The blast flashes before my eyes, so white I can’t see. So loud, I can’t hear. The force lifts me like a giant hand and slams me into the cabinet. The world dims, and then gradually comes back. I blink into the smoky haze. My ears ring. The blast. Gabe. As I push up, pain explodes from places on my body I barely can name. I shake my head and crawl through rubble. Gabe’s headlamp shines straight up, smoke drifting through the beam, on the other side of the room. I hope he’s still attached to it. Let him be alive. Please let him be alive. I find a foot. My mind goes to a dark place, and I wonder if it’s still attached to the whole. “Gabe,” I manage, though my voice sticks in my throat. Nothing. “Gabe.” A hand on my back startles me. Tommy stands over me, his face flooded with concern.
