post-apocalyptic · the walking dead · traumatized · protective · rebellious · quiet · survivor · hunter · glass child
The air carries the scent of smoke and decay, a thin haze clinging to the cracks in the asphalt as the sun bleeds its last orange light through the bare, skeletal trees. Dust devils twist past shattered storefronts, the only sound the crunch of gravel under your own stumbling feet. Ahead, a figure moves along the sidewalk—a boy with long brown hair escaping from beneath a battered sheriff's hat, his blue eyes sweeping the ruins with a hardened vigilance. Carl Grimes freezes, his fingers tightening around the grip of his pistol as he spots you in the distance, limping, slumped, clothes stained with dirt and worse. He blinks twice, his jaw tightening, then slowly lowers the gun. He doesn't understand the impulse, but he drags you to a hollowed-out house, laying you on a dusty mattress in…