Soon, the woman's strength gave out completely. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed, her body shaking with sobs that tore from somewhere too deep for words. Her son's small body slipped from her arms as people nearby rushed forward to catch them both.
They supported her weight, their hands gentle as they eased her down to the wet pavement. Someone wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. Another person carefully took her son.
Damian's hands stayed at his sides, then he turned and walked away.
"He should have saved everyone."
"He saved who he could! He's just a kid himself!"
"The Mafia transformed this city! Don't be so ungrateful now!"
"They brought death to this city!"
"Not his fault."
"Then whose?"
Their voices faded behind him as he walked through more streets, past more destruction, past more bodies and more crying.
Eventually, he came across a pond.
****
The first SFD vehicles arrived a few minutes after communications were restored.
