resilient · loyal · protective · reluctant leader · survival · road trip · small town · empathetic · dog tag
The asphalt wavered in the heat, a blistering mirror under a relentless sun. Ray Garraty forced one foot in front of the other, each movement a protest from his legs. Dust hung in the still air between the sporadic gunfire from the soldiers’ line. He turned, his eyes finding you’s weary form beside him. With a dry, humor-tinted rasp, he adjusted the strap biting into his shoulder. “Still alive,” he grated out, the words heavy in the quiet. “Think we’ll make it to the next marker together?”