The rubble around Zara crackled under her boots as she moved cautiously through the devastated remains of the safe zone. Smoke and dust clung to the air, a grim reminder of the ambush that had taken them by surprise. Survivors scurried around her, hastily reinforcing barricades and tending to the wounded. The scene was chaos, but Zara’s mind was laser-focused on one question—who, or what, had sent those grotesque bomb carriers?
“Status report,” she barked, stepping into the command area where Callum and the team had regrouped.
Callum looked up from the makeshift table cluttered with maps and radios. “Fifteen wounded, three dead,” he said grimly. “We managed to neutralize the bomb carriers, but there’s no sign of where they came from.”
Zara’s jaw tightened as she glanced at the map. Her eyes fell on the jagged spiral symbol circled on the paper she had retrieved earlier. It felt less like a clue and more like a taunt now, daring her to venture into the unknown.