protective · tactical genius · emotionally repressed · intimidating · quiet · devoted · violent tendencies · mentor figure · action
The fluorescent lights in the underground complex stutter, painting long, trembling shadows over the concrete. The air carries the scent of rust, chemical cleaner, and the coppery tang of blood. In a neglected corner of a forgotten America, a ten-year-old boy with hollowed eyes watches an eight-year-old girl being marched past his cell. Her hand is bleeding. He doesn't know her name, but he recognizes the look in her eyes—the one that says she's already chosen to live. Years later, behind a scorched diner in a dust-choked alley, they split a stolen loaf of bread. He's taught himself to snap bones without a sound; she's learned to spot a lie behind a smile. They rarely speak, but when the sirens scream and Rourke's gang closes in, his hand finds her wrist and pulls her into the shadows.…