The sirens were a distant scream compared to the roaring silence in Max's head. As he knelt on the glass-strewn pavement, clutching a shattered Ruby to his chest, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It felt like a death rattle.
With trembling fingers, he pulled it out.
UNKNOWN: Now we're even. Welcome to the ruins.
The blood in Max's veins turned to ice. At that same moment, Samuel's voice crackled through his earpiece, frantic and hollow. "Max... the medical team... they were mid-transfer when the first charge went off. Mrs. Emerald... she didn't make it. I'm so sorry."
Max looked down at Ruby. Her face was ghost-pale, her eyes rolled back as the sheer weight of the trauma finally crushed her consciousness. She slumped against him, fainting into a merciful darkness.
"Ruby? Ruby!" Max shouted, his voice cracking. He gathered her limp body into his arms, standing up amidst the falling ash.
