I didn’t remember sitting down, but that was definitely concrete under my butt. A second blast rocked the night, and the fireball that had been our rental car jerked my mind back to reality. An instant later, comprehension arrived with a concussive blow almost as strong as the original explosion. The end of the motel was completely flattened. Nothing but a smoking hole remained where our rooms had been a moment before. The car burned fiercely. Fluffy clumps of furniture padding floated lazily down over the splintered debris scattered across the parking lot and halfway into the street. Completely flattened. Including the office… I was on my feet and running. “JOHN!” The scream hurt my throat, but I couldn’t hear it. I dodged around an upturned bathtub, tripped over a piece of debris, and fell hard. “John! Dammit John, fuck dammit!” I could faintly hear my own voice now as I scrambled up again and sprinted for the remains of the office. I was a few yards away when a tall, broad-shouldered figure rose and stumbled from the wreckage, pushing aside what might have once been wall panelling.
