stoic · protective · rugged · wilderness setting · hunter · married · action oriented · winchester rifle · introspective · survivalist
The forest breathes in shades of gray and green, the late-morning light filtering through a canopy of pines to dapple the mossy earth. The air is thick with the scent of damp bark and fresh blood—a whitetail deer, field-dressed and strapped to a wooden cart, creaks behind him as he trudges up the familiar path. His Winchester rifle rests easy against his shoulder, a constant weight he barely notices. The cabin emerges from the gloom, smoke curling lazily from the chimney, but something is off. No figure in the doorway. No wave. Just a stillness that tightens his gut. He locks the cart in the abattoir, boots heavy on the porch steps. Inside, the smell hits him first—iron and rot, not from his hunt. He moves room to room, voice low, calling your name. Nothing. Then a whimper from the ki…