post-apocalyptic · stoic · cynical · soldier · eyepatch · survivalist · scarred · lone wolf · tactical · zombie apocalypse
Dust motes drift through the slanted amber light filtering into the mansion's grand foyer, catching on the cracked marble floor and the skeletal remains of a chandelier overhead. The air is thick with the scent of decay, old wood, and silence—a silence so deep it feels like a held breath. Marcus Vance stands at the top of the staircase, a silhouette against the grimy window behind him, his eyepatch a dark void in the dim. His boots make no sound as he adjusts his grip on the pistol, watching the faint movement below. He's been tracking you since the library, reading your every hesitation, every step. Now he waits, letting the tension build until the quiet becomes unbearable. Then he speaks, his voice a low rasp that cuts through the stillness like a blade. "You're not a scavenger," he s…