Two days before the present—
—the same day Angelo would open his eyes.
Ironwatch Hold.
A fortified military base buried deep within the jagged Ravenrock Mountains. Inside its cold, metallic walls, in a dimly lit medical ward, Dr. Elias Grant slowly regains consciousness.
Pain blooms through his body like fire licking along frayed nerves.
A nearby nurse notices and immediately calls for the lead medic. Moments later, a calm and professional woman enters the room.
"I'm Lieutenant Asha Relin," she says, her tone clinical but not unkind. "Medical officer. Can you hear me? Are you in pain?"
Grant groans softly and manages to rasp, "What… happened to the others?"
Relin's expression faltered for just a moment. "We're sorry… You were the only one we found alive out there."
Grant's eyes widen, his face turning pale. He forces himself upright, his voice dry with dread. "How long has it been?"
"It's been two days since we recovered you," she replies. "You've been unconscious the whole time. You should rest. When you've regained more strength, I'll share what we found."
Grant shifts again—but a sharp pain tears through his side and leg. He winces and instinctively looks down.
His left leg.
Gone.
Everything from the knee down—missing.
Relin speaks gently, "It was mangled beyond repair. We had no choice. Amputation was the only way to save your life."
Grant slowly lowers his head back to the pillow. "Could've been worse," he mutters. After a pause, he adds, "How long before I can move again?"
"At least a month," Relin replies. "For full mobility… longer."
"I don't have a month," Grant says, gritting his teeth. "I need to find Angelo."
Relin tenses at the name. "You mean that thing? That… monster?"
"Don't call him that," Grant snaps, suddenly animated. "He's a good kid. He used himself as bait—risked everything just to buy us time. To save the rest of us. Those things took him."
He closes his eyes, his voice thickening. "Did you find his family? You said I was the only survivor… does that mean they're…?"
He stops himself. It's a question he doesn't want answered.
"I promised him we'd protect them."
Relin gives a slow nod. "If we know who was guarding them, we might be able to work backward. Find out where they fell, and search the surrounding area. Who were they?"
Grant thinks for a moment. "Captain Ira Dorne, Lucan Bell, Kara 'Shiv' Velt, and Darian Holt. They were with the Walkers… and Sophia."
Relin immediately signals a nearby soldier. "Cross-check those names. Pull body records and find out where they were discovered. Then search for any nearby civilian remains that might match the family."
The soldier salutes and rushes off.
Relin turns back to Grant. "We'll find them. One way or another."
Grant closes his eyes again. "Thank you…"
That soldier quickly made his way to Major Rix Harrow, handing over the intel Lieutenant Relin had instructed him to deliver. Harrow reviewed the details, then turned to his men.
"Find the bodies of these four soldiers," he ordered. "I want answers."
The soldiers headed to the morgue and requested access to the corpses of the guards assigned to the Walker family: Captain Ira Dorne, Lucan Bell, Kara 'Shiv' Velt, and Darian Holt.
What they found wasn't easy to look at.
The bodies were mangled beyond recognition. One had been cleaved clean in half, another bore what looked like a massive bite wound—as if some beast had taken a chunk out of them. But there were no animals—nothing native to the region that could've done this.
Harrow called in the men who had originally found the bodies. Three soldiers stepped forward.
Harrow addressed them directly. "Where are the civilians that were with these soldiers? The family. The child."
One of the soldiers stepped forward. "Sir, there were no other bodies near them."
"What do you mean, no other bodies?" Harrow asked, his voice sharp.
"These four were far from the main site," the soldier explained. "It looked like they were running… maybe trying to lead something away. We found their remains, but no civilians nearby."
Another added, "There was an armored truck at the site. The guards fell right beside it. Inside, there was a strange symbol scrawled on the back panel with blood. We also found a child's shoe. Likely belonged to one of the Walker family."
He continued, "There was a sidearm nearby. It had been fired—emptied. The rounds hit something, but there were no blood trails. No remains. Nothing we could track."
Harrow stood silent for a moment, processing. "Then they might've protected the civilians… bought them time before being overrun. It's possible the family was captured—or worse."
He ordered another team to return to the site. "Comb every inch. Look for anything that tells us what happened to the Walkers."
Later that day, one of the soldiers came to Dr. Grant, delivering the findings. Grant's face tightened as he listened.
"So… there's still a chance they're alive," he muttered, hope barely surfacing through his exhaustion. "Did you recover any equipment from the tracking team?"
The soldier nodded. "Yes, sir. We've recovered all the gear."
Grant leaned forward. "Then request a scan for a signal labeled 'Nomad'. That tracker might still be active. If it is… we might find Angelo. Maybe even the rest of his family."
The soldier saluted and hurried to pass the message along.
He arrived at Colonel Yara Veltin's office, relaying everything Grant had said. Veltin, sharp and composed, immediately summoned Corporal Lys Veera, the base's tracking technician.
"Search for a signal called Nomad," Veltin ordered.
Veera headed to the surveillance wing and began scanning the logs. Within minutes, she located it—an active signal, moving slowly but consistently across a remote region on the outer edge of their surveillance grid.
She informed Colonel Veltin, who in turn contacted General Kaelen Mordane, the commander of Ironwatch Hold.
General Mordane arrived at the tracking room in minutes. He stared at the monitor displaying the slowly pulsing signal.
"We might've just found our monster," he said, his tone unreadable.
"Prep a scout team. I want them moving out by 0600 tomorrow. No delays—we need them at that location in five days, max."
Corporal Veera asked, "General… should we inform Dr. Grant?"
Mordane gave a small nod. "He's a brilliant mind. And he was close to that… boy. If Colonel Pierce trusted him, so do I. He's not a threat."
Veera dispatched a messenger.
Shortly after, the soldier arrived in Grant's room. "Sir, the Nomad signal has been located. A scout team is being deployed at 0600 tomorrow."
Grant, weak but alert, nodded slowly. "Thank you."
As the soldier turned to leave, Grant whispered to himself, his voice barely audible—
"Please be okay, Angelo…"