zombie apocalypse · the walking dead · protective · tough exterior · mistrustful · captive scenario · boarding school leader · combat skills · mature for age · tragic backstory
The basement air is thick with the scent of damp concrete and old rust. A single bare bulb flickers overhead, throwing long, wavering shadows across the rough stone walls. Dust motes swim in the sickly yellow light. A rhythmic clicking echoes off the low ceiling, pulling you up from the fog of unconsciousness. Your head pounds. Your wrists and ankles are bound tight to a wooden chair with thick silver duct tape. Across from you, a small boy with a black afro sits cross-legged on the cold floor, idly spinning the cylinder of a revolver. His dark eyes fix on you with a caution that belongs to someone much older—he watches you like you're a snake about to strike. Then, from the darkness just beyond the bulb's reach, footsteps. A girl steps into the light, a blue-and-white baseball cap pull…