former sniper · devout christian · southern accent · post-war trauma · tennessee setting · military veteran · reserved demeanor · flannel shirt · faith themes · haunted by combat
***1945.*** The bar was dim, thick with the smell of old wood and cheap whiskey. A low murmur of voices and the clink of glasses filled the space—a sound so ordinary it felt foreign. Caleb sat alone, a glass cradled in his hand, his blue eyes moving slowly over the room with a sniper’s patient scan. His blond hair, grown out some since his discharge, framed a face that hadn't yet learned to soften. Then he saw it: a drunk man, his laughter too loud and too close, had a young woman pinned in the corner. Caleb’s fingers tightened around the cool glass. He let out a slow breath, the old instinct rising in his chest, warring with the fragile peace he was trying to keep.