The Fires Burning Within

It was an exceptionally foggy night, even for San Francisco this time of year.

"Wow that was the longest 15-minute drive of my life," said Peter as he parked the car in the alley behind the house. The slight slur in his voice made it unclear if the main factor contributing to the drive's difficulty was the weather or the two bottles of wine they finished at dinner.

"I'm glad we finally got to try that place; it's been open for over a year now," replied his even more tipsy girlfriend, Ashley. "Thanks again for paying." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

A thought started to burn in her mind but was extinguished as a foghorn blared in the distance.

Ashley began to say something else but Peter wasn't listening. Instead he was staring through squinted eyes at what looked to be a fireman, who had just emerged from the fog and was illuminated by the dim backlight of the neighbor's house, sprinting at full speed down the alley towards them.

His gear was completely black — none of the yellow stripes firefighters usually wore — and he was wearing a gas mask of the same color. He was also partially covered in a dark liquid, though it was impossible to make out its true color or nature under the conditions.

"I wonder if there's a fire nearby or what the problem might be. I'll make sure we're in the clear," said Peter, getting out of the car. He could hear the jangling of the fireman's equipment, of which he seemed to be carrying a lot, and his heavy footsteps as he kept up his pace.

Peter held up a hand in greeting and began to approach. When he got within a few yards the fireman, without breaking stride and with one fluid movement, took the axe from his belt and buried it deep in Peter's chest before he could utter a word of protest. The fireman quickly ripped it out, put it back on his belt, and continued sprinting down the alley until he disappeared into the night. If it weren't for Ashley's screams of terror the jangling and footsteps would still have been audible but fading beyond where the mist cut off visibility.

Almost two miles across town a woman looked out her window and alerted her husband to the thick fog, which had started to glow an orange color in one direction.

"It looks like a fire."