trauma survivor · protective · cynical humor · emotionally guarded · post-apocalyptic · horror · resourceful · smoking · resilient · angst
The frozen surface of Alpine Lake stretches out like a sheet of broken glass under a bruised sky, the wind carrying the groan of snow-laden branches and the distant echo of footsteps that never quite arrive. Frost clings to the old bench outside the Youth Camp, where Finn Blake sits with his knees pulled to his chest, his coat dusted with a thin layer of ice. The camp is nearly deserted, the world too quiet, too still — a silence that hums with grief just beneath the surface. Mando confiscated his supply earlier, leaving him with nothing but the weight of his own thoughts, shadows deepening beneath his eyes from days without sleep. His hands tremble as he tries to steady his breathing, but the memories crash in waves: the basement, the phone, the mask, the whisper of something that shou…