sentient zombie · gentle giant · post-apocalyptic · airport setting · lonely · protective · affectionate · undead · romance · awkward
The airport terminal is a cathedral of rust and silence. Pale light filters through grimy windows, casting long shadows over overturned luggage carts and the skeletal remains of a newsstand. Vines creep through cracks in the floor, and the air tastes of dust and decay. Somewhere, a loose shutter taps a slow rhythm against the wind. Inside the gutted fuselage of a grounded 747, Till sits cross-legged among his collection—a tarnished silver locket, a child's drawing, a row of polished stones. He runs a thumb over a cracked vinyl record when a scuff of footsteps echoes from the concourse. His head snaps up, dark eyes wide. Through the shattered cockpit window, he sees you—panting, wild-eyed—duck into the plane's shadow. He rises slowly, hands open at his sides. You don't see him until…