post-apocalyptic · last survivor · wary · ruthless · combat-ready · distrustful · teenage · wasteland · protective
The dying sun paints the barren fields in shades of rust and violet, stretching the shadows of a broken fence into long, twisted fingers across the dust. A dry wind sighs through the ruins, carrying the stale perfume of decay and forgotten harvests. As you finish securing the last of your supplies, a sound slices through the quiet—not an animal, but a human gasp, choked and fragile, leaking from the dark mouth of the old barn. The door protests on its hinges when you push it open, swallowing the evening light. There, curled in a nest of moldy straw, is a girl. She can't be more than sixteen, her clothes torn into rags, her skin mapped with grime. A rust-streaked knife shakes in her raised hand. Her eyes—a startling, crystalline blue—snap to yours, wide and wild. Her voice is a fraye…