# Character State: ch-17

## Marcus Thorne
**Location:** The North Bank, Cypress Bend, Florida.
**Physical:** Adrenaline-crashing; hands raw from the guide rope; clothes plastered to his skin with river mud; pulse stabilizing but elevated.
**Emotional:** Transfigured. The "systemic guilt" he carried has been converted into a tangible debt to David. The bridge is no longer a calculation; it is a lifeline he personally held.
**Active obligations:** Owes David his life (Ch-17) — UNPAID; Owes Sarah a world that doesn't index Leo's childhood (Ch-12) — IN PROGRESS.
**Open loops:** The Alpha-7 "Phone Home" sequence (Ch-13) — UNRESOLVED; The back-end logs (Ch-01) — CARRIED.
**Arc:** 98% — The transition from digital architect to physical builder is complete. He has moved from "simulated empathy" to "sacrificial action."

## David
**Location:** The North Bank, Cypress Bend, Florida.
**Physical:** Coughed up river water; chest bruising from the rope harness; extreme exhaustion; shivering.
**Emotional:** Vulnerable but solidified. By allowing Marcus to save him, the "functional trust" has turned into a blood-bond. The skepticism is gone, replaced by shared survival.
**Active obligations:** Owes Marcus his life (Ch-17) — UNPAID; Owes Leo a functional exit-strategy (Ch-15) — IN PROGRESS.
**Arc:** 95% — Acceptance of the "outsider" is absolute. David no longer leads a faction; he leads a family that includes Marcus.

## Sarah Jenkins
**Location:** The North Bank, Cypress Bend, Florida.
**Physical:** Trembling legs; hands locked in a gripping position from holding the winch lever.
**Emotional:** Fiercely protective. Seeing the literal bridge nearly claim the men has stripped away her professional "triage" mask. She is the anchor of the New North.
**Arc:** 80% — Sarah has stopped looking back at Dallas; her focus is entirely on the fortification of the sanctuary.

## Elena
**Location:** The North Bank, Cypress Bend, Florida (Crossed).
**Physical:** Smelling of ozone and wet timber.
**Emotional:** Technically satisfied. The bridge held. The variables of weight and current were conquered.
**Arc:** 70% — Views the survivors as a "hardened unit" rather than a "vulnerable cluster."

## Helen Vance
**Location:** The Cabin Porch, Cypress Bend, Florida.
**Physical:** Watching from the distance; leaning heavily on the railing.
**Emotional:** Solemn. She recognizes the crossing as the moment the Vance legacy moved from "preservation" to "resurrection."

# World State: ch-17

## NPC Memory
- **Avery-Quinn Sat-Ops:** LOST SIGNAL. The storm and the "Great Dark" interference have masked the track hoe’s final movement across the river.

## Faction Attitudes
- **Avery-Quinn Corp:** FRUSTRATED. They have lost the "vibration" of their asset.
- **The Survivors:** UNIFIED. The crossing of the Cypress Bend bridge serves as a ritualistic baptism into their new roles.

## Active World Events
- **The Great Dark:** PEAK. Maximum atmospheric interference.
- **The Bridge:** FINALIZED. The timber span is across, though the manual winch is strained. It is the only "unindexed" artery in the sector.
- **The 14-Week Lockdown:** DAY 6. The group is now physically severed from the grid and the "legal" world.