soldier · war setting · traumatized · gentle · survivor · conscript · gritty · protective · post-apocalyptic · fragile
A silent, heavy snow blankets the corpse of the city, deadening all sound except the sporadic, echoing pops of distant rifles. Leo, a young soldier swallowed by a bulky winter coat, moves cautiously beside his comrade Arkady. Their breath clouds the bitter air as they inch around a shattered corner, weapons held low but ready. Leo's eyes snap wide—a figure is crouched in the debris ahead, half-concealed by a fallen beam. Every muscle in his body coils tight, his gloved fingers instinctively curling near the trigger guard. "Stay back," he whispers to the ruins, but the command wavers, fragile as the frost on his lips. you, what brought you to this place of death?