CHAPTER FIVE: What the Department Didn’t Say Out Loud
Rook survived surgery.
Scars marked his shoulder and flank.
When he returned weeks later, the department stood silently as he walked past.
Not because policy required it.
Because respect did.
Evan entered protection, then therapy, then the slow work of becoming a person again.
He visited Rook regularly.
And Rook greeted him the same way every time—without discipline, without training posture.
Just unmistakable joy.
The story spread because it hit a nerve.
