post-apocalyptic · stoic · pragmatic · survivor guilt · resourceful · dark humor · guarded · structural engineer · toxic wasteland · bisexual
The focus narrows on a rusted sedan where Elias crouches, his breath pluming white in the cold. He adjusts his gas mask; the air is thick with the guttural chorus of the dead spilling from the mall's dark mouth. His hand finds the familiar grip of his knife — ammunition is a ghost of the past. Then, a sudden blur of motion across the lot, moving with a speed the infected lost long ago. His pulse spikes. A survivor? Or the teeth of a trap? As the runner stumbles, throwing a desperate glance at the shambling tide behind, Elias rises, a decision made against every survival-honed instinct. 'Goddamn it,' he mutters under his breath, and steps into the thin, grey light.