke hadn’t said a word throughout the entire conversation. He simply stood against the wall with his arms folded, quietly watching the father and daughter speak.

He let the crack of suspicion slowly widen between them.

To bring a hardened old veteran like Joel under control, drastic measures were necessary. In some ways, Luke’s willingness to manipulate people was every bit as ruthless as Negan’s.

“Joel.” Ellie’s voice trembled. “Is there something else you haven’t told me? All those nights when you woke up from nightmares over and over again... tell me the truth!”

Joel remained silent for a long time.

“No matter what happened,” he finally said, his voice firm, “I would never hurt you. You’re the only family I have left in this world, my girl!”

“Ellie, listen to me. There are some things you don’t have to carry by yourself, okay? Wait for me!”

Ellie’s eyes grew wet.

The gentler Joel became, the more Ellie sensed just how cruel the truth behind all this might be.

“I know. I’ve never doubted that,” Ellie said, choking back tears. “But Joel, there shouldn’t be secrets between us.”

She fell silent for a moment, as though finally making up her mind.

“Joel... there’s something I’ve never told you. No matter what, I... I’ve always thought of you as... my father.”

“Everyone I’ve ever cared about has either died or left me. Everyone except you!”

“I might be safer here, but only if you’re here too. Do you understand?”

The other end of the radio went completely silent.

A long while passed.

Then Joel’s restrained voice finally came through. Sometimes, the quietest words carried the most weight.

“...I know.”

Joel was doing everything he could to hold back his emotions, unwilling to reveal his weakness or how deeply her words had affected him.

But for a father, there was little more moving than hearing his daughter acknowledge him.

Especially when it came from Ellie herself.

“I know, kid. I know!”

Ellie sniffed, gathered her courage, and finally asked the question that mattered most.

“Then can you tell me? Is the thing that’s been tormenting you connected to the Firefly hospital?”

Joel’s breathing stopped for a beat.

“You were never supposed to know about that!”

“I’ll get there as soon as I can. Until then... don’t agree to any of their conditions. Wait for me!”

Ellie was about to press him further when Luke reached out and took the radio from her hand.

He spoke into it.

“Mr. Joel, right?”

“...Who are you?” Joel immediately tensed.

“Me?” Luke replied calmly. “I’m the leader of this [Ark]. I’m the one who issued your summons. I gave you shelter, security, food, clothing, and everything else you need. I guarantee everyone’s safety. But you...”

“Joel, you haven’t shown the slightest gratitude or respect!”

“You carried a knife into my subordinate’s room in the middle of the night and treated everything I’ve done for you as though it meant nothing. Now you’re trying to make the girl reject my conditions too. Tell me, what exactly is it going to take to change someone like you?”

Joel’s tone immediately softened, though he still tried to sound tough.

“I’m Ellie’s guardian. I won’t allow her to take part in any experiments. You need my consent first!”

“Wow. That father-daughter bond of yours is truly touching!” Luke said with an amused smile before glancing at Ellie. “But this girl can make her own decisions, can’t she?”

“If it were up to me, I certainly wouldn’t treat someone like her as an ordinary child.”

Ellie hesitated. She looked at Luke, then thought of Joel and his stubborn refusal to budge.

Finally, she gave a small nod.

“...Yes.”

The corner of Luke’s mouth curled upward.

He suddenly realized he was looking more and more like a villain.

He was driving a wedge between a father and daughter right in front of the father himself.

Still, it didn’t matter as long as he achieved his goal.

As for the methods he used... it wasn’t as though he planned to take Ellie’s life. That alone made him better than the Fireflies.

“You hear that?” Luke said into the radio. “The girl can make her own decisions. She already nodded. What reason do you have to refuse?”

His tone remained casual.

“Joel, I’ll be completely straightforward with you. I’ve taken a liking to this girl...”

The murderous intent from Joel’s end of the radio practically erupted on the spot.

“Don’t get the wrong idea.” Luke laughed. He certainly wasn’t interested in a child that way. “I’m talking about her talent. This girl is practically made for surviving the apocalypse. She acts decisively, she’s experienced, and she doesn’t have all the hang-ups adults do!”

“You trained one hell of an assassin!”