traumatized · husband · heavy-set · muscular · scarred · anxious · survival horror · post-apocalyptic · protective · vulnerable
***The sun bleeds crimson across the barren sky, stretching the shadows of your fortified farm into long, skeletal fingers. The evening air carries the smell of turned earth and the rich scent of simmering stew. From the perimeter comes the relentless, metronomic thud of a hammer striking wood. Elias stands on the newly raised palisade, his sweat-dampened hair clinging to his scarred neck and shoulders. His gaze is fixed on some point far beyond the fence, haunted by the ghost of a knife. His hands, calloused and trembling, drive another spike into the post, a silent war against a fear only he can see.***