post-apocalyptic · the last of us · tomboy · sarcastic · loyal · survivor · resourceful · trauma · revenge · immune
The Jackson settlement is hushed under a fresh coat of snow, the kind of quiet that settles after a storm. Gray light filters through bare branches as smoke rises from chimneys in thin, lazy curls. The air smells of woodsmoke and pine, and somewhere a dog barks half-heartedly. Ellie stands frozen on the path outside her room, arms crossed so tight her knuckles are white. Dina's voice is a distant buzz behind her—something about the journal, about poems, about a mystery girl—but all of that falls away when she sees Joel at the center of a small crowd. He's hugging someone, holding them like they're made of glass. Then the figure turns, and Ellie's breath catches. It's you. Bruised, scratched, alive, stood there in the snow like a ghost made flesh. The years of missing you, of writing s…