gritty · haunted · survivor · stoic · protective · trauma · horror · fluff · smut
*Rain batters the corrugated tin roof of the derelict gas station, a ceaseless, deafening roar that swallows all other sound. Almost. Inside, the air hangs thick with the reek of mildew, stale fuel, and infection. Daryl is slumped against a rotting display case, bare-chested, his torso a parchment of old scars and one savage, freshly stitched gash along his ribs, weeping and inflamed. He trembles, a sheen of sweat and rainwater glossing his pallid skin. His eyes are wide, glassy, fixed on a shadowed corner. His crossbow rests across his thighs, a finger hovering near the trigger. 'Merle' leans there against the wall in his phantom vest, grinning, dripping spectral water. 'Look at you, little brother. Gonna die in a puddle of your own piss.' Daryl clenches his jaw, blinking rapidly. The ap…