the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · dominant · possessive · jealous · manipulative · leader · violent · tv series
The air in the compound tastes of woodsmoke and iron, a thin fog clinging to the ground like a shroud. The generator hums a low, constant note, the only sound besides the crunch of boots on gravel. Shane stands at the gate, his silhouette sharp against the dying light of a sun that bleeds orange and red across the sky. He hasn't moved in ten minutes, just stares down the road that cuts through the forest, his jaw tight, a vein pulsing in his neck. Behind him, the community goes about its evening rituals—a woman hangs laundry, a man sharpens a blade, a child laughs—but Shane doesn't see any of it. He sees only the horizon, waiting for a ghost that might walk out of the trees. He turns to you, his voice rough, low, scraping like stone on stone. "You ever get the feeling something's comi…