Into Darkness We Walk

Everywhere is Nowhere

Outside the hut, it was dark, but Gavin could see pretty well. And what he saw he couldn't believe. "Oh my God..."

The forest was completely burned down. Bodies of forest animals were scattered across the ground, but what really drew Gavin's attention was beyond the forest; Everett was gone, burnt to a crisp. Only the skeletons of it remained.

Dizziness overcame him, and he threw up.

Rubbing his hands through his hair, Evan tried to process what he saw. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Well, believe it!" Gavin growled angrily. After a few seconds, he stood abruptly and stabbed a finger in Evan's face. "YOU did this. You burned down the entire forest; the entire CI-TY. Everything, GONE. GONE." He sliced his hand through the air for emphasis.

Evan nodded. "I know. I know."

Gavin stared at him, lips a thin line, shoulders rising and falling with every heavy breath. Evan grabbed his hair and lowered his head, crying, "Oh God, I'm so sorry,"

Gavin felt his anger dissipate. "It's okay... I'm not upset, anymore."

He placed his hand on Evan's shoulder and gave it a pat. "Come on, we gotta get out of here."

Walking out of the forest proved to be stomach-churning; there were bodies of firemen, volunteers, and animals everywhere, all burned to the bone. Gavin had to drink water to keep whatever was left in his stomach down. He didn't care what Evan thought of him; the bodies were gross, and it made him want to vomit.

"Where are we going?" Evan asked him, jogging a little to keep up.

"Anywhere. Out of Everett." Gavin took out his phone and was glad to see that it was at ninety-seven percent; that power-saving option was working out great. Out here, he only had three bars, but three was plenty.

Keeping one eye on the ground and the other on his phone, he clicked on his news app and refreshed the recent news page. There was one feed that was live, so he tapped on the one beneath it. "Breaking news: a fire has started in the forest Everett Mall Way, reportedly by a cigarette butt that landed in some dry brush. The firefighters on scene are stuggling to contain it, especially since it has spread in multiple directions.

"Authorities can't say for sure if there is going to be an evacuation, but they are hoping that that won't be necessary. We will keep you updated when we can."

Gavin rubbed his hand over his face, and Evan walked in silence. After the commercial, the same anchor lady reappeared on-screen. "Breaking news on the forest fire: the blaze has blown completely through two of the firefighters' blockades and is spreading rapidly through the streets. Already it has devoured dozens of buildings and homes, and countless lives have been lost. We take you now to our newest reporter Mike Wallace. Mike?"

The screen changed to a view of a young, sort of tubby man in a suit. Behind him was a neighborhood on fire, as well as fire trucks, police cars, officers, and firemen. "Thanks, Kathy; as you can see behind me, the fire has spread to surrounding neighborhoods and buildings rather quickly, but despite the fire department's best efforts, it shows no signs of stopping. I've heard a lot of the officers and firemen say that it's like nothing they've ever seen, almost as if it's being fueled by some outside force, maybe something supernatural, perhaps-"

"RUN, RUN, RUN! IT'S GONNA BLOW!"

There was a huge explosion behind the reporter, and the camera flew, hit the ground, and then went to static.

"Oh no, Mike." Kathy gasped before the view went back to her. She ran her hands through her hair and sniffed. "Umm," she shakily began, "we will, be right back, umm, with updates when we can."

By now, Gavin and Evan had reached what was left of the West Mall Road, and there were many signs of explosions on both sides of the street. When the news came back on, the anchor was a different lady. "Breaking news: an evacuation attempt has failed, due to a huge explosion that has blocked the freeway and killed two dozen people-" she put her finger to her ear and let out a small gasp. "This just in: an explosion at Mariner High School has decimated both the school, the surrounding apartments, and the-"

Again, she put her finger to her ear. "This also in: Mariner's powerplant substation has just exploded. Everything around it is GONE. Authorities are warning everyone to evacuate IMMEDIATELY. I repeat, everyone is to evacuate IMMED-"

There was an explosion, a bright light, and Gavin could see the anchor lady's hair whip around her face, and then the camera went to static. A "Technical Difficulties" sign went up on-screen, and then the feed changed to the live one from a chopper. "-it's a terrible sight; everything is just destroyed. I'm being told that only a small handful of people made it out alive, and none of them without injury.

"It's hard to believe that such destruction could be caused by a forest fire, but it has; the entirety of suburban Everett, gone withing a matter of hours, along with most of the population.

"I'm also being told that the fire is still spreading to the cities and forests around the remains of this part of Everett, and shows no signs of stopping."

"Turn it off," Evan murmured, hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Good idea," Gavin pressed the home button on his phone, and the news stopped. He slipped the phone back into his pocket.

By now, they had reached the entrance to the freeway, and there, right in front of them, was the blockade the lady on the news had talked about. "We'll have to go around." Evan told Gavin, who nodded in agreement. So, they climbed around the left side, and when they reached the other side they were met with miles of empty car husks and the bodies of people as far as the eye could see.

"We did this," Gavin cried, wiping his eyes. "Both of us. We're, we're monsters,"

Evan put his arm around Gavin's shoulders and led him down the street.