The Charred Lands: Apocalypse of Fire Read Free Page A

just put a bullet in. I didn’t feel any
remorse for the animal, after all it would make a good meal, but I
felt a great deal of disappointment. I knew I had let my team down.
Nobody said anything, but I knew what they were thinking. All three
of them were writing me off, more than ever now. I knew they were
thinking I didn’t have what it takes to survive out here, I knew
they were thinking I was weak. But what disappointed me the most
was that deep down, I knew they were right.
    We continued
on in silence, though I knew their minds were all just as busy as
mine; all thinking over what had just happened. Though they had
initially laughed it off, I knew this would have long lasting
implications. It took me less than twenty minutes to make my first
mistake in the Wasteland - My father has always done his best to
stress that just one, one single mistake was enough to get you
killed out here.
    Right then I
wanted to turn around and run back home. Run back to my books, my
little siblings, back to my comfy bed and Grandpa’s stories. But
those days were over now. I was sixteen. I was becoming a man and
it was expected of me to behave like such. I struggled to fight
back tears as we progressed on.
    “ It’s just up here.” My father finally said as we reached a
small wooden gate. It had been a good fifteen minutes since anybody
had spoken so much as a word, hearing someone’s voice did a little
to settle my racing nerves.
    “ Guys…” Brandon simply said, his eyes fixed on the sky. I
matched his gaze and joined him in staring up. A thick trail of
black smoke rose above the treeline, it looked close. Instantly I
knew where it was coming from. As did my dad, judging from his
reaction, “I knew it,” he mumbled through gritted teeth as he
picked up the pace. He quickly vaulted the wooden fence before
taking off in a run.
    “ Come on Zachary” My brother urged, giving me a little shove as
he also took off running past me.
    I did my best
to keep up with my three older, fitter companions as we charged up
a dirt path. By the time we reached Barry’s home I was completely
out of breath. Gasping for air, I wiped a trickle of sweat from my
forehead as I caught up to the rest of the team who all stood
motionless, staring on at Barry’s house.
    I didn’t want
to imagine what had caused such damage to the building. The house
had once been a relatively large, single story white cottage. Now,
nothing more than three, black, burnt walls remained in place.
Smoke rose high into the sky from the still burning fire inside the
charred remains.
    “ This doesn’t look good.” My dad sighed as he began to approach
the building.
    “ Remember; whoever or whatever did this might still be in ear
shot so keep the noise to a minimum, lads.” My uncle instructed as
he followed my father, his gun at the ready.
    It was hard to
tell just exactly how long ago this damage had been inflicted on
the building, but I would say that it couldn’t have happened any
more than three days ago. From the damage to the surrounding trees
and ground, it looked as though there had at one point been a large
blaze here. The small crackling inside the house was likely the
dwindling remnants of it. Every ounce of my being prayed in harmony
that whatever had caused this was long gone.
    “ Dad… I’ve found something.” My brother hissed from behind me.
His voice sounding thick with worry, I also detected something else
in the way he spoke. Maybe it was fear – an emotion that I had
hardly ever seen my brother show. I spun around to see what had
startled him, expecting the worse. I wasn’t
disappointed.
    I felt vomit
rise in my throat the second I pieced together exactly what I was
looking at. Lying in the middle of a patch of scorched earth lay
the remains of a human being. That was all I was able to determine
before I turned away and emptied my stomach into a nearby bush.
    Once again I felt as though my companions would be judging me,
but as I spat the last