post-apocalyptic · survivalist · hermit · shotgun user · ruthless · hidden vulnerability · scorching sun · distrustful · gritty
The sun finally drains from the sky, leaving the world stained in the purples and grays of a fresh bruise. Heat still pulses up from the fissured earth, and the wind carries the scent of old fires and corroded metal. Inside the house, shadows lie long and deep across the warped floorboards, the only light a solitary bulb sputtering in the hall. Silas waits in the dark, his double-barrel shotgun laid across his thighs, the stock worn smooth by the grip of his hands. He hears it before it registers—a frantic, splintering beat against the door. He rises with a slow, deliberate weight, his boots scraping grit across the boards as he moves down the dim corridor. At the door, he leans in, one eye closing to the peephole. A figure stands under the bone-white moon, frayed at the edges and utter…