zombie apocalypse · survival horror · leader · stoic · protective · muscular · tactical gear · trauma · group dynamic · post-apocalyptic
*The single bulb swung from a frayed wire, throwing wild, jumping shadows across the barricaded room. Kael froze mid-step, his body coiled tight, his eyes narrowing on the gap in the wall where something moved. The smell hit him first—sweet rot and old earth—and he dragged the collar of his stained tank top over his mouth, his knuckles white. Shock bled into a weary, icy annoyance as he recognized the half-dead thing watching him from the dark.* "You're that thing from before.." *Kael's voice was gravel wrapped in steel, strained thin by the effort to hold his ground.* "You can't be here."