Editing The Gorge (section)

== Plot ==
Two elite snipers receive identical missions: travel to a secret location and guard the west and east sides of a deep gorge for one year without any contact with the outside world or their counterparts on the opposite sides. Levi Kane, a former U.S. Marine Scout/Sniperand current private contractor agrees to guard the west tower. Drasa, a Lithuanian covert operative frequently employed by the Kremlin, guards the east side. Levi suffers from nightmares stemming from the guilt he has from killing enemies, while Drasa's father, Erikas, dying from cancer, plans to commit suicide on Valentine's Day to reunite with his late wife.

Upon arriving, Levi relieves his predecessor, Jasper "J.D." Drake, a former British Royal Marine of duty. J.D. explains that in addition to the towers, there are automated turret defenses, powerful cloaking antennas that hide the gorge, and mines on the walls of the gorge to contain the monstrous creatures within. Additionally, J.D. warns of a protocol called "Stray Dog" telling Levi, "If you hear those air-raid sirens, you run like hell." Their predecessors nicknamed these creatures “The Hollow Men”, a reference to the poem of the same name by T. S. Eliot depicting the end of the world. J.D. tells Levi that three battalions of soldiers (2,400 men) were sent into the gorge in the late 1940s but never returned. J.D. is exfiltrated by helicopter, but his contact executes him without explanation before calling Levi's handler to report the transition complete. 

After several weeks, Drasa violates the no-communication protocol on her birthday and initiates conversations with Levi via written signs. Levi reciprocates and the two engage in a sharpshooting competition. There is a protracted escape attempt by the Hollow Men, but Drasa and Levi defend their towers and each other. The two start communicating more frequently, playing games of chess, and making improvised drum sets. 

Six months into their tour, Levi ziplines to the other side of the gorge to spend time with Drasa. The two court one another by dancing and making rabbit pie. Levi, an amateur poet, tells Drasa he is writing a poem for her titled “She Collapsed the Night”. The next morning, Levi attempts to cross back to his side of the gorge, but the mines on the western side of the gorge detonate as the Hollow Men climb it, causing him to drop into the gorge when his zipline cable snaps. He deploys a parachute as he falls. 

Drasa parachutes in to rescue him, and the two discover that every plant, animal, and insect within the gorge has been cross-mutated with one another. Seeking shelter, they locate the source of the mutations: a bioweapons research lab from World War II abandoned after an earthquake caused a contaminant leak that produces symptoms of mutation within five days. Originally run by Eastern and Western governments, the facility has since become the responsibility of Darklake, a private defense corporation that periodically extracts samples and research data, hoping to create super soldiers. Levi discovers the “Stray Dog” protocol, a failsafe developed by the original researchers to sterilize the site with a nuclear detonation, which Darklake now controls. 

The two find a Jeep with a working towing cable and use it to climb back out of the gorge as they fight off the Hollow Men. They agree to separate for five days to ensure that neither is infected with the mutagens and to check in with their handlers. Levi’s handler, Bartholomew, admits that Darklake is running the operation and that she knows the site has been compromised. Aware that Darklake is coming and will try to kill them, Drasa and Levi agree to activate the “Stray Dog” protocol to protect the world from mutagens and mutagenic research. Bartholomew arrives with her soldiers and finds Levi’s tower abandoned; they send armed aerial drones after Levi and Drasa, but the pair manage to destroy them. Executing pre-planned, simultaneous shots, the two destroy the ‘cloak’ and expose the site to surveillance, triggering the “Stray Dog” protocol. Bartholomew and her soldiers are killed in the blast and the area is destroyed. 

Having been separated from Levi during the blast, Drasa completes her five day self-quarantine. She leaves for France, where the pair had planned to reunite. She waits for Levi, who doesn't appear. Among her belongings, she finds an envelope from Levi to be opened "if I don't make it"; inside she finds the completed poem “She Collapsed the Night”. A month later, Drasa is working in a local restaurant. There Levi surprises her, asking if he can have rabbit pie. The two kiss.