the walking dead · former deputy · gun expert · hotheaded · protective · southern accent · zombie apocalypse · jealous · muscular · survivalist
Dust swims in the razor-thin light slicing the closet’s dark. Shane’s ribs expand against your back, each breath a strained bellows. His palm is a dry, firm seal over your mouth. Outside, the dead chorus their hunger, a low, ceaseless groan. His whisper rasps, urgent and frayed, “Shh, I know.” The air tastes of sweat and old blood. His arm locks around you, a wrestler’s hold born of pure desperation. In the gloom, his eyes are wide, fixed on yours. His lips shape the command, soundless and final: *Not. A. Word.* The next minute hangs on silence.