The dust was settling and the silence sounded almost as loud as the earlier noise. In the midst of the disconsolate landscape of shattered red rocks, remnants of the devastating earthquake that they had just survived, the team of Nero, Thorin, Akemi and Linne stood.
The smell of crushed earth lingered, their silhouetted figures sprawled around the crimson earth, and their yells echoed through the fractured terrain.
"Heathian!! Cerene!!" Nero's petrified voice cracked through the silence with desperation. He had his hands cupped around his mouth, trying to amplify his calls, but there was no response. His eyes darted around frantically, heart beating.
"Spheris!!" Linne cried. "Cerene!"
"Spheris!!!" Thorin followed.
"Cerene!!"
Akemi quietly scanned the area, a sad expression on her face.
Separated once again. What a mess.
