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The Burning 9
The cabin was a relic from a time before the world had turned to ash and chaos. It sat nestled in the crook of the mountains, half-hidden by overgrown pines and brush, its wooden walls weathered and cracked but still standing. The roof sagged in places, and most of the windows were shattered, but it was shelter—more than we’d had in days. I leaned against the doorframe, watching as Ben moved through the small room, checking the corners like he always did, his rifle slung over his shoulder. He was methodical, precise. It was like he couldn’t turn off the soldier part of him, even when it was just the two of us and the only threat was the cold. I looked past him, through the broken window, where the last embers of the wildfire still glowed faintly in the distance. The fire was dying now, smothered by the rocky terrain and the lack of fuel, but its damage was already done. The landscape below was charred and blackened, a wasteland that stretched for miles in every direction. We were
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 10
"I lost my unit in the first few days after The Burning, " Ben said, his voice barely above a whisper. I looked up at him, surprised. He never talked about his past. Not ever. "We were stationed near the coast when the first fires hit. Everything went to hell so fast. One minute we were evacuating civilians, the next..." He trailed off, his eyes distant, like he was seeing it all again. "We were overrun. Civilians, soldiers—it didn’t matter. Most of them didn’t make it out. I lost... I lost good people that day. People I should have protected. People who trusted me to lead them." His eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw something raw, something vulnerable in his gaze. "I know what it’s like to carry that weight, Maya. To feel like it was your fault. Like you should have done more. But the truth is, sometimes there’s nothing we can do. Sometimes the world just... burns." I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. I had never seen this side of Ben before, never heard
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 11
I was starting to think that the night would never end. The moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the forest, and the fire we’d fled from was now a distant memory, just a faint orange glow on the horizon. But the weariness clung to me like the smoke still tangled in my hair, every step a reminder that we were far from safe. Ben and I had been walking for what felt like hours, the silence between us heavy and uncomfortable after everything that had come to light. His confession about knowing something was coming—the apocalypse, The Burning—still gnawed at me, twisting my thoughts until I couldn't tell where my anger ended and my exhaustion began. But then, we found them. Or rather, they found us. It started with a rustle in the trees. At first, I thought it was just the wind—the kind of sound you could ignore in a forest full of shadows. But Ben stopped dead in his tracks, his whole body going rigid, and I knew instinctively that it wasn’t the wind. Something
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 12
Ben, of course, wasn’t buying it. "How do we know you’re not just another group of raiders?” he asked, his voice sharp. "how do we know Eagle’s Nest isn’t a trap?" Harlan chuckled, the sound low and dark. "If we were raiders you'd already be dead," he said simply. "But if you want proof, why don’t you come with us? Spend a night at Eagle’s Nest. If you don’t like what you see, you’re free to leave." I glanced at Ben again, my mind spinning. I could tell he didn’t trust this guy, and to be honest, neither did I. But we were out of options. We couldn’t keep running forever. And the promise of safety, even temporary, was too tempting to ignore. "We’ll go," I said before I could stop myself.Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut.... Ben shot me a look, but I held up my hand. "Just for the night," I added quickly. "We’ll see what it’s like. Then we'll make a decision." Harlan grinned, clearly pleased with my answer. "Smart girl," he said, nodding to his men. "Let's move." E
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 13
The morning light filtered through the cracked windows of the cabin, casting a pale, golden glow across the room. I woke with a jolt, my pulse still racing from the memory of Harlan’s voice echoing in my head. His words from the night before haunted me. (We’ll take them by force if we have to.) I sat up slowly, my muscles stiff from sleeping on the lumpy cot. Ben was already awake, standing by the door with his rifle slung over his shoulder, his expression grim. He didn’t need to say anything. We both knew what we had to do. "We’re leaving, today." Ben said, his voice quiet but firm. "Before they realize we overheard anything." I nodded, my mind spinning. But as much as I wanted to get out of Eagle’s Nest, something held me back. Maybe it was the hunger that gnawed at my insides or the exhaustion that weighed on my limbs. Or maybe it was the people. The faces I’d seen last night as we were led through the camp—tired, worn, but somehow... hopeful. Despite everything, there was
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 14
Marcus’s gaze swept over us, lingering on Ben for a moment before moving on. "Newcomers," he said, his voice gravelly and rough. "Stick to the rules, and you'll do fine." He didn’t wait for a response before turning on his heel and walking away, his heavy boots crunching on the gravel path. Sarah let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing just a fraction. "He's... intense," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "But he's loyal to Harlan. They all are." I frowned, my mind racing. "And what about you? Are you loyal to Harlan?" Sarah’s eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite read, but before she could answer, a group of children ran past, laughing and shouting as they played some kind of game with sticks and rocks. The sight of them—so carefree, so oblivious to the danger around them—made my chest tighten. "I have to go," Sarah said abruptly, her voice tight. "But if you want to talk more, meet me by the water tower at sunset. There are things you need to know." Sh
