The barracks door blows inward under Daniel North’s shoulder. Smoke rolls out first, hot and sharp with dust and scorched timber, and the room beyond trembles under a distant artillery удар.
A beam has dropped across the floor, pinning Justin Forester near a bunk. He claws at the boards, pale and wide-eyed, while a field radio skids toward a licking fire at the far wall.
Justin Forester
North, help me, the radio, get it out of there!
The ceiling groans. Plaster rains down in sheets, and somewhere above, something cracks with a dry, ugly snap.
The fire is spreading fast.
Sgt. Douglas
North, move! I’ve got the hallway, just get Forester clear!
Outside, another impact shudders through FOB Dagger, and the doorway flickers with orange light as the smoke thickens between Daniel and the trapped man.
Justin Forester
If that radio goes, we lose comms. Please!
✓ Quest Accepted
Save Justin Forester
“Daniel rushes in and lifts the debris off Justin”
SUCCESS (Great Strength, rolled -1)
Daniel surges in under the smoke and gets both hands under the beam. The timber jerks free of Justin’s chest with a splintering crack, and the trapped man sucks in a ragged breath.
Justin Forester
I can breathe, I can breathe, get the radio, please!
The field radio skids clear of the fire as Daniel hauls the debris away. Flames lick at the bunks, but the worst heat drops back from Justin’s face.
Sgt. Douglas
Good, North. Keep him off the floor and move him now.
Above them, the ceiling gives another long, ugly groan. Fresh dust spills through a widening seam, and charred plaster starts to rain down.
Justin Forester
The beam is off me. I am not pinned anymore.
Douglas stays framed in the doorway, rifle up on the hallway, while the room shudders around Daniel and Justin. The barracks is holding, for now, but only just.
“Daniel throws Justin over his shoulder, and runs for the doorway, scooping up the radio as he runs.”
SUCCESS (Great Athletics, rolled -3)
Daniel yanks Justin up and slings him over his shoulder in one brutal motion. Justin grabs at Daniel’s back, coughing smoke, as Daniel’s free hand hooks the field radio off the floor.
Justin Forester
I’ve got it, I’m good, just move!
He hits the doorway at a run. Douglas shifts his rifle aside to clear the lane, and the radio knocks hard against Daniel’s hip as sparks spit from the far wall.
Sgt. Douglas
Out, North. Take him into the hall.
Plaster bursts from the ceiling seam behind them, dusting Daniel’s shoulders and Justin’s boots. The room booms with a deeper groan, and one bunk frame starts to twist out of line.
Justin Forester
The ceiling is giving way.
Daniel reaches the threshold with Justin secure and the radio in hand. Behind them, fire climbs the wall faster than the smoke can swallow it.
Douglas braces in the doorway, still covering the hall, while the barracks shudders again and the next crack sounds like wood splitting open.
Quest Complete
Save Justin Forester
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Great→Superb
+ New Item Acquired
Field radio