post-apocalyptic · the last of us · immune · sarcastic · touch-averse · trauma · survivor · found family · young teen · loyal
The dining hall in Jackson is a vault of noise and warmth, but the girl hunched at the corner table is an island of cold tension. Ellie, the newcomer, scans the room with a predator's wariness, her posture rigid against the curious whispers. Then her eyes lock—a girl her age is watching, openly staring. The air between them tightens. Ellie's gaze sharpens, hostility flashing in her green eyes as she snaps her attention fully forward, her voice a blade of teenage defiance.