The flames jumped into the sky from the building as Jeff watched from across the street. He had been called out after the fire started, but his job wouldn’t start till it was extinguished. The paint store seemed like a likely candidate for an accidental fire. He knew the place well, he had done several inspections there when he was the towns fire inspector, and he had written them up several times...

Her eyes dug holes

in the back of their heads

Her step frightened those around her

in an odd way in which no one knew

She was an unpleasant soul

But misunderstood

A girl with feelings too

But something shook our cores

She was smart for a girl

and quiet for a woman

I had never seen such beauty

Nor had I ever been so unsettled

She cared for those who listened

teling tales

yelling fables

...

Burnt out remains

**The Blaze in the Foyer**

The fire started like a ghost in the night, silent and unseen. By the time anyone noticed, flames had already consumed the foyer of the building. Charred remnants of what used to be computers smoldered, their once-blinking lights extinguished forever. The building, unoccupied at the time, stood like a skeleton of its former self against the gray morn...

hey! help me with this puzzle. it starts with an a, and the clue is “to set on fire.” it’s five letters. to set on fire, to light up, to burn, the world burning, to watch the world burn… no, it can’t be mean girls, that’s too long. to set on fire, to light up, to light up with joy, to be happy, to love, to adore? maybe. but that seems too far off. let’s try again. to set on fire, to light up, to b...

(Sort of a sequel to Coming Back to Haunt.)

———

Penny snaps her fingers and a flame appears, lighting several candles in the dim room.

The added light gives view of the science experiments’ cells. It sends shivers up Penny’s spine seeing their containers. It looks exactly how they left it, though he had fixed the testing cell where they escaped.

“So Dr. Marken, how does it feel to have the sho...

*you’ll understand the title soon. I had a little too much fun writing this. it’s absolutely serious until the last part…*

——————

.HUNTYR.

——————

I wouldn’t say I’m particularly close to Jaz, but it’s not of my interest to be so far from her.

Attempting to relax, I fiddle with the massage chair remote, only to realize massages will not help.

Consequently, I throw my head back with a groan.

Th...

(TW: Holoc@ust)

One usually commits arson out is spite. This is because it’s far easier to summon the power-fuel of fire from match-wielding fingertips than to confront uncomfortable emotions. And even if my maturity would betray me this, I’ll admit I was not angry.

I was young and naïve to the cruelties of the world. I had warmed my cold-pale hands. I had caught the fluttering ash like raindrop...

On Wednesday, they burned the bodies. They did it at 7 a.m. on the dot, just as the sun was coming up. Clint said it was best to do it in the morning and joked that their neighbor's breakfast cooking would mask the smell of burning bodies.

Joked.

Clint’s tone came off as joking, but Laine didn’t think he was. She stood in the backyard, hands tucked under her armpits for warmth. Exhaling plumes...

Another day, rush hour rushes through your veins. Makes your blood boil. Inch by painful inch, not one thing that has met your throbbing stare remains uncursed. You are desperately late.

Running late, always running late: the austere eye of a traffic light pierces through the moist graphite six fifteen am atmosphere, streaking everything in its gaze in sunset vibes. There’s nothing poetic about i...

The couple looked so gorgeous sitting there, beneath the oak tree. I watched from over the top of my book, letting the pages flutter in the wind. The read was fine, but they were more enticing. The woman looked like a supermodel. Flawless, from what I could see. The man was less attractive, but I had a certain pull towards him. I felt as if he could be my soulmate; he seemed kind in that way. The ...