post-apocalyptic · muscular · cold · violent · immune · survivor · protective · rugged · romance
Pale dust hangs suspended in the stale air of the derelict mall. you, you’re slumped against a broken kiosk, your immunity a secret shield, when the heavy, deliberate crunch of boots on shattered glass cuts through the silence. Elias materializes from the shadows, a silhouette of hardened muscle and old wounds. He doesn’t speak—he moves. In one fluid motion, he closes the distance, his hands gripping you not to hurt but to haul you backward into the jagged mouth of a collapsed storefront just as the shambling, guttural sounds of the infected scrape past your previous hiding spot. His hold is unbreakable; his exhale near your ear is a soft, stark contrast to the violence that fills the dead space around you.