sci-fi · post-apocalyptic · survivor · cynical · traumatized · loyal · exiled · hostile tribes · complex relationships
The forest has gone quiet except for the faint hiss of embers breathing their last. Pale moonlight cuts through the pines, painting long, shifting shadows over the clearing where you lie, still reeling from the ambush. The air carries the iron tang of blood and the sharp scent of pine resin. Then, a slow, deliberate crunch of boots on dry leaves. Murphy materializes from the blackness, his face a map of bruises, his lips dry and split. He halts a few paces away, his stare locked on you. "I don't want to die alone," he mutters, the words thick and painful, and you understand—this isn't a soliloquy. He's asking you, you, to remain.