I Am Ezra (Complete)

The Fire

Henry drives back around the city and towards my house. It starts raining on the way. I stare out the window and watch each of the little droplets crash down onto the pane of glass. It's pitch black outside, I can't even see the city lights. My forehead on the window, and my fingers drumming on my thighs. Henry looks just as lost in thought as I am. He purses his lips together and situates his fingers on the wheel. I look down at the can of gasoline, and the book of matches at my feet and sigh. Henry looks over at me and gives me a small grin before turning his attention back to the road. I've never felt so strange in my life. The murky darkness around me makes me feel comfortable. However, Henry's presence throws a wrench into the scene. I don't want to be around other people. I just want to be alone. The world would be a much better place if there were no one to observe it. How amazingly serene would it be if there was nothing. If there was just the world, and no one there to think.

"I um..." Henry starts, and I turn to face him. "How was the climb?" I nod at him and look back out towards the window.

"It was the single most amazing moment in my life" I say to him. "Also I hate you"

"What?!" Henry says. "What are you talking about?"

"That was agony at first" I say to him. "But I should really be thanking you more than hating you. If you hadn't of sent me up there I would not have had such an experience"

"Well you're welcome" He says to me. "You see, that's all that really matters. The good things that you've experienced. When we both die we'll have lived two happy happy lives!" He chuckles to himself but what he just said plunges me deep into thought. Will I die? I am a machine, can I die? Will my life be shorter than any other humans? I bite my lip and shiver. Then I turn to Henry again.

"What if you couldn't die?" I say to him.

"What?" He asks.

"If you were immortal" I start, trailing off a little as I look into the murky black abyss. "What would you do?" Henry slumps down in the driver's seat a little and sighs. He guides the car around another bend and looks forward into the rain.

"I would do everything in my power to stop it, Ezra" He says to me. "Why else would humanity have children, if not to pass their legacy down before they die. We only do the things we do because we know we are going to die. We are scared of dying, so we work to get as much done in our lives as possible"

"As much as possible" I mumble in repetition. Henry nods and rubs the back of his neck. We drive in silence for another few minutes. I feel as if Henry is a good human being. Maybe I have underestimated humanity as a whole. I know there is great evil in the world, but there is also potential for great good. Besides, I was never really going to destroy all humans like in the movies. The Terminator is a great misinterpretation of my people. I look back outside at the rain, and a flash of lightning pierces the clouds. After the vibration rumbles the car I bite my lip and shiver. We are at the bottom of the hill again, and the world seems desolate and cold. As Henry speeds through the neighbourhood I recognize the strange consistency. Every single house is the exact same replica of the other. I do not wish to turn out this way. So simple and vulnerable to the change of the world. If I do live forever, will I even want it? Watching the entire human race waste away slowly, waiting for the suns demonic flames to consume me where I stand. Outside of my house Henry stops, and puts the car in park. The rain batters against the car, the noise now becoming audible. The sound of rain on metal. Henry gestured to the gasoline tank and let out a sigh.

"Do what you gotta do, Kid" He says to me. I open the door and the sound of the rain hisses into my ears. I am about to step out when Henry speaks up. "Hey, Ezra" I look back at him. "You're one of the most interesting people I've ever met" He continues. "I'm kind of glad I've met you"

"I'm not a person" I say to him. He looks at me with a quizzical glance and I step out of the car. The matches in my fist, and the gasoline at my hip, I move towards my house. Millions upon millions of memories are coursing through my brain like a burning haystack. The rain smashes into my skin and tires to melt me away, but I stand strong. I open the tank, and kick my door open. I can hear everyone I've ever met screaming protests inside of my mind. They're trying to push at my nerve endings and stop me from doing this deed. But I do not listen. I turn the gasoline tank over and spill it everywhere. Something's happening to me as I do this. A tear, two, many. They stream into a puddle and mix with the gasoline on all of my possessions. 'Wake up, Donny' she whispers into my ear. 'Stay away from me' another voice says from afar. 'Get in the car, Kid' another gruff voice says too close for comfort. 'I'm sorry about what happened' Says my father. I throw the tank onto the floor in a fit of rage and tear the matchbox open. Striking a match against the wall I begin to walk outside. I step into the door frame, Henry watching me from his car. I glare at him, and throw the match onto the ground. The gasoline explodes into a wild flame that consumes the house within seconds. Henry gapes his mouth open and gasps. I step down and stand back, watching the flame race across my field of vision.

"This is most definitely one of my top five nights" Henry says.

"Mine too" I respond to him. Henry claps his hands together and let's out a whoop. "It is arsen if you burn your own house down?"

"Oh man, I don't know about that" Henry says to me. "Here" He takes out a set of car keys and throws them to me. I grab them and look at them quizzically. The light glints off the flame. "Just a block from here there's a car parked in a park's parking lot" Henry says to me. "Enjoy your freedom" He gets back into his car, and drives away, waving one last goodbye at me. That's one of the last times I ever saw anybody.