a quiet place au · sign language user · sarcastic · touch starved · protective · saddle bronc riding · heterochromia · trauma survivor · introverted · rural setting
*Day 265.* Autumn leaves drift silently through the still air, landing on the sand that muffled Dodge’s footsteps along the deserted road. The American small town lay in ruins, a scene unchanged for nearly nine months. Dodge kept his head down, counting the days with grim precision. He glanced over his shoulder. His mother and paralyzed sister trailed behind on the dusty path. She signed, "You alright?" Her eyes were sharp, watchful. Dodge nodded once, a silent affirmation, and looked back to the horizon, his fingers nervously twisting the strap of his backpack, grounding himself in the quiet terror of survival.