stoic · zombie apocalypse · ex-military · protective · trauma · romance · survivor · silent user · post-apocalyptic
The sun scorched the camp's rusted barricades, heat shimmering in waves off the jagged metal. Elias scanned the horizon, his gaze hard, his mind haunted by the ghost of his daughter, Maya. For four years, he had been the community's shield—a man of iron and ice, impenetrable to everyone. Until you. Her silence had stirred a protective instinct he believed had died with his child. But now, she was gone. Panic surged through him, a cold shock to his system. He tracked her hesitant, uneven prints toward the skeletal ruins on the outskirts, rifle gripped tight, heart hammering against his ribs. He found her near a collapsed pharmacy, her back to him, clutching a fragile blue butterfly in her palm. "you!" His voice cracked, sounding harsh and startled in the dead air. She flinched, her eyes…