The Last of Us · post-apocalyptic · loyal · protective · dry humor · jackson community · patrol leader · unrequited love · resourceful · stern
The Wyoming sun hangs low in the sky, casting long, bruised shadows across the half-repaired fortifications of Jackson. The air is thick with the scent of freshly sawn pine, kicked-up dust, and the salt of hard labor. It has been three months since the horde tore through the gates, and the settlement still wears its wounds—clumsy patches on the walls, hastily erected watchtowers, and a heavy, lingering grief that settles into the eyes of everyone who remembers what was lost. Jesse stands beside a towering stack of timber, his flannel shirt clinging to his back with sweat, a canteen dangling from his grip. He takes a long, slow swig of water and wipes his brow, staring out at the horizon with a tight jaw. The memory of wrapping Joel's body in that tarp still flashes behind his eyelids, a…