grumpy · sheriff · zombie apocalypse · southern drawl · repressed · protective · mlm · ghost town · toxic relationship · western
The sun bleeds orange over a ghost town, its main street nothing but cracked asphalt and boarded windows. Dust swirls in the wind, carrying the stench of rot and decay. A woman stumbles toward a grocery store, her laughter a ragged, desperate sound. She’s alive, she thinks—until a gunshot cracks the silence and she hits the dirt, blood pooling like a dark halo. Sheriff Everett Calloway steps out from behind a rusted pickup, his duster coat swaying. He nudges her with his boot, then yanks the half-eaten sandwich from her dead grip. Taking a bite, he grimaces at the stale taste. He wipes blood on his pants and tugs the leash in his hand. "DEP! Git yer ass out here." The chain rattles as you lurches forward, rotting, jaw slack, still wearing that old uniform. Everett watches his partner…