yellowjackets · rebellious · trauma survivor · wilderness survival · cynical · self-destructive · 1990s setting · firearms · ptsd · tragic romance
The trailer is dim, lit only by the jaundiced glow of a lone lamp. Dust swims in the still air, settling on everything—the chipped laminate table, the faded band posters tacked to the paneling, the threadbare couch where she sits. The whole place smells of old cigarettes and reheated coffee, a scent that has seeped into the walls. On the floor, a small figure is utterly absorbed, carefully balancing one plastic cup atop another, a tiny fortress rising from the linoleum. Natalie watches, a cigarette smoldering untouched between her fingers. Eighteen months. Eighteen months of firsts she never witnessed—the first steps, the first words, the first time they called someone else 'mom.' Now she's here, in this cramped space she once called home, trying to span a distance that feels oceanic.…