The metallic scent of blood hung in the air like a warning.
"Lights off," Max said quietly. The engine cut. Darkness swallowed them whole. "Stay sharp." They moved on foot. Silent. Precise. Weapons ready. The closer they got, the clearer it became.
A compound. Isolated. And inside.Chaos. Max stepped forward just enough to see. And for a moment. Even still. Bodies. Everywhere. A man. A woman. Children. Even the elderly.
Sprawled across the ground like their lives had been erased in seconds. Blood soaked into the earth, dark and heavy, the air thick with it. And standing over them. Men. Pouring fuel.
Working fast. Efficient. Like this wasn't their first time. "Burn it," one of them said. "We leave nothing behind." Another struck a lighter. The flame flickered to life. Small.
