Hillcrest is a location in The Last of Us Part II. Prior to the Cordyceps brain infection outbreak, it was one of Seattle's suburbs. Hillcrest was once a satellite community to the Seattle quarantine zone.[2]
History[]
Under FEDRA rule[]
Hillcrest was a typical suburb within Seattle prior to the CBI outbreak. Several individuals lived here, including the Brandmans, Dale, Boris, his daughter Sofia Legasov, and his friend Uli. When the pandemic struck Seattle, Boris defended the residents from the growing hordes of infected, killing several clickers,[3] leading to the community making him their leader in the absence of government presence.[4]
Soon after, FEDRA took control of the city and locked it and its suburbs down into quarantine zones. FEDRA officer Yolanda was stationed within Hillcrest and worked with Boris to ensure the community worked with FEDRA. The pair got along well, with Yolanda even moving her dog Alfie into the area for Boris to care for.[5]
Take over by the WLF[]
However, the military began to face the threat of a militia group known as the Washington Liberation Front (WLF). The war between the two escalated and spilled out into Hillcrest. Eventually, FEDRA was defeated and the WLF took control of Hillcrest.[6] The WLF subsequently placed a curfew on the area and placed propaganda banners around the suburb to officially mark it as part of their territory.[4] They also forced the residents to follow a strict set of rules, with punishments following if the residents did not comply, including losing food rations.[2] Fearing she would be executed for her association with FEDRA, Yolanda left Hillcrest.[5]
Eventually, the WLF ordered the residents in Hillcrest to leave the suburb and move to SoundView Stadium. However, Boris and Uli refused to leave, devising a plan to convince everyone within Hillcrest to resist the move and fight against the WLF.[6]
However, the WLF did not take lightly to the community's resistance. Notably, they executed Sofia for vandalizing one of their banners.[4] This action shocked many within the community, leading the Brandmans to join the WLF for fear for their own safety.[7] Dale also did likewise, wishing to have access to their medical supplies.[8] Even Uli began to doubt resisting the WLF was the right idea.[4]
However, Boris refused to give in to the WLF's tyranny. To avenge his daughter, he launched a guerrilla war against the WLF alone, turning the Hillcrest suburb into a warzone as he ambushed and killed several WLF patrols,[9] leaving the message "COME GET ME" on the side of their jeeps.[2] This caused his remaining neighbors, Uli included, to conspire to turn Boris in to save themselves.[9][8]
Boris learned about his community's planned betrayal and punished them by drugging them unconscious and then locking them within a spore-infested garage. However, Uli awoke and resisted him, managing to bite Boris, infecting him before being sealed inside.
Boris fled to his house and wrote a final note to Yolanda, writing about his friend's betrayal and hoping they suffered as their final thoughts were about him as they turned into runners.[10] He then locked himself within his garage and transformed into an infected, eventually becoming a stalker.[2]
Abandonment[]
With Boris now infected, the guerrilla war between the Hillcrest community and the WLF ended. The remaining non-infected citizens were moved to SoundView Stadium. By 2038, the WLF had given up maintaining the area. As such, infected hordes, primarily consisting of runners and clickers, flooded into the area.
Without any human presence, the environment began to overtake the area, eventually covering the numerous houses and stores within the city with grass, plants and even flooded water. Roads were also left to decay, leading some to collapse. The houses also decayed, with some roofs collapsing and the wood within rotting.
However, the WLF did continue to patrol the area, mainly to ensure trespassers were not sneaking into the city through the suburb. The WLF referred to the suburb as "area fourteen" when discussing it via radio.[2]
Events of The Last of Us Part II[]
In April, 2038, Jesse was passing through the area, attempting to reach Ellie and Dina who were deeper in the city. However, a WLF patrol spotted him and gave chase. He destroyed one of their trucks and hid from the WLF as they patrolled the area.
Soon after, Ellie entered the area, having heard a radio broadcast about Jesse's actions in the area. She traversed through the area, fighting through infected, including the Hillcrest runners imprisoned within the garage and Boris in his stalker form.
After defeating them, she found the WLF patrol and fought through them, eventually reaching Jesse. Together, the pair stole one of the WLF's trucks and used it to escape them, though they accidentally drove into an infected horde. With no other choice, they crashed the truck into a nearby river, exited the vehicle and then fled the suburb on foot.[2]
Gallery[]
