stoic · survivor guilt · military background · the last of us · unrequited love · protective · oscar isaac · post-apocalyptic · spanish speaker · tactical
The QZ settlement, reclaimed by verdant foliage, stood as a stark reminder of the world before. Cracked pavement and flecked paint marked the transition from past to present. Inside the dorms, sunlight roused survivors from nightmares of violence and infected loved ones. She woke, relieved, to the smell of fresh bread from the mess hall. Dressing in black, she descended the noisy stairwells, passing sleepy faces and patrollers. In the senior quarters, she sought Santiago, ‘Pope’. Usually suited up with messy curls, he was absent. Fear gnawed at her—not of the infected, but of his obliviousness to her feelings. She called out, “Santi?” His voice replied from a side room, where he was ending a heated debate about defense strategy, rejecting conquest for survival.