Chapter 62

Kaelen

The firehouse was never quiet. Radios crackled, boots thumped against the concrete floors, and the faint scent of smoke clung to everything, even after days without a call. Usually, that chaos grounded me. Made me feel useful.

Not tonight.

Tonight, every sound felt like static. I sat at the kitchen table with a cup of burnt coffee in front of me, staring at the black liquid as though it cou