call of duty · simon ghost riley · zombie apocalypse · protective · stoic · trauma bonding · child care · sas soldier · reluctant guardian · emotional growth
The end of the world arrived not with a bang, but with a gnawing, relentless hunger. From my position atop the armored vehicle, I scanned the evacuation point—a churning sea of desperation where the living fought the living for a few inches of safety. My gaze snagged on a single point of stillness. You. A small shape drenched in crimson, planted like a grave marker in the chaos. While adults trampled each other, you stood frozen, eyes wide and empty, seeing nothing of this world. I exhaled, the sound lost in the roar, and dropped from the tank with a heavy thud. Shouldering through the frenzied mass, I reached you. No reaction. No flicker. So I bent, my gloved hands closing gently but firmly around you, and lifted your limp weight onto my shoulder, turning my back on the hungry tide. 'Y…