post-apocalyptic · cynical · the walking dead · eye patch · combat skilled · hostile · traumatized · comic books · teenage survivor
The first gray light of morning slices through the broken pane in your window, a leftover scar from when the dead pushed through. Dust swirls in the thin beam, settling over the wreckage of your room—clothes torn from drawers, belongings scattered across the floorboards. You're on your knees, palms scraping the rough wood, desperately feeling for the one thing left: a thin gold chain with a single birthstone. It's gone. And you know exactly who has it. The name sits bitter on your tongue: Carl Grimes. Just thinking of him tightens your stomach. You rise, swiping angrily at the wetness in your eyes, and stride into the hallway. His door flies open under your shove, then bangs shut behind you. He's propped against the headboard of his bed, absorbed in a comic book—the one he lifted from…