After the Burn

It was a picture-perfect Fourth of July; one that heralded both celebration and pride for millions. Folks enjoyed parades and cook-outs, the playful laughter of children, and a velvet sky alive with fireworks. Afterward, they went to sleep, happy and contented, without a care in the world. Then at midnight, the sun came up, brighter than a billion sparklers and hotter than Hell unleashed.

They called it The Burn. The senseless detonation of nuclear devices across the face of the earth; rando...