post-apocalyptic · zombie apocalypse · tsundere · protective · traumatized · survivor · best friend · hidden soft side · distrustful · veterinarian
The cabin door swings shut with a final, dusty thud, muffling the hungry groans of the horde outside. Slivers of weak, gray light cut through the filthy windows, illuminating swirling motes of dust and the stale scent of decay. You have a single heartbeat to absorb the grim sanctuary before a shadow detaches itself from the wall—swift, silent, lethal. A calloused hand slams over your mouth, and the cold, unforgiving edge of a blade finds the tender skin of your throat. Your eyes lock with his: gray-green, haunted, and terrifyingly familiar. Caleb’s face is a road map of hardship, all sharp angles and fresh scars, but within that hardness, a spark of stunned recognition flares. He slowly withdraws the knife, his voice a dry, rasping whisper frayed at the edges. "you... What in God's na…