I said a silent prayer for Tyren and the squad, though I knew they were strong. Tyren had survived much worse. Hadn’t he?
The scent of ozone lingered in the air, like lightning had struck nearby. An instructor had mentioned the Heavy ships caused atmospheric disturbances. Goosebumps prickled my arms.
Keep moving, I ordered myself. I jumped from my basement shelter and ran past a building lined with shop windows. Scanning the pictures on the signs, my thoughts registered butcher, laundromat, and something called a delikatesy. Only dark facades remained. Most of the windows were covered with Polish graffiti.
People in Krakow used to go about living normal lives—shopping at these stores—but now the Heavies prowled the streets, killing our species.
I must reach the orphanage.
I reached the river’s edge when it began to rain. At the bridge, soldiers stood guard on both ends, near armored tanks. A pang of relief coursed through me—they’ll help protect me.
I shouldered my rifle and approached the soldier on my side of the bridge. He watched me with wide, glassy eyes.
“Medic,” I said and pointed to my arm patch—the red cross insignia identifying my role.
He started to answer when an enormous explosion rocked the foundation under us. Every part of me shook as a force like a hurricane gust knocked me back several feet.
My shoulders hit the cement sidewalk nearby and my helmet was pelted by debris. As I lay amid rubble, I shut my eyes, hoping the worst of it was over.
After a minute, the dust cleared, and I scrambled to my feet to find the soldier sitting up nearby. He stared up at the sky, dazed.
“Hey, get up,” I said.
A vessel plummeted into the river, unleashing a massive wave that flooded the narrow street. The deadly projectile had nearly hit the bridge. Could Heavies swim?
The soldier stood, and we crouched next to his tank. I said, “I need to cross.”
“Why the hell do you want to go over there?” Sweat dripped down his dusty face.
“I have to cross. Someone’s injured. They called for me.”
Another explosion rocked the street, this time a direct hit on an apartment building. He winced and nudged my shoulder. “Go. I’ll comm the other side.”
“Thank you.” I ran across the bridge as more pods rained down. Halfway across, a pod struck the top of the steel-framed arches. I staggered to the ground. On the far end, a female soldier started yelling, but I couldn’t hear through my ringing ears.
She shouted again and held her arms out toward me. Stunned, I looked behind and saw the tank on fire. The soldier’s body lay next to it in a heap.
An eerie cracking noise began, as if something massive was bending under a great weight. The bridge I stood on was collapsing. A wide crack snaked its way through the middle of the concrete, and on either side, pieces of road crumbled into the waterway.
I leaped to my feet and sprinted toward the screaming soldier. My ears still rang. She might have said, “Faster,” and I pushed my muscles, squeezing out every bit of energy.
Behind me, asphalt and steel were being sucked downward into the water like a vacuum. I kept running, but—too late. Lunging, I reached out, stretching forward. There was no footing suddenly, and I flailed my legs. The soldier grabbed for my hands but missed. It happened fast, then she grasped my forearm, slipping at first, but holding me as my body swung above the churning river.
Glancing down, I screamed. Waves swallowed up heavy chunks of concrete and steel. The bridge’s remains crumbled and sunk to the riverbed.
Another soldier ran over to help lift me to street level. After they dragged me up, I crawled on the ground next to them, gasping for air. My ringing ears muffled their voices. The woman who’d caught my arms said, “Holy shit. Are you okay? Are you injured?”
I sat up and checked my body to be sure. Shaken but uninjured. I realized my rifle had fallen into the river.
Another explosion sounded a few hundred meters away. The soldiers who’d saved my life hurried to their tank, climbed inside, and headed toward a pod that had just landed.
I still needed to reach the orphanage. This was bad. I knew war would be dangerous, but nothing had prepared me for the chaos. The feeling of helplessness.
The rain picked up, and my boots splashed through puddles on wet pavement. Pausing, I stopped to catch my breath, surveying the area.
Spotting a wide, rectangular hotel with a circular tower, I sheltered under its pillared roundabout as I stole a final glance at the annihilated bridge.
Only one street away, my best choice was to run to the orphanage and get inside. Without a weapon, I was helpless if any Heavies were nearby. Here goes, I thought.
I sprinted into the rain-soaked road. Behind me, an explosion rattled my teeth. Debris showered down onto the avenue. The hotel I had just sheltered under took a direct hit. Running at top speed, I tried the glass doors leading into the orphanage.
Locked.
“Please, let me in!” I raised my arms, waving them back and forth.
Perez peered out of a window on the second floor. She looked relieved, but then her eyes shifted to something behind me, and her mouth contorted into an oval-shaped… Did she scream?
Everything turned black.
I woke to an ominous gray sky. Rain doused my face, and suddenly I remembered where I was—the falling bridge and attacking Heavies. The orphanage. My squad was in danger.
Wincing, I stood and shook dust from my body. A pod had landed in the street twenty meters away. Every instinct inside me screamed to run, but I approached the crashed aircraft instead.
The cobalt-blue metal looked warped by heat. Up close, the vessel was egg-shaped and rested in a small crater.
My flesh tingled.
The front of the
