Julian's life had just been turned upside down. The explosion, unexpected and violent, left him gasping for air, his head spinning as he was thrown from the chaos of the blast. He had seen the smoke rising and heard the crash, but it felt as if everything had moved in slow motion. The cold ground beneath him was a sharp contrast to the heat of the blast, his body still numb from the force.
Emily was nowhere to be seen. The panic surged through him. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. As he struggled to get back on his feet, his hands shaky and his vision blurry, Julian’s first thought was to check for her—see if she was alright.
As Julian stumbled, looking for any sign of Emily, the sirens wailed in the distance, but they seemed too far away. The street was empty, save for a few diso
