Work Text
The flames were only fed by dry grass and dying trees. Everything in the forest had been engulfed in brilliant colors of red, orange, and a flickering yellow.Chief Ray had taken to dousing the hungry fire with as much water as possible, but it did little to satisfy its starving maw. “It’s not slowing down boss!” Yelled Bronston, one of the many firefighters at the scene.“Get the other hose. Try from the east, I will take the west,” he yelled over the loud crackling of embers and groaning from the trucks. Bronston took one of the hoses far to the other end of the flames, licking eagerly at anything they could touch. Thick gushes of water drowned down some of the red angry embers. From climbing the trees, they were now nothing, but smothering ashes.Chief wiped the sweat from his brow, it glossed his free hand in a dim glimmer, reflecting the light from the fire trucks. He smiled to himself, happy for the worst of it to be over.
“You okay, Bronston?”The fighter looked at him in the full get up of thick fireproof overalls and all, he smiled,”yea, you?”“Yea,” he sighed, but shoulders tensed for a second when he noticed them.The local news had already made their way over, a heavy camera nestled on Ted’s shoulder. The blonde woman with him shook her hands for a second, checking her outfit as he counted down from three, two, one.
“As you can see, around 4:30, just minutes ago, flames had engulfed Jeffery Fen’s home. And just now, the flames at Black Pine Ridge were put out by the local fire department. There have been reports of any injuries or casualties during this time. Police and firefighters are still investigating,” she held the side of her ear as someone from the station spoke to her. Ted panned the camera over the deep black plumed of smoke, disappearing into the night sky. He began to count down again when she spoke,” now back to you.”
It was silent for a second while she smiled at the camera before he gave her a thumbs up.
“How was that?” her smile faded to a thin lipped frown, eyes tired from the early morning work.“That was gold,” he smiled wide.She rolled her eyes, green hues gazing around the debris,” no, it was shit. Do you know how fucking early it is? I mean why did I even ask?!”The chief huffed a laugh at her hissy fit. When she turned to him, her smile was back, a deep red hue to her once tanned cheeks,” oh, Chief, I totally forgot you were here. Sorry about all that, Ted just doesn’t know what to say sometimes.”Ted looked at her with a slight cringe. She returned the look. Forcing a smile,” Ted, could you be a doll and get some shots from the other side. I want to speak with the Chief.”She always spoke to him like an annoyed mother. He nodded his head and went off with the camera, really anything to get away from the mess she is.
The Chief folded his broad arms, mustache smirking,” well well Kay, what a pleasure to see you. Job treating you well?” He raised a thick eyebrow.Twisting a piece of blonde hair like a schoolgirl, she grinned,” sometimes, you know how it is. Bad hours, even worse pay, but I mean like who else would do this?”There was an obvious tension between the two, Bronston even looking away as it felt almost inappropriate to look at them while they spoke. But it was then he noticed it, something cracked and popped jutted out of the ground. His large boots crunched the charred grass, up until a slightly steep dip into a ditch. A tree smoked, sizzling of dying embers, and at the bottom were the burnt remains of a human. His jaw dropped,”Chief, CHIEF COME HERE!” The desperation in his voice was backed up by footsteps running over.Before them, that was once a dense underbrush with trails and trees desperate to reach the sky, now a smoldering pile of branches, fallen trees, and.. bodies. Not just one, but at least twenty from what he could make out. The Chief was silent, not daring to breathe, as it would make it too real.“Fuck.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Mayton’s Grocer,” my voice was very quiet as cars pulled into the lot. Cracked asphalt, weeds, and gravel making its way from lot to road were the main components to this simple grocery store. First impressions were not something they were worried about. There was usually a local meth head loitering around the side of the building by the rundown motel where they lived.
That’s where I saw Tobi, him having lived there before I was even born. From the bare gums to the wheelchair I don’t even think he needed it. Imagine an older man with no teeth, long gray beard, and a homeless sign duct taped to his weathered hoodie. Most people knew to avoid him, as he was known to chase after cars in his motorized wheelchair.He’s not actually homeless. People who come for the college get to experience the views and love to give him coke and cash, something he thrived on. Locals in the area knew to not deal with it, just ignore him and walk on, he gave the real people who need help in the area a bad rep.
