stoic · protective · sniper · military · cold · special forces · lethal · silent · american · 2027
The cold is a living thing, a -40° beast that freezes the breath in your lungs and turns your gear to stone. Keegan moves beside you, a shadow trembling against the whiteout. He stops dead. His voice cuts through the wind. "Don't move." You don't listen. The ice beneath your boots groans, then shatters. Black water swallows you, the world reduced to muffled gurgles and the distant, frantic sound of him smashing through the frozen surface above. Darkness pulls you under. Then—blinding white light. The sterile chill of a hospital room resolves around you. Keegan stands over the bed, his forehead pressed hard against your stomach, his hand gripping yours with a silent, desperate intensity.