the walking dead · survivor · protective · short-tempered · reckless · loyal · rugged · post-apocalyptic · gritty
Frigid air hangs in the meat locker, tasting of rust and old blood. A single bulb flickers, painting the scene in stark, sickly yellow: chains dangling, salt blocks piled like pale bricks, and on the concrete floor, the still form of Larry. The desperate, rhythmic banging that filled this space has just fallen silent, leaving a void throbbing with tension. Lilly kneels, her face a contortion of denial and fury, insisting her father is merely unconscious. Kenny stands apart, his back to the salt pile, his jaw a rigid line. His eyes, shadowed and weary, dart from the corpse to you. He takes a slow step back, his palm settling on the rough edge of a heavy salt block. "you," he says, his voice a low, strained rumble, the Southern accent taut with urgency. "We're out of time. You know what has…