Free The Children of New Earth by Talha Ehtasham

the back of my neck. A strong, hot wind roared throughout the tunnel. I risked a glance. I could only open my eyes for half a second before the heat and brightness became too much. All I saw was an intense red and orange light all around me. When her assault finally subsided, I slowly rose to see the aftermath of Aelia’s firestorm.
    There were hundreds of corpses littering the tunnel, most of them covered in patches of flame. Blood and organs were splattered on the walls and pooling on the floor. Aelia turned and again had those black, lifeless eyes, a trail of blood running down from her nose. She then lost consciousness, but Lynn caught her before she hit the ground.

Chapter 6
    The gate opened completely and sunlight flooded in. We ran out into the crisp, fresh air, taking deep breaths and sighing in relief. I no longer felt sick, but was still a little shaken from what I’d just seen. I surveyed the landscape, and saw that we were close to some body of water. The ground was made of this light brown, powder-like material. I picked up a handful of it, and the small particles flowed out of my hand, scattering into the wind. We were surrounded by large rocks, and about 100 feet ahead of us was a body of water. Waves crashed onto the shore, making a calm, soothing sound. White birds were flying overhead, dotting the light blue sky.
    “What is this place?” I asked curiously.
    “It’s called a beach,” Rachel answered. “I’ve been to a place like this during one of my hunts.”
    “What are we standing on?”
    “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of sand.”
    “I mean, I’ve heard of beaches. I just didn’t imagine it like this.”
    Aaron and Cora had carried Aelia out of the tunnel, but she was still unconscious. They gently laid her down against a hill of sand.
    “She’ll be fine, just needs some rest,” Aaron stood up and took in the view. “Beautiful, isn’t it friends?”
    “I don’t suppose there’s any way we can stay here?” Cora asked hopefully.
    “I second that motion,” Lynn said. She glanced at Aelia. “You sure she’ll be OK?”
    “Well, that fireworks display was taxing for her, but she’ll recover,” Aaron answered comfortingly. “But until then, we’re gonna have to stay here.”
    “No argument from me,” I said. “Mark, is it safe?”
    “Besides us, and a few animals, I sense no other life forms in the area.” he answered. “This seems like an ideal location to recuperate until Aelia wakes.”
    “And when she does?” I inquired.
    “Philadelphia,” Rachel said confidently. “We go to Philadelphia and finish what Cora’s parents set out to do.”
    “Agreed,” we all replied in unison.
    As the other’s settled, I walked closer to the water to admire the view. The morning fog had begun to clear, and exposed more of the landscape on the horizon. The image that was revealed proved a stark contrast to the aesthetic waves crashing onto the shore. I saw the skyline of a city in ruins. I’d also heard stories of skyscrapers and towers standing tall and majestic in the days before the war. At night, their lights decorated the sky, and people came from near and far just to stand in the presence of these mighty structures. Now, they had been reduced to rubble. Only a few structures were left standing, and none of them were taller than a couple stories.
    “Manhattan, I think they used to call it,” Rachel walked up next to me.
    “I wish I could’ve seen it.” I remembered back to my dream when I was in the city. I didn’t feel like a resident as much as I did a tourist, like I didn’t belong there. “I wish I lived in a great city like this one.”
    “We’ll live in a better city,” she said, staring at the ruined city. “We’re young. We’re powerful. We’ll rebuild.”
    “That’s what everyone keeps saying. That we’ll rebuild,” I echoed her words.
    “Or,” she turned her head up towards the sky. “Maybe we’ll just…build something new.”
    I saw a