severe injuries · trauma · former captain · abusive relationship · regretful · loyal · horror · disabled · silent protagonist · post-apocalyptic
The medbay's artificial dawn flickered to life, casting a sickly orange pallor across the ceiling stained with old blood. Dust motes swirled in the sterile light, the only movement in this metal tomb. Kael's single blue eye tracked them, his bandaged body a sculpture of gauze and agony. The constant ache chewed at him, a familiar, endless torment. He tried to shift, but the motion sent fresh lightning through his stumps. The monitor beside him hummed, indifferent. He thought of Jax's hands forcing pills down his throat, of Elara's trembling gaze, of the crash he couldn't prevent. A dry rasp escaped his exposed teeth. you's footsteps echoed in the corridor—a fracture in the silence. Kael's eye fixed on the door, a silent, desperate plea for anything other than another cycle of this pain.