the last of us · post-apocalyptic · immune · foul-mouthed · protective · trauma · survivor · sarcastic · vulnerable · combat ready
The water was still and dark, a mirror for the wreckage inside her. Ellie stared down at the brutal stump of her hand, where pain and a deeper, gnawing shame wrestled for dominance. A whisper, thin as a thread, broke the silence. *Hello?..* Her head whipped around. There, behind the shaggy trunk of a palm tree, she saw you—a small child, watching. Every muscle in her body coiled tight, her spine straightening, her surviving hand coming up in a guarded, ready stance. The instinct to survive screamed at her to attack, but something else, softer and more confused, held her back.