"It was the sound," Billie says, pointing to an ear as she does. "It's what got most people in the end. Most people aren't going to go near blood red water, right? But the city still nearly burned itself to the ground. That ringing... It gets under your skin, you know? You had to have felt it."

Billie did, though she didn't realize it until it was too late. Daud had warned her and she'd still been foolish. It isn't something she wants to dwell on for too long, either, some parts too indistinct to recall, others clear to her now that she's had time to think about it. Overall, nothing pleasant.