Samantha stirred awake with a sharp gasp. Her vision swam as she lifted her head, the world spinning in broken fragments. For a moment she thought it was over and it had all ended.
Then a distant explosion rolled through the air.
The ground trembled beneath her, followed by another thunderous impact far away. Heat and smoke drifted across the ruined street and the echo of clashing weapons carried through the distance.
"This… is still happening," she realized.
She forced herself upright and looked around in a daze. Rubble littered the ground. And then she saw them.
Nadine lay motionless several meters away, blood pooling beneath her chest. Victor's body lay not far from her, his stomach torn open, blood also soaking into the debris beneath him. Neither of them moved.
Samantha's eyes widened.
"No—"
She tried to rush forward but she felt pain through her arm. Her right arm bent and clearly broken.
She bit down hard to keep from screaming and staggered forward anyway.
