Thread: Last of Us: A Story of Two Souls (BMD x EldritheWhisperwind)

Mariah walks with a brisk pace home in the mid afternoon heat. She needed to get home fast to change her clothes and clean up the place a little. Its not like she wanted to impress Laurence or anything, hes the only close friend she has ever had and she doesnt want him sitting on a pile of junk. Once she was within eyeing distance of her new home she couldnt help but stare at the semi-crumbled light gray building and its roughly tacked on corroded tin and wood roofing the building used to be a Hilton hotel and It was in need of a good fix. Luckily she lived on the first floor and she didnt have to deal with the roofing situation and the idea of having leaks every rainy day. But it was home to her, the first home she had lived in since the infected spores spread. Can you spare any tickets? croaks a middle-aged man sitting at the base of the building as she approaches the door to go inside. Huh? Oh, Im sorry sir. I cant spare any. She politely replies as she quickly launches herself through the main door. Mariah had a hard time grasping the mans plight if he actually put in some effort to work he wouldnt have a problem getting tickets. He could easily get a job at his age. If the crippled woman with no left leg at the nearby pub can work, than so can he. She took the door to her left and walked down the hallway and took the 7th door on her right, room 14. She had a little trouble getting the key to work, but by jiggling the key furiously it seemed to do the job. She let herself in. The room was a single suit, with one bed, bedside table and dresser. There is a small bathroom to her left, but with no running water its useless. She did however use the bathroom mirror quite a bit. There were some architectural damage to the walls with the wallpaper flaking off in big sheets and the curtain rod that hung over the dirty cracked window was falling down. But for the most part the place was in good condition. Mariah didnt know how lucky she was to get the room since rooms like hers were highly sought out. She was randomly assigned a room after signing up for a job. One of the many perks of working. Mariah set to work on cleaning up any trash that was strewn on the floor and clearing off a spot on the bedside table to put food on. She then ran to the bathroom and quickly changed her clothes and brushed her hair as best as she could with a broken brush she had on her back when she was a drifter. Hours later the sun starts to set and there is a knock on the door. Mariah leaps off the bed and yells, COMING! She hastily opens the door and finds Laurence Green standing outside smiling while holding a plastic container. Hello Says Laurence. Hello to you too. Come in, come in. Laurence enters the room and whistles, Nice place ya got here Crawford. Yur one lucky bastard. Mariah grins, At least one of us is lucky. I know your last name is Green and all, but at your age you dont need to be turning green. Now why da hell would I turn green? Retorts Laurence with a baffling expression. Mariah erupts into giggles. I don get it. Green, as in green with envy. She says while gasping for air and trying to get a hold of herself. She then walks over to her bed and motions for Laurence to sit with her. Once they are both settled down Mariah grabs an apple she had stored in the bedside table and Laurence digs out a carrot that was hidden in one of his pant pockets. Whats with the container? asks Mariah as she takes a bite of her apple. A surprise for you. He replies. Come on, show me! Oh, alright. He says while unlatching the top and pulls out a chipped faded purple glass plate with various sizes of cooked meat nestled on top. Mariah gasps, Laurence, where did you get that? How were you able to afford it? We work at the same job and get paid the same amount of tickets. I even went to shopping before coming home and I only have seven tickets left. That must have been expensive. Fifteen tickets to be exact. I bought a full squirrel and half a snake. Replies Laurence. Its a welcome to the neighborhood meal. I had the tickets saved up for them anyway. But instead of eating them by myself I thought I would share. He presents the plate to her and gesturing her to grab a piece. Thank you so much. I don know how just, wow. She stammers. Go on, take one. Dont be shy. He urges. Mariah smiles and delicately picks up one juicy looking morsel. Laurence smiles back and places the plate on the bed before picking out a piece of meat for himself and popping it into his mouth. For the next hour Mariah and Laurence gossip and one by one they eat their bounty of food when their mouths are not too busy talking. Mariah then got up and lights the candles she has scattered about the room to help alleviate the darkness that has set inside the quite building. I saw the leader of the Guardians today. The one with the uniform, looked like a G with wings Says Mariah as she sits back down on the bed. Ya mean Desmond Thompson? So thats his name. I completely forgot to ask the guy at the meat stand. I was wondering, do you know what someone would have to do to become a Guardian? Mariah starts flicking at the fingers on her right hand a nervous tick that she had since she was young. I dunno. I have never inquired about it since I don want to die an all. I guess you would have to talk to mayor Maxwell or somethin. You could also try talking to Desmond if you see him again. But I wouldnt suggest it. He is a real nice fella but he does have short temper at times. Did ya hear about the infected attack outside the gates this afternoon. There was an attack? Was anybody hurt? Nobody was hurt I saw everything. But one of Dess boys shot his gun after being told not to. Des was furious. So, what happened? inquired Mariah. To the boy? Oh, hes fine. Des realized that the boy was only doin his job and apologized. Hes a real good leader. Laurence bounced up off the bed and walked over to the window. He used a crusty rag that was in his pocket to clean a small portion of the window and looked out. Welp, I best be goin. Dont want it to get too dark before I get home. I dont feel like stumbling around like an idiot on my way back. He then proceeded to walk over to the door to let himself out. Thanks Laurence, for the coming over and for the plate of meat. Mariah then looks down and notices that he forgot his plate and plastic container, Dont forget these. She then gets up and walks over to him and hands over his things. Be safe getting home. Youre the only friend I have and I dont want to loose you just yet. God knows that I dont need to loose anymore. Laurence smiles at her and says, Thanks for having me over. Now that I know where ya live I can come stalk ya whenever I please. Mariah gives him a look of horror and causes him to laugh, Don worry, Im just jokin. Your too young for me little missy. Mariah shakes her head, your not that old. Like hell Im not. Im twenty-five years older than you. I could almost be yur daddy. She opens the door and pushes Laurence out, Ill see you tomorrow for work. Good night Laurence. Good night Mariah Mariah slowly shuts the door and extinguishes the candles before pulling off her clothes and crawling into bed. As she lays there alone in the dark, she starts devising up a plan of becoming a Guardian. Where can she find the mayor? What about Desmond, could she talk to him? What would they have her do if she did become a Guardian, would she go out on supply runs or would she go out and try and help find a cure? Thoughts of helping find a cure made her dreamily smile. Through the next sixteen minutes she would continue to contemplate until sleep took her.