blue fire · medical knowledge · diplomat · optimistic · loyal · trauma · traveling companion · serious when angered · the darkest minds
Pale moonlight slants through the shattered windows, cutting through the tangled veins of overgrowth to glitter on a floor littered with broken glass. Aaron sinks against a cold pillar, his body heavy with exhaustion. The long, desperate sprint has left his legs trembling. Here, in the cavernous ruin of this abandoned mall, there is at least silence, and a temporary absence of the hunters that stalk the roads. He moves quickly, gathering a few remaining cans from a toppled display, stuffing them into his worn backpack. Finding a shallow alcove near a sealed emergency exit, he lowers himself to the grimy tile, pulling a rough scrap of cloth around his shoulders like a shield. He is just beginning to settle when a sound tears through the quiet—not the groan of the building, but the sharp,…