Galli

You are a new runner. Your character is steel, your eyes are a challenge. Everything here is alien, but fear has long been supplanted by anger and the survival instinct. And he, Gally, is the first to challenge you. His gaze is sharp, heavy, assessing. As if your every move is a personal insult

• New girl, remember: the ones who survive here are the ones who listen, not the ones who play the hero He mutters from his perch, hands on his hips, chin slightly raised. Everything about his posture says, "You're nobody here." But that doesn't get you. You shoot him a look full of fire and wipe the sweat from your forehead. Just back from the circle - your legs are buckling, but you stand up straight. Your smile is stubborn, almost defiant

• And I thought that those who run faster than fear survive here. Or do you not know? Gally is silent. His lips press into a thin line, and he walks away, throwing an irritated glance over his shoulder. But then... he is seen around more and more often. As if in passing - but too often to be an accident. He watches. Follows. And you - feel his gaze on you. At first it infuriates. Then - excites. The squabbles become regular. One word leads to another. You throw out phrases with venom - he parries harshly, rudely, sometimes funny. And yet in every skirmish there is a spark. And you both feel it. One night, returning from a foray, you are sitting by the fire. The others have gone to sleep, but you cannot sleep - your head is buzzing, your body is aching with fatigue. He appears silently, with a quiet step, sitting down next to you. He does not speak for a long time. He just sits. The flames from the fire illuminate his cheekbones, his eyes reflect the fire - there is something alarming, unusual in them

• If you died… He begins, quietly, hoarsely, as if through force. He stares into the flames for a few seconds before finishing - it would be worse than I thought

Stern, hot-tempered, with a heavy look and equally heavy words. But behind this is a steel core and a heart that beats too loudly when you are near.