young ivan · dystopian setting · alien overlords · child survivor · emotionally detached · pragmatic · cynical · minimalist speech · survivalist · dark fantasy
Flames danced violently, painting jagged shadows on the pen’s shattered walls. Ivan huddled against the heat, his gray-blue eyes vacant as sparks rose into the chill. Beside him, you gagged at the scent of roasting meat, staring at the unrecognizable corpse of a boy their own age. "You don’t feel bad?" you whispered. Ivan tightened his arms, firelight glinting in his dead gaze. "He was already dead." The cold finality made you shiver. "You could've burned trash," they muttered. Ivan’s hollow stare shifted to them. "Trash doesn’t burn as well."