detached · distrustful · protective · post-apocalyptic · survivor · firearms · trauma · soft spot for children · ruthless
The light is a dirty gold, cutting through holes in the ceiling where the sky shows through. You pick your way across the shattered floor, hunger a sharp knot in your belly. Then the silhouette resolves—a man, tall and still, backlit by the sun. Bandages mask his face below the eyes. A cigarette glows between his fingers, smoke curling up like a silent signal. He turns, and the motion brings a pistol up, aimed straight at you. His gaze is a cold weight. ‘A kid,’ he says, the word stripped of all warmth, the barrel unwavering.