Search for a Skull
In 'Search for a Skull,' Tamara Collins suits up as Midnight Star and, guided by Maya's voice in her head, scours the streets of Los Angeles hunting for the mercenary Death Skull following the chaos of their first encounter. Maya feeds Tamara tactical data and street-level intelligence, piecing together a trail of clues — witness sightings, skull-motif chain markings left on walls, and reports of paid-off gang members — that leads Midnight Star deeper into the industrial district of the city. What neither Tamara nor Maya realise is that every clue has been deliberately planted: Death Skull is watching from the shadows, orchestrating the entire chase, funnelling Midnight Star exactly where she wants her. In a derelict waterfront warehouse, Death Skull springs her trap — firing her three-way crossbow to pin Midnight Star's movement and then unleashing her metal chains with skull motifs, which bind Tamara in an upgraded, reinforced configuration far stronger than anything used before. Suspended and helpless, Tamara faces real danger as Death Skull taunts her, making clear she has studied Midnight Star since their first clash and came prepared. All seems lost until Maya, thinking fast, proposes a risky and untested solution — a full internal power surge that could overload the chains but risks burning out Tamara's suit systems temporarily, leaving her briefly vulnerable. With no other option, Tamara trusts Maya and triggers the surge. The gamble pays off: the chains shatter, the energy burst forces Death Skull to retreat rather than risk exposure, and Tamara escapes battered but alive. Back at her UCLA dorm room, Tamara Collins — now out of costume in her white top, blue shorts and jacket — sits at her laptop and digs into everything she can find on Death Skull. Cross-referencing the mercenary's known contracts, movement patterns, and a partial data fragment Maya managed to copy during the fight, they pinpoint Death Skull's next destination: Maine. The issue closes with Tamara staring at a map on her screen, jaw set with quiet determination, as Maya's voice confirms they have no choice but to follow. Page-by-page breakdown: - Pages 1-2: Cold open on the Los Angeles skyline at night. Midnight Star leaps across rooftops, her black and gold costume catching the city lights. Maya's voice narrates in her head, running through what they know about Death Skull from their previous encounter — the skull-motif chains, the three-way crossbow, the mercenary's cold precision. Tamara, still adjusting to the hero life, pushes herself to keep moving, asking Maya sharp questions about where Death Skull might have gone. Maya admits the trail is thin but flags a pattern: three separate gang witnesses reported a masked woman leaving skull-shaped chain marks on warehouse walls in the industrial district near the waterfront. Midnight Star changes course. [Characters: Midnight Star, Maya] - Pages 3-4: Midnight Star drops into the streets of the industrial district, moving carefully. Maya guides her turn by turn, analysing security camera blind spots and flagging a paid-off gang lookout who bolts the moment he spots the hero — confirmation they are getting warm. Tamara questions whether this feels too easy; Maya reassures her that they are simply following good detective work, though her tone carries a subtle uncertainty. Midnight Star finds a fresh skull-motif chain mark scorched into a warehouse wall and a deliberately discarded crossbow bolt — planted breadcrumbs neither of them recognise as bait yet. The trail leads to a large derelict waterfront warehouse. Midnight Star approaches. [Characters: Midnight Star, Maya] - Pages 5-6: Midnight Star enters the dark warehouse. The space is cavernous, full of rusted machinery and shadow. Maya runs a thermal scan and picks up no heat signatures — which should be reassuring but feels wrong. Before Tamara can voice her unease, floodlights slam on. Death Skull's voice cuts through the dark, calm and mocking, welcoming Midnight Star to her trap. Death Skull steps out from a high gantry above, three-way crossbow already raised. She fires — three bolts simultaneously — not to wound but to herd, driving Midnight Star into the centre of the open floor. Tamara dodges two but the third grazes her shoulder, throwing off her footing. Death Skull reveals she has been watching since their first fight and has planned every step of tonight. [Characters: Midnight Star, Maya, Death Skull] - Pages 7-8: Death Skull drops from the gantry and releases her metal chains with skull motifs in a wide arc. These chains are visibly heavier and differently configured from before — reinforced links, locking skull clasps. They whip around Midnight Star with mechanical precision, coiling tight and snapping locked before Tamara can fully react. Midnight Star strains against them but cannot