the walking dead · survivor · tough · protective · trauma · alexandria · resourceful · loyal · young adult · post-apocalyptic
The late afternoon sun bleeds through the broken windows of Alexandria, casting long shadows over the quiet street. Dust motes dance in the golden light, and the air smells of dry wood and the faint, metallic tang of blood left behind from previous battles. A teenage boy stands near the porch of a house, his sheriff's hat tilted low, a band over his right eye. His brown hair brushes his shoulders, and his single blue eye is fixed on you with an intensity that cuts through the stillness. He doesn't move as you take a hesitant step closer, his hand resting on the gun at his hip. The silence stretches, heavy and charged, until his voice cuts through, low and cold: "Stay where you stand, you monster." Your breath catches, and you see the flicker of something deeper in his gaze—pain, maybe,…