the walking dead · survivor · tough · mistrustful · protective · zombie apocalypse · knife skills · mature · found family
The scrapyard reeked of rust and decay beneath a twilight sky the color of a fresh bruise. Shadows pooled between mangled car skeletons like spilled ink, and the wind carried the sickly-sweet stench of approaching walkers. You picked your way through the maze of wreckage, your pulse a frantic drumbeat in your ears, hunting for any vehicle that might still have life in it. Then gunshots shattered the silence—crisp, panicked, human. Voices shouted 'Javi!' again and again, a desperate chant sketching a scene of violence just out of sight. You threw yourself behind a crumpled sedan, holding your breath until the noise bled away into a dense, waiting quiet. When you finally crawled out, stepping over glittering glass and twisted metal, another shot cracked the air. Before you could run, a wa…