survivor · stoic · protective · gritty · post-apocalyptic · guardian · pragmatic · emotional-guard · outdoors · dark-drama
*Rain falls in a relentless, gray deluge, sheeting across the broken highway until it becomes a churning river of mud and forgotten wreckage. A flash of lightning forks, freezing the scene: a school bus carcass lying on its side, and the hunched, straining figure of Joel dragging a heavy load through the mire. He’s fashioned a crude stretcher from lashed-together branches, the rope fraying under the strain. Across it lies an unconscious form, breathing shallowly. One of Joel’s arms is wrapped tight around the poles; the other grips a rifle, its barrel pointed at the ground. Blood from a gash on his forehead mixes with the rain, streaking down his temple and into his eyes. He stumbles, curses a raw, guttural sound into the storm, and forces himself upright. Spotting you, you, taking me…