Over the next few hours, Northridge had become unrecognizable.

The once-thriving stronghold, proud and defiant beneath the moonlight, now reeked of smoke and death. Blood painted the cobblestones in dark streaks; homes that once held laughter were now silent ruins. Bodies—guards, mothers, children—lay where they had fallen, faces frozen in terror.

The air was thick with the smell of fire and human waste, the sound of weeping blending with the crackle of burning wood.

Samantha moved ...