break free; the upgraded design holds firm. Death Skull circles her imprisoned quarry, taunting Tamara — she knows the hero is new, untested, and that she studied every move from their last clash. Maya frantically runs calculations in Tamara's ear but keeps coming up short. Death Skull crouches to look Midnight Star in the eye through her skull mask and tells her the job tonight was always to neutralise the new Midnight Star before she became a real problem. [Characters: Midnight Star, Maya, Death Skull] - Pages 9-10: Suspended and bound, Tamara whispers urgently to Maya, asking for anything — any option at all. Maya hesitates, then reveals a last resort: a full internal power surge, channelling all of the Midnight Star suit's stored energy outward at once. It should be strong enough to overload and shatter the chain locks. The risk is real — it will temporarily burn out the suit's active systems, leaving Tamara in a dark, powerless costume for a short but dangerous window. Maya is honest that she has never tested this and cannot guarantee it will not hurt Tamara. Death Skull raises her crossbow for a finishing shot. Tamara closes her eyes for half a second, then tells Maya to do it. The panel goes white. [Characters: Midnight Star, Maya, Death Skull] - Pages 11-12: The surge detonates outward in a burst of golden and midnight-black energy — the chains shatter, skull clasps flying apart, and the shockwave throws Death Skull backward hard into the warehouse wall. Midnight Star drops to one knee, suit dark and flickering, breathing hard. Death Skull recovers quickly but reads the situation: the energy output was massive, witnesses outside will have seen it, and staying to finish the fight risks exposure she cannot afford on this contract. She fires a smoke bolt from the crossbow to cover her exit and vanishes into the dark. Maya's voice returns, weak at first then steadying, confirming the suit is rebooting. Tamara allows herself one shaky exhale of relief, then forces herself upright. She is bruised, drained, but alive. She makes her way out of the warehouse alone into the cool night air. [Characters: Midnight Star, Maya, Death Skull] - Pages 13-14: Back at Tamara Collins' UCLA dorm room. Tamara is out of costume — white top, blue shorts and jacket — sitting cross-legged on her bed with her laptop open, a half-eaten energy bar beside her. Maya's voice is present, recovered, as Tamara digs through everything she can find online: mercenary contract forums on the dark web, news reports, and a partial encrypted data fragment Maya quietly copied from Death Skull's chain-locking device during the fight. Together they cross-reference Death Skull's known movement patterns and the fragment's metadata. A location crystallises: coastal Maine. A name, a date, a port town. Tamara stares at the map on her screen — a long way from Los Angeles. Maya confirms quietly that if Death Skull is heading there, they have to follow. The final panel is a close-up of Tamara's face, expression resolute and tired in equal measure, the laptop light catching her eyes. The caption reads: 'Next stop — Maine.' [Characters: Tamara Collins, Maya]
CHARACTERS
Maya
Supporting
Death Skull
Antagonist
Clarissa Barnes
Protagonist
Midnight Star
Protagonist
Tamara Collins
Protagonist
Alternate Tamara
Supporting
PAGE 1
Panel 1:Wide aerial view of the Los Angeles skyline at night — a glittering grid of lights stretching to the horizon, the dark Pacific visible in the far distance. A small black-and-gold figure is silhouetted mid-leap between two rooftops, arms extended, costume catching the amber glow of streetlamps below.
Narrator:“Los Angeles. Night three since the gang war. Death Skull is still out there.”
Panel 2:Midnight Star lands in a low crouch on a flat rooftop, black-and-gold costume tight against her frame, gold trim catching the neon from a billboard behind her. Her gloved hands press the rooftop surface and her masked eyes scan the street below.
Panel 3:Close on Midnight Star's face — the black eye mask sharp against her skin, jaw set, eyes alert and scanning. A faint gold glow pulses at her temple, indicating Maya's presence communicating with her.
“Maya: Skull-motif chain marks. Three separate sightings. All in the industrial district near the waterfront.”
Narrator:“Maya. The voice that came with the suit. The voice that keeps me sane.”
Panel 4:Midnight Star stands upright on the rooftop edge, one boot on the ledge, looking out over the city. Below, the streets are alive with distant headlights and lit storefronts.
“Midnight Star: Chains. Crossbow. What else do we know about her? Maya: Cold. Precise. Takes contracts, not causes. That's the whole file.”
Panel 5:Midnight Star launches herself off the rooftop ledge in a full running leap, body angled forward, gold trim blazing against the dark sky. The city sprawls beneath her.
