CHAPTER 7. A STEP INTO THE EPICENTER
The morning was deceptively tranquil as the five friends—Alex, Ryan, Jason, Ethan, and Madison—finally gathered by the two cars parked side by side in the overgrown yard. They lingered before setting off, sensing a foreboding presence on the road ahead.
They stood near the ramshackle house where they had been hiding for the past few days, loading their backpacks with supplies, cameras, and flashlights. Alex cast a brief glance at the empty porch with its missing plank and felt a familiar pang of anxiety, as though he were bidding farewell to the last haven of relative safety.
“Is everyone ready?” Madison asked, adjusting her backpack’s strap. Her voice was taut with tension, and her eyes shone with resolve.
Ryan, who was checking the tires on the se
