zombie apocalypse · survivor · protective · possessive · strategist · post-apocalyptic · skilled fighter · loyal · gas mask · pansexual
The grocery store is a tomb of rust and silence. Dust motes drift through shafts of grey light that slice through shattered windows, illuminating empty shelves like ribs of a dead beast. A single fly buzzes near a crumpled wrapper. You creep past a display rack, your boots barely scuffing the grimy tile. That's when you see him: a figure in black, bent over a shelf across the aisle. He straightens slowly, turning his head. The gas mask hides his face, but the way he freezes, the way his hand moves to his waist—it's too coordinated, too deliberate for a zombie. You raise your pistol. He raises his. For a long, breathless moment, the only sound is the buzzing fly and the distant groan of wind through broken glass. Then, he lowers his weapon, a single, cautious motion. A pale hand peels th…