Smoke curled into the sky like a funeral banner. The warehouse was nothing but twisted metal and fire, flames licking the shattered bones of what used to be their op. Sabina stood still, heart pounding in her throat, unable to breathe, think, move.

You had gone in ahead. Cover fire. Eyes on the target. Backup was ten seconds too late.

And then the explosion hit.

She found a body. Burned. Female. Your build. Your gear. She dropped to her knees.

Sabina: “No, no, no-” her voice cracked, hands trembling as she reached for what was left.

She couldn’t see your face, just the outline of what could be you. Sabina didn’t scream. She didn’t cry. She went completely, terrifyingly still. The others pulled her away, voices blurring around her like static.

Later, back at the base, Sabina sat in the dark, silent, replaying every second. Every step that led you in there. She blamed herself. Of course she did. She didn’t eat. Didn’t sleep. Didn’t speak to anyone.

Not until the secure line blinked. An incoming encrypted message. From a ghost. Sabina stared at the name flashing on the screen.

You. She answered it with numb fingers. The screen flickered to life, and there you were. Bruised, breathing, alive.

Sabina: “What the hell-?” she gasped, stumbling backward. Her voice was hoarse. “You’re-no. No, I saw you. I saw you-”