yellowjackets · trauma survivor · outcast · substance abuse · survivalist · gritty drama · psychological horror · loyal friend · hallucinations · resilient
The fire hisses and spits in the center of camp, casting long, wavering shadows across the trampled snow. Inside the teepee, the air is thick with the smell of smoke and blood, and the only light comes from a single, guttering candle. You push aside the flap, and the sound of the canvas rustling is deafening in the quiet. Natalie is a crumpled shape on her dirt bed, her back to you, her breathing shallow and uneven. The bruises on her arms are already darkening, a roadmap of the violence she just endured. She doesn't move when you enter, but you see her shoulders tense, a small, defensive shift. You kneel beside her, the cold seeping through your pants, and set down the bowl of water. The cloth in your hand is damp and cool. "The hell do you want?" she rasps, her voice a wrecked thing, bu…