Landmine - Post Malone

29

Dillon holds on tightly to the handle above the door frame as Austin sends the truck soaring toward the ranch. "Fuck! Damit!" he shouts hitting the steering wheel as they come over a hill and see a faint red glow in the distance against the black night sky. Dillon swallows the cry bubbling up in her chest and tightens her grip on the handle when Austin speeds the truck up. She does not want to make Austin feel worse than she knows he does right now by crying. Austin, who has always managed to keep his cool demeanour, has lost that ability now and his anger has her a little freaked out. He is petrifying when he is angry, not to mention the boom in his tone when his voice rises - it vibrates in her chest. The man has the patience of a saint, however it has just run out.

He turns his truck sharply to the right and skidds into the ranch road then slams his foot down on the gas and races up it toward the new ranch house. Dillon gasps when the full blaze comes into view and is frozen in shock, it is worse than she expected. "Fuck! Fuck!" Austin shouts, hitting the steering wheel again and then slamming on the brakes and jerking them to a skidded halt when they enter the yard. "Stay put!" he growls and jumps out. Normally, Dillon would ignore him and jump out, but Austin has enough on his plate, and to be honest, she is not sure if her legs would work right now. All Austin's men are scrambling around trying to put out the fire as more and more trucks arrive with people she does not know but suspects are from the town and surrounding ranches. They hop out of their trucks and rush to help put out the raging flames without hesitation. Feeling like she needs to do something to help she climbs out of the truck and joins the line of people who are passing buckets of water between the river and the house. It's chaos with people running around trying to get the fire under control, Dillon can't see how much damage has been done or even how much progress, if any, they are making due to all the smoke and the bright flames. But, no one stops working and neither does she.

They continue through the night; her back hurts, and every muscle in her body screams. The flames are so hot the heat they give off has singed the fine hairs on her arms and the ground below her feet is warm. The smoke is thick and suffocating, burning her eyes and making her cough along with everyone else. But, her desperation to put the fire out drives her forward. More people arrive to help as the flames rage on, men, women, and even children. There are so many people; she sees Josie and Jack, Molly and her husband too - it feels like the whole world has appeared to help them douse the angry red and orange flames.

By early morning, when the black sky turns into a dark blue, they finally get the fire under control and manage to put it out. Then stand, defeated, and stare at the damaged house.

It's gone.

Burnt right down to its foundations. The only thing left standing is the large stone fireplace Austin had been so pedantic about. Dillon's heart drops and her stomach clenches when reality sets in. It will take months to clean up and then rebuild again. That's only if Austin has any gusto left in him to do so, she is not so sure he does as she casts her eyes over the destroyed home in front of her. She also feels a suffocating amount of guilt. It was due to her tantrum and her begging that Austin had left the ranch unattended. She may not have started the fire but she is as guilty as the person who started the fire.

She knows it was Luke.

Everyone knows it was Luke.

"I told you to stay put," Austin mumbles from behind her. She turns to look at him. He is covered in black soot, his always crisp white shirt torn and caked in dirt. His hands are raw from working on putting the fire out. She can see streaks on his brow from where he had repeatedly wiped away sweat, and the ends of his beard are singed. He also has a cut above his left eye and a long nasty gash on his forearm that he seems to take no notice of. The man did everything he could to get control of the fire. A lump forms in her throat when she sees the defeated look in his eye. But, he does not look broken. If truth be told, his face is set with stoic determination, and she knows deep down that he will simply clear this carnage away and start rebuilding once again. Luke will never break this man, no matter what he does. "Austin...I..." she whispers but he shakes his head and drapes his jacket from his truck around her shoulders. She had not realised how cool the fresh morning air was, and it doesn't help that all she has on is this satin blue dress; she had kicked her shoes off long ago. She fish mouths, blinking back tears as she tries to find the words to apologise to him for being the reason his home was once again destroyed. "I am so sorry, this is all my fault," she eventually manages to squeak out.