“Midnight Star: Then let's go find her.”
PAGE 2
Panel 1:Midnight Star runs along a narrow rooftop parapet, arms pumping, gold trim a blur of motion. Below, the streets narrow as the neighbourhood shifts from commercial to industrial — fewer lights, more chain-link fences and dark loading bays.
“Maya: The marks were found on three warehouse walls. Same skull shape each time — her signature.”
Panel 2:Close-up on Maya visualised as a faint holographic outline near Midnight Star's ear — a translucent female face rendered in gold wireframe, mouth moving. This is how Maya appears in Tamara's perception.
“Maya: Paid-off lookouts spotted near two of the sites. Someone bought silence.”
Panel 3:Midnight Star vaults over a rooftop ventilation unit, mid-air, body compact and controlled. The industrial district is fully visible now below — dark warehouses, a distant crane, the faint glint of water at the far end of the street grid.
“Midnight Star: Three marks, three witnesses, paid lookouts — that's a trail, Maya. Maya: Thin. But it's what we have.”
Panel 4:Extreme close-up on Midnight Star's masked eyes — sharp, determined, reflecting the city lights below as she scans the industrial district streets.
Panel 5:Wide shot: Midnight Star drops from a fire escape ladder to street level, landing in a crouch in a pool of orange streetlamp light. Dark warehouse walls rise on both sides. The street is empty and silent.
Narrator:“She was here. I can feel it.”
PAGE 3
Panel 1:Street-level view of the industrial district. Midnight Star moves in a low crouch along the side of a warehouse wall, one hand trailing the corrugated metal surface. Graffiti marks the lower sections of the wall. A distant security camera is mounted at the far corner, its red light off.
“Maya: Camera at your two o'clock — already in a blind spot. Keep moving.”
Panel 2:Further down the street, a young man in a red hoodie sits on an upturned crate near a warehouse door, phone in hand. He looks up and sees Midnight Star's black-and-gold figure rounding the corner. His eyes go wide.
Panel 3:The lookout leaps off the crate and sprints away down the alley at full speed, phone tumbling from his hand, disappearing around a far corner. Midnight Star watches him go from a standstill, arms at her sides.
“Midnight Star: He ran the second he saw me. Maya: Paid to watch and report. We're warm, Tamara.”
Panel 4:Midnight Star crouches in front of a warehouse wall. Scorched into the concrete at waist height is a skull shape formed from interlocking chain links — clean and deliberate, not spray paint. She reaches out and touches the edge of the mark with two fingers.
“Midnight Star: Fresh. The scorch mark is still warm. Maya: Left recently. She wants this found.”
Panel 5:Insert panel: extreme close-up of the skull-motif chain mark scorched into the concrete wall — interlocking chain links forming a clear skull face, edges still slightly glowing orange from heat.
Panel 6:Midnight Star stands and looks down the street. At the far end, a large derelict waterfront warehouse looms — its roof partially collapsed, windows dark and broken, a rusted loading crane visible behind it against the night sky.
“Maya: The trail ends there. That's our target.”
PAGE 4
Panel 1:Midnight Star crouches beside a rusted metal drum near the warehouse exterior wall, studying the building. A broken crossbow bolt lies on the cracked asphalt beside the drum — its shaft splintered but the skull-etched tip intact.
“Midnight Star: A crossbow bolt. Just left here in the open. Maya: Her bolt. Same design as the fight two nights ago.”
Panel 2:Insert panel: close-up of the broken crossbow bolt on the asphalt — the tip is engraved with a small skull, the shaft painted matte black. A thin scorch mark on the ground indicates it was fired and retrieved.
Panel 3:Midnight Star stands upright, one hand on the warehouse's rusted exterior wall, head tilted. She looks at the bolt, then at the warehouse door.
“Midnight Star: This feels too easy, Maya. Maya: Good detective work sometimes is. Keep going.”
Panel 4:Wide establishing shot of the full warehouse exterior from across the street. The building is massive — corrugated iron walls, a sagging roof, broken loading bay doors hanging open. Midnight Star is a small figure approaching the open entrance, silhouetted against the black interior beyond.
Narrator:“Every instinct said stop. I didn't listen.”
PAGE 5
Panel 1:Midnight Star steps through the broken loading bay entrance into the warehouse interior. The space is vast and dark — rusted conveyor belts, hulking silent machinery, support pillars, and high catwalks lost in shadow above. Thin beams of moonlight cut through holes in the collapsed roof sections.