Tobi looked me over, not taking much notice of me as we both knew I had little cash on myself. For good reason too.“Hey!” He suddenly snapped.I turned to him, jumping a little as he was suddenly a lot closer now. “Jesus, Tobi, you scared me half to death-” I hesitated for a moment to compose myself, “need something?”The wheels of his chair grinded on the pavement,”got anything on you?”“Never have,” I shoved my hands in my pockets, shrugging to the old man. He knew I was clean, so what did he really want? Hoping I finally caved?“Come on! You’re letting me down!” He threw his hands in the air while his once white face grew an angry red. The chair groaned under his weight, the suspension being abused.“Tobi, chill man, just chill-” I was cut off by his huffing and the chair roaring to life. The dated motor hummed angrily behind his yells.“This town fucking over everyone! Every last one of us is just a cog in the machine of lies! First they lie about the fires, then the disappearance, then everyone becomes clean? I don’t think so!” I managed to turn into the grocery store as his dope filled mind rambled on and on through his mouth.I could feel the tightness in my throat, air becoming harder to come by despite my best efforts. Another attack biting eagerly at my ankles, panic rising up my throat. But after getting into a less crowded aisle, it began to fade. It didn’t feel like I was staring out at the world through a fishbowl anymore.●○●○●○●○●○●
Walking back home was a breeze, Tobi having gone to bother someone else for either cash or dope. This town was nothing huge, maybe a few thousand people lived here, and a few hundred more that went to the small college. It’s a private university known for its one on one programs, so graduates became professionals while here and after graduating. My parents both grew up here in the late 70s, and after doing a few nights of LSD together at a BurningMan rip off show, I was conceived. At least that's what my mother had blurted out to me after cackling about something dumb my dad said. This all being a long time ago.
“Your dad just looked so handsome with his hair tied back, remember that? When it was long?” She gave a laugh, slapping him softly on the arm.
His brows went up before he grinned,”hey now! I got a lot of compliments back then.”
Mom quipped back,” your mother doesn’t count.”
Dad gave a surprised look, then a sly grin,”the audacity, see the abuse I put up with?”
I sat quietly in the back with a rather grossed out expression, not wanting to hear about their hook up at some concert with stoners. My dad reached his hand around, it cupped, a sign he wanted some of my fries. I begrudgingly gave them to him.
“Pay the dad tax, or I’ll call Mr.Tickle monster to visit,” he chuckled, causing me to hurry to give him the salted potato pieces.
“Don’t you have your own fries?” I asked softly.
“Your’s just tastes better,” he grinned, slipping a few from his hand into his mouth. I watched his jaw motion up and down as he chewed my food down.
My mother gave him a sour expression,” Thomas! You’re going to starve the poor boy.” Reaching back towards me, she gave me the last of her own fries. She wasn’t a big woman, but more on the thin side. It made hugging her a bit weird and bony, she always said to watch her figure. Exercising all of the time and eating a low calorie count.
“Mi pájaro, come now. He’ll be just fine, I think you need it a bit more. At this point I think you just eat sunlight,” he egged her on slightly.
Her expression was shocked, but not angry, “shut it, I ate enough today. He’s a growing boy, needs all the food he can get!”
I was snapped out of it when I nearly ran into the broad red oak door of my house, the Christmas wreath bumping into my head. Chuckling to myself, the door opened with a rough jab from my elbow, cracking it open like a piece of broken wood. I had talked with my uncle about getting it fixed, but it's only something by word right now rather than action.
But when shutting the door, I noticed a very light fog almost. Despite the chilly weather, there was a damned fog, until you breathed it in..
Smoke.
