All Chapters of The Burning: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The blood wouldn't come off. No matter how hard I scrubbed, no matter how raw my hands became, it stayed there, a dark stain that seemed to sink deeper into my skin with every passing second. I crouched by the riverbank, the cold water biting into my fingers as I rubbed them together, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. The night was quiet now, the battle behind us, but my mind was still filled with the screams. The gunfire. The bodies. I’d killed. We....had... Of course, it wasn't my first time. far from it. This world didn’t allow for innocence. But tonight was different. Tonight had been brutal, savage. The Scorchers had come at us like wolves, and I'd fought back the only way I knew how. I'd fired my gun until it clicked empty, then grabbed a knife and kept going. I hadn't thought. I hadn't hesitated. And now, as the adrenaline faded and the cold reality set in, I couldn't stop shaking. How many had I killed? Four? Five? I couldn't even remember their faces, ju

The wind howled like a wild animal outside the bunker, rattling the metal doors and sending a low, eerie moan through the narrow corridors. I could feel the tension in the air with every gust, the oppressive weight of the storm pressing down on us like a vice. Dust storms were common in this part of the world, but this one was different. This one was massive, a roiling wall of destruction that had swept in from the horizon like something out of a nightmare. We'd barely made it inside before the first wave hit. The sky had darkened to a sickly orange, and the winds had picked up so fast that they’d torn the air right out of our lungs. Now we were stuck, huddled together in the suffocating darkness of the underground bunker while the storm raged overhead. "This place gives me the creeps...."Sarah muttered from her spot near the door, her eyes flicking nervously around the cramped room. The bunker was small, just one chamber with a low ceiling and bare concrete walls. Thick iron shel

The ropes bit into my wrists, cutting off the circulation and sending a dull, throbbing pain up my arms. I tried to shift, to ease the pressure, but it was useless. Luther’s men had tied us up so tightly that I couldn’t even wiggle my fingers. The gag in my mouth tasted like dirt and sweat, and my head pounded from the blow that had knocked me unconscious. I was seated on the cold, hard ground in what looked like an old warehouse, the walls crumbling and streaked with grime. The air smelled of rust and oil, and somewhere nearby, I could hear the faint drip of water. A dim light flickered from a hanging bulb overhead, casting long shadows that seemed to shift and dance like ghosts waiting to claim us. Next to me, Ben was in the same situation—bound and gagged, his face coated with a thin sheen of dirt and blood. He had a bruise swelling on his cheek, and his eyes were focused, scanning the room for a way out. That was Ben for you—always thinking, always planning. But even he

The wind whipped across the barren landscape as we made our way north, the horizon a jagged line of mountains barely visible through the dust-choked air. Every step felt heavier than the last, the weight of Luther’s offer pressing down on me like a lead weight in my chest. His words echoed in my mind, gnawing at my thoughts, making me question everything: (You’ll realize that you need people like me. People who are willing to do whatever it takes.) I glanced over at Ben. He was walking in that steady, determined way of his, eyes locked straight ahead, his jaw clenched tight. He hadn’t said much since we left the warehouse, and I could tell he was lost in his own thoughts, just like I was. But I knew what was really bothering him. It wasn’t Luther’s offer—it was that damn dog tag. I still couldn’t believe it. Just as we were leaving, Luther had reached into his coat pocket and tossed something to Ben. I’d seen the way Ben’s face had gone pale when he caught it, the way his ha

The hospital loomed ahead of us, its skeletal frame barely visible through the swirling dust in the air. The setting sun cast an eerie orange glow over the crumbling building, making it look like a haunted relic of a world long gone. The windows were shattered, jagged shards of glass still clinging to their frames like broken teeth, and the once-white walls were streaked with grime and rust. Vines had grown up along the sides, snaking through cracks in the concrete as if the earth itself was trying to reclaim the structure. I shivered, pulling my jacket tighter around me. We hadn’t spoken much since we’d set out that morning, both of us lost in our own thoughts. But now, as we stood before the dilapidated hospital, I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold wind biting at my skin. “We could keep going,” Ben said, his voice low as he eyed the building warily. “Find somewhere else to camp for the night.” I shook my head, my eyes never leaving the hospital. “No. We’re r