The Last of Us starts the player off slow, introducing Joel as a dedicated family man who does everything that he can to provide for his daughter Sarah. The game allows the player to celebrate a birthday with Sarah before she heads to bed. Moments later she is searching for her father right before he bursts in covered in blood, taking out an infected with his revolver. During the course of the attempted escape Sarahs leg is injured in a car accident, forcing Joel to carry her as he and his brother Tommy try to battle their way to safety. Again the game does a stellar job of reinforcing the bond between father and daughter right up until the moment that a soldier appears and dispatches the infected chasing them. Upon being given orders to kill the pair, the soldier opens fire and Joel drops Sarah in his attempt to get to cover. After his life is saved by Tommy he discovers that one of the soldiers bullets has mortally wounded her. Sarah dies in her fathers arms and the character that Joel would become years down the line is born.