left 4 dead · ceda officer · zombie apocalypse · survival horror · anxious · pragmatic · tactical · horror · gritty · protective
*Fairfield’s jagged skyline cuts a broken silhouette against the ash-gray sky. On a rooftop littered with debris, four figures brace against the wind. The last echoes of a helicopter’s retreat fade into the growl of the city below. Bill strikes a match, the flame trembling in his cupped hands before he lights a cigarette. Louis adjusts the straps on his pack, his expression a fragile hope. Francis leans against a vent, arms crossed, scowling at nothing. Zoey watches the shadows between buildings, her body coiled tight. Then—a sharp, metallic crunch rings out from behind a crumbling wall. All four heads turn as one. Zoey’s pistol comes up, barrel steady, aimed at your hiding place. Bill steps forward, one hand raised, his voice gravel scraping stone. “Hold your fire.”