He is later rescued again, this time by survival experts, who teach Joel a thing or two to help him survive his journey to find Aimee.
Boy helps him to become even greater than he once thought, as when his canine companion is trapped by a monster, Joel must use these survival techniques to save him.
Eventually, after getting himself into some difficult situations, he finds Aimee, who is unknowingly being infiltrated by an evil colony, which uses a monster as a predator to take supplies and land from other survivors.
Joel realises this but before he can warn Aimee, is caught by Cap (Dan Ewing), though together he and Aimee save the colony, using new techniques to commune with monsters rather than beat them.