Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jay could taste the ocean. He rolled over and blinding flashes of pain twisted up his spine and shoulders. He swallowed blood and blinked at light shining above him. At first he thought it was an angel who had taken pity on his agnosticism, but as his vision cleared he realized it was a street lamp. His fists closed over short, damp grass. He was in a park. He could hear a dog barking and the distant wail of sirens.
He sat upright, or tried to. He was wearing his daypack with a parachute pack inside, not yet deployed. Nasira had given him her MP7, so that was in there too, hopefully still in one piece. He noticed a crop of flames in the distance. They were soft at first, then became crisp and jagged—just as the pain became jagged. He traced the source and found a lac
