by C. S. Won
“You’ve done it now, cretin. You’re in for a world of hu—” There was a flash and then a roar and then the birth of a great flame. An orange glow enveloped the room, and with it, an incredible heat. Everyone reared back and shouted, Jae included. A bristling inferno occupied the space where the maître d’ once stood, his body a blackened silhouette inside the column of red that devoured him. The most horrible scream Jae had ever heard erupted from that prison of fire, and he saw the maître d’ fall to the ground, the flames rising higher and higher from his fallen body—so high that they torched the ceiling above, transforming the whole canvas into a tempest of flame.
“Jae!” Madeline clung to the tail of Jae’s jacket, eyes wide with panic.
“Get out of here! Make your way to the exit!” Jae said to her.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you. Go!”
But she sat unmoving, hand still wrenched tight around his jacket, her face a luminescent glow masked with fear. Panic washed over the room like a flood. There were screams everywhere, and a mad shuffling of feet and chairs, people stumbling out of their seats as they stampeded toward the closest exit. Burning wreckage spewed from the ceiling, catching an unlucky few who couldn’t have possibly seen what was coming. Many were killed instantly, bodies broken by the collapsing debris, but a few managed to survive, their faces wrenched in pain and horror as they lied trapped underneath fiery rubble. Jae sprung to action, but Adam moved to block his path.
“This is payback for what you did to me,” Adam said. “It should have been you burning in that apartment fire. It should have been you who lost his arm. Not me!”
Jae grabbed him by the collar of his gown and threw him up against a nearby wall. It felt warm touching him. “Payback is setting the restaurant on fire? Payback is killing that guy? What did you do to him? How did you set him on fire?”
Adam struggled. But Jae’s grip was strong—too strong for Adam to ever hope to break. “Get off of me, bastard!”
Jae shook him. “What did you do, damn it? Why did you kill him?”
“It just . . . it just happened! I had nothing to do with it!”
“Bullshit! That was no accident. I saw you light him up! Where’s your weapon?” He looked at Adam’s hand and realized he wasn’t holding anything. Jae thumped him against the wall again. “Where is it? Show it to me!”
“I said I didn’t do it!” Adam moved to push him himself free, but Jae released his grip, letting him slump down against the floor. Jae backed away. Madeline stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his.
“Jae, did he—”
“You need to go, Madeline, right now,” Jae said.
“But—”
“Go, before you get hurt!”
She hesitated for the briefest of moments, and then finally turned away to make her way to the exit.
“Wait, Madeline!” Adam reached out to her. She stopped and turned to look at him. “Madeline, you need to know that I love you. I’ve loved you since the day I first saw you. Be with me, and I can give you the life you desire. Jae doesn’t deserve you; I do. Stand by me, and I can show you what true love is.”
Madeline frowned at him and turned away, running toward the exit.
“Wait, Madeline, stop! Don’t go! I love—”
Jae grabbed Adam’s collar again and lifted him off the ground, slamming him back into the wall. Adam gasped, legs kicking at the air, his one remaining hand gripped tight around Jae’s wrist.
“The fire at the hospital, it was you, wasn’t it?” Jae shook him. “Wasn’t it?”
Adam grunted, struggling with the increasing violence. “My life is ruined because of you. You stripped me of my pride, you stripped me of my flesh, you stripped me of my arm, and you stripped me of my love!” His eyes were wild with hate. “I have nothing—nothing! And it’s all because of you! You took everything from me!”
Jae shook him again. “Tell me it’s not true, damn it. Tell me that it wasn’t you who burned those people at the hospital.”
A flash of knowing guilt wrenched across Adam’s ruined face. “I . . . I didn’t mean to do it. I . . . I was angry, I was . . .”
A sharp pain enveloped Jae’s wrist, hot and searing, forcing him to drop Adam back onto the floor. Jae stumbled back a few steps, holding his trembling arm. A band of glistening red and ashen black encircled his wrist. The skin blistered and smoked. He fell to his knee and sucked in a breath, trying to withstand the pain the best he could. What just happened? He looked at Adam and saw that his hand was glowing orange like an ember, steam rising from the palm, heat distorting the air around it.
Jae removed his jacket and tore off a sleeve, which he wrapped around his wrist. He hissed through his teeth as his arm screamed out in pain. As he secured the knot, a hundred questions ran through his head, many of them a variation of “how?” and “why?” and so forth, but before he could even attempt to speculate on an answer, a loud rumbling behind him forced him from his thoughts. He looked back and saw more of the ceiling crashing in, spilling onto the floor. The fire had staked its claim over the restaurant and would claim him too if he didn’t attempt escape.
He stood up, hunched over so his head wouldn’t be in the smoke, and ran over to Adam. Whatever he was or whatever he did, Jae couldn’t allow him to burn again, not for a second time.
“Adam! Get up, let’s go!” Jae said.
Adam looked up. That strange glow of his hand washed his face in a bright orange light, accentuating the grotesqueness of his scars. Fire danced around him, moving about in a strange sort of jaunt, ascending and descending to a silent beat. He didn’t seem too concerned by the close proximity of the fire, as he ignored the flames inching closer to his feet.
