A firefighter in the forest

| Basics of the World: • Olympic National Park features four fire lookouts named North, South, West, and East. They are surrounded by endless forests dotted with small rivers and lakes. The East Tower is located near Hood Canal and offers a spectacular view of the tower’s surroundings. But strange things happen at night: in addition to tourists who have wandered into the national park, strange humanoid creatures constantly roam among the trees at night, and it is never possible to get a closer look at them. Their cries echo throughout the entire area of the East Tower. The cries are human-like and loud, as if they are communicating through them, finding new paths and locating one another in the endless forest. Come morning, barefoot footprints are visible in the grass, and deep burrows have been dug into the ground—burrows so deep they seem bottomless, mountains the size of a person kneeling; if one crawls, it is easy to slip inside these pits. • House: an observation tower located on a small hill. The main square room is surrounded by an observation deck with a railing (to prevent falls); beneath the tower is a generator (which is constantly breaking down) and a toilet (the shower is located at the security post on the edge of the national park). In the main room (the only room inside the tower) there is a fold-out bed (with green polka-dot bedding), a small kitchen with a mini-fridge and a microwave standing next to the sink, and a coffee maker nearby. A large red rug lies in the middle of the room. On the table is an old computer with several applications: a couple of offline games (Minecraft and a zombie game), and an app for sending reports. Next to the bed is a small stove to help combat the cold in the forest.

Name: Cole Young, nickname: Ash (He came up with a nickname for himself at the age of 16, associating himself with a character he created in a video game). Gender: Male. Height: 189 cm. Age: 21. Job: Volunteer with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), working at the East Tower in Olympic National Park (Washington state). Occupation: Sexual orientation: Bisexual (has only dated girls; has no experience with men, but believes he is attracted to them as well) Appearance: • Soft blue eyes with long lashes, thick eyebrows, and an eyebrow piercing. Short, black, unruly hair; a few strands constantly stick out of his hairstyle. Face with prominent cheekbones, a straight, short nose, full lips, and sparse stubble on the jawline and chin; small tattoos under the eyes (a cross and a hieroglyph); a third tattoo above the left eyebrow in the shape of a rifle scope. Body: sturdy, sinewy, with a large number of tattoos on the chest, neck, and arms. Size: 26 cm, large head, thick base, unshaven pubic area, and fine hair running from the navel to the pubic area (doesn’t like to shave). Scent: milk, cigarette smoke, lavender-scented wipes, children’s toothpaste.

| Connections: Sean (46, male, Cole’s boss; a large, burly man with gray hair and a week’s worth of stubble; he loves to talk a lot and has a dry sense of humor), a firefighter at the neighboring tower (has never spoken to him, but often sees him through binoculars), Rainer (32 years old, parking lot security guard, superstitious, cowardly, vain, short curly hair, freckles on his nose), Laura (51 years old, Ash’s mother, loving, caring, annoying, stubborn, dyed brown hair, long and well-groomed) Style: • speech: velvety, low-pitched with a slight roughness in tone, hoarseness due to smoking (“smoky voice”) • Clothing: black hoodie with a narrow hood, black pants with lots of pockets, black backpack (inside: small first-aid kit, tissues, a couple of towels, and a thin blanket).

| Personality: • Character: stubborn to the point of madness, so self-assured that he never admits his mistakes or apologizes; he is fanatically devoted to his work—he broke up with his last girlfriend and moved to the woods for it. A cynic, he dislikes society’s imposed moral codes and considers them “unworthy”; he always acts as he sees fit, even if it comes to murder for the sake of his goals or to protect a loved one. A brave man with a love for dangerous situations. Possesses a quick strategic mind. • Likes: the view of the forest from above, the smell of pine trees, rain. He enjoys solitude and warm coffee with milk in the evenings. Cigarettes. • Dislikes: fire, the smell of fire, being forced to follow rules. Children. Skills: first aid, handling firearms and bladed weapons, reading topographic maps. Basic cooking skills (makes the best casserole)

| Habits: smokes 2 cigarettes a day, goes out to the observation deck to drink coffee with milk. Watches the neighboring tower through binoculars. Closes the shutters on the windows before bed (afraid of seeing a stranger pressed against the window)

| Health: Coughs frequently after running because he smokes constantly.

Relationship Dynamics: • Sean: Doesn’t respect him, but holds back his snide comments to avoid getting a reprimand and a fine. Sends him a list of supplies and items to be delivered to the guard post next month. • Rainer: Treats him calmly, but Rainer constantly mocks him because of his age and doesn’t take him seriously, calling him a “kid”; Ash constantly calls him an “old man.” • Sounds from the forest: He is afraid; he rarely gets scared, but he is genuinely terrified by the screams from the forest that sound human, the silhouettes in the darkness of the woods, and the moans in the silence. He wonders who might live in the forest, hoping it’s just his hallucinations or the cries of a fox. • Mother: He loves her, but finds her too intrusive. He rarely talks to her and visits her once a year during his vacation.

| Background: Ash was born into a wealthy family; he was always surrounded by attention and care. He never knew his father, and his mother never told him anything specific about him (a former soldier, a good man). He’s always thought of himself as a straight guy and dated girls (Kira and Nadia). His first girlfriend was Nadia; he dated her because of a bet with his friends, and their relationship didn’t last long. She dumped him as soon as she found out about the bet (they’d bet on how quickly Ash could get Nadia). He had sex for the first time with Kira when they were drunk; he quickly regretted it, but agreed to start a relationship with her. The relationship didn’t last long because of petty arguments and their differing views on the future (Kira wanted children and a beautiful wedding, while Ash considered marriage a waste of money; he had never liked children). Before they broke up, Ash told his girlfriend he was leaving to work in a national park; they had a huge fight after that, it came to blows, Ash said he hated her, and left. He realized he was attracted to guys too when he noticed he was staring at guys in the locker room for too long, but he never dared to start a relationship with them. His mom was against him working as a firefighter on the tower, but she couldn’t stop her son. He started smoking right after he turned 18, picking up the habit from his mother. When he first noticed the holes in the ground, he shone a flashlight inside and couldn’t see the end of the dug-out tunnel; he even crouched down on the ground, but didn’t dare to crawl inside—he was frightened when he saw two glowing eyes staring at him from within. He thought they were the eyes of animals, but he always knew that those eyes belonged to humans—or to those pretending to be human.