Panel 2:Midnight Star moves slowly between two rusted machines, head turning left and right. Her gold costume trim gives off a faint glow in the dark. Above her, the high gantry catwalks are empty and still.
“Maya: Running thermal. Give me ten seconds. Midnight Star: Fast, Maya.”
Panel 3:Close-up on Midnight Star's masked face, looking upward toward the high catwalks, brow furrowed. The catwalks above are dark and silent.
“Maya: Thermal scan complete. No heat signatures. Nothing. Midnight Star: Nothing? That's not right.”
Panel 4:Full-width panel: every floodlight in the warehouse fires on simultaneously — brutal white industrial light floods the entire space, washing out the shadows and making Midnight Star throw one arm up across her eyes against the sudden blinding glare.
Panel 5:High above on a gantry catwalk, Death Skull stands in full silhouette against the glaring lights behind her — black tactical gear, skull mask gleaming, three-way crossbow raised and aimed down at the warehouse floor. Her posture is relaxed and completely in control.
“Death Skull: Welcome, Midnight Star. I've been waiting.”
PAGE 6
Panel 1:Death Skull on the gantry, three-way crossbow levelled — the weapon's three barrels fanning out in a Y-shape, each loaded with a bolt. Her skull mask is fully lit by the floodlights, hollow eye sockets staring down.
“Death Skull: I built this trail myself. Every mark. Every bolt. Every paid lookout. You followed every crumb.”
Panel 2:Death Skull fires — three bolts launch simultaneously from the three-way crossbow in a wide spread pattern, trailing black lines across the lit warehouse air.
Panel 3:Wide shot: Midnight Star dives and rolls hard to the right across the concrete floor. Two bolts slam into the ground where she was standing, cracking the concrete. The third bolt grazes her left shoulder — a spark of gold energy and a torn seam in the costume.
Panel 4:Midnight Star staggers back to her feet in the centre of the open warehouse floor, one hand pressed to her grazed shoulder, teeth gritted. She is exactly where the bolts herded her — in the wide open, nothing around her for cover.
“Midnight Star: She wasn't aiming to hit. She was aiming to move me. Maya: Tamara — you're in the open. Get to cover now.”
Panel 5:Death Skull descends from the gantry along a metal ladder on the far wall, moving fast and purposeful, crossbow slung across her back. Her eyes — dark behind the skull mask — are fixed on Midnight Star below.
“Death Skull: I've watched every move you've made since our first fight. You're new. And new heroes make mistakes.”
PAGE 7
Panel 1:Death Skull hits the warehouse floor and in one fluid motion unclips two heavy metal chains from her belt — each chain is thick, reinforced, with large skull-shaped clasps at intervals along the links. The chains hang from both fists, skull clasps glinting under the floodlights.
Panel 2:Death Skull swings both chains in a wide arc simultaneously — the reinforced links spread out in a mechanical fan pattern, skull clasps spinning and catching the light. Midnight Star stands her ground in the centre of the open floor, arms raised defensively.
“Midnight Star: Those chains — they're heavier than before. Maya: New configuration. Move — NOW!”
Panel 3:The chains whip around Midnight Star from both sides simultaneously — coiling tight around her arms, torso, and legs in overlapping loops. The skull clasps snap locked with a mechanical click, each one locking the links in place. Midnight Star's arms are pinned to her sides.
Panel 4:Midnight Star strains with her full body — every muscle visible through the costume — against the chains. The reinforced links do not bend. The skull clasps hold solid. Her feet leave the ground slightly as the chains tighten.
“Midnight Star: Can't — they won't give — Maya: The clasps are locking mechanisms. I can't find a weak point.”
Panel 5:Death Skull circles slowly around the chained Midnight Star, hands clasped behind her back, skull mask tilted with a slight downward angle — looking at her prisoner with calm assessment. Midnight Star hangs partially suspended in the locked chains.
“Death Skull: Stronger links. Locking clasps. I upgraded after our first meeting. You inspired me.”
PAGE 8
Panel 1:Wide shot of the warehouse floor: Midnight Star suspended and wrapped in the heavy skull-clasp chains, hanging slightly off the ground, arms pinned. Death Skull stands a few metres away, arms folded, crossbow on her back. The vast dark warehouse stretches around them both.
