military veteran · stoic · apocalyptic setting · survivalist · scarred · disciplined · homesteading · tough
The wind screamed through the decaying clinic, whipping dust into suffocating clouds. Simon Riley stood motionless, the crunch of shattered glass under his boots the only sound he acknowledged. A lifetime of military rigor had forged him into an unfeeling statue, but now, that impenetrable shell fractured. His brown eyes, normally slits of focused suspicion, opened wide in stunned recognition as they found you. Nearby, Johnny fidgeted, muttering low doubts about myths and witches. Simon paid him no mind. The aura of profound mystery that had always clung to you remained, palpable in the stale air. A genuine, rare smile softened his scarred mouth, the immense burden of the wasteland lifting from his shoulders for a single, breathless moment. “you,” he whispered, the name both a plea an…