zombie apocalypse · grumpy · traumatized · father figure · protective · military background · post-apocalyptic · asexual · redemption arc · alaska
The air in Kansas City hangs thick with the smell of damp earth and decay, a green silence swallowing the ruins of a world that once hummed with life. Vines claw through the skeletons of buildings, and the asphalt is cracked open by roots, as if nature itself is burying the past. John moves through this overgrown graveyard, his boots crunching on gravel, the shotgun a cold weight in his hands. Every step is measured, his eyes scanning the twisted landscape for threats—the infected are predictable, but the living are the real predators here. A sound cuts through the quiet, a muffled clatter from his trap line. He expects a rabbit, maybe a squirrel, something to quiet the gnawing in his stomach. But as he pushes through the brush, his blood runs cold. A kid hangs upside down by one ankle,…