Blackout Part 7

The alley was dark, and looking for the pin was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Serena fumbled around the ground trying to feel for it, but with no luck, no matter how many times Vas tried to point her in the right direction. “That’s… a lotta blood…” she stammered, holding the pin up in triumph. “It… is blood, right?” She asked, taking his hand to try and replace the pin. The pin had other ideas. The prongs were all bent, and though she tried her hardest, the pin wouldn’t connect, the grenade was still live.

“It leaking outta me so … let go and say yea … its blood.” Vass wheezed. “Okay just … can you hold the grenade for like … a minute. I'm a little woozy here and I like my limbs attached to me.”

Serena looked back at the grenade. “Hold, hold it?” She asked. “But I like my limbs too!”

“Yea just like this… hand over the spoon … and you know … baby stays asleep. Unlike me. Who is currently bleeding.” Vas said, holding out for her to take. “Go on before passing out or something …”

Serena wasn’t sure what happened next, one minute, her hand was clamping around the grenade, and the next, the grenade was bouncing down on the pavement.

Vas gave her a flat look. "This is why I wear gloves….”

This was gunna hurt. Vas grabbed the kid and rolled trying to cover her before the grenade went off. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew one thing.

Worst.

Day.

Ever.

Serena grabbed the collar of his tactical vest with both hands, digging her heels into the dirt. “Don’t breathe!” She warned him, pulling with all her might towards the solid concrete behind them. Instantly, the world shifted. The air turned to thick sludge, and it felt like being dragged through freezing, wet sand. The concrete didn’t simply fade, they were forced through its molecular grid and for one painful moment, their lungs locked up, unable to draw breath. Serena hoped it wasn’t too much further, the friction of the disruption causing a throbbing behind her eyes. It seemed much longer than it was. Within seconds, they spilled onto the floor of the abandoned warehouse, landing on a thick bed of dust. Phasing someone was much harder than just herself, especially when that person weighed a ton of solid muscle. Serena drew in the stale musty air just as the grenade detonated.

The concrete and brick wall took the brunt of the blast, the shockwave sending a shower of dust and debris down on Vas, who was still on top of her. Outside, sharp fragments of metal embedded themselves into the walls of the alley, but inside it was safe, quiet except for the ringing in her ears that quickly faded.

“Vas?” She coughed, trying to roll him over. His blood stained her ravewear, or rather, Cyd’s ravewear, blue. “Vas?”