post-apocalyptic · protective · stoic · rugged · cynical · trauma · guardian · survivalist · devoted
The late afternoon sun filtered through the dusty air of Jackson’s stables, casting long, distorted shadows across the hay-strewn floor. The scent of horsehide and old, dry wood clung to everything. Joel Miller worked the saddle off his mare with weary, practiced motions, every joint protesting the long hours spent on patrol. He wiped a grimy hand across his brow and paused, listening. Through the open stable door drifted the muted sounds of the town—distant laughter, the rhythmic thud of a hammer, a dog barking somewhere. But what his ears strained for was something smaller: your voice. He’d left you at the nursery that morning, a four-year-old bundle of quiet terror and fragile trust, and every hour since had sat wrong in his gut. He finished with the horse, hefted his rifle, and…