At the clinic gate, a 7-year-old collapsed, crying, “Mommy has been sleeping for three days, please save them.” The doctor rushed to help the newborn twins, but as he lifted them, his hands shook. Underneath the babies was a handwritten note from the mother that made the doctor freeze in terror…

sharp crash, followed by a terrifying, absolute silence.

Chapter 2: The Crucible of Dust

I did not turn around. Do not look back, Alina. Her final command echoed in my skull, a rhythmic chant matching the agonizing squeak of the wheelbarrow’s single tire. Squeak. Crunch. Squeak. Crunch.

The sun was an anvil pressing down on my shoulders. Within the first continue reading …