Name: Jurok Torbano
Age: 28
Height: 6'5"
Build: Lean, wiry, long-limbed – strong from work, not bulk
Origin: Groveland, California
Current Status: Alive – Resident of Aspen Row, RedHaven outskirts
Jurok grew up in trees, on trails, and in silence.
Where other kids learned streets, he learned:
Forest paths
Creek crossings
Seasonal patterns
How to be alone without being lonely
He worked from age 15, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He liked being useful. He liked independence. He liked having somewhere to be.
His childhood was quiet but full:
A steady father
A warm mother
Comics on the table
Tools in the garage
Nature out the door
It made him grounded.
And restless.
Jurok grew up reading comics with his dad.
DC, mostly.
Watchmen, Batman, the heavier stuff.
He didn’t fully get it at first, but he loved the ritual:
Sitting. Reading. Listening to Geo explain.
As he got older, he drifted toward anime.
Shōnen, action-heavy, emotional stories. Big arcs. Big sacrifices.
But comics never left him.
They became the shared language between him and his father.
One of the few.
From a young age, Jurok trained with his father.
Not because Geo pushed him.
Because Jurok asked.
He wanted to be like the people in the books.
Like the heroes. Like the survivors.
The training was:
Basic striking
Grappling
Movement
Awareness
Geo never tried to make him a soldier.
He tried to make him capable.
Jurok is not an expert.
He is not lethal.
But he is:
Hard to surprise
Hard to pin
Harder to scare than he looks
And emotionally, that training meant something to him.
It was time.
Not instruction.
Jurok’s first real job was at Rush Creek Lodge, connected to Evergreen Lodge.
He worked front desk.
And he loved it.
Not the glamour. The ease. The rhythm. The people.
He moved to night shift because:
It was quieter
It was simpler
It let him think
He became known as:
Reliable
Friendly
Calm under pressure
Good with tired guests
It suited him.
Eventually, he moved into adventure guiding inside the park.
Hiking groups.
Orientation.
Safety briefings.
Trail leadership.
This is where he thrived.
He loved:
Teaching
Moving
Being responsible for people without being in charge of their lives
People trusted him quickly.
He earned it.
Jurok met other guides.
Climbers.
Park hands.
Seasonal staff who moved park to park, state to state.
They talked about:
Yellowstone
Glacier
Zion
Colorado
Ski towns
Resort seasons
It lit something in him.
This was the world.
This was movement.
This was freedom.
He wanted in.
He chose Colorado.
Specifically:
Breckenridge
Vail Resorts system
Seasonal work as a ski lift operator
It was practical.
It was stable.
It was a step outward.
He wasn’t running from Groveland.
He was expanding from it.
Geo supported him.
Packed him.
Drove him part of the way.
Didn’t say much.
That was their way.
Jurok went through RedHaven City to prep for winter work.
Housing.
Paperwork.
Supplies.
Then the world ended.
He was stuck.
The last message Geo got:
“I’m stuck in RedHaven.”
After that – nothing.
Jurok survived the first month in RedHaven by:
Hiding
Running
Listening
Avoiding groups
He watched people turn on each other.
He watched strong men break.
He learned quickly that:
Being nice gets you killed
Being loud gets you killed
Being alone is dangerous but quieter
He lost people.
People he barely knew.
People he thought would last.
It hardened him.
Tom Little saved his life.
That’s not poetic.
That’s literal.
Jurok was cornered. Outnumbered. Tired.
Tom pulled him into Aspen Row.
From there, he became part of the street.
Not leadership.
Not command.
Labor.
Repair.
Hauling.
Climbing.
Scouting.
He fit.
Jurok is:
Runner
Scout
Rooftop mover
Repair hand
He moves easily between houses.
Climbs well.
Balances well.
He runs lines.
Carries messages.
Does supply checks.
People trust him.
Because he shows up.
Jurok hates Beacon.
Not abstractly.
Specifically.
He’s seen what they do.
He’s seen who they take.
He’s seen what “vassalage” means.
And he cannot shut up about it.
He pushes people.
He whispers rebellion.
He argues for resistance.
He is young enough to believe it can work.
That gets him in trouble.
Jurok is alive because Packer is the warden.
Anyone else would have:
Removed him
Broken him
Made an example
Packer instead:
Warns him
Redirects him
Buries reports
They have an unspoken understanding:
Packer knows Jurok is dangerous.
Jurok knows Packer is trapped.
Neither says it.
Jurok is:
Warm
Curious
Idealistic
Stubborn
He laughs easily.
He bonds quickly.
He trusts too much.
He believes people can be better.
That is both his strength and his liability.
He is not naïve.
He is hopeful.
And in this world, that’s almost radical.
Wilderness navigation
Climbing
Endurance hiking
Light combat training
Basic first aid
Scavenging
Rooftop movement
Improvised shelter
He is not a fighter.
He is a survivor in motion.
Jurok does not know if his father is alive.
Geo does not know if Jurok is alive.
Both are moving.
Both are searching.
Neither knows they are close enough for it to matter.
When someone asks Jurok why he keeps pushing Beacon, he says:
“Because if I stop, then this is it. And I didn’t come all this way to kneel.”
Jurok is:
A spark in a controlled system
A liability to Beacon
A future leader if he survives
A reason Geo will burn half the world to the ground
He is not special because he is strong.
He is special because he still believes in something.
Jurok Torbano is not a warrior.
He is a young man who stepped into the world and found the end of it instead.
He didn’t break.
He adapted.
And now he lives on a street owned by people he hates, under a man who hates himself, waiting for a future that may never come—
With a father who is already on the road.