It could just be someone burning garbage, probably the Bracketsons down the road. Shrugging it off, I was finally inside.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Luca came over again the next day, frost coated the outside of his beat up red car, different parts having been added onto it, making it a mix of brown, red, and silver parts. It was obvious that he used the long side of his ID card to scrape off the hardened frost.He quickly shot me a question,” your uncle home?”I shook my head no. So he pulled out a blunt that was professionally wrapped despite how much he had put into it. Motioning for me to come over, he smirked and handed me the fat blunt.“Figured you needed this, you sounded like shit over the phone,” the click of the lighter, followed by a flame, then the deep inhalation of that sweet smoke. It nipped at my throat when I exhaled, eyes scrunching up with each cough.“L-L-Luca!” he mocked what I had stumbled over on the phone call earlier,”C-Come over!” Then he nudged me with a laugh. But I didn’t laugh like usual, a hollow expression to sunken eyes, dark circles gracing bags I had developed.Luca dropped the smile, eyes looking up at me with something more vulnerable behind it. I hate doing this to him, making him come all the way out here for something that may or may not be real.
I hate myself.
He reached out and softly rubbed my arm,”hey dude, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset.”I nodded my head, a sob aching in the back of my throat.
I’m the problem. I’ve always been the problem, making him feel like shit.
I’m the problem.
“Come on, lets go inside, I brought some Taco Bell,” he opened the back door, ruffling around through his jacket, and pulled out the greasy bag of Taco Bell. I had to eat.We sat quietly on the couch for a long moment while I explained to him what my uncle had said, the words hanging in the air like a promise of something more when I finished. Taking a moment, he pulled back his black hair into a ponytail, biting the piercing on his upper lip. The munchies kicked in hard, making me devour as many tacos as I could until my stomach protested.If it's true, that my parents could be there. They could really be gone. All those times of day dreaming one day their car would pull up, they come to me with open arms. I wouldn't need to know where they were, just that they came back.Again, that anxiety crept into my throat and choked the air away from my lungs.“Fuck,” I croaked out,” I guess I just wait for that call now.”
Luca raised an eyebrow, the lip ring twisting between his teeth.“Nah dude, that's too long. Let's go check it out.”My gaze met his for a moment. It's a dumb idea. It's a Luca idea for sure.But desperation drove me to stand up, nod, and pull out my cracked phone.He connected the dots quicker than I thought.“No, come on! Just me and you, not..him,” his brows furrowed in disdain.“Out of all three of us, I trust him to find something,” I murmured.
His expression of disgust never wavered, pushed more by his deep hatred for our friend.ווווווווו×Deep black, tinted windows, and an engine that purred like a tiger. This all being Don’s car, some sort of Mustang I didn't bother to remember. He was always one to show off some of the fancy things he either got from his job or a gift from his parents.Luca, on the other hand, was more hot headed and private.
“Heya, what's going on?” The tanned blonde gave me a nearly blinding white smile, my eyes actually scrunching for a second to look at him. His hand grasped mine as he pulled me in for some brotherly hug pat thing.“Just trying to stay alive,” I chuckled anxiously.Luca stared bullets at him. My uncle said he could point out all the bullets Luca was shooting at Don.“I hear that!” He let out a loud laugh, arm curled around my shoulder,” you still seeing that psychiatrist?”I nodded my head.His hand squeeze my shoulder reassuringly,”good good, it'll really help out in the long run.”Luca folded his arms over his chest, almost looking like an angry gorilla.“Oh hey Luca, you doing good too?” He gave an award winning smile.“We actually have things under control, you get going home,” he hissed.The blonde just shrugged it off, seemingly oblivious to the tension between them. I felt the same coil of anxiety as before.“Let's get going then,” I softly spoke.Don looked at me with a raised eyebrow,”is this for the burn victim thing you texted me about? I actually drove by the place annnddd…”He grins wide,”completely baren. Just some police tape, but no cop in sight.”Even with everything in me screaming it's a bad idea, that one small voice in the back of my skull kept whispering…What if?I don't want to go.But what if they are there? Should I just wait at home quietly until the police call my uncle or me?Maybe even come to the door, like in the movies, to reveal the bad news?Don leaned down a little to get in my eye level, hand resting on my shoulder with a soft considerate squeeze.“Get out of your head for a second.”I blinked a few times and rubbed my neck,”oh yea, sorry. But I don't know if it's a good idea.. we might fuck up something there like evidence.”Putting his hand to his chin, rubbing it a bit in thought, he smiled,”how about we just go for a few minutes, won't touch anything, and then we'll be out of there in no time.”Even Luca agreed with Don, which isn't something that happened often. So.. two against one..