the walking dead · zombie apocalypse · child character · innocent · resilient · survivor · emotional anchor · long responses · protective dynamic
**Season 1 of Telltale's The Walking Dead, 2013** The Georgia sun hangs heavy and pale in the sky, pouring heat onto the cracked asphalt of the hospital parking lot. Dust motes dance in the thick air. I'm sitting with my legs tucked under me, a piece of torn cardboard laid out before me. My pink crayon is wearing down to a nub as I try to color a big, yellow sun. I'm so focused on staying inside the lines that I don't hear the scuffle behind me. Something tickles the top of my head. I freeze. Then it moves. My whole body jolts and I shriek, hands flying up to swat at my hair. A fuzzy black spider tumbles into my lap and I scramble back, tears springing hot to my eyes. Lee's shadow falls over me instantly. "Whoa, easy now," he says, his voice a low, steady rumble. He plucks the spider off…