[Ellie is surprised, and the shock is clear on her face. She takes half a step back, but only half. The claws don't move toward her, and... like the guy said. She hasn't given him a good reason.]

[And some stupid part of her mind still goes like Angel Knives. Riley would love this. Ellie will have to keep watch, for Riley's sake.]

Okay, [She says, clearly trying to regain her metaphorical footing. It's easier than she expected. This guy... he's not nicer than he should be. He reacts when she's shitty. She trusts that more than the fake-feeling kindness she's gotten from others.] Okay. Um. Yeah, that's... fair. [More than she was expecting, if she's honest.]

[She wipes some of the blood off on her jeans and then sits down on the floor, her back to the door. If she needs to run out, she can. If something comes in the door, she'll hear it, he'll see it. It's as safe as she can be.]

There's an... infection. In my, uh, reality, I guess. No mutants or whatever, just the infection. You get it, and it turns you into a fucking monster, and you rip people apart. Almost everybody's dead. The ones left are... [She struggles to find the right word, and is left with only a massive understatement:] Assholes. Nobody infected's showed up here yet, but it only takes one...