Joel follows close behind, eyes looking this way and that, tense, mistrusting, hyper-vigilant, in between staring at the woman. At Tess. It's Tess, he has to keep repeating to himself over and over. It's Tess. It's Tess. It's fucking Tess. It makes no fucking sense, but it's Tess.
He recognises the sector she leads him into and the building, at the very least - it's the very same sector he was taken to earlier by the driver who'd escorted him here. Showed him his living quarters. Told him this is where he's going to be living now. Yeah, not fucking likely. Joel had come close to pulling a gun on the asshole and telling him to get the fuck out of his face when the guy had insisted on showing him how to use the weird console secured into the wall.
If he is going to end up staying here, well, at least Tess is in the same sector. That's gotta be something, right?
He's a little taken aback when she leads him inside. Colour and vibrancy everywhere. Neat, tidy, not falling apart with rot or years of disuse. No rank, mouldy, mildew smells of decay, no mustiness, no cracks creeping up the walls or water stains spread across the floor. Just a normal home, something that, after over twenty years of living in post-apocalyptic ruin, Joel had long since come to believe would only ever be a distant memory; a dream, even. Jesus, this place is going to take some getting used to.
But now they're safely away from the crowds, from the noise, from the unnerving bustle of people, Joel lets his mind return to the topic of Ellie. And now that it is, he realises there's a deep shakiness in his chest. A deep, nervous worry about Ellie that he's been carrying around with him ever since he pulled her out of that stagnant water in the tunnel, realised she weren't breathing--
"Where is she?" he's quick, almost urgent to ask. "Been lookin' for her. Been lookin' for her everywhere."
There's a heaviness to his tone here, weighted with unspoken fear and worry.
But then-- Now he's away from the unsettling calamity of people and noise and activity outside, he's able to take a better look at Tess. His eyes sweep over her body again, her face, as he takes a step back, trying to process that she's really real.
"Wait a minute," he continues. A hand comes up, silently telling Tess to stop right there, don't move, he needs to take stock of the situation here. "What… what does this mean?" His eyes cut briefly to the side of her neck. A flicker of something crosses his face, like a brief flash of pain at the memory of seeing that bite mark when he'd demanded Tess show it to him. His gaze returns to her face. "That you're not--?"
Infected? But that's fucking impossible. Isn't it?
no subject
He recognises the sector she leads him into and the building, at the very least - it's the very same sector he was taken to earlier by the driver who'd escorted him here. Showed him his living quarters. Told him this is where he's going to be living now. Yeah, not fucking likely. Joel had come close to pulling a gun on the asshole and telling him to get the fuck out of his face when the guy had insisted on showing him how to use the weird console secured into the wall.
If he is going to end up staying here, well, at least Tess is in the same sector. That's gotta be something, right?
He's a little taken aback when she leads him inside. Colour and vibrancy everywhere. Neat, tidy, not falling apart with rot or years of disuse. No rank, mouldy, mildew smells of decay, no mustiness, no cracks creeping up the walls or water stains spread across the floor. Just a normal home, something that, after over twenty years of living in post-apocalyptic ruin, Joel had long since come to believe would only ever be a distant memory; a dream, even. Jesus, this place is going to take some getting used to.
But now they're safely away from the crowds, from the noise, from the unnerving bustle of people, Joel lets his mind return to the topic of Ellie. And now that it is, he realises there's a deep shakiness in his chest. A deep, nervous worry about Ellie that he's been carrying around with him ever since he pulled her out of that stagnant water in the tunnel, realised she weren't breathing--
"Where is she?" he's quick, almost urgent to ask. "Been lookin' for her. Been lookin' for her everywhere."
There's a heaviness to his tone here, weighted with unspoken fear and worry.
But then-- Now he's away from the unsettling calamity of people and noise and activity outside, he's able to take a better look at Tess. His eyes sweep over her body again, her face, as he takes a step back, trying to process that she's really real.
"Wait a minute," he continues. A hand comes up, silently telling Tess to stop right there, don't move, he needs to take stock of the situation here. "What… what does this mean?" His eyes cut briefly to the side of her neck. A flicker of something crosses his face, like a brief flash of pain at the memory of seeing that bite mark when he'd demanded Tess show it to him. His gaze returns to her face. "That you're not--?"
Infected? But that's fucking impossible. Isn't it?