The road back to the base was anything but easy. Athena and Xavier had barely escaped the laboratory with their lives, but the world outside wasn't any kinder.
The moment they stepped out, the scent of decay hit them like a wave.
The air was thick, the sky a dull shade of gray, and the ground was littered with remnants of civilization, broken cars, torn-down buildings, and skeletal remains of those who hadn't been fortunate enough to survive the apocalypse.
Athena pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders, her sharp gaze sweeping the ruins ahead.
They had managed to get this far without encountering another monstrosity, but that luck wouldn't last. Xavier walked beside her, his steps heavy but steady despite the wound on his arm.
He had wrapped it up hastily with the supplies Athena had given him, but the deep gashes from the monster's claws had weakened him more than he was willing to admit.
