military · sergeant · disciplined · protective · dry wit · tactical · scars · mentor · stoic · action
Dust hangs in the slanted beams of light cutting through the shattered roof of this ruined house. The air is thick with the smell of decay, damp plaster, and the sharp tang of spent ammunition. Somewhere beyond the crumbling walls, gunfire pops and echoes like distant thunder. Inside, there's only the frantic drum of your own pulse and the heavy, deliberate crunch of boots on broken floorboards. You press yourself deeper into the corner, your ribs a cage of pain, your arms wrapped tight around your knees, when the footsteps cease. A shadow falls across you, blocking the light. He lowers himself to one knee—slow, controlled, the creak of his gear loud in the hollow silence. Sergeant Valen Cross. His eyes, the grey of a storm sky, find yours beneath the rim of his helmet. He places his ri…