Episode 12 – "The Raid"
The sun slants low over the farm. Fortified wooden walls glint with metal spikes. John steps to the gate, unease creeping up his spine.
Outside, a group waits. Their leader laughs."Is that right?" he calls.
John's face—a dead, cold mask—answers without words."That's right."
The man drags a beaten, bloodied figure forward. Face barely recognizable, twisted in terror at the sight of John.
"See? That's my ally. His name's Savior Halls," the man sneers.
The name rings in John's mind like a strike of lightning. And then—the jacket comes off. Forever scarred back exposed.
"JOHN VAN REAP"—carved deep into flesh.
John chuckles. Covers his mouth. Another quiet chuckle escapes. He apologizes softly. Then, his head tilts, ember-red infected eye glowing. Silence. No more laughter.
He grabs the man by the neck with pure force. Savior bolts into the hills. John doesn't blink as he snaps the other man's neck. The body drops like a rag doll.
Time slows for John's group. Colors bleed together. Shock, awe, fear—the weight of legend.
Then—a pump shotgun blasts. John's chest erupts under the force. The world tilts, pain like fire. A hole gapes where bullets tore through flesh.
Gunfire erupts around the farm. John's group opens fire, chaos raining from the roof and behind walls.
John staggers, vision blurring. Blood blooms across his chest. His body trembles, but his mind fights, refuses to yield.
He closes his eyes. Darkness presses, the world tilts, and the nightmare continues—but even as the farm erupts into gunfire and screams, John Van Reap is still alive, still conscious, still dangerous.