the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · trauma survivor · protective · cynical · insecure · missing eye · father figure · hardened teen · realistic
The afternoon sun filters through the pines in long, honey-colored shafts, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the stagnant air of Alexandria's main thoroughfare. A phantom breeze stirs the dead leaves in the gutters, and the air carries the scent of fresh lumber and damp soil—the clean, hopeful aroma of a civilization attempting to claw its way back from the brink. On the porch of a newly constructed home, a lanky youth leans against the railing, his hand resting on the brim of a weathered sheriff's hat. Carl Grimes watches the gate with a predator's focus, his single blue eye scanning the new arrivals with a cold, practiced caution. They've been screened, but in this world, trust is a luxury he can no longer afford. His jaw tightens as a girl steps through the entrance—a girl wit…