FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R E I G H T Y

FERN'S POV

GASP!

My eyes shot open as my gaping mouth heaved in deep, painful breaths. My panting chest rammed into a heavy iron support beam each time I inhaled. I rapidly blinked, attempting to gain my bearings.

Where am I?

I perceived my body laid flat on my back. My eyelids continued to flutter ferociously due to the heavy, black smoke engulfing my surroundings, welling up unwanted tears to cleanse my stinging pupils. My lungs begged me to reject the intoxicated air, causing my throat to tighten and my intake to choke—like someone was squeezing my neck with a suffocating grip. I attempted to spring both hands to mask my nose and mouth, but only one of them managed to make the journey; my left arm, I realized, was trapped...

Where...am I...?

The numbing ring in my ears gradually subsided, flooding them instead with the crackling of fire—the pungent stench of copper burned my senses. In my left peripheral, I noticed roaring flames licking chunks of metal debris and scorching the soil.

Move. Move!

My legs ached, but they were free. Bending my knees and digging my right palm underneath the searing hot beam, I thrust my pelvis up and rotated to shift it off me. An agonizing shriek emitted from my tightly-sealed lips when I drove my screaming muscles to heave one last effort. It worked, and I managed to crawl on my stomach to an open patch... Every direction I swung my pounding head, I only saw destruction, consisting of mostly scattered scraps of metal and crushed, burning remnants of trees. Craning my sore neck upward, I was able to distinguish the grand, confucious forest bordering the wreckage. The pale-blue and gray sky doming over the opening above the wreckage told me it was late afternoon.

I am in a forest. I deduced. How did I end up here? Think, Fern. What is the last thing you remember? The last thing you remember is—

'Plan 99.'

My eyes bulged. Sickness churned in my stomach, gurgling upwards in my throat. My cheeks expanded as I forced myself to swallow. I proceeded to seep in long streams of air through my pursed lips. All while, my mind recollected my most memories. I wanted to cry, but it was as if the insufferable heat overwhelmed my tear ducts. Nevertheless, I finally comprehended where I was.

These ruins were the remains of...

The tram car.

Which meant...

"T-tech..." My voice croaked. I dragged myself to the left where there was less rubble and fire. My cracked ribs screamed, pleading for me to stop. Instead, I concentrated on my long breaths in order to refrain from passing out. My vision blurred regardless, and it hurt to force them open.

In spite of all the excruciating pain I was enduring, if this crash site was, in fact, the one my friend cascaded with through the bottomless ravine—it wasn't bottomless—this was the surface.

Which meant he was here...somewhere.

I must find him.

I scooted myself a few more yards, carefully scanning every millimeter with my damaged eyes. My head turned to my right, slowly trailing the base of the wreck—Wait.

I squinted when an abnormal shape seized my attention. Through the hazy smoke, trapped under a shaft attached to a sheet of grated metal, were a pair of legs dressed in blue demin...

"Oh, oh. Oh!" Gasping uncontrollably, I propelled myself towards him, fueled by a burst of adrenaline. The soft fabric of my bomber jacket began to crumble as I frantically trudged through the charred soil—in full pursuit, I ripped away the excess from my forearms and chucked it aside, not faltering for a moment.