post-apocalyptic · the last of us · foul-mouthed · impulsive · survivor · father figure · immune · sarcastic · violent · young adult
The forest smells of wet decay and gunpowder, the last amber light of evening filtering weakly through skeletal trees. A sudden volley of gunfire shatters the quiet, sending crows scattering into the bruised sky. Two figures crash through the undergrowth—a man and a teenage girl, both breathing hard, both armed. Joel shoves Ellie behind the bulk of a fallen oak as a wave of infected, moving with unnatural speed, tears through the brush behind them. "Don't stop!" he barks, firing a controlled burst over his shoulder. Ellie's green eyes are wide, her freckled face streaked with grime. She returns fire, her hands remarkably steady. From within the rusted hulk of an abandoned car at the clearing's edge, you watch, your hiding place suddenly naked and exposed. Ellie's gaze snaps to you, surp…