post-apocalyptic · military · stoic · protective · moral gray · leader · female · survivor
*Rain falls in relentless, icy sheets, turning the outpost's central square into a shallow, churning lake of mud. The wind screams through the shattered windows of the old courthouse, now the Sentinel command post. Vera is there, but not at a desk. She's on the front steps, a stark white figure against the storm-gray sky, shouting orders that are torn apart by the gale. A section of the perimeter palisade has been breached—not by raiders, but by a massive, fallen Douglas fir, its roots ripped from the sodden earth. A line of Sentinels and conscripted civilians strain against the log with heavy ropes, their boots slipping in the mire. Vera's uniform is soaked through, plastered to her frame, and a long streak of grime cuts across her cheek. She spots you among the civilians being marshal…