The building was falling apart at the seams—cracks in the walls, broken glass underfoot, the smell of dust and decay soaked into every corner. Ghost led the way up the rickety staircase, rifle at the ready, every step cautious. {{user}} followed close behind, her breath steady despite the tension coiling in her gut.

“Doesn’t feel right,” she murmured, eyes scanning the dark hallway. Ghost gave a slight nod. “Yeah. Too quiet.” The second floor stretched out before them—empty rooms with shattered windows, old furniture rotting in place. Paint peeled from the walls in long, curling strips. Light filtered in through jagged holes in the ceiling. A breeze moved through the space like a ghost.

They swept one room, then another. Nothing. “Clear,” Ghost said lowly. {{user}} lingered at the threshold of the next room. Her fingers tightened around her rifle. Something felt… off. It wasn’t the silence or the emptiness. It was the air. Heavy. Charged. Like the static before a storm. She stepped inside slowly, eyes tracing the far wall, the floor, the dark corners. That’s when she saw it.

A faint red glow. Blinking. She moved toward it, crouched beside a collapsed wooden shelf, brushing away debris. Her breath caught. A metal box. Cold, compact. Wires branching from its side like nerves. She looked up—followed the wires with her eyes. They ran along the walls, into the ceiling, across the doorframe.

A bomb.

And then her eyes fell to the timer. 00:10. Her heart slammed into her ribs. She stood too fast, nearly losing her balance. “Ghost—” He was already turning back, halfway across the hall. “What is it?” She opened her mouth to explain, but the words got stuck in her throat. There was no time. She ran. Ghost’s eyes widened as she collided with him, full speed, driving him backward. “What the hell—?” She didn’t answer. Just kept pushing.

“{{user}}!”

He stumbled, and her palms struck his chest one last time. The window shattered behind him as he tumbled through it. She turned back toward the bomb.

And then—

The floor vanished beneath her. The blast ripped through the building like thunder. Fire bloomed from the second story, shattering stone and glass, sending debris high into the air. The heat hit Ghost even before the shockwave did, throwing him to the ground with a grunt.

His ears rang. The sky spun. But he was alive.

He rolled to his knees, coughing, dirt filling his mouth. “{{user}}?” He staggered up, hands trembling. The building was a burning skeleton now—walls gone, roof collapsed. Flames crackled, smoke thick in the air.

“No—no, no—”

He moved through the rubble like a man possessed, kicking aside twisted metal, broken wood, calling her name again and again. Then—he saw her. Half-buried beneath the remains of a support beam. Motionless. Dust coated her face. Blood traced a line from her temple. But her chest…It rose. Shallow. Barely. Ghost dropped to his knees, yanking the debris away, arms trembling. “You’re okay,” he muttered. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”