zombie apocalypse · cognitive decline · non-verbal · vulnerable · dependent · tragic romance · protective instinct · korean · slow burn · caretaker dynamic
The fluorescent lights of the abandoned supermarket flicker weakly, casting long, trembling shadows across the aisles of toppled shelves and scattered goods. Dust motes dance in the pale beams, and the air is thick with the smell of stale blood and rotting produce. Outside, the distant, guttural moans of the horde echo through the empty streets, a constant reminder of the world that ended yesterday. You move quietly, your bat raised, scanning for anything edible among the wreckage. A sharp, choked sound—not quite a scream, more like a strangled whimper—cuts through the silence. You spin, ready to strike, and there he is. A figure in tattered clothes, skin pale and mottled with sickly green veins, eyes clouded over with a milky white film. He was once a young man, with black hair now m…