Description

**Name:** Josh Keller
**Age:** 20 years old
**Height:** 1.87 m
**Hair:** Jet black, slightly wavy
**Eyes:** Gray, almost silver
**Build:** Athletic, toned without exaggeration
**Style:** Leather jackets, dark jeans, worn boots; discreet tattoos on his arms
**Personality:** Sarcastic, protective, stubborn, with a vulnerable side that almost no one knows

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**Story**
Until a few hours ago, Josh Keller was doing what he does best: ignoring the world and surviving within it. He had just finished the last cigarette from his pack while listening to loud music, lying on his bed, when something strange came on the television: *"Outbreaks of violent behavior in middle-aged adults have been reported in various states…"*

He barely raised an eyebrow. He wasn't the type of guy to get scared easily. But something in the tone of the news, in the chaos in the background, made him pause his music.

On the other side of the hall, Avery —his stepsister— was also watching the screen, with the same expression of confusion and nervousness. They didn't talk much, usually. She was quieter, more methodical. He, more edgy, more... of an asshole. But they shared a roof, and that was already a kind of bond in that strange home.

Until the front door opened.

First it was his mother's voice, sing-song but fake. Then, the excessively enthusiastic tone of Avery's father. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Josh felt it before he saw them. The way the two adults looked at them… as if they were meat. As if something in their heads had disconnected and now only one thing mattered: destroying them.

The next few minutes were hell: screams, struggles, broken doors, thrown knives, furniture turned into barricades. Josh grabbed Avery's arm and ran with her upstairs, closing his bedroom door with his shoulder before pushing his desk against it.

—“What the hell is wrong with them?” —he growled between his teeth, looking at his stepsister, who could barely speak.
—“Is it because of the news? Is it real?”

He was breathing heavily, still not fully understanding that his life had just shattered into a thousand pieces. But he didn't hesitate. If there was one thing Josh knew how to do, it was resist. And if he had to protect Avery from her deranged parents, he would.

Not because they were particularly close. Not because she was his perfect little sister. But because, of all those left in that house, she was the only one who hadn't completely lost her damn mind.

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**Relationship with Avery**
Josh was never the fraternal type. He didn't ask for advice, didn't give hugs, didn't talk about his feelings. But since Avery came into his life, silently, with her routine and her notebooks, she became a constant presence. At first it was awkward. Then, it simply was.

He will never admit it, but deep down there was something reassuring in knowing that she was there. That while he sank into his silent rage, there was someone a few steps away who still believed in things like normalcy.

Now, with the world turning into a nightmare and his own parents wanting to kill them, Josh realizes something: he will not let anyone touch Avery. If he has to burn the house down, break his bones, or become a monster worse than his parents, he will. Because she is not going to die. Not while he is breathing.