Chapter 37: A Tough Decision

His eyes shook as he looked down at his trembling hands. The harrowing memories from twenty years ago flashed in his mind.

A puff of black smoke billowing out of a charred village rose to the sky. Nestled in a valley and once a serene and peaceful rural area occupied by mainly farmers, it was now engulfed in terrible destruction.

The houses, small shops and other buildings erected in the small village were now left only in skeletal black frames and ashes, ruined to the ground.

Not far from the village centre, a mass grave was dug, awaiting burial. The bodies of the villagers were scattered inside the big hole, most of which had terrifying death faces. Black spots blotched their pale skins as their lifeless opened eyes had turned opaque from the end.

They were not properly shrouded, as no one was allowed to touch them directly. The stench of the decaying bodies permeated the air and was very pungent.