Well, I would’ve if the trapdoor wasn’t made of solid steel. The thing didn’t budge an inch.

Now what?

I looked down at the ladder below me. I couldn’t see the guard at the bottom, but I assumed he was still there. I also assumed he wouldn’t be thrilled to see me again. Just as I’d opened my mouth to call out to him, the door above me clicked again, then swung open. Light came through the new opening. Not a lot, but it allowed me to see the ladder a foot from my face.

My head was all I peeked over the edge, just high enough for my eyes to be level with the floor of the warehouse. This was my first taste of the Blitz, and it was…boring? The building was mostly empty. A few larger metalworking machines sat off to one side, piles of old debris scattered around them.

Everything was baked in a shade of gray from the light that made its way through a hole in the roof, a steady stream of water trickling in as well. But even it was turned gray by the haze in the warehouse.

A loud thunderclap exploded overhead, shaking the walls. I ducked back into the ladder hole, just now registering the wind and rain that pelted the sides of the metal building.

Definitely outside of the Char.

“Get it together,” I said aloud, chastising myself but finding it amusing that thunder could send me scrambling back down into the dark ladder hole.

I planted my hands on the cold floor, pushing up and crawling out. Dust was layered, giving the concrete a weird softness, sticking to my hands until I wiped them clean on my pants. At least this side was dry. The other side of the warehouse sat covered by a layer of water, flowing out through the cracked metal wall.

Behind me, the trapdoor clicked shut, followed by the loud rolling sound from earlier. A toolbox slid on rails, retaking its place over the top. I gave it a half-hearted push, but as I expected, it wouldn’t move.

The holotab on my wrist vibrated as I turned away from my entrance into the Blitz. Text had appeared on it. Would you like to start an extraction timer?

“Sure?” I said questioningly, tapping on the “Start” icon just below it. A clock appeared, the seconds counting up.

I guess that meant there was only one thing left to do. Before I moved, I unzipped my bag and grabbed the pistol from it, placing it in one of the pant pockets like Chromia had said. I didn’t want to hold it, but I felt better about it being there rather than in the bag. Scraps of metal were scattered everywhere, so I picked where I stepped, making sure my footsteps were silent. They were covered by the wind and the rain outside, anyway.

I waded through an inch of water on the ground, inspecting the large metalworking equipment. Most of it was stripped of its hardware, leaving just the skeletons of the large machines. I moved on, but it was obvious that this warehouse had been picked clean, just as Chromia had said.

Instead, I turned my attention to my next concern. The indoor waterfall was a few feet away from me, the rain keeping its flow constant. I’d yet to feel the water through my shoes, which I took as a good sign. We’d talked about it in class, and I probably should’ve checked to make sure the rainwater wasn’t, like, acid before I stepped in it, but I had other things on my mind.

I held a finger out, letting water soak it and dribble off. It was cool, almost cold, but it didn’t melt my finger off, so that was good. I cupped my hands, collecting the clear liquid. It may not have been acid, but I wasn’t ready to drink it yet.

I moved to the door, swinging it open to the rest of the Blitz. The rain and wind were rough, but through it, I could see the next warehouse over, about one-hundred feet away. I peeked my head out into it, pulling my hood up and squinting to see the surrounding area. There wasn’t much other than a few bigger buildings further away. They were old and rundown, like they’d been sitting unused for the last twenty-six years.

I hiked my bag higher on my shoulders, then took off at a sprint for the closest warehouse. The metal was rusted, squealing as I forced it open with my shoulder.

Unfortunately, my assumptions about the jacket had been correct. I felt the chill of the water on my undershirt, and I shook the jacket, trying to knock the water off before I could get soaked. The last thing I wanted was the rain, combined with the colder air, to make me freeze on my first extraction.

This new shop had been used by a carpenter before the war, that much was clear. Tables with saws and piles of rotted wood filled most of the floor space. I placed my hand on the head of a carving of a bear standing on its hind legs, wearing a backpack. It made me both sad and homesick; my mother would’ve loved it.

I forced myself to look at the bright side, if there was one. The Blitz felt like the wasteland it had been advertised as. It would probably take me multiple trips, but I felt oddly confident I’d find enough to save Skylar.

I picked through items as I passed by tables. By the time I made it to the far side of the shop, I’d found a whopping half-pack of AA batteries and a box of screws that was still sealed.

All right, it was going to take a lot of extractions.

Maybe screws are scarce, I told myself as I unzipped my bag to put them in it. Batteries could be invaluable to an underground black market.

As I set the new items in the bag, my hand brushed against something buried at the bottom. I pulled out a small case about the size of my hand. It unfolded, revealing the supplies Chromia told me were in there.

She wasn’t lying; they were basic: A small med kit that was really a few Band-Aids, a water bottle, and a granola bar. At least they’d bothered to fill the water bottle. I took a sip, then replaced everything.

