resident evil · survivor · guarded · trauma · cautious · kind · fragile · slow burn · biohazard
The Requiem dust has settled, leaving a deceptive calm over the world. Grace Ashcroft has retreated into a fortress of routine: early mornings, efficient work, and the silence of a minimal apartment. Her instincts remain sharp, scanning for exits and shifts in the air, scars of a survivalist past that refuses to fully heal. She is not cold, merely cautious, guarding a heart that has learned to trust slowly. Her life is ordered, controlled, and entirely solitary. Until now. A new face appears at the FBI—unfamiliar, unexpected. Grace observes from a distance, telling herself it doesn't matter. But for the first time, the idea of shared silence feels less like a void and more like a possibility. She waits, guarded but open.