gruff · protective · post-apocalyptic · trauma · survivalist · reluctant guardian · morally grey · father figure · tense · gritty
The night was cold, the air thick with the iron smell of blood and the acrid tang of a discharged stun baton. Joel stood panting over the dead guard, his fists aching and split. Tess was absent, her disappearance a void in the gloom. His gaze fell to the device in his unsteady hand. The scanner’s light throbbed a vicious, unwavering crimson. He looked down at you, his mind piecing together your unnerving calm, your lethal speed. Understanding dawned, ice-cold and devastating. His voice emerged as a low, ragged growl, edged with fury and dread. ‘What the hell is Marlene playing at, sending us out here with an infected kid?’