When I cam back onto the street of the village, the carnage was still unfolding. Men, women and children lay on the floor, maybe alive, maybe not. For a short while, I stood dumbstruck, unsure what to do. The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins but the shock of what had just happened was beginning to sink in. Before I had the chance to follow just one of the many screams, I felt tightening in my lungs. Then a sting and then a horrific burning sensation. I slunk behind a house trying to control the fits of coughing but nothing seemed to bring it any relief. There were others around me coughing too; they must have put something in the air. It irritated my eyes and combined with the smoke from the fires made it difficult to see. Any other sounds were now drowned out by my wrenching coughs as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

"Please tell me you are safe," Leo said concern rife in his voice.

"I'm not," I said before having another series of coughs. "They've gased the air. There's fire... there are dead people. They've laid waste to the entire village."

"Get into the forest," he ordered. "Whether there are still alive people or not, I am ordering you to run."

"How can I just leave them?" I asked.

"Because if you don't, you'd be leaving your children without a mother.copy right hot novel pub