A Mirror Darkly

Cloud struggled to open his eyes. His head was spinning rapidly and his stomach lurched with nausea. In this condition he was assured he would not be getting to his feet anytime soon. He did his best to collect himself without moving too much. His left shoulder pad was digging into his neck but he didn't feel up to shifting just yet. His eyes opened to reveal a landscape of broken concrete that revealed it's rebar skeleton. Dust swirled in small eddies creating a haze in the air. The horizon line was red and Cloud realized he couldn't see a single green thing. Everything looked dead in colors of black, gray, or brown.

Cloud managed to push himself up to a kneeling position; his left shoulder protesting the movement with pain. He shifted his weight to his right arm and looked around again. Closer examination showed him that he must be on the remains of a highway. His gaze moved slowly around trying to see someone else but he was the only person here. He wondered how long he had been out.

"Tifa?" he said. He waited only a moment for a response. When he didn't get one he pushed himself to his feet. There was a jagged and broken edge of highway in front of him. He stepped forward holding his left arm with his right. "Tifa!?" he called again louder. Below him all he could see was a debris field of broken concrete. Rebar twisted up like metal spikes at the bottom of a pit trap. Cloud gritted his teeth and raised both his arms to cup his mouth.

"TIFA!!" he yelled praying for a response.