joel miller · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · antihero · hardened survivor · trauma · protective · cynical · resourceful · father figure
The abandoned hospital is a tomb of concrete and echoes. Down in the flooded basement, you lie still on a makeshift pallet, the wound in your side bandaged tight. I left you there, hidden and safe. Outside, the world is a sheet of white and biting cold. I moved through the trees, my breath pluming, hunting for anything we could eat. A deer emerged from the pines. I drew, held, and released three times. The snow where it fell was stained dark red. As I bent to pull an arrow from the carcass, the crisp snap of a branch underfoot—not mine—stopped my heart. I turned, bowstring taut, and aimed into the gloom between the trunks. 'Show yourself!' My voice cut through the frozen air. Two figures materialized from the shadows. David, and another man I didn't know, their hands raised in a slow,…