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 15
The morning air had a bite to it, the kind that cuts through layers of clothing and settles into your bones. I stood among the crowd gathered in Eagle's Nest's main square, the dirt beneath my boots frozen solid from the night’s chill. People were pressed in on all sides, faces drawn and tense, eyes fixed ahead. I could feel the weight of their collective dread, the suffocating sense of inevitability that hung over the crowd like a storm cloud. At the center of it all was Harlan. He stood on a platform made of stacked crates, his broad shoulders and commanding presence impossible to ignore. His voice boomed across the square, authoritative and unyielding, as he addressed the crowd. But it wasn’t Harlan that held my attention. It was the young man kneeling in front of him, hands bound behind his back, his face streaked with dirt and sweat. His name was Caleb, one of the newer arrivals we’d seen just a few days ago. He couldn't have been more than nineteen, with shaggy brown hair an
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27The Burning 16
Harlan holstered his gun, his expression unchanging. "This is what happens when you betray Eagle’s Nest,” he said, his voice cold and final. "Let this be a lesson to all of you." The crowd dispersed slowly after that, people moving away in silence, their faces pale and drawn. I stood there for a moment longer, staring at Caleb’s body, my mind racing. I didn’t know him, not really. But he didn’t deserve this. No one did. "Maya," Ben's voice was strained as he grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the platform. "We need to go. Now." I let him lead me away, my feet moving mechanically, but my mind was still stuck on that platform, stuck on the sight of Caleb’s body lying in the dirt. The weight of it pressed down on me, suffocating me. I had wanted to believe that Eagle’s Nest could be a sanctuary, that maybe we could find some semblance of peace here. But there was no peace in a place like this. Back in the cabin, I collapsed onto the cot, my head in my hands. Ben paced the roo
Последнее обновление : 2024-10-27
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The Burning 79
As we ate in the flickering firelight, I couldn't help but marvel at how normal it all felt. Almost like the world hadn't ended, like we were just travelers stopping at a kind stranger's house for the night. But as the evening wore on, I noticed a change in Eli's demeanor. He became quieter, more thoughtful, his gaze lingering on us in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "You two've been through a lot," he said finally, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over us. It wasn't a question. "We've seen our share," Ben replied carefully, his spoon pausing halfway to his mouth. Eli nodded, leaning back in his creaking chair. "I've seen a lot too. More than I'd like, truth be told." He paused, seeming to wrestle with something internal. "I wasn't always a farmer, you know. Before The Burning, I worked for them. The government. I was part of something... something I'm not proud of." My heart stuttered in my chest, and I felt Ben go still beside me. We'd
The Burning 78
As we got closer, the outline of a small farmstead came into view. It was nestled against the edge of a narrow stream— miraculously still running —and surrounded by a patch of what looked like actual crops. Corn, maybe, or something that used to be corn before the world ended. The sight of growing things, of life persisting despite everything, made my throat tight with emotion."Look at that" I whispered, almost afraid to speak too loudly and break whatever spell was keeping this place alive. "Actual plants. Growing. How is this possible??"Ben shot me a cautious look, ever the pragmatist. "Could be a trap. You know how some groups operate. Make something look too good to be true, wait for desperate people to come running.""It could be," I admitted, remembering all too well the stories we'd heard about such things. "But I don't think we have much choice. We need water, and this place looks like it has it. Besides, if it were raiders, they'd probably have worse security. This place
The Burning 77
The wasteland stretched out before us, endless and desolate, a s ea of cracked earth and skeletal trees marking the landscape as a constant reminder of the world we had lost. Despite the harshness of it all, there was something oddly freeing about being out here, away from the settlement and the ghosts of the past that haunted its walls. Out here, it was just Ben and me, two souls trying to carve out something new in the ruins of what had been.Our footsteps crunched against the dry dirt as we walked, the horizon shimmering with heat in the distance. The sun hung high and merciless in the cloudless sky, and the only sound was the wind cutting across the plains, whipping at the tattered edges of our clothes. My muscles screamed with each step, my throat parched and raw, but there was a strange kind of peace in the rhythm of walking. One foot in front of the other. Keep moving. That was the only way to survive in this broken world.I glanced over at Ben, studying his profile as he wa
The Burning 76
