Story 334: Beneath the Ashes

Zara and Callum stumbled out of the crumbling hive, the cool night air hitting their faces like a shock after the suffocating heat below. The towering plume of smoke and ash behind them was a grim reminder of the chaos they had barely escaped.

Zara paused, leaning against a fractured boulder to catch her breath. Her muscles burned, her hands bloodied and raw, but her mind was sharp and focused. She glanced at Callum, who was slumped against a tree, clutching his side.

“Let me see,” Zara said, stepping toward him.

“I’m fine,” Callum grunted, waving her off.

“You’re not,” she replied firmly, pulling his hand away. Blood seeped through his shirt, and the gash across his ribs was deeper than she’d hoped. Zara tore a strip from her sleeve and pressed it against the wound. “Hold still.”

Callum winced but didn’t argue. “You think that thing’s really dead?”