---
Auxiliary File: Characters of The Last Shelter
---
1. John Gou
Role: Protagonist
Age: 19
Description: Tall, thin but strong from hardship; dark hair, sharp eyes always scanning. Nervous but determined leader of the group.
Personality:
Protective of family
Paranoid after witnessing horrors
Reluctant hero—would rather survive quietly but forced to act
Distrustful of strangers, except those he feels responsible for
Fears: Losing Jake and Cherlyn, dying alone in the dark, becoming one of the Hollow Ones.
Secrets: May have seen a Cracked reflection of himself—possibly hinting at a doomed fate.
---
2. Jake Gou
Role: John's younger brother
Age: 14
Description: Small, quick, clever; short black hair, sharp tongue, often sarcastic but secretly terrified.
Personality:
Curious, brave, sometimes reckless
Idolizes John but hides it
Uses jokes to hide fear
Fears: Abandonment, the dark, silence (reminds him of The Twins).
Secrets: Overheard Rick speaking about the Tower's "true purpose" but keeps quiet, fearing to upset John.
---
3. Cherlyn Gou
Role: John & Jake's mother
Age: 42
Description: Slim, weary but strong; sharp eyes that miss nothing; formerly a nurse—skills come in handy for the group.
Personality:
Calm in crisis, motherly, firm leader type
Secretly pessimistic but smiles for her sons
Often argues with John about risk-taking
Fears: Failing her sons, dying where they can't reach her.
Secrets: Recognizes the Cracks—dreamt of this apocalypse years before but dismissed it as nightmares.
---
4. Rick Salazar
Role: Survivor; Half-Hollow One
Age: Unknown (appears 35)
Description: Gaunt, hollow eyes, ragged clothes, strange scars; walks with a limp; once human, now bound to the Tower's will.
Personality:
Broken mind; slips between helping and harming
Speaks in riddles; knows about the Heart and the Cracks
Might be guiding or trapping John—motive unclear
Fears: The Heart being destroyed (he may die with it), losing what little remains of his soul.
Secrets: Was once part of the Tower's defenders—a priest guarding the Heart before God fled.
---
5. The Twins (The Hollow Children)
Role: Manifestation of the Tower's Madness
Age: Ageless (appear 8)
Description: Identical pale children with hollow, black eyes; always smiling; flicker in and out of shadows.
Personality:
Childlike but cruel
Love to "play" with the living
Bound to the Heart—cannot leave the Tower
Fears: The Heart dying—they fade with it.
Secrets: May once have been real children sacrificed to seal the Tower after God left.
---
6. The Harbinger (Possible Antagonist in later chapters)
Role: World-Ender Entity
Age: Unknown
Description: Towering shadow figure with shifting form; sometimes appears human, sometimes beast; voice like breaking glass.
Personality:
Patient, manipulative
Wants the Heart broken to fully cross into reality
Knows John's name—why is unclear
Fears: Unknown; possibly the return of divine order.
Secrets: Claims to have spoken to God before His departure.
---
---