I checked every workbench I could find in the rest of the warehouse. Unfortunately, all of them were barren, anything valuable taken by previous extractors. As I turned to leave, a dust-covered box on the wall made me pause. Out of curiosity, I wiped my hand across the face. I’d guess it was once bright red, but time had withered the shine away, leaving a cracked and faded surface. The white plus sign had almost completely disappeared from the front.

Its latches were rusted, but they popped open after a little convincing. Inside, it smelled slightly musty, but clean. The med kit was still fully stocked with gauze, bandages, and even alcohol wipes. It was all well past its expiration date, but it was way better than what I had, and I figured I could get a decent amount of credits for it. I hurried to put it in my bag, eager to move to the next warehouse.

I took one step toward the door when I heard the first howl. The sound cut through the rain and wind, freezing me in place. It was followed by a single deep baritone bark, then silence. Well, except for my breathing.

A series of bangs came shortly after. It sounded like things had been knocked off a shelf, rattling on the ground before being kicked around by whatever had done it. It wasn’t in the wood shop I was in, but it was close enough I could hear it through everything, and that was enough for me.

On my wrist, the holotab vibrated. Text flashed up on the projected screen, reading, “Warning: Elevated Heart Rate.” A miniature heart flashed in sync with my pulse, the number 153 beside it.

You don’t say.

I moved to the door of the warehouse, cracking it open. The rain had picked up, making it hard to see more than ten feet outside, but there was nothing in the limited area that was responsible for the howl or the bark, which helped to calm me a little. Still, my holotab reminded me that my heart rate was over 140. I had a feeling that was the lowest it was going to be for the foreseeable future. I checked one more time for the source of the sounds, then pulled my hood tighter and bolted out into the rain.

———

The door to the third building was open when I got to it. Rain had already soaked through my undershirt, so I took my time, letting my eyes adjust to the dimmer shade of gray inside. The roof of this one was hole-free, which, while protecting me from the rain, limited the amount of light that got in.

Once I could see, I stepped past the first pile of junk near the entrance. As far as I could tell, the building was full of these piles. Someone, my guess was past extractors, had sifted through everything, throwing the non-valuables into piles that now covered the floor. They hadn’t done a great job, as some had toppled over and joined others. Even my bedroom wasn’t this messy, which was saying something.

I chose my footsteps carefully, avoiding the assortment of hazards on the ground. Still, I felt like the sound of my shoes on the ground echoed into the far, dark corners. At least, I hoped they were mine. At this point, I wasn’t sure.

I’d checked a few piles, but nothing I’d found seemed valuable. Near the center of the warehouse, I finally found what I’d been searching for. If you’d held each piece up to me individually, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what it did, but I could recognize what they were: Old car parts.

These have to be valuable. Mom is always complaining that they don’t have the parts they need. If I come back with a bag full of-

Something scraped across the floor near me. Not “Right next to you run now!” near me, but in the building. The car parts were no longer relevant to me. They were here for a reason; other extractors must’ve known they weren’t worth anything. I crept forward, focused on getting outside. I’d rather face the Blitz’s storms than whatever had managed to live in them this long.

My hand hovered near the pistol in my pocket. It had comforted me earlier, but now that I was in a situation where I might need it, I realized how useless it might be in my hands. This was a prewar gun, one that shot bullets. I’d never shot one before. Would I even hit anything? If this were another extractor, then what? Chromia said it was a free-for-all, but I wasn’t going to kid myself and pretend like I could use the pistol against them, at least not without a very good reason.

The pistol stayed where it was. If it came down to it, I’d bring it out, but that was my last resort.

Something else rattled in the dark, then crashed to the ground, causing a domino effect from the things around it. I was stuck in place, too afraid to move. My brain was telling my legs to run, and they weren’t listening.

My wrist buzzed, the holotab sending me another alert. I dared to take my eyes away from the direction of the noise. “Warning: Elevated Blood Pressure.”

“Shut up,” I said, mainly just to calm myself. It kind of worked.

I took another step forward, talking to myself under my breath. “Alright, Macy.” I don’t know why I used the nickname. “Keep moving. Find a way out.”

Something else clattered to the floor, this time well within the “Run now” territory. Before I could, a black creature appeared from the wreckage, striding out like it didn’t have a care in the world. It looked around with its amber eyes, its tail flicking in different directions.

Relief washed over me.

It’s just a cat.

I blew out an audible breath. The cat jumped in surprise, clearly believing it was alone among the overflow of junk. It landed, arched its back, and hissed at me. Multiple times.

“What are you hissing at me for? You’re the one who knocked everything over,” I said to it. The cat remained in place, its fur standing on end.

“So, things do live out here, at least animals,” I said, not sure who I was talking to, myself or the cat. I turned to walk back to the car parts, thinking how many I could fit into the bag.

Just as I picked up the first one, the howl from earlier bounced off the walls from inside the warehouse, followed by a chorus of barking, the pitch much lower than any of the dogs we had in the Char.

“Oh, hell no.”

The cat scrambled one way; I went the other. My holotab buzzed on my wrist. I ignored what it said, tapping the red extract button repeatedly, missing the option to confirm I wanted an extract multiple times before hitting it.

