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[dog_eat_dog]

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[dog_eat_dog]

Yep. Not all that big of a deal, but it’s his deal. I’ll earn my own.

[And when she declined it, she still figured Ellie and Joel had a chance. She could afford to be a little more prideful then.]

[vaccination]

Seems like you both lucked out. Have one another's backs.

[Ellie wonders if he was around when she got herself killed again.]

[dog_eat_dog]

I think so. After all my time here, I’ve yet to meet another warden I’d want to be paired with.

[vaccination]

[Ellie pulls a face at that.]

Golly gee, thanks.

[dog_eat_dog]

[Pointedly:]

I like you, kid, but I think you’d freak out on me.

[vaccination]

[She's... got a point. Ellie just shrugs. She's trying to behave.]

The age gap would probably embarrass you, anyway.

[dog_eat_dog]

I wouldn’t want a warden half my age, no. And sure, it’d be nice to not have to explain our world constantly, but...

[ She doesn’t particularly want to talk about this, so she veers vague. ]

You’re too close to home for some shit I need to deal with. Same in the other direction, too.

[vaccination]

Makes sense.

[Not that Ellie is even making an attempt at dealing with shit. This doesn't count. This is her pretending everything is fine.]

So, what's the best thing they offer to eat here?

[Point in case.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[ Tess claps her on the back. Moving on like a champ. ]

Let’s see if they have pizza today.

[vaccination]

[Tess, an excellent role model. Just like Joel.]

Pizza like... delivery pizza? I've had homemade pizza, but everyone always said it wasn't the same.

[But never whether it was better or worse...]

[dog_eat_dog]

Ha! If you want delivery pizza, we’ll have to go to the Enclosure. Won’t be filling, but it’s better than the homemade here.

[And she hasn’t had that in eons either.]

[vaccination]

Look, everyone always went on about gross, plastic-cheese pizza, like it was the best shit ever. I don't know if it was nostalgia or what. I'm just reporting what I've heard.

[dog_eat_dog]

[They're going to the fucking enclosure now, no other way around it. Tess steers her in that direction.]

All pizza is good, just for different reasons. You and I are going to set up with pizza and black cherry Polars. It’s been twenty years, we’ll find out whether it’s actually good.

[vaccination]

[whoa. Okay. Ellie laughs, perhaps to relieve the stress she feels.]

Am I gonna shit my brains out?

[... that may or may not have happened once or twice here already.]

[dog_eat_dog]

Undoubtedly. I still haven’t gotten the hang of the food here either.

[vaccination]

[A groan.]

It's good, but holy shit, my stomach.

[When she does eat, she loves it, but the pain is impressive.]

[dog_eat_dog]

Right? The sugar in everything, the amount of dairy, the pasta, all of it. I almost feel better when I’m half starved but it tastes so good.

[vaccination]

The fucking dairy.

[Did that stop her from shoveling down some ice cream? The second time, yeah.]

Maybe we'll never get used to it.

[dog_eat_dog]

Apparently you can build up a tolerance, but I haven’t found it yet.

[They’re at the door to the Enclosure. Tess gestures for Ellie to do her thing and unlock it.]

You get us in, I’ll set us up.

[vaccination]

[With a nod, Ellie pulls her backpack around to her front. The front pocket has her journal, and that opens the door.]

Whatever you have it make up, there better be a toilet.

[dog_eat_dog]

[ Tess notes the pocket and heads on in. ]

I’ll set us up with a whole house.

[ Which she does set about: plugging a suburban house in a quiet Boston neighbourhood in the before-times. Just barely nightfall, lights on in all the windows. Tess heads up the driveway of the nearest house, a cute two-storey colonial with yellow panels and white trim. The lawn is cut and dusted with fallen autumn leaves. Tess feels pretty happy about that, actually. Just like a memory.]

[vaccination]

[A house? Ellie was expecting a pizza place or mall. This is... cozy. Almost like all the nice, freshly painted houses in the movies. She follows Tess, turning around to take it all in.]

Is this a memory, or did you make it up?

[dog_eat_dog]

Just a random house in my uncle’s neighborhood. I always liked how it looked.

[Tess lets herself in the front door like she owns it anyway. The inside is invented by the Barge, but Tess doesn’t care much about that. She flicks on the front hall lights.]

We’re gonna order pizza like it’s the mid 2000s.

[vaccination]

[It's so... airy. Clean. Fresh. Ellie wanders into the living room, tossing her backpack onto the smaller sofa before plopping down on the bigger one.

Then, she laughs.]

Like--with a phone and everything? That fucking works in here?

[dog_eat_dog]

If this place can make entire neighborhoods, it can make me a phone line.

[ Tess meanders through the kitchen, going through drawers until she finds the stash of takeout menus, all glossy pizza ads with big pictures and obnoxious fonts and special deals. She grabs the cordless phone off its cradle and brings it all to the living room. She tosses the menus in Ellie’s lap as she sits down with her. Feels like home, but then again, she’s got twenty years of creeping through abandoned family homes under her belt. She could be comfortable anywhere.]

We can get one of everything you think looks good. Pick.