Story 400: The End of the Line

The rotor blades roared overhead as the helicopter hovered precariously atop the cracked helipad. The mountain below Zara was no longer solid ground but a collapsing mass of ash and fire. A molten glow cracked through the earth like veins of lava, threatening to pull everything into the abyss.

Zara Kincaid stood still for a moment, her breath heavy, the air thick with smoke. The wind whipped at her short black hair and red tactical dress, the harness straps tight against her back. Her boots clicked against the platform as she approached the helicopter, its side door open, blades slicing through the chaos.

Behind her, the mountain groaned, as though mourning its imminent collapse. The Warden’s nightmare was finished, his empire reduced to smoke and ash—but the cost had been steep.

“Come on, Zara! Move!” Reeve’s voice boomed through the deafening noise, urgency burning in his tone.