Story 185: The Last Horizon

The world had changed overnight. One moment, it was the bustling city of Arcadia, and the next, it was chaos—a fiery apocalypse unfolding before their very eyes. The mushroom cloud rose into the sky like an angry god, darkening the heavens with ash and fire. The horizon, once filled with the silhouettes of skyscrapers, now shimmered in the heat of destruction.

Max tightened his grip on the steering wheel, knuckles white from the pressure. The open road stretched ahead, seemingly endless, as he sped away from the smoldering ruins of the city. The highway, once busy with cars and life, now felt eerily empty. A few other vehicles remained, their occupants fleeing, just like him, toward an uncertain future.

Beside him, his daughter, Emma, sat quietly. Her face, pale and expressionless, stared out the window at the growing storm of devastation behind them. She had been silent for hours, ever since they saw the first explosion. It felt like a dream—a nightmare that refused to end.