Things hadn’t gone dark. To my eyes, the world had just lost all color.The air tasted of pulverized concrete, dirt, and iron.Silver chains surrounded us in every direction, a warped cocoon centered around Bear. She stood in the center, knees bent, arms raised like she was trying to punch the sky. The chains wrapped around her forearms, stretching upwards and overhead like an umbrella before bending around us and reversing course to wrap around her shins.“Anyone alive?” she rasped, voice strained, teeth gritted.“Alive,” I answered, moving to what was left of the truck cabin, thankful for the printed-mask’s in-built filter. One passenger. “Vesper’s alive.” I declared with a mix of concern and relief as I saw her labored breaths.“Probably broke something,” she croaked, eyes wide as her hands pulled out her gun. “I can’t see anything.”“Same,” Bear added.“I can see,” I reported.“Then get yourselves closer,” Bear barked, arms shaking. “Can’t keep the bubble this large for much longer.”I nodded. “Vesper, I’m going to reach out to you. Don’t shoot.” She flinched but began moving stiffly as I helped her maneuver her way out of the cabin. I hesitated as I looked around. “Where’s my gear?”I’d insisted on bringing my shield and some basic low-caliber bulletproof gear available in case things went sideways.“Arnold’s half of the cabin,” she gasped. “He opened the door when the bombs went off and everything flew out. I would’ve too if I hadn’t had my belt (...)