The explosion from the grenade went off, causing the already slightly damaged building to shake.
Rayne landed on the ground, hitting her head against the back wall as she fell over. She opened her eyes to see Julian landing on top of her, shielding her from any debris that fell from the building as it shook and fell apart.
The walls crumbled first, followed by the floors. Julian held onto Rayne as the floor beneath them collapsed.
They landed with a forceful impact in the mailroom of the post office. Rayne watched in horror as the ceiling from the upper floors came crashing down on top of them.
Just as she thought they would be smashed by the crumbling building, one part of the concrete slab caught on the metal mailboxes, keeping it from falling further.
Julian was still hit by some smaller chunks of brick and concrete, causing him to bleed from a few open wounds on his back.
Rayne felt her heart tighten as she watched Julian absorb the full force of the crumbling building's debris, his body hunched protectively over hers.
"Julian, are you okay?!" she shouted as he collapsed on top of her. His back was covered in deep cuts and pierced shards, causing his shirt to quickly get soaked with his blood.
The crumbling finally stopped after a few minutes, and Rayne realized they were trapped inside layers of rubble. Thankfully, the larger pieces had created small pockets, about the size of a hand, to the outside, allowing air and some light to enter.
Rayne carefully stood up, wincing in pain from the fall. She ignored her pain as she rested Julian on his side, taking out a small mattress from her system before moving him onto it. She laid him on his side and took out a pair of scissors, which she used to cut his shirt off.
Working quickly, she pulled many small shards of rock and glass that were sticking out of his skin while disinfecting the wounds with alcohol.
Julian lay unconscious and did not react to the stinging pain from the rubbing alcohol.
She meticulously patched up each cut, using multiple rolls of gauze and bandages until his entire back was covered.
She then sat at the corner of the mattress to address her own cuts, mainly on her legs and thighs. Her hands began to shake from the adrenaline as she began to feel the panic settle in.
Tears streamed down her face as she gazed at the unconscious Julian. The near-death experience had shaken her, making her feel truly frightened. She found it difficult to express the way she felt when Julian shielded her from the falling debris with his own body.
"Please be okay," she cried softly as she placed her hand on top of his. His selfless actions moved her immensely, making it even more difficult to see him in such a horrible state.
She took out a small blanket from her system and covered Julian with it, protecting his exposed upper body from the cold and residual dust.
She sat in silence for a long time, dazed, continuously replaying the events that led up to this point. Her sadness turned into anger as she came up with ways she could have prevented Julian's injuries, starting with the reloaded gun.
"If only I had fully reloaded it," she murmured. "He would have definitely gotten the shot off on the leader..."
Self deprecating thoughts spiraled in her mind continuously, causing her to blame herself for the situation they were in. She realized that she was still very weak for this new world and that continuously relying on Julian would only put him in more danger.
She continued to sit at the corner of the mattress until her stomach growled, snapping her out of her racing thoughts.
Looking out of the small hole, she noticed that the sky had turned orange, indicating that it was already evening.
"I wonder if the others are looking for us," she whispered as she opened up her system panel to look for something to eat.
She tried using the advanced radio she found in Julian's pocket to contact the others for help, but it was locked behind a passcode that she couldn't guess. This led her to simply wait until either Julian woke up or someone found them.
Rayne pulled out a fast-food burger meal and began to eat it slowly, watching the sky change color through the small hole in the wall.
Julian slowly regained consciousness, smelling a very appetizing aroma.
When he woke up he felt like his entire back was on fire, causing him to clench his jaw from the pain.
He slowly opened his eyes, trying to find Rayne to make sure she was okay, but quickly realized that something was off. While his surroundings were the broken mailroom of the post office, he noticed that he was lying down on a very comfortable mattress, and was covered with a clean blanket.
He turned his head slightly and noticed that Rayne was sitting on the corner of the mattress, eating what looked like a cheeseburger from a famous fast-food restaurant. It smelled so good, as if it had just been freshly cooked!
He lay there silently for a few minutes, watching Rayne quietly eating. She had just finished the burger when he saw her fingers move through the air in a strange way until, all of a sudden, a can of soda appeared in her hands!
His eyes widened. Julian continued to stare, making sure he wasn't dreaming.
How in the world... Looks like she has a big secret. This would explain where she got the robe from back at the bunker.
Rayne quickly opened the soda can, causing it to make a loud pop. She quickly turned around to make sure Julian was still okay, only to meet his wide eyes.
"Julian! You're awake!" she cried out, startled. Of course, she was very happy to see him awake, but she didn't know how long he had been up or how much he had seen.
"Mhm, I am. Are you okay? Did you get hurt from the fall?" he asked gently, making sure she was okay before letting his curiosity get the best of him.
Rayne bit her lip trying to suppress her emotions, tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes, I'm perfectly okay... thanks to you." She couldn't hold back any longer and threw herself into his embrace as he finally sat up.
"Thank you, Julian, truly... I have no words for the care you've shown me," she cried in his arms. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, on to Julian's muscular chest.
Julian smiled, wrapping his strong arms around her. "I'm glad you're safe, Rayne."