In the scorching year of 2070, the world was an oven, with temperatures soaring five degrees above pre-industrial levels. As the main character, Alex, trudged through the desolate landscape, memories of the day his father succumbed to the relentless heatstroke haunted him. They had been traveling to a supposed sanctuary, guided by a scavenger they encountered on the sun-baked streets.

The scavenger had painted a vivid picture of a haven, a place where people thrived amidst the chaos—a paradise that seemed to defy the harsh reality of the outside world. Alex's father, desperate for a glimmer of hope, had decided to follow this scavenger's lead.

As Alex recounted the tragedy, he caught sight of the distant walls that marked the sanctuary. Excitement surged within him; relief was finally within reach. But as he approached the heavily guarded entrance, his anticipation turned to trepidation.

The guards, clad in makeshift uniforms, eyed him suspiciously. The scavenger who had promised them salvation stood at the gate, grinning slyly. The realization hit Alex like a wave of heat—the sanctuary was not what it seemed.

Thrown into chains and forced forward, Alex found himself in the company of others who had fallen prey to the false promise of safety. In a cage adjacent to his, a weary man with hollow eyes spoke in hushed tones.

"Welcome to the real sanctuary," the man whispered, bitterness tainting his voice. "But it's not salvation—it's a prison."

As Alex tried to make sense of the situation, the truth unfolded before him. The walled-off city wasn't a refuge; it was a nightmare. The crazed inhabitants within the walls resorted to unthinkable measures to survive. Cannibalism had become a grim reality, and the once-promised sanctuary had transformed into a gory spectacle.

As Alex was shoved into a cage, he glimpsed the scavenger receiving a reward from the guards for leading another unsuspecting victim into their clutches. Betrayal burned hotter than the scorching sun, leaving Alex with a bitter taste of despair. In this dystopian world, trust was a scarce commodity, and even the promise of sanctuary could turn out to be the cruelest deception.

I started with a basic idea of asking ChatGPT to draft a story about a man who loses his father to heatstroke, it gave me a promising start but required more. I slowly shaped and added certain parts to the story asking for certain parts to be changed and certain dialogue to be fixed. I also added the twist at the end, headed in that direction but needed me to put in the prompt to get there.