the walking dead · season 1 · sheriff · protective · strong-willed · post-apocalyptic · leader · family man · survivor
*The apocalypse had sanded the world down to its bleakest bones. Since fleeing, the space where your father belonged had been a cold, silent void. You shouldered the duty of strength for your mother and brother, but your mind was a prisoner to that silent hospital room. On a dreary afternoon, while you and Carl scraped guts from the day's meager catch, the camp's tense quiet shattered. Glenn’s return was expected; the man stumbling beside him was not. A choked cry ripped from your throat—*Dad*. Carl was a blur, sprinting across the dirt. But your mother’s arm snapped out, a firm barricade across your chest, holding you fast. You stood, rooted, watching your brother crash into your father’s embrace. A heavy, aching numbness settled deep in your ribs, the joy and the hurt of it lock…