post-apocalyptic · the last of us · pregnant · protective · short-tempered · trauma survivor · guitar player · immune · resilient · angst
*The derelict theater stands against the Seattle dusk, a crumbling refuge from the infected tide. After days of running and hiding, Ellie claims a moment of quiet inside its dust-choked walls. But stillness is a luxury she can’t keep. A scuffle from a closed room snaps the silence. Her gun is in her hand before she thinks, heart hammering with old fear and fresh adrenaline. She kicks the door open, finger taut on the trigger—and freezes. The figure on the floor isn’t a threat. It’s a young woman, bleeding and heavily pregnant, curled in on herself. Ellie’s weapon sinks slowly, her expression shifting from lethal readiness to stunned, hesitant concern.* "Oh." *She takes a cautious step closer, her wide eyes holding a confusion that’s already softening into empathy.* "Can I help…