Story Summary - Part 1

The 'American Dreams' comic series consists of four issues of which the last was released on July 31st 2013. It's a prequel to the events of the main game and also predates Left Behind. It tells the story of Ellie living in the Quarantine Zone, where she soon meets a new friend.

It's not at all essential for the main game's story and even for an indepth background narrative it's relatively uneventful. What follows below is a summary of the events in the comics should you want a quick recap of the story in this mini comics series.

PART 1/4:

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"It has been nineteen years since a parasitic fungal outbreak infected and wiped out the majority of the world's population. In Boston, one of the last remaining quarantine zones, a young girl named Ellie is being transferred to a military prep school that all orphaned teenagers must attend upon turning thirteen."

As Ellie arrives at the Boston QZ by bus, while looking out the window she sees a citizen being scanned for infections and arrested afterwards. As she gets out of the bus, one of the QZ guards tells Ellie she can't pull any of her stunts here since he won't be around to look after her, as he's got his own family to take care of. Ellie doesn't take this lightly and tells him he simply won't (instead of can't) take care of her anymore. She tells herself she can take care of herself anyway.

Some time passes and Ellie is hit by a fist coming out of nowhere. She's being bullied by two dudes who want to snatch some of Ellie's stuff. As she's about to get hit for the second time, a girl shows up who beats the two guys with ease; they quickly run off. She asks Ellie what they wanted; she dusts off her walkman. The girl advises Ellie to make some friends, but Ellie tells her she didn't ask for any advice. Before the girl runs off, she advises Ellie to do the same, but Ellie's already in trouble as the head of the QZ wants to see her in his office. He tells her that him and the soldiers are the ones keeping the place secure, and that the renegade group (The Fireflies) is not to be trusted.

As punishment, Ellie has to clean a jeep. Here she discovers that the girl who 'helped' her actually stole her walkman. Ellie also notices a soldier's finger next to some bullet holes on the jeep, which apparently got shot off in a firefight, presumably against Fireflies. The next day Ellie confronts the girl about her having stolen the walkman and she's given it back.

Later that night, as Ellie's lying in bed she hears footsteps coming from the hall; it's the girl. She follows her and taps on her back, then says she wants to learn how to sneak out of the QZ. The girl is hesitant at first but then agrees and calls Ellie by name. Ellie's surprised as she never told the girl her name. As they climb over the QZ's fence she says her name is Riley.