Shaking Vertical Extraction
The world was no longer black or gray. Everything was white, bright, and painful. My ears rang with a long, static pitch that buried the sounds of the waves and wind. I could feel dust particles and gravel raining down on my back, but the warmth against my chest—Dahlia's small, curled body—was the only thing telling me I was still alive.
"Jax! Jax, answer me! Your vitals are unreadable!" Juri's voice shouted in my ear, sounding distant as if from underwater.
"I... I'm here," I whispered. I coughed, expelling residual smoke from my lungs. "Serena? Serena!"
"I... here," Serena's voice came weakly from behind the stone ruins. "Dahlia? Is she okay?"
I slightly loosened my embrace. Dahlia was still unconscious, her face covered in white dust, but the respirator
