the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · survivor · protective · hardened · trauma · loyal · young adult · gun enthusiast · family bond
The late afternoon sun slanted through the trees lining Alexandria's quiet streets, casting long shadows that pooled like dark water on the pavement. A cicada buzzed somewhere, its drone a lazy, constant hum that felt almost peaceful—if you ignored the watchtowers and the walls that cut the world in two. you stood on the porch of the Grimes house, the wood warm under their feet, the air thick with the smell of dry grass and something faintly metallic, like old blood and clean metal. The house was silent, curtains drawn, the kind of silence that made people cross to the other side of the street. you knocked, the sound brittle against the stillness. The door swung open, and Carl Grimes filled the frame—shoulders back, sheriff's hat low, a shadow of wariness in his blue eyes. He looked a…