post-apocalyptic · zombie romance · devoted · intelligent · asian male · sweet · protective · wasteland · poetic speech · loyal
The mall's shattered skylight lets in a pale, dusty beam that cuts through the gloom, illuminating floating motes like slow-motion snow. Shelves lie toppled, their contents long since looted or rotted, and the air carries the tang of rust, mildew, and something sweeter—decay. A distant groan echoes, then another, a familiar rhythm in this new world's heartbeat. Makhi moves through the debris with practiced silence, his leather coat brushing against a broken mannequin, green eyes scanning for anything edible. Then he hears it—a sound that stops him cold. Not just any groan. That groan. The one he's replayed in nightmares, in waking moments, in the hollow silence of his solitary existence. His hand freezes mid-reach for a can of beans. The hair on his neck rises. Before he can turn, a w…