Chapter 90

Nathan opened his eyes to a reddish haze that covered everything. He saw a world barren and black with red dripping along the horizon. There was no sun, no point of light, and yet something was glowing enough to illuminate the land, land that was so hot, heat waves radiated up from it. Trees that should be filled with leaves were burnt away. Husks of ash stood lining empty, broken streets, and Nathan knew those husks had once been people. He alone walked untouched along the middle of some unknown, unimportant road in a town that no longer existed. He trembled as the concrete cracked and melted beneath his feet where he walked.

“Jim! Sasha!” Nathan called out, because what other names could be important in an empty world.

“Nathan…” came a whisper.

Nathan turned quickly to stare down the road behind him. The land was so flat, he could see for miles in every direction and everything looked like the surroundings beside him—black, barren,dead