Portraits revealed through your current reading position.
The warm maintenance-man crawler who shepherded elderly survivors — killed on the third floor, his last message a plea to reach his brother.
Brandon An reaches Carl only as a message from the dead. A kind eldercare maintenance worker who once led a band of frail survivors through earlier floors with Carl's help, he died holding the line against Shade Gremlins so Imani, Elle McGib, and the others could escape the collapsing third floor. His final message — routed into a "deceased crawlers" folder — reveals a bitter fight with his brother Chris Andrews, who left the party, and begs Carl to find Chris and tell him he's loved and forgiven.
The loss guts Carl, who channels his grief into brutal training.
Recalled as a warm, hammer-wielding maintenance worker; his final form on the third floor is not shown, only his voice in a farewell message.
A beloved off-page ally whose death drives Carl's arc and sets up the Chris Andrews thread.
Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings: