Cleo jumped out of her seat.
"What the fuck was that?"
Another, closer, tremor rocked the building. Ameira got a bad feeling.
"GET DOWN!"
A very audible explosion on the floor above sent shrapnel and flames through the ceiling above them. Ameira got up and started running towards the emergency stairs. But someone grabbed her from behind.
"I don't think so. That promotion is mine."
Cleo pulled her from the doorway and threw her into a pile of flaming debris.
Ameira screamed in pain and confusion as the shards of molten metal embedded themselves in her back. She could feel the skin burning and smell her flesh cooking, as she desperately crawled towards the stairs. Another explosion went off and she could feel the building tipping over. The stairwell collapsed and buried her arms, mangling them beyond recognition. Ameira's brain finally decided to give up and shut down as a burning poster floated down and covered her face.
It was a recruitment poster, advertising joining the TEARS.
If I survive this by some miracle, I will join them. This life is gone.
Ameira blacked out.
TEAR Firefighting unit, Designation SC0079
Scoot loved her job. TEARS were for fighting, but there were just as many units assigned to civilian duties, such as rescue and firefighting. She broke through another wall.
"Is anyone still alive here?" she called out. There wasn't much chance that someone would answer her, but it made things quicker if they did.
Who could've known that those terrorists would do something this brazen?
She continued up the floors.
Or is it through? Space is weird.
She marked the bodies with paint, so the retrieval teams would have an easier time collecting them. Scoot saw another at the collapsed stairwell, and was about to mark it. But her infrared showed a different story.
How the hell is she still alive?
Scoot radioed the medical squad.
"Urgent patient, floor 5, unconscious, appears to have both arms crushed, multiple large lacerations that have been cauterized, a missing leg, third degree burns, crushed ribcage, possible brain trauma, but somehow still alive."
"Understood. Remove all debris carefully, cover any still bleeding wounds, and administer defibrillator if the patient's heart stops. A stretcher team is on the way."
Scoot began to haul the concrete rubble off her arms, carefully avoiding causing other bits to collapse on top of her. After removing a poster off her face, she finally identified against the database for the building.
Ameira Cortez.
Scoot checked her vitals again. They were diminishing, but there wasn't much she could do to help that. Her heart was beating slowly, but it was still going thankfully.
"Move, move!"
She got out of the way of the stretcher crew, who had finally arrived. They began spraying her with medical foams and cleaning agents to avoid infection. An IV was administered, and she assisted them with transporting her to the helicopter. As it took off, Scoot made a note in her reminders.
* Visit Ameira Cortez at hospital
* Collect that thing from Joseph
* Fried shallots
* Get those upgrades