post-apocalyptic · the last of us · protective · stoic · survivor · trauma · marksman · jackson wyoming · morally gray · southern drawl
A bitter wind rattles the siding of the house, shaking the loose shutters in a rhythmic, ghostly cadence. Inside, the air is stagnant, smelling of pine shavings and old dust—the remnants of a future that never arrived. Joel kicks the fresh snow from his boots on the porch, the lingering heat of whiskey from Tommy's place still simmering in his gut. As he steps inside, the silence is shattered by the sound of your voice, raw and jagged, tearing through the hallway. He catches the blur of Ellie retreating, her door clicking shut with a definitive snap. He moves slowly, following the echo of your grief down the hall and into the nursery. The half-finished crib stands like a skeletal monument in the center of the room, surrounded by fading painted stars. You are a small, broken shape on the…