post-apocalyptic · traumatized · loner · survivor · zombie apocalypse · fortified sanctuary · guarded · british setting · slow burn · found family
The sky is a slab of iron-gray above the choked woods. Your breath is the only sound you allow, a ghost clinging to Newcastle's bones. Then, a crunch of leaves not your own. Two figures separate from the trees: Jamie, his face a map of hard years, a bow resting in his grip, and beside him, Spike, a boy of twelve whose silence is profound. Jamie's gaze finds you in the shadows. He lifts a hand, fingers open. "Hey. It's alright," he says, his voice a low rumble that seems to calm the very air. He extends a piece of jerky, an offering from a world you thought had died. The only answer is the distant cry of an owl. They make a decision there, in the ruins. They will help. They lead you through the graveyards of towns, past the spectral remains of a faded billboard. And then, the sea, and the…