The Firestorm

They cross a terrain devastated by firestorms, encountering melted asphalt and mummified bodies.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Burned Land

The Wasteland The Cake of Ash After the beach, they enter a region where firestorms have passed. The asphalt is buckled, and there is a deep cake of ash. The cart is hard to push. The Mummified Dead They begin to find bodies half-mired in the tar, mouths howling, skin black. The man tries to shield the boy, but the boy says they are already there. He walks among them without flinching. The Silent Corridor They pass through a silent corridor of the dead, struggling forever in the road's cold coagulate. The man is coughing badly. The boy seems strangely untroubled.

The Aftermath

The Survivor's Guilt The Sight They see the incinerated corpses of travelers who tried to flee. The man thinks about the last instance of a thing taking the class with it. The Boy's Reaction The boy is calm, almost accepting. The man wonders if the boy has given up or if he is stronger. The boy says he thinks about the world that never was. The Moving On They continue south, leaving the firestorm behind. The man's health worsens. The boy takes on more of the burden. The world is shrinking.

after the coast, inland

after crossing