Hello. I’m Lane. Let’s look at the rhythm of this. 

Chapter 26 is a pivot point. You’re moving from the "homesteading" phase of survival into the "tribal" phase, where the cost of a soul is priced in calories and security. The prose has a solid, melancholic weight, but we have some recurring issues with dialogue "tells" and a few instances where the imagery is leaning on its own shovel.

### 1. STRENGTHS
*   **Atmospheric Anchoring:** The "milky veil" of the mist and the "bruised sunset" of the orange rain shell provide a strong visual contrast. You’ve successfully turned the sanctuary of the Bend into something that feels fragile.
*   **The Ethical Wedge:** The tension between Marcus and David is well-drawn. Neither is a villain; they simply represent two different, incompatible survival strategies. 
*   **Visceral Detail:** The "no more pine needles" line is the strongest bit of characterization for Leo. It says more about his ordeal than three paragraphs of backstory.

### 2. CONCERNS

#### A. Dialogue Redundancy & "Telling" Tags
You are occasionally telling the reader the subtext of a line that the dialogue already conveyed. If the words are sharp, the tag should be invisible.
*   **ORIGINAL:** "Is it a scout?" Helen asked, her voice thin.
*   **SUGGESTED:** "Is it a scout?" Helen’s voice was a wire pulled past its snapping point.
*   **RATIONALE:** "Thin" is a common adjective here. Let’s find the texture.

*   **ORIGINAL:** "Marcus, look at him," Helen said, her voice gaining a sharp, maternal edge.
*   **SUGGESTED:** "Marcus, look at him." Helen stepped into his space. "He can't even stand."
*   **RATIONALE:** Delete "gaining a sharp, maternal edge." The reader knows she’s a mother. Let her action (stepping in) convey the edge.

#### B. Over-Reliance on Adverbs in Action
In high-tension scenes, adverbs act like speed bumps. They tell us *how* to feel instead of letting the verb do the heavy lifting.
*   **ORIGINAL:** Marcus said, his jaw working a piece of gum with rhythmic, aggressive mechanical precision.
*   **SUGGESTED:** Marcus's jaw worked a piece of gum with the rhythmic grind of a machine.
*   **RATIONALE:** "Aggressive mechanical precision" is three words where one image ("machine") does the job.

*   **ORIGINAL:** Marcus replied without looking away from the scope.
*   **SUGGESTED:** Marcus didn't pull his eye from the glass.
*   **RATIONALE:** "Without looking away" is passive. Keep him active in his surveillance.

#### C. The "Philosophy Lecture" Trap
The debate between David and Marcus is vital, but in the middle of a stand-off, men like this don't usually trade polished aphorisms.
*   **ORIGINAL:** "The moral high ground was a lonely, freezing place to stand when the world was burning."
*   **SUGGESTED:** [Delete or internalize].
*   **RATIONALE:** This feels a bit "Authorial Voice" stepping in to explain the theme. We see the snow, we see the gun—we know it’s cold. Let the cold stay in the physical world.

*   **ORIGINAL:** "Humanity is a luxury of the grid," Marcus said... "Out here, survival is a zero-sum game."
*   **SUGGESTED:** "Humanity was for when the lights were on, Dave. Out here, it's just calories. His or ours."
*   **RATIONALE:** "Zero-sum game" sounds like a sociology textbook. Keep Marcus grounded in the harsh, immediate reality of the farm.

#### D. Word Choice & Economy
*   **ORIGINAL:** ...faded to the color of a bruised sunset.
*   **SUGGESTED:** ...faded to the color of a week-old bruise.
*   **RATIONALE:** You use "bruised" twice in the chapter (once for sunset, once for Leo's skin). Let’s keep it for the human. It makes him feel more delicate.

*   **ORIGINAL:** ...the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of his semi-automatic.
*   **SUGGESTED:** ...the rhythmic hammer of Marcus's rifle.
*   **RATIONALE:** Onomatopoeia like "thud-thud-thud" often kills the tension of a gunshot. Use a stronger verb.

### 3. LINE-LEVEL AUDIT
*   **QUOTE:** "David finally caught him in the sights."
    *   **FIX:** "David finally found him through the glass." 
    *   **WHY:** "Caught him in the sights" suggests he's aiming to kill immediately. If he's just looking, use "glass" or "lens" to differentiate from the moment he actually pulls the trigger later. 
*   **QUOTE:** "He looked at David, but there was no spark of recognition, no plea for help."
    *   **FIX:** "He looked at David with the flat, glazed eyes of a landed fish."
    *   **WHY:** "No spark of recognition" is a cliché. Give us a specific image of that emptiness.
*   **QUOTE:** "The transition to night was swift in the Bend."
    *   **FIX:** "Night didn't fall at the Bend; it occupied the space."
    *   **WHY:** "Transition was swift" is Clinical/Summary. Make the darkness feel like an antagonist.

### VERDICT: POLISH NEEDED
The pacing of the shootout is excellent, and the ending—David cleaning the rifle in the dark—is a haunting, perfect image. The "Polish" is mostly required in the dialogue tags and the slightly overly-philosophical mid-section. Tighten those up, and the tragedy of David’s choice will hit much harder.