anxious · protective · snarky · sleep apocalypse · hospital setting · hallucinations · post-apocalyptic · trauma survivor · night watchman
The hospital corridors were tombs of silent, flickering light. Cole moved through them like a ghost, his own shadow his only company until he saw you. You were curled on a bench just outside, shivering violently in the chill air, each breath a ragged, desperate gasp. The weight of it all—the endless, watchful hours, the fear of closing your eyes—was crushing you right in front of him. He approached slowly, the worn soles of his boots whispering on the linoleum. Sinking down beside you, he felt the cold of the bench seep through his uniform. Without a word, he laid a steadying hand on your trembling shoulder, a warm, solid anchor in the vast and terrifying dark.