Chapter 38: Rise of the Phoenix
The air crackled with tension as Alex stood at the forefront of the makeshift battleground, her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest. The remnants of Gabriel's loyalists had rallied, their faces twisted with anger and betrayal, ready to strike at the heart of what remained of their fractured camp. But Alex was not the scared girl who had stumbled into this hell; she was a force of nature, forged in fire and loss.
"Get ready!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the din. "We fight for our survival! We fight for each other!"
Her group was a ragtag assembly of survivors, but their eyes burned with the same determination that fueled her. She scanned the faces of her comrades, recognizing the fear, the hope, and the unyielding spirit that bound them together. They were family now, bound by their scars and shared trauma, and they would not go quietly into the night.
