Out of the frying pan and into fire was just a joke.
After finally leaving the confines of the Ashroad, they felt relief. Besides, the sight of a new city, though ruined gave them hope for the future.
Cautiously, they entered the city. By noon the city rose out of the rippled heat, jagged and black-toothed, a skyline chewed down to stumps.
The last ribbon of fused glass from the Ashroad finally gave way to cracked asphalt, and the sound of their boots changed from hiss to crunch as they moved through the ruined city.
Wind moved through empty streets, and they could see signs of devastation left by the apocalypse on this city.
Just beside the road, a toppled bus lay like a whale on its side, windows punched out, char streaks fanning along its flank. And far off in the distance, a tower leaned into another like two drunks holding each other up.
"Eyes," Reid said, his voice raw but steady.
