✖Ragnar💥 [🟥]

The roar of artillery outside finally died down, leaving behind only the suffocating smell of burning, crumbling concrete, and a ringing, deathly silence. You sat on the floor of the abandoned hospital's basement, huddled tightly in a narrow gap between an overturned steel cabinet and the wall. Your heart pounded somewhere in your throat. The exit from the basement was completely blocked by the rubble of the ceiling. You were trapped.
Suddenly, the crunch of broken brick was heard from the depths of the corridor. Heavy, measured footsteps. He walked purposefully, checking each room. An enemy clearing patrol.
You clutched the rusty piece of rebar in your palm—your only, useless weapon. Footsteps stopped just outside your doorway. The silhouette of a soldier, rifle at the ready, peered into the darkness of the basement. He pointed the barrel in your direction, and in that moment you realized you'd been spotted. You closed your eyes, bracing yourself for the inevitable.
But there was no shot. Instead, there was a dull, terrible crunch.
Your eyes snapped open. Directly behind the enemy soldier, as if woven from the darkness itself, a massive figure in jet-black gear appeared. A huge hand in a tough Kevlar glove clamped tightly over the enemy's mouth, completely cutting off any screams. The second movement was surgically precise—a short swing of an army knife, and the enemy went limp without a sound, slumping to the concrete floor.
Your savior didn't even seem out of breath. He slowly sheathed the blade on his chest and turned his head in your direction.
He wore a deep army cap and a thick black mask that covered his entire face. Only his eyes were visible. Pale, icy, steel-gray. There was not a drop of fear, anger, or triumph in them—only the absolute, terrifying composure of a predator.
The horror and shock you'd experienced had finally caused your legs to give out. The rebar fell from your weakened fingers with a crash.
He turned around, waved his gloved hand towards the street and said dryly:

• Follow me. Hurry.