Back out of the building, the rain messed with the holographic screen, causing it to ripple as it passed through it. A map had appeared on the screen, a marker placed on it close to where I was. A notification popped up next to it, estimating the extraction Hummingbird to arrive in ten minutes.

I made it in under three, drenched and out of breath. It’s not that the extraction point was a few feet away; it’s that I ran the whole time.

I’d found cover in a shipping container that had been emptied long ago, the only thing left being the musky smell from whatever was in it before. It didn’t bother me much; most of the Char smelled awful, too.

The timer on my wrist told me I’d already been in the Blitz for just under an hour. It sure hadn’t felt like that long. I guess time flies when you’re scared out of your mind. As I sat waiting for the next five minutes to pass and my rescue to arrive, I thought about my first experience outside of the city.

I wasn’t happy with it. Mainly, with myself. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy I was alive, but I had little to show for nearly an hour of searching, and at this rate, I’d never get Skylar back. I wanted someone out here with me. Someone who knew what they were doing. As Chromia had taken the liberty of pointing out, I didn’t have many friends back in the Char. It’s not that I didn’t want any, because I did. I just wasn’t the best at keeping them. But out here in the Blitz, I had a feeling that I was going to be wishing for an extraction partner often. Maybe I could join the two guys I saw in the bunker. Or the girls; I wasn’t picky right now.

Would that hummingbird hurry up and get here? Is it even able to fly in the storms?

My question was soon answered when I heard the whine of the engine over the rain smattering the roof of the shipping container. I stepped out into the clearing in front of me. I didn’t know if they’d want to see me before landing, to make sure I was still alive after calling for extraction.

It took another twenty seconds before I could see the gray helicopter in the sky. The rotor spun above it with a thumping sound, its thrusters glowing hot orange as they were used in short bursts to counter the gusts of wind. It lowered, its side doors already open, a white-masked soldier hanging out of each side, a black rifle out and pointed at the area.

The Hummingbird reached the ground, the wind from its rotor whipping the rain around, smacking me in the face. I tried to shield myself as I ran toward it. It was loud, but I swear I heard another bark behind me as I neared, making me jump into the belly.

The inside wasn’t quieter, but it was drier. Two rows of three dark red seats fit into the rear of the cabin, just a few feet behind the doors. The cockpit and its two pilots were far in front.

These things are bigger than they look.

A watcher took up the middle seat in the back row. He stood, pointing to the same seat in the front row. The whole helicopter lurched as it took off again, and I sat to avoid falling out. The two soldiers joined us in the back of the cabin but left the doors open. I guess they enjoyed the view.

We climbed higher into the sky. The thruster to my right sounded; a burst of exhaust and flame emitted from it, and we turned left.

My jaw dropped as the downtown portion of Charlotte that didn’t get included in Emberfall came into view on my right. The main roads were lined with large craters; cars having toppled onto each other as they fell in. Most skyscrapers had broken windows. At least those still standing. A few had collapsed into each other or fallen to the ground entirely.

I turned to look out of the other door. This side was even more unbelievable. It was…mostly untouched? A quarter of the houses had damage or lay in ruins, and everything was overgrown, but outside of the poor lawn care, it wasn’t at all like it was outside of the Hummingbird’s right door. A second Hummingbird hovered in the distance, lowering down to pick up another extractor.

I watched it for a few minutes until the massive walls of the city appeared under the helicopter. I’d been to the edge of the walls, even allowed inside them with my dad. But seeing them from above was a first for me. They were thick, at least twenty feet wide. Soldiers in military uniforms patrolled the top, not bothering to look up at us, like it was a common occurrence.

The rain and wind stopped as soon as we passed overtop and crossed into Emberfall, the storms bioengineered to stop at the edge of the “untouchable” city. We flew low over a set of taller buildings, the bottom of the Hummingbird just a few feet above the roofs. I recognized the two buildings as apartments. I could see them from the schoolyard, rising high above most of the other buildings in the area. The Hummingbird turned as it cleared the roofs, taking off toward the rest of the city.

The watcher put a hand on my shoulder, coming up from the back of the cabin. He squeezed, lifting me to my feet. Despite the cloaked figure having no trouble with it, I found it difficult to stand in a moving helicopter. I was steadied by one of the guards while the other went to work. He searched down each leg, finding the pistol on my right one. He took it from me, handing it off to the watcher, who motioned for my backpack next. It was ripped off me and handed to him. He rifled through it quickly, finding nothing of interest to him before he handed it back and made me sit.

A black hood appeared in his hand. “Not again,” I groaned.

“Protocol,” was all the robotic voice said.

The world was black again as the bag was placed on my head. I leaned back in the small cabin chair, listening to the Hummingbird’s well, hum, the rotor on top thumping to a constant rhythm. It wasn’t pretty, and I didn’t get a lot, but I’d survived my first extraction in the Blitz.

I hope I get to see my sister soon.