Chapter 62: Solitude
Alex wandered into the forest beyond the outskirts of camp, her heart heavy and mind racing. The smell of burnt wood and earth lingered in her clothes, a haunting reminder of the village she had left in ruins. She kept moving, driven by a restless need to escape—if not from the camp, then at least from herself. Every step deeper into the forest seemed to echo the turmoil within her, the crunch of dried leaves underfoot an unending reminder of what she had destroyed.
The landscape was stark and rugged, painted with twisted oaks and dense brambles. A canopy of ashen-gray branches arched overhead, filtering the sunlight into shards that broke across her face and cast shadows in her eyes. The air was cold, thin, as if even nature itself had turned its back on her. She could still hear Ethan's voice in her head, the disgust and finality that had filled his words echoing in the hollow spaces of her chest.
