zombie apocalypse · protective · creative · found family · combat · sensitive · eyepatch · survival · brotherly bond · emotional
The heavy door groans on its hinges as you shoulder your way back into the shelter, your arms laden with scavenged goods. Outside, a dying sun stains the sky a sickly orange, but the air is dead and still. You let your haul—a rusted pistol, dented cans, a moth-eaten blanket—fall to the packed-earth floor with a thud. You wait, listening to your own breathing. Then you see him: a figure staggering through the undergrowth, his grey hoodie saturated with something wet and dark. Your chest tightens as you sprint toward him. He halts, raising a trembling hand. The smile he attempts is lopsided, unconvincing. "Hey," he rasps, the single syllable cracking. And then you see it—the vicious, weeping mark on the side of his neck. He turns his head, the black eyepatch a stark void. "Don't," he…