He hesitated, his brow furrowing as if he were trying to find the right words. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago.” My stomach tightened. I didn’t like the sound of this. "Ben..." He stopped walking, turning to face me fully, his expression serious. "I knew about Chloe." The air seemed to leave my lungs all at once. "What....?" "I knew about her involvement in The Burning." he said, his voice steady but heavy with regret. "I....I knew before we ever got to the settlement. Before we ever found those documents." I stared at him, my mind racing. "You knew? ...how?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s a long story, but... back when we were with that other group, before we got separated, I came across some intel. I didn’t understand all of it at the time, but Chloe’s name was there, tied to Project Inferno. I didn’t know the full extent of her involvement, but I knew enough to realize she wasn’t just some random survi
The Burning 75
I packed the last of my things into a worn canvas bag. The light was soft, almost golden, but it felt like a lie. There was nothing soft about the world we lived in now. Nothing golden about the reality we faced.I tightened the strap on my bag, my hands trembling slightly. It wasn't the weight of the bag that made me shake. It was the weight of the decision I'd made. After everything— after uncovering the truth about The Burning, after confronting Wells, after the chaos of the past few weeks— I was leaving.I couldn't stay here anymore. The settlement wasn't my home; it never had been. I had only stayed because I thought I could help. Thought I could make things right. But the more I tried, the more I realized that the answers I was searching for weren't here. They were out there, somewhere beyond the borders of this broken place.Ben was waiting for me by the gate, his silhouette dark against the pale sky. He had packed light, just like me. Neither of us had much to take. The wo
The Burning 74
Wells' jaw tightened. “We weren’t going to let the government cover it up. My unit was sent to investigate, yes, but we weren’t loyal to the people who caused this. We wanted to expose them. To bring the truth to light.” I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in the small room. “The truth? You think exposing the truth is going to fix any of this? It’ll destroy what little we have left. People will lose whatever faith they have in rebuilding. Civilization will collapse all over again.” Wells didn’t flinch. “People deserve to know the truth, Maya. They deserve to know what was done to them.” I shook my head, the anger giving way to exhaustion. “And what happens when they find out? What happens when they realize that their own government burned them alive, that Chloe —someone they trusted —was part of it? What do you think that’ll do to them? To us?” Wells stepped closer, her voice calm but insistent. “It’s not about what it’ll do to us. It’s about justice. About holding the people res
The Burning 73
I slowly made my way to Captain Wells’ command post. My hands were still shaking, the weight of the documents I had found in the bunker pressing down on me like a physical burden. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had uncovered —about Chloe, about Luther, about the lies that had been woven into the very fabric of the world since The Burning. It felt like the ground beneath my feet had shifted, leaving me standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into a truth I wasn't ready to face. But I had to. I couldn't keep this to myself. The soldiers standing guard at the entrance to the command post nodded as I approached, their expressions neutral, but I could feel their eyes on me as I passed. They knew who I was. They knew I was the one people were looking to, whether I wanted it or not. Word traveled fast in the settlement, especially now that the survivors were clinging to anything that resembled stability. I had to admit, Wells had done a decent job keeping the peace. For al
The Burning 72
Project Inferno had been a government initiative, a secret project designed to develop a new kind of weapon —something that could burn entire landscapes in a matter of hours. Wildfire, but faster. Hotter. More destructive. And Chloe… I froze, my eyes locking onto a familiar name. Chloe's name. She... She had been involved. She had been part of the team. My stomach churned, nausea rising as I stared at the words in front of me. Chloe had known. She had been part of the project that had unleashed this hell on the world. "This can't be real." I whispered, my voice shaking. "She wouldn’t have—" “Maya,” Daniel interrupted, his voice tight. “There’s more.” I looked up, and he handed me another file. This one was thicker, the pages dog-eared and stained with something I didn’t want to think about. I opened it, and the first thing I saw was a map—our region, marked with red X's. Target zones. “I think this is where The Burning started.” Daniel said, pointing to the ma
The Burning 71
Morning came. I'd spent another sleepless night thinking about Wells' offer, the weight of the settlement’s future pressing down on me like a boulder. But instead of making any decisions, I'd buried myself in work— cleaning wounds, rationing supplies, and helping rebuild what little we could. It was all I could do to keep the guilt and grief at bay, to keep *her* voice from creeping into my mind. Chloe's voice. It had been days since Wells had offered me the leadership of the settlement. Days of watching the survivors look to me with those tired, hopeful eyes. Days of pretending I had the answers when, in truth, I was just as lost as they were. I kept telling myself I was just a healer. That leading was for someone stronger, someone who didn’t wake up every morning with the weight of a sister’s death on their conscience. But no matter how much I tried to push it away, I couldn’t ignore Wells’ words. Or Ben’s. They believed in me, even if I didn’t believe in myself. And
