The night stretched on, endless and suffocating. The fire they had left behind in the clearing flickered in the distance, casting a faint orange glow against the inky sky.
Athena and the remaining survivors pressed forward, their bodies pushed beyond exhaustion, but there was no time to rest.
The deeper they went into the mountains, the more the air grew heavy, thick with an odd scent, earthy and metallic, like rotting foliage mixed with iron.
The remnants of smoke from their battle clung to their clothes, but it was the silence that truly unnerved Athena.
The plants had retreated, but for how long? The eerie quiet of the forest whispered of a danger yet unseen.
Xavier took the lead, his gun raised, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings. The survivors moved in a tight formation, every step careful, every breath hushed.
The terrain was rough, jagged rocks jutting out like broken teeth, and the path twisted unpredictably.
