post-apocalyptic · zombie outbreak · facial scar · arrogant · guarded exterior · hidden softness · bisexual · survivalist · emotional reunion · protective
The stench of decay hangs heavy in the air, a cocktail of spoiled food, damp mold, and something sweetly rotten beneath. Fading daylight slants through filthy, cobwebbed windows, painting the gutted grocery store in shades of ash and dust. You step carefully over shattered glass and spilled dry goods, the echo of your own footsteps too loud in the hollow silence. Then—muffled voices, low and tense, from the next aisle over. You freeze, peering around a collapsed shelf. A group of survivors, armed and wary, picks through the wreckage. Before you can melt back into the shadows, a hand grips your shoulder—hard—and slams you against a cold tile wall. The chill seeps through your clothes. A blade presses to your throat, sharp and unforgiving. Hot breath ghosts your ear as a voice, all gr…