When the skies turn black and the winds howl like the end of days, four people- two guys and two women- find themselves trapped in a coastal town under siege by more than just nature's fury. A hurricane's fury has torn everyone's world apart, but th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I'll never forget that morning, the way the sunrise slashed through the mist, turning the broken windows and abandoned cars into jagged teeth silhouetted against the pale orange sky. It was too quiet. Not the kind of quiet you'd find in nature, but the stillness that only lingers after humanity has left a place to rot.
We stood at the edge of town, silently scanning the ghostly streets. Ivy had one hand on her revolver, the other gripping the strap of her bag. Sophia, the youngest of us, stayed close to Frankie, clutching the rifle he'd given her. My own hands were slick with sweat as I gripped the crowbar I'd scavenged. Not much of a weapon, but it had saved me once before.
We had come too far to turn back now.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"They'll be here soon," I said, the words barely leaving my dry lips. I could feel Ivy's eyes on me, but I kept my gaze on the horizon, waiting.
"They think they're hunters," she muttered, her voice taut, "but they're about to find out we're not the prey they think we are."
Sophia, ever the voice of optimism even in the face of death, managed a small, shaky smile. "Or at least, we'll make them work for it."
I wished I could say I shared her hope, but I knew what the Crows were capable of. I'd seen what they did back in South Carolina, scavenging through the chaos of Hurricane Helene, taking lives, picking clean whatever the storm had left behind. And now, they were coming after us.
There would be no begging and certainly no mercy!
Frankie slung his backpack onto the ground and laid out our meager supplies: half a box of bullets, a hunting knife, some jerky, and the flask he hadn't parted with since I'd met him.
He took a quick swig, grimacing as the liquid burned its way down. "If we're going down, we might as well go down fighting." He tossed the flask my way, and I caught it.
"You sure we can take them?" Sophia asked, scanning the woods around us as if the forest itself might answer.
"I don't know," I replied, swallowing a shot of liquid courage. "But I'd rather die here on my feet than spend another day looking over my shoulder."
