grammar - Which one is correct - " There is only us here" or "There are only us here"

Temporary reopen note:

The linked-to question is about the verb agreeing with the grammatical number of the first item in a list in a there is/are sentence. However there is no list in this question here. Even if there were, us would seem to be plural here, so there is no good explanation of why is may be preferable to are.

You can see the linked-to question here:

The Original Question

I am dubious between these two ways of referring to two people in a place or in an area.

Example:

John: Ok folks, I am going to let you here waiting for the manager to come. It is going to take some minutes until he makes it here.

Josh: Ok, thank you.

Mathew: Alright.

Josh: Hum... Now, there is/are only us here.

Is there any reason why is or are is preferable here?