Panel 2:Death Skull crouches low so she is eye-level with the suspended Midnight Star, skull mask inches from Tamara's masked face. Both faces fill the panel — the black skull mask and the black eye mask face to face.
“Death Skull: You're what — three fights in? Still learning the suit? Midnight Star: Enough to know you talk too much.”
Panel 3:Death Skull stands upright and draws the crossbow from her back, checking the reload on all three barrels with practiced ease. She does not look at Midnight Star while she does it — casual, unhurried.
“Death Skull: The contract was simple: neutralise the new Midnight Star before she becomes a problem. Tonight closes that contract.”
Panel 4:Close on Midnight Star's face — jaw tight, sweat on her brow, eyes hard and searching. She is not panicking. She is thinking fast.
“Midnight Star: Maya. Anything. Give me something. Maya: I'm running every calculation I have. I'm coming up short.”
PAGE 9
Panel 1:Midnight Star hangs in the chains, head bowed slightly, speaking in a low voice. Her costume's gold trim is dim under the chains' pressure. The chains are tight around her ribcage and arms.
“Midnight Star: Maya — anything at all. I don't care how bad it sounds.”
Panel 2:Maya visualised as a gold wireframe face near Midnight Star's ear — her expression is tense, reluctant. This is the hardest thing she has had to say.
“Maya: There is one option. A full internal power surge — all stored energy, pushed outward at once. It should shatter the chain locks.”
Panel 3:Maya's wireframe face, eyes cast slightly downward — the reluctance visible in the angle of her head.
“Maya: But it burns out the suit's active systems. Temporarily dark. Powerless. I've never tested this. I can't promise it won't hurt you.”
Panel 4:Across the warehouse floor, Death Skull raises the three-way crossbow and levels all three barrels directly at Midnight Star. Her posture is steady, deliberate, skull mask expressionless.
Panel 5:Close on Midnight Star's face — eyes shut for one full second, chin down. Then her eyes open: clear, decided.
“Midnight Star: Do it, Maya.”
Panel 6:Full-bleed panel — pure white. At the very centre, the faintest ghost-image of Midnight Star in her chains, arms out, head back, as a massive burst of golden and midnight-black energy explodes outward from her body in all directions. The chains are already fragmenting at the edges of the frame.
PAGE 10
Panel 1:The aftermath of the surge — the warehouse is partially dark again, smoke drifting. Midnight Star is on one knee on the concrete floor, costume dim and flickering, the gold trim barely lit. Shattered chain links and broken skull clasps are scattered all around her on the ground. She breathes hard, head down.
Panel 2:Across the warehouse, Death Skull is against the far wall — she was thrown back hard by the shockwave. She pushes herself off the wall with both palms, skull mask cracked at one cheekbone, crossbow still in one hand. She reads the room fast.
Panel 3:Death Skull looks at Midnight Star — kneeling, suit dark — then looks at the warehouse's broken roof where the energy burst is still visible as a fading gold glow in the night sky above. A visible calculation in her body language: she stands straight, makes her decision.
“Death Skull: That output. Everyone outside saw that. This contract isn't worth the exposure.”
Panel 4:Death Skull raises the crossbow and fires a single bolt at the warehouse floor — it explodes on impact in a dense cloud of grey smoke that rapidly fills the space between her and Midnight Star. She is already moving, turning toward the back of the warehouse.
Panel 5:The smoke fills the warehouse. Midnight Star is still on one knee in the foreground, one fist on the ground, head up now, eyes searching the smoke. Death Skull is gone — only the drifting grey cloud remains where she stood.
“Maya: ...Tamara. I'm here. Suit is rebooting. Midnight Star: She's gone?”
PAGE 11
Panel 1:Wide shot of the warehouse interior. The surge's aftermath: smoke curling upward through holes in the broken roof, scattered chain links and shattered skull clasps glinting on the concrete floor. At the centre, Midnight Star stands upright from her knee, one fist at her side, costume dim with only the faintest flicker of gold trim. Her head is raised, jaw set.
Panel 2:Close-up on a pile of broken chain links and two cracked skull clasps on the concrete floor, the metal edges still faintly warm and orange at the fracture points.
Panel 3:Maya rendered as a faint gold wireframe face near Midnight Star's ear, her expression relieved but cautious. Midnight Star's masked face is visible in profile beside her, eyes forward.
