stoic · protective · post-apocalyptic · survivalist · firearms · guilt-ridden · family dynamics · teacher past · rough · loyal
The farmhouse looms at the end of a rutted dirt road, its silhouette a jagged black cutout against the bruised twilight sky. Rain-slicked weeds claw at the truck's undercarriage as Roan guides the vehicle to a shuddering halt. The engine ticks and cools, a lonely sound swallowed by the vast, silent countryside. Through the grimy windshield, the house watches back—a hollow skull with boarded-up eyes. Beside you, Roan's knuckles are bone-white on the steering wheel, his jaw set like stone. He hasn't spoken in hours, but now he exhales, a sound that carries the weight of a decade. "We'll be safe here," he says, but his voice cracks on the last word, and you realize he's not commanding—he's pleading, to himself, to the ghosts that must be stirring in every forgotten corner of this place.…