Tally House (extras)

18: "The Fire" (old version)

hey!!! so, along with the new chapter, I wanted to share SOME parts of an old version of chapter 18. I had come up with them and written them but they never made the cut :( I wanted to do the chapter lyric thingys which I ended up doing but changed the song. also, here's a disclaimer, these are only parts and not full things of scenes. the last time I updated this was maybe...eh... february of 2023? so, like, a year. my writing's gonna be obviously a bit different. I didn't proof read this as well so there's probably gonna be some errors. but nevertheless, I hope you enjoy ^_^

~

     Simon drove in his car over to the tallies' house. He grinned the whole time as he planned out spreading the gasoline everywhere, and throwing the match into it all without catching himself on fire. He'd do it all from a distance, of course! He may be insane but he wasn't stupid. Or at least he thought.

     The car parked near one of their neighbor's houses. He put the ski mask on and flipped the black hood of his hoodie over his head. He got the suitcase full of the stuff he needed from the trunk and began walking to the house. He prayed that no one would see him, but most likely no one would care since it was 5:00 AM and everyone who did was most likely sleeping.

     As he got to the door, it was easy to lockpick it. He didn't even need to! There was a key under the welcome mat. Simon could only assume Rob left it there since he'd seen Rob do things with the mat before when he spied on them.

     "Ah! This is the only time I've ever been welcomed into the house. OR allowed. Hm, not that I am but it did say 'welcome' on the mat & was a key under it so who COULDN'T assume they were?" Simon laughed. "Truly a shame. Anyways!"

~

     The tallies all drove in the car, all smiling with excitement. They finally got to go back home! They were going to be safe, forget about this whole Simon thing. They could return to their normal lives or whatever seemed to remain after this.

    The car was getting more and more closer to the neighborhood. Now, it was just one street away. A few more minutes, and they would be home. Safe and sound. For some reason, Ross really enjoyed the thought of going back home. Maybe because he had missed his home and wanted to come back. He had high hopes for his life to be better. ALL of their lives to be better.

And here it is, our final night alive
And as the earth burns to the ground...

     The car was now on their street. They all squealed in excitement as they got closer and closer to the house. For some odd reason, there was an orange-red glow near it.

     That's when they pulled up to the house and saw it. Their house was on fucking fire. The 5 all sat there in shock for a second before running out of the car and onto the lawn.

Oh, girl, it's you that I lie with
As the atom bombs lock in

    Ross had tears rolling down his cheeks as he saw the house in flames. Every room, every item, burned. Even the painting that Bora, Rob, and Zubin got all of them for Christmas burned to a huge pile of ash. He could see all the memories that he had made in that house. It all came back to him. He saw something he gained flashed right before him in his eyes while standing in front of something he lost.

    "No..." Ross thought in disbelief.

    "This can't be real! No! It can't be!" Ross cried as he fell on the grass to his knees, sobbing.

     "Ross..." Zubin cooed as he placed a hand on Ross's back. Ross looked up at him with tears in his eyes. Zubin also was crying, but he looked like he had no expression on his face. "I'm sorry. It's gone. It's all gone..."

Oh, girl, it's you that I watch TV with
As the world, as the world caves in

     Ross continued to sob as Zubin and the rest of the members hugged him. Some of them let out quiet sobs as the house burned. Ash fell on top of their heads. It was actually in the sky. It looked beautiful, the sun coming up while the sky was littered with ash.

     Neighbors came to the sight, seeing the 5 hugging men infront of the burning house. It was truly a sad sight. They were all in grief that their beloved house burned down. Or was burning down. The flames shined a light on the men. It was no help to Ross who was crying even more when he saw the flames light brighter.

     "Why?! Why us?" Ross cried.

    The men then disbanded from their hug, sitting on the lawn crying and others putting their heads in their hands. Rob called the fire department. His face was wet with tears the whole time. He looked like he was trying to get through the whole thing but was failing.

     Ross sat there on the grass, his head resting on his hand as tears still struck down his face. He couldn't believe the thing he most look forward to, was burned to the ground. By the person who now had ruined his life. Or at least he speculated.  He just wanted this all to be a dream. He wanted EVERYTHING to be a dream. Ever since the day he had gotten lost in that neighborhood, he wanted it to be.

     "They're coming, guys..." Rob said as he sat down along with them.

     "Who?" Joe questioned.

     "The fire department. Since our house- you know." Rob replied.

     "What does it matter? We should just let it burn, anyway. It will eventually stop." Ross said.

    "Ross, it's going to be okay," Zubin said as he tried to put an arm around Ross, but he slapped his arm away.

     "NO! IT'S NOT!" Ross shouted back. "JUST LET SIMON FUCKING WIN AND RUIN OUR LIVES EVEN MORE!"

     "How do you even know Simon did this? I mean, he could of but would he be that crazy?" Rob replied.

     "YES!" Ross yelled.

     "He has a point," Zubin commented.

     "Guys- Just all of you- Please shut up. Ross acts like he's the only one who is hurting. I am too! Fuck, we all are!" Rob replied. He sighed heavily as he put his face into his hands. "Just please... let's not argue. We can argue when it's the next day after this."

~very sad fin~

TOTAL word count: 1,023 words

rahhhh this took too long to make because of the spacing and indenting issues TwT copy and pasting from wattpad is SUCH a bitch to do.