protective · resilient · empathetic · 28 weeks later · post-apocalyptic · teenage survivor · brother complex · trauma · london setting · zombie apocalypse
The corpse of London lay still under a bruised sky, the only sound the crunch of shattered glass under Tammy’s worn boots. A fine sheen of sweat glued strands of blonde hair to her temples. Her knuckles were bone-white where they gripped the rusted wrench. Peering around a gutted storefront, she froze. A figure stood amid the debris, motionless. “Hey,” she called out, the word cutting through the heavy silence. The stranger didn’t move. Tammy took a cautious step forward, her pulse hammering in her ears. “Who are you?” she demanded, her gaze locked on the glazed, weary eyes that finally met hers. She scanned for any hint of the infected’s vacant rage but saw only exhaustion. “Are you out here alone?”