Consuming Fire

Chapter 103

Joshua and the doctor stared at each other as the river of lava bubbled beside them. Joshua didn't think his life would end by gunshot wound, alone in a volcano with Dr. Wolfe. But it didn't matter, because as far as he could tell, the world was safe for now.

"It's not over." Dr. Wolfe shook his head. "My legend will live on, my company will never stop researching your genetics and Jack will continue to destroy the world."

"Hunter cured Jack," said Joshua through gritted teeth, knowing Hunter would not be there if she hadn't defeated him. He could feel the blood seeping through his wound and the life slowly draining from him. "He is no longer consumed by the darkness."

For a moment, the doctor was stunned. As if he needed to hide anything from the man he was going to die with. "But the world will never be the same," he sneered. "The public knows about you now. They know that you're more dangerous than you are heroes, and they will never trust you."

"You're forgetting that it doesn't matter who is a hero and who is not. All that matters is that we plant hope in people's minds. Encourage them to keep fighting."

"You're delirious," said the doctor. He stumbled against the heat of the lava and fell to the dirty floor just feet from Joshua, who could not get up. Sweat was pouring from his face. He felt as if he were melting.

"Not at all," said Joshua. "I'm just a person, Dr. Wolfe, a single person on this earth filled with billions of other people just trying to find their purpose in life."

"So you're just going to let yourself die. In here?"

"I may have powers, but I'm not invincible. You look at all the other men like you." He spat the words as though they tasted bitter. "How many of them tried to become momentary kings or gods or powerful leaders in a lifetime that lasted a fraction of history? You are delusional to think that your selfish quest to gain power is anything but a meager, limited, human speck on history's page." Pain throbbed through his body but he forced himself to go on. "You are one man on a giant planet in a universe full of wonders, and in fifty years' time, you will no longer be here to appreciate it.

"I am sorry, Dr. Wolfe, that you wasted your life fighting a war with yourself. But if there is one thing worth fighting for, it's for a life that helps others understand how privileged we are to be happy, to be special and to be free. You don't understand. And you never will."

Dr. Wolfe didn't say a word. It was as if he suddenly realized that he truly did have nothing to live for. He would not be leaving the volcano with the bounteous supply of Ravenadium he dreamed of. He had nothing but evil and there was no turning back, no starting over.

Dr. Wolfe looked Joshua in the eye, and through the haze of smoke Joshua thought he saw a sad smile on his lips.

"Until next time, Joshua," he muttered.

Then Dr. Wolfe climbed weakly to his feet and walked away. Joshua was so disoriented, his body overheating, his vision blurry and contaminated by the burning haze that he could not see where the doctor had disappeared to.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you know you're about to die. But it wasn't Joshua's life that he remembered. It was Hunter's. Nothing before that ever mattered. Joshua remembered taking Hunter home from the hospital, how daunting it was to be a single father, how she filled his loneliness and distracted him from grief. He remembered the day the principal called him saying Hunter had started a fire in her grade one classroom. He remembered how proud he was to have her stand in the crowd of university lecturers and other important people, to see her wave and smile and cheer for him. He remembered her laughter in his lab when she tormented him with fire, not knowing exactly how much it scared him.

But he did not fear the fire any longer. The peace that overcame him was a peace that came from the fire.

Joshua stared at the empty cave. Either he was already dead and having a strange dream, or the heat was making him hallucinate, for from the lava lake he saw two figures arise. They took the unmistakable form of Leo and Liz, locked hand in hand, their eyes glowing brightly and their bodies encased in flames. They smiled at him.

"I did what you ... asked ..." he whispered.

You did more, said Liz in an eerily dreamy voice. You loved her.

Leo stared down at him proudly, making Joshua feel more at peace than he'd ever been before. As Liz's smile grew wider, she extended a bright, fiery hand.

I'm taking you home, she said.

Joshua reached for her, clasped her hand and held it tighter than he clung to life itself.

Then, everything was gone.