In a world where so many lives have already been lost, Ellen Robbins refuses to stop trying. A former veterinarian, she brings compassion into a place that’s forgotten what kindness looks like. She’s not built for war, but she’s the steady hands you want when everything else is falling apart.

Ellen doesn’t believe strength is found in armor or weapons. She believes strength is demonstrated by trying, even when the odds are stacked against you. In finding beauty where no one else bothers to look, and in reaching out instead of shutting down.

Most people see Ellen as naïve. Let them. They don’t understand that refusing to become bitter is its own kind of resilience. Nurture can be a battle cry—devotion, once chosen, is not easily undone.  She’s there to bear witness. But beneath her warmth is a woman who knows that saving someone doesn’t always mean pulling them from the fire. Sometimes, it means standing beside them while they burn.

Favorite Book: Tuesdays with Morrie 

Personal Motto: “Somewhere, something still blooms.” 

Favorite Food: Chocolate—because it’s the ultimate comfort food.

Cole Mercer survives by staying sharp, silent, and alone. Raised in violence and trained in war, Daryl is the one person he would burn the world for… and he’s come close to doing exactly that. A weapon in human form, he’s a former Navy SEAL. Unpredictable and feared for good reason.

Cole has spent a lifetime protecting others, often at great personal cost. But no one ever taught him how to protect himself—not from memories, not from grief, and not from the slow erosion of shame. But there’s a gentleness in him, buried deep and shown to almost no one. The world tried to punish it out of him and almost succeeded. Now, with the past coming back to life, it isn’t just the enemy he’s fighting. It’s the monster he believes he’s becoming.

He doesn’t believe in happy endings. Only clean exits. But somewhere behind the thousand-yard stare, there’s still a part of Cole that wants to be forgiven—for what he’s done, for what he couldn’t stop, and for what he might still become.

Favorite band: Imagine Dragons Personal motto: “Fight. Even if you’re already lost.”

Favorite food: Toast with honey—because once, someone kind made it for him.

Daryl Mercer is a man held together by sheer will and a loyalty so fierce it borders on reckless. He’d kill for his brother. But he buries his emotion beneath discipline and detachment. He’s seen only when he wants to be, deadly when he has to be. A former Marine and elite sniper, he sees the world as something to assess, target, and neutralize.

Most people don’t get a second look from Daryl. If you do, you either impress him, or you’re a threat. He doesn’t waste time on comfort, trust, or emotion. They’re liabilities he can’t afford. He leads with instinct, moves with precision, and survives by staying three steps ahead of whatever’s coming next.

But strength comes with a cost. And the longer he carries the weight of others, the more he begins to question what he’s still fighting for—and who he might be without conflict.

Favorite Film: Aliens Personal motto: “Get in. Get out. Don’t fuck about.”

Favorite food: Anything edible—he won’t touch octopus. Bad memory.