Call Me Fire

CHAPTER 6

'THIS ISN'T HAPPENING.'

Denial was the first thing that came to Tonya in the face of fear. Her eyes were wide while she stared at the sprinkler attached to the ceiling. Given the huge flame eating the whole place, the alarm should have rung and the sprinkler should have sprayed.

But no.

None of those happened at all. Rather than water, the sprinkler was blowing heavy steam, as if the water that was supposed to come out of it had evaporated even before it flowed.

'This is really not happening!'

When the brood of kids surrounding her ran and begged for protection, the only thing she managed to do was tremble and watch the flames lick the ceiling of the room.

When the air filling the room got replaced with dark smoke, all she did was swallow the painful lump in her throat and clasp the brown book in her hand tighter.

Nothing was making sense!

Not the screams that were competing with the creaking sound of the wooden floor turning to coals. Not the scent of thousands of books burning, sending flaming shreds all over the place like autumn leaves.

And not even the scorching heat that was licking their skins when the blaze entered the room through the door like an angry beast, cornering them so they couldn't escape.

"Tonya!"

"Do something!"

"Help us!"

Every terrified voice commanding her to move was nothing but empty echoes that lingered for a second before slipping her ears. The chaos wasn't registering to her at all, even after a good chunk of the door jamb fell on the floor and sprayed them with blinding sparks.

The fire seemed furious.

'Good Lord...' She gasped when her peripheral caught a glimpse of the lone window on the wall. It was quickly cracking with the pressure and was warning to break.

'Holy shit!' She jerked when what she anticipated actually happened. One second, the glass covering the window was there, and the next, it exploded, bursting into fine shards before the flames ate its wooden frames. 'What's happening—'

"Tonya, wake up!"

It was that twin-bitch slap that made Tonya blink her eyes repeatedly after a long trance. Her cheeks stung badly when those tiny hands left screaming red imprints on her skin. However, she was too frazzled to even say a word when the child she hated most anxiously grabbed the neck of her shirt and shook her hard, forcing her to regain herself.

"Tonya, wake up! Move!"

Jen was crying. The child's tears were turning red as they reflected the glow of the whole room. There was a part of the little girl's dress that was burned. She must have been in pain like all the other kids with her, but then Tonya was too paralyzed to even talk.

"I'm begging you, Tonya." Jen coughed hard, choking with the black smoke that was squeezing in her lungs. Then, through her wheezing breath, she screamed, "You have to save us, Tonya. We'll all die!"

.

.

THE AMOUNT OF FEAR AND DESPAIR, bouncing against the burning walls of that hallway was satisfying. It was so good that Fire had to close his eyes to savor the sound of dirty little mortals, just as those who betrayed him suffer.

Every scream was euphoric and sounded like sweet revenge.

His skin, which was now a combination of red and gold scales, was rippling with every up-and-down note of mortal screams. His hair, which used to be dark, was now ash-blonde. It was soft, even turning a bit red under the glow of the flames he had made.