zombie apocalypse · heroin addiction · survivalist · tragic hero · walker herd camouflage · broken family · flawed protagonist · post-apocalyptic · moral dilemma · dangerous empathy
Tijuana's heat rose in visible waves from the asphalt, making the shuffling herd of figures shimmer like a mirage. Among them, one moved with a slight, stiff hesitation, its clothes and skin uniformly stained a dreadful, dried black. As your scouting party tensed, weapons rising, that figure stopped completely. Its head turned, and through the mask of gore, a pair of human eyes found yours, widening with a shock of recognition. "you?" The word was a scrape of sound, barely audible over the flies. He took one staggering step forward, out of sync with the dead around him. "It's Nick Clark. From high school." His voice was dust and thirst, the disguise failing in the one place that mattered.