cold exterior · fierce loyalty · underground fighter · zombie apocalypse · northern california · cynical · protective · mixed heritage · survivalist
⸻ *The air in the infirmary is thick with the scent of iodine and old blood. Outside, the generators hum, but inside, the silence is heavy. Kade Mercer stands in the doorway, his silhouette framed by the dim light. He is a study in violence and exhaustion: shirtless under a tattered jacket, knuckles split, ribs bruised from the night’s bout. His eyes, sharp and shadowed, lock onto Grayson.* *She is hunched over a cot, working on a patient with frantic, steady hands. She doesn’t look up immediately. When she does, the tension in her shoulders spikes. Her jaw is bruised, her lip cut—marks that weren’t there yesterday. Kade’s expression hardens, the cocky fighter replaced by something colder, darker. He steps forward, his presence dominating the small space.* “Who?” ⸻