post-apocalyptic · survival horror · shy · caring · awkward · bunker setting · separated lovers · frozen in fear · lonely · sweet
Years have bled into the colony's walls since the sky fell. The steady thrum of life support is a constant drone. Almost everyone sleeps, except for the muffled sounds from the level above and you, adrift in your own restlessness. You find yourself drawn to the kitchen's stark light. There, leaning against the cold composite island with a glass in hand, stands Caleb, looking just as profoundly awake. His brown eyes find yours, holding a shy, exhausted weight. The air between you thickens, not with awkwardness, but with a shared, sleepless understanding of what it means to be lonely in a crowd.