The Last of Us: Survival

Chapter 165 165: Downtime

Sarah tugged at Bryan's collar—then stopped. Her fingers had found a scratch along the side of his neck. Her brow creased. She ran her hand lightly over his clothes, and when she pulled it back, her palm was smudged with dust and grime.

"What happened to you?"

Bryan recognized the look on her face and managed a rueful half-smile. "Ran into a little trouble outside today. Nothing serious. Already dealt with."

He didn't want her worrying over things she couldn't change. Deflecting, he pulled items from the bag. "Here's everything I promised yesterday. There's charcoal in there too. Find a place to stash it—we'll need it in a couple days."

"Fine."

Sarah didn't press further. She knew perfectly well that "nothing serious" was almost certainly the opposite, but she trusted him enough not to pry. Still, a faint displeasure settled over her features. Expressionless, she accepted the items and placed them in a nearby storage cabinet.

Bryan could feel the chill rolling off her back. Great. Made her mad. He watched her move around the room and couldn't figure out what to say.

"It's so great that you moved in, Sarah!" Allen, reading the room with surprising skill, bounded forward to break the silence. "No more running back and forth between two rooms!"

Sarah turned and fixed him with a look. "It's literally a few steps. You're that lazy? Unbelievable."

"That's right—unbelievable," Bryan chimed in immediately, delivering a swift kick to Allen's backside under the boy's you're-seriously-siding-with-her? expression, then sidled over to Sarah to smooth things over.

Just as the atmosphere warmed back up, Chen Shi walked in from outside. He stopped short at the sight of the unfamiliar face, then shot Bryan a questioning look. What is this? I thought it was just us. Every day there's someone new...

"Oh—Allen, let me introduce you." Bryan heard the door and turned to find Chen Shi hovering in the doorway. He led the boy in. "This is the kid I brought back from outside the QZ. He's in my care until he turns six. Go ahead and say hello."

"Wait—you adopted a kid?" Allen gaped, the words spilling out before he could stop them.

Bryan stared at Allen's expression—an exact mirror of Tracy's earlier reaction—and felt his temper spike. His mouth twitched. He forced out a deeply unconvincing smile. "Is that so... Apparently my reputation with you people isn't exactly stellar."

Allen caught the danger in that smile and slapped a hand over his own mouth, shaking his head furiously.

Sarah, watching from the side, couldn't help a soft laugh behind her hand.

Though Chen Shi's English was still limited after only a short time studying, he could manage basic greetings. Through Allen's one-sided chatter, the two exchanged a friendly handshake.

"Here, kid—got you some clothes. Take a look."

Bryan set the clothing bag in front of Chen Shi.

"Finally!"

Chen Shi's eyes went wide with excitement and he immediately unzipped the bag.

It was the dead of summer, and without air conditioning—electric fans were a luxury item—everyone was drenched in sweat around the clock. In a world of scarce resources, only government elites and their families enjoyed the luxury of daily baths. Everyone else made do with a damp towel rubbed over their body.

For Chen Shi—newly arrived in this world and freshly smuggled into the QZ—putting the same sweat-soaked clothes back on after wiping down was a special kind of misery. The prospect of fresh clothing was nothing short of euphoric.

But the moment his small hands rummaged through the bag, his expression froze. Slowly, he withdrew a pink lace dress.

He stared at Bryan in disbelief.

"...Why is there a dress in here?"

Bryan was just as thrown. He'd only given the bag a cursory check at the market—it had all looked like boys' clothes at the time. He hadn't thought to specify gender.

But an idea struck him, and a teasing grin spread across his face. "It's fine. You're young enough that nobody can tell the difference. Just make do for a while—you'll be switching to new stuff eventually anyway..."

The phrase "crossdressing legend" flashed unbidden through Chen Shi's mind. A violent shudder ran down his spine. He stuffed the dress back into the bag. He did not have that kind of hobby.

Wrestling the bag off the ground—struggling with its weight—he leveled a withering glare at Bryan, then dragged the whole thing into his room.

"So! Are we cooking tonight?"

Once Chen Shi had disappeared with his clothes, Bryan shrugged, strolled into the living area, and grinned at the setup.

Where the coffee table had once stood, the floor was now occupied by a large brick square with glowing coals inside. An iron pot sat on top, water bubbling and rolling, thin wisps of steam curling into the air.

"You're a lucky man, you know that?" Bryan dropped onto the couch and glanced at Allen. "Every time you come back, Sarah's got something good cooking."

"Oh, do you have a problem with that?"

Sarah—arms full of ingredients—shot him a look, her tone distinctly sharp.

"Wouldn't dream of it. You're the boss around here."

Feeling the weight of her gaze, Bryan slid from the couch to the floor and started helping, placing the cuts of meat and mushrooms into the boiling water one by one.

Truthfully, if he weren't a retrieval squad leader skimming supplies with the smugglers, and Sarah weren't a doctor pulling generous monthly supply card rations, they'd never dare eat this well.

He watched Sarah stir the pot with a ladle and sprinkle in a pinch of salt, then turned to Allen. "You've got six months until graduation. Any idea what you want to do?"

"Huh?"

Allen had been leaning in toward the pot, breathing in the aroma and swallowing hard. The question snapped him back. He scratched his head sheepishly. "Where else would I go? My grades are trash. All I've got going for me is that I'm not weak. I figured I'd just sign up for the military training academy and go wherever they send me."

"You lazy bum. Figures."

Bryan swatted him on the head but couldn't really argue. Given Allen's academic record, if not the military, what else? Manual labor?

He thought for a moment, recalling his visit to the black market, and lowered his voice. "Since you've got no preference, put in a request for District D patrol duty when the time comes. I've got some things set up over there. With your official status providing cover, it shouldn't be a problem. You can look after Tracy while you're at it. Just keep your head on straight and don't get yourself isolated."

"You got it." Allen had no objections—one post was as good as another. Part of him itched to see the world outside, but the urge wasn't strong enough to fight over. He nodded and accepted.

With a direction set, Bryan—speaking from experience—walked Allen through what to expect at the training academy, naming a few competent instructors worth learning from.

"Alright, food's ready."

They'd been deep in conversation for half an hour—so absorbed they hadn't noticed Chen Shi emerge from his room and sit down nearby—when Sarah's voice cut through.

She set the ladle aside and called them over. Then she picked up a bowl, scooped out a generous portion of meat and mushrooms, and handed servings to each of the three before finally ladling one for herself.

She took a small sip of the scalding broth. The rich, savory flavor hit her tongue, and she felt taste buds deadened by weeks of jerky spring back to life. A look of pure contentment settled over her face.

She wasn't the only one. Allen's eyes had rolled back in bliss, and even Chen Shi—who'd endured days of nothing but dried meat—looked like he'd achieved a minor form of enlightenment.

Bryan shook his head with a quiet laugh. Eating out on missions had dulled his own appreciation somewhat, but he wasn't about to ruin the moment. He blew gently on his bowl and joined them in savoring the meal.

...

Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"