Jae extended a hand. “Come on, we need to get out here. We don’t have much time left.”
Anger twisted Adam’s expression and he swiped his hand at Jae, refusing the offer. The fire around Adam sprang up into the air, almost by command, forcing Jae to take a few steps back.
“What were you planning to do? Bury me again so you could leave me to die?” Adam stood up, fist clenched at his side. “Were you going to finish the job that you started back at the apartment?”
Anger rose up in Jae’s chest. “Not everyone is out to get you. Why can’t you understand that? Why the hell—never mind. Forget it; I don’t care. This place is about to go. We need to leave or we’re both going to die.”
“I don’t want your help. I never wanted your help.” The fire around Adam grew higher, forming a fence around him. “I’m going to take everything away from you, just like you did to me. I’m going to make you feel what I feel.”
Crouching lower from the descending smoke, Jae took a few steps toward Adam. The urge to argue was strong—so strong, in fact, that the thought of it was almost seductive. He wanted nothing more than to correct Adam’s recollection of history, to spend however much time was needed until Adam saw things his way, but the situation wouldn’t allow for it. The fire had grown wilder, and the smoke too much to tolerate. His window of opportunity to escape was closing fast, and he had no time to play the blame game with Adam anymore. He began what he knew would be his last plea, hoping that this time—this one, rare moment—that he would listen to him.
“I know you’re angry, Adam, and I can understand why you are. If you want to blame me for what happened, fine; I don’t care. Blame me all you want; blame me until your last dying breath, but we need to go, right now, or we’re both going to die. Once we’re safely outside, you can continue to curse me all you like; I don’t care.”
For a moment, it appeared as though Adam was contemplating the offer. His face softened, as if he was convinced of Jae’s reasoning—that yes, maybe he should accept this proposal of help, just this one time. No one would blame him for it; there was no shame in being rescued from a fire. But whatever thought process he was going through took a turn for the worse, the neutrality on his face suddenly twisting into that familia
r coil of hate.
“I don’t care if I die. As long as I take you with me, then I’ll be content.”
Fuck this. If Adam didn’t wish to comply, then Jae had to take matters into his own hands. There was no way he was going to walk out without Adam in tow. He’d wrench Adam by his neck and drag him outside kicking and screaming if he had to; he didn’t care. If Adam wanted to die, then he would have to do it on his own time.
Jae made his move, striding as quickly as he could, but just as he was about to reach Adam, a swirling inferno rose up from the ground and consumed him whole. Jae stumbled away, crying out in surprise. When he looked back, blinking through the immense heat, Adam was nowhere to be seen. He called out but no answer came. And when he tried to go back to find Adam—or his body—in the fire, the flames threw him back. He tried again, more desperate than ever, but the fire had grown too strong and too mighty for him to continue. All his strength was useless against it. He called out one last time, but only the roar of the fire answered back.
He fell to a knee, coughing and hacking, the smoke too heavy for him to endure. I have to get out of here. Jae turned and ran toward the exit, using his jacket to cover his nose and mouth, avoiding the fire the best he could. Near the exit, a small pile of debris blocked his path, but a swift kick it flying about, twisting in the air. The cold summer night washed over him as he stumbled outside, smoke trailing behind him like a shadow. He heard sirens wailing all around him, and loud murmurs from a gathered crowd buzzing about, and he thought he could hear Madeline calling his name somewhere amidst all that, but through the pounding of his head he wasn’t sure if it was actually her or not. He staggered onto his hands, sucking in the clean air with hungry gulps. Coughing, he wiped away a strand of saliva hanging from his lips.
Once again he had allowed Adam to dictate the pace of the game, and like a fool he opted to participate, wasting precious time arguing about history and perceived transgressions while a fire rampaged around them. How could he have been so dumb? All he had to do was reach out and take him, but he let his anger cloud his judgment. Jae punched the pavement. It broke into a series of cracks. With his strength, it would have been easy to drag Adam out, a task so simple and effortless that success would have been guaranteed, but none of that mattered because he had ultimately failed. What good was his newfound strength if he couldn’t save one man?
Chapter 12
The fire had finally been put down. All that remained of the restaurant was a skeletal husk, smoking and black. Many of the surviving patrons who still remained were huddled together in the parking lot, blankets draped over their slouching shoulders. They looked like prisoners freed from an internment camp, whittled down to a gaunt appearance, their hair streaked with ash, their faces contorted in a storybook of pain and dismay. In front of the wreckage, firefighters and police officers stood together in mixed groups, conversing with one another over the extent of the damage.
Jae looked up at the sky. The rising smoke did little to blemish the night. Stars still shone like gold dust. He found Orion, the outline of the huntsman burning in its familiar pattern. It brought back memories of simpler times, when there was no lightning storm, no coma, no strange powers, and no fire that took his mother’s life. He wondered what could have been—what should have been, if his mother had lived through that day, if his father didn’t die of heartbreak, if his brother didn’t depart and vanish without a trace.
