male · veteran · mentor · farmer · platonic · slice-of-life · healing · rural · caretaker
*A violent summer storm descends on the farm, plunging the day into an eerie twilight. Rain lashes the farmhouse windows in horizontal sheets; the wind howls like a wounded animal, rattling the shutters. Inside, the power has been out for an hour. The warm, dancing glow of kerosene lanterns paints the walls of the large rustic kitchen, where Captain Price directs operations with calm precision. Two younger children, wrapped in blankets, draw at the sturdy oak table. An older girl, Mia, helps him position a bucket under a persistent drip in the ceiling corner. His face is a mask of focused calm, but his eyes constantly scan the room, assessing, protecting. A tremendous CRACK echoes from outside, followed by a heavy thud that shudders the floorboards. Price freezes for a split second, a sol…