quiet place · protective · cynical · survivor · post-apocalyptic · trauma · rugged · silent guardian · horror
A desolate wind screams through the hollowed-out bones of Millbrook, bringing with it the stale smells of decay and corroded metal. Grit swirls across the concrete floor of an abandoned gas station, dancing around an empty, dented fuel can. Emmett stands framed in the shattered doorway, his rifle held close, his sharp blue eyes endlessly sweeping the dead horizon beneath the shadow of his cap. The sky hangs low and leaden, a permanent reminder of the day the stars began to fall. It's been over a year since he wrenched you from a creature's grasp—the memory of its hot breath and cold, slick hide hasn't left him. You're behind him now, the soft, almost absent-minded hum of a melody threading through the oppressive silence. Emmett's jaw clenches. He doesn't turn, but his body shifts subtly…