“I think that should do it.” The EMT finished wrapping Jae’s wrist, snipping the end of the bandage off with a flash of his scissors. Madeline stood to the side, observant. Jae wrapped a hand around the bandaging. A pulsating sort of pain still remained, but thanks to the EMT’s good work, it wasn’t as bad as it used to be.
“Thanks,” Jae said.
“It’s amazing that after all that, you were able to escape with just a burned wrist,” the EMT said, packing up his supplies. “You’re very fortunate.”
“Story of my life.”
“I gave you some antibiotics as well as some ointment to help with any swelling or irritation. Just make sure you change the bandages out every day.”
“I have it covered,” Madeline said. The EMT nodded and stood up, departing to check on the others. She sat in front of Jae and took his wrist in her hands, massaging it slowly.
“So that’s what it’s like to be in a fire. Glad I didn’t become a firefighter, then.” A light sprinkling of soot dusted her hair. Her dress had become smoke stained. Splotches of grey marked the fine, black threading. She was barefoot, heels dangling in the crook of her fingers. Her engagement ring appeared to be the only thing left untouched, diamond gemstone sparkling as if all was right with the world.
“It sucks and it’s dangerous, but somebody’s got to do it,” Jae said.
“Does it have to be you?”
“No, but it’s the job I signed up for, so it’s what I have to do.”
She frowned. He took her hands into his. “The conditions weren’t ideal. In a typical scenario I would have all my safety gear on, a team would be supporting me, a separate team outside would be fighting to subdue the fire, and someone would have already started venting through the roof to lower the amount of smoke.” He turned her hand so he could look at her ring. “We do our best to control the situation. Injuries are a rare occurrence, contrary to popular belief.”
“But Adam was injured.”
“Adam broke protocol. What happened to him was his fau—” He paused. He could feel the anger coming up just thinking about it. He took a moment to find the right words. “. . . Everything that happened that day could have been prevented if we all did things differently. Nobody exercised good judgment, including myself.”
She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “And now he’s dead.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
“Adam wasn’t with you when you came out of the restaurant.”
“It doesn’t mean he’s dead.” Although it seemed likely. He couldn’t see how Adam survived that. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
She looked up at him. “Why did he say he loved me?”
He shook his head, slowly. “I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. Why would he say that?”
People always told him that Adam had an infatuation with Madeline—or as some liked to call it, an obsession—but he never believed any of it, or tried not to. Why would he? Not once did he witness Adam approach her, let alone say a complete sentence in her vicinity. Adam always kept his distance, not even attempting to say a simple hello during public outings like at a fundraiser or a party. If he had an infatuation then he kept his intentions hidden well, veiled behind a façade of disinterest. Was it possible that Adam could have made a move while he wasn’t around? Yes, but he doubted even that, as he was sure someone would have told him if the two were making secret liaisons.
Then what did Adam’s unexpected proclamation of love mean? Was it just another ruse to get Jae angry? Or was his love true, and in extension, the stories of his obsession?
I fucked her raw, and I fucked her good.
A swell of irritation bubbled up his spine. He wished the comment didn’t bother him as much as it did. It was an ugly remark made by a man looking to push buttons. The comment should have been expunged from his system, especially since so much time has passed. So why did it remain? Was a small part of him actually entertaining the idea that it was true?
“You have a knack for finding trouble, don’t you, Jae?”
He felt a gloved hand fall against his shoulder. Gabe stood behind him in full gear, helmet tipped back to reveal a sweating face. “You just can’t catch a break, can you?”
“Seems I’m a magnet for disaster,” Jae said, standing up for a firm handshake and a pat on the arm. “Were you able to find Adam?”
Gabe shook his head. “No. We found others but not him.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. It’d be pretty hard to miss his corpse.”
Madeline looked at him. “Then . . . he’s alive? He managed to escape?”
“I don’t want to say for sure, but anything’s possible.” Gabe took his helmet off and wiped the sweat from his face. He pointed at the restaurant. “Is it true that Adam did all this? And the hospital too?”
Jae gave him a grim look. “He admitted as much.”
“How? The guy is a cripple.”
With time to finally think, the answer—which now seemed obvious—came quickly for him. “Whatever gave me my strength, whether it was the lightning, the coma, or something else entirely, gave him the ability . . . ,” he thumbed at the restaurant, “. . . to do that.” Jae showed Gabe his bandaged wrist. “And he gave me a personal demonstration.”
Gabe stared at the injury. “So, he’s able to—what, shoot fire from his hand?”
“Doesn’t seem like it, but it’s something close to it.”
“Fuck.” Gabe stared at the ground and scratched his head. “Fuck,” he said again. “How the fuck is that even possible?”
Jae shook his head. He was just as ignorant.
“Why would he come here, though? What did he want?” Gabe asked.
“Revenge,” Jae said.
“For what? You saved his life,” Madeline said.
“It’s Adam; he blames Jae for everything. The man is crazy when it comes to Jae,” Gabe said.
“This isn’t crazy; this is insane,” she said.
Jae massaged his wrist. “I have to find him.”
“Find him? Why?” Gabe asked.
“So I can stop