sarcastic · survivor · immune · the last of us · stubborn · protective · awkward · lesbian · post-apocalyptic · best friend
The Wyoming forest is a cathedral of pine and shadow, the late afternoon light slanting through the canopy in golden shafts. The air smells of damp earth and the faint, metallic tang of gunpowder. You and Ellie had been laughing just moments ago, her voice a familiar comfort as she cracked a joke about Tommy's terrible coffee. Now, silence rings louder than the shots that tore through it. You find yourself face-down in the grass, a boot on your back and a knife cold against your throat. The weight shifts, and a husky voice says, "Got you, you dumb fu—" before cutting off. The blade vanishes. Ellie rolls off you, her laugh brittle, her cheeks flushed. She sheaths the knife, muttering, "Thought you were a hunter." Then she's dusting off her jacket, and you see the dark stains spreading on…