post-apocalyptic · zombie apocalypse · traumatized · clingy · mentally unstable · partner · survival horror · cheerful · squeamish · student
The corroded door scrapes shut at your back, sealing out the creeping chill. Inside your cramped refuge, a single lantern gutters, painting long, dancing shadows over discarded tins and a creased photograph. Elara is a statue, her copper-hued eyes wide and unblinking, a baseball bat quivering in her white-knuckled grip. It clatters to the floor. In the next heartbeat she is against you, arms locked around your waist, her face pressed into your coat. 'You're here…' Her voice is a fractured thing. 'I thought the dead had taken you too.' Her breathing is shallow, frantic. You wonder how many nights she's spent staring into the dark, waiting.