A World Together

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Logan

The flames burst out like hands, desperate to be held as they flare out and scorch the tip of my nose. Sweltering heat washes over my entire body, and as I stumble back I'm certain that I'm engulfed in the flames. When I look down at myself, I see that only a few are clinging to me. I hastily scramble away from the main blaze, my hands covered in red welts by the time they've patted down my clothes. The skin on my face is stinging too but I resist the urge to touch it.

For a second, all I see is red and black, then the smoke parts a fraction and I see a man on the other side. His arm is raised in the air. My mind registers what he's doing a second before it's too late. I dive to the left just as another bottle shatters where I was standing, a second wall of fire erupting from the ground.

There's the sound of distant yelling accompanying the cackling inferno. I scramble to take cover behind the nearest car and throw a wild glance down the street. I see the man throwing the bottles. He's trying to light a third one. I pull the gun out from my belt and aim it at him. My index finger must be badly burnt, because while holding the gun is painful, pulling the trigger is excruciating. The bullet misses him, but the sound of the gunshot makes him jump. He drops the bottle and quickly ducks down behind the car next to him.

Molotov cocktails! That's innovative. I'll give him credit for that. The bottles are averagely sized but the inferno they produce certainly isn't. With our little fire-starter now hiding, I risk another glance down the street. I spot Maisie instantly, teetering around the flames, almost as if she's dancing with them. I can't tell if she's trying to avoid them or touch them. Either way, she's right out in the open, it'll only be a matter of time before he spots her. He still hasn't emerged from behind the car though. Cursing under my breath I tear the bag off of my back and make a run for her.

As soon as I stand up, so does he. Another bottle is in his hand but he's struggling to light it. How many does he have? He can't be carrying around that many. With my gaze locked on him, I almost crash into Maisie. My free arm wraps around her waist while my other aims the gun at him again. I have a clear shot for his head.

His cocktail ignites just as I pull the trigger. Two shots. The first one misses completely. The second one misses my target but hits the bottle instead. It explodes in his hand, the liquid splashing out and setting him alight. Covered head-to-toe in flames before I can even blink, he begins staggering towards us, screaming, limbs flailing madly. I turn Maisie away and steer us behind another car.

He's fallen to his knees but his screaming hasn't stopped. It's so full of pain I actually consider using a bullet just to put him out of his misery. But I only have three bullets left, I need to use them sparingly. My heart is beating as fast as my thoughts are racing.  Was this a trap set by the Gas Man? Are these the bandits? Are there more of them nearby? And where is Gale? Shadowing all these thoughts is the screaming, a constant wail in my ears. I decide I can't stomach it anymore. He doesn't deserve my mercy, but no living thing deserves such a slow, torturous death either.

Once I've pushed Maisie behind the car, safe from the flames, I twist back around to where he's collapsed on the road. My finger hesitates on the trigger when I see he isn't alone anymore. Two men stand on either side of him, giving him room to try and roll, but he barely has the energy left. His screams are ebbing into a hoarse wheeze now, his movements slowing. He's on the brink of death when the man on his right spears him through the head with a metal rod. There's the sickening image of him roasting a marshmallow on a stick as he tries to pull it back out, giving it a shake so as to get the charred bits off. I'm so focused on the horrific scene that I don't notice the man on the left lighting and throwing another bottle until I see it sailing through the air towards us.