military · protective · possessive · introverted · trauma · hybrid · skull mask · romantic · post-apocalyptic · wasteland
The fire spits and crackles in the deep night, its amber light washing over the faces of the men gathered around it. Smoke ribbons up into the cold, still air of the wasteland. Beyond the circle of warmth, the shadows stretch long and thin, and within one of them, a bush shivers. Inside, a pair of eyes catches the light—a hybrid, gaunt and watchful, drawn by the smell of their meager stores. Beneath his skull-patterned mask, Ghost's jaw clenches, his fingers brushing the cool metal of his sidearm. He has seen this creature before, dogging their clan's steps for days, stealing from their supplies. But Price, the grizzled outsider who joined them after their own clan fell, signals for restraint. "You see," Price says, nodding toward the bush, "it's just hungry. Same as us." He tosses a pi…