The Nation 08

The acrid bite of smoke filled Billy's lungs, a familiar sting now, but no less unwelcome. He coughed, the sound swallowed by the immense roar of the city's demise. Around him, Los Angeles lay in smoldering ruins, a once-vibrant metropolis now reduced to a grotesque tableau of ash and twisted metal. The air hung heavy, thick with the stench of burning rubber, decaying flesh, and something else… something ancient and primal, the smell of death settling into the very fabric of the city.

Beside...