The concussive wave from the detonated Kaiju hit the ravine walls.
Dirt and shattered rock rained down over the gray ice, carrying the stench of ozone and corrosive blue blood.
Kikaru watched the body hit the mud.
Her fingers uncurled.
The heavy white plasma rifle slipped from her grip. It clattered against the jagged stone, abandoned in the falling ash.
She scrambled across the broken ice, leaving the extraction lane unguarded.
Her carbon-fiber brace scraped violently over the debris. She forced her right boot to carry her entire weight to stay upright.
She crossed the thirty feet of ruined ground and slid into the sludge beside him.
"Caleb."
He lay flat on his back in the wet dirt. The armor was shattered.
The jagged half of the white bone spike protruded from his chest plate.
Kikaru dropped to her knees. She pressed her bare hands directly over the broken ceramic, pushing down hard to stop the bleeding.