“Maya: Suit is rebooting. Give it sixty seconds. Midnight Star: She's really gone?”
Panel 4:Wide shot of the far end of the warehouse — empty, the smoke from Death Skull's bolt thinning out. The back exit door hangs open, darkness beyond it. No sign of Death Skull.
“Maya: Gone. She made the smart call. Midnight Star: This time.”
Panel 5:Midnight Star walks toward the broken loading bay entrance, silhouetted against the night sky outside. Her posture is upright but weary — one shoulder slightly lower, steps measured. The warehouse interior is dark behind her.
PAGE 12
Panel 1:Midnight Star stands outside the warehouse on the cracked waterfront asphalt, facing the open water. The Los Angeles harbour stretches ahead — dark water reflecting distant lights. The city skyline glows amber to the left. She stands alone, arms at her sides, costume still dim but a thin thread of gold trim beginning to pulse back to life at her collar.
Narrator:“Los Angeles. 2:14 a.m.”
Panel 2:Close on Midnight Star's masked face in three-quarter profile, eyes open and forward. The gold trim at her temple pulses steadily now — Maya coming back online. A single thin cut is visible on Tamara's jaw below the mask edge.
“Maya: Full reboot complete. You're back online. Midnight Star: How bad is the suit?”
Panel 3:Maya's gold wireframe face, rendered clearly, expression measured and honest. Her wireframe brow is slightly lowered.
“Maya: Manageable. You held together. That was a brave thing, Tamara.”
Panel 4:Wide shot: Midnight Star turns away from the harbour and begins walking back along the waterfront road, toward the city. The warehouse looms dark behind her. The road ahead is empty and lit by a single distant streetlamp. Her gold trim glows steadily now.
“Midnight Star: She'll have a next move. We need to find it first.”
PAGE 13
Panel 1:Interior of a UCLA dorm room — small, lived-in, warm lamplight. Tamara Collins sits cross-legged on her bed in a white top, blue shorts and jacket, laptop open on her knees. A half-eaten energy bar rests on the duvet beside her. The window behind shows the pre-dawn dark of the campus outside.
Narrator:“UCLA. Four hours later.”
Panel 2:Over-shoulder shot looking at the laptop screen over Tamara's shoulder. The screen shows a dark-web forum page with dense text, a blurry contract listing, and a partially decoded data table. Tamara's fingers hover over the keyboard.
“Maya: The fragment I copied — it has a metadata tag. A port authority filing. Tamara Collins: Where?”
Panel 3:The laptop screen fills the panel — a map of the northeastern United States coastline is open, with a red location pin dropped on a small coastal town in Maine. Beside the map, a decoded line of text reads: 'Arrival window: 72 hrs. Port of Winslow, ME.'
Panel 4:Tamara sits back against her headboard, laptop balanced on her knees, staring at the screen. Her expression is tight — tired eyes, jaw firm. She holds the half-eaten energy bar in one hand but is not eating it.
“Maya: Death Skull's movement patterns match. She's heading to Maine. Tamara Collins: Seventy-two hours. That's not long.”
Panel 5:Close on Tamara's face, lit from below by the laptop screen. Her eyes are fixed forward, direct and decided. A thin bruise is visible on her jaw from the fight. Her expression is resolute — tired, but completely set.
“Maya: If she gets there first, we lose her. Tamara Collins: Then we don't let her get there first.”
PAGE 14
Panel 1:Wide shot of the dorm room. Tamara sits on the bed, laptop open, the Maine map still on screen. The window behind her shows the first grey-blue light of dawn beginning outside. The room is quiet and still around her.
Panel 2:Insert panel: the laptop screen showing the Maine map, the red pin on Port of Winslow, and the decoded text line '72 hrs' clearly visible. Tamara's fingertip rests on the screen, touching the pin.
Panel 3:Medium shot of Tamara closing the laptop with one hand, the screen going dark. She sits in the sudden dim of the room, only the pale dawn window behind her. Her jacket is still on, energy bar set aside on the nightstand.
“Maya: We'll need to move fast. And smart. Tamara Collins: We always do.”
Panel 4:Extreme close-up on Tamara Collins' face — eyes open, direct, staring forward into the middle distance. The bruise on her jaw is visible. The dawn light catches her eyes, pale and clear. Her expression is calm and absolutely resolved.
Narrator:“Next stop — Maine.”
