The broken bus groaned softly in the rain.
Its twisted frame had once been part of the barricade line that sealed the mall entrance. Now it sat half-crushed along the edge of the ruined street, its side panels bent inward, windshield shattered, and roof partially collapsed from the shockwaves that had torn through the battlefield minutes earlier.
Inside, the world felt distant.
Rain slipped through jagged cracks in the metal shell and dripped steadily onto the rusted floor. Each drop struck with a hollow metallic tap that echoed faintly through the cramped interior. Water pooled beneath bent seats and broken glass, forming shallow ripples that trembled whenever the ground outside shook.
The bus creaked again somewhere deep within its warped chassis.
Far away, the Troll King roared.
