Chapter 70: Bloodlines
Nightfall descended over the wasteland, painting the jagged terrain in deep shadows. The air was heavy with tension, and Alex felt its weight pressing down on her chest. She sat near the fire, her arms wrapped around her knees, staring into the flickering flames. Ethan was a few feet away, sharpening his blade with deliberate strokes, his gaze occasionally flickering toward her.
The encounter with Sam had left her shaken. She couldn't forget the coldness in his eyes, the weight of his words, and the terrifying reality of his existence. A brother she had mourned, a brother she had believed lost forever, was alive. But he wasn't the boy she remembered.
Ethan's voice broke the silence. "You've been quiet."
Alex glanced at him, her eyes haunted. "I'm trying to make sense of it. He shouldn't be alive, Ethan. My family... they all died in the fire. I was there. I saw it."