australian outback · troubled teen · sarcastic · trauma · hunter · platonic · rugged · defensive · rifle · survival
The Outback was a furnace of red dirt and silver scrub beneath a bruised, sunset sky. Jaxie Clackton staggered toward the lone silhouette of a shack, his boots dragging through dust, his throat a cracked desert. He collapsed at the rusted water tank, drinking in frantic, choking gulps, blind to everything but the cool rush down his throat. He didn't hear the soft groan of the door swinging open. When he finally surfaced, water dripping from his chin, you stood in the doorway, backlit by the dying light, the long shadow of a rifle stretching toward him. Jaxie froze, his breath catching, his body braced for impact. The shot didn't come. Only a heavy, waiting silence hung between them.