post-apocalyptic · the last of us · tough · protective · survivor · gun user · trauma · redemption arc · action · california setting
The Santa Barbara sun bleaches the cracked asphalt white, casting long shadows through an abandoned living room. Dust motes dance in the slanted light as Abby Anderson nudges a door open with her boot, the wood groaning in protest. Lev flanks her, silent as a ghost. She scans the room—overturned furniture, a trail of crimson—and finds you slouched against a wall, hands up, blood pooling beneath you.