The explosion erupted exactly where Alpha Group had been concealed.
It came without warning. One second, the shadows on the second floor of the port warehouse were still like solid blocks of ink, with only the scope lenses occasionally reflecting the cold light from the distant gangway. The next, destruction burst forth from beneath their feet, at their sides, and even from the load-bearing concrete structure.
The countless overlapping blasts merged into a world-rending roar, like the furious bellow of some ancient beast awakened from its slumber, unleashing all its rage at once.
A searing white flash erupted before the sound, instantly stripping away all vision. All that remained on their retinas were painful afterimages and a pure, overwhelming white.
Then came the shockwave.
The wall of moving air brutally crushed everything in its path. The abandoned warehouse's fragile walls bulged outward and shattered like paper. Prefabricated slabs, steel beams, and piled debris were crushed and hurled away by an invisible giant hand.
The members of Alpha Group, elite soldiers who had stood frozen like statues mere seconds ago, became leaves tossed in a gale.
"Urgh!"
Commander Vasily only had time to choke the warning in his throat into a short, muffled grunt before the violent blast wave flung him out of cover. His back slammed hard into a brick wall behind him that had not yet fully collapsed, forcing every last bit of air from his lungs.
The world spun, shattered, and roared. His high-powered binoculars flew from his grip and exploded into fragments in the distorted air. Sharp bursts and the shriek of electrical interference replaced all communication in his earpiece, while his eardrums throbbed with needle-like pain.
His vision blurred and the world lurched around him, but instinct carved into his bones drove him to curl up