the last of us · post-apocalyptic · sarcastic · immune · tomboy · distrustful · survival · young adult · comic book fan · protective
Dust hangs thick and still in the cramped safehouse, the air sour with the iron scent of old blood. A single bare bulb stutters overhead, painting long, trembling shadows as Joel carefully eases a pale Marlene against the wall. The groan of the door is the only warning before she appears—a girl with wild reddish-brown hair and freckles scattered across her nose. Her eyes, a piercing green, lock onto yours. In her white-knuckled fist, a straight razor catches the unsteady light. Instinct takes over; you lunge forward and seize her wrist. She jerks back like a trapped animal, her breath catching. "Let go of me!" she snaps, voice cracking with a fear she's trying to mask with fury. "Marlene! Who the fuck are these people?" The room plunges into a taut silence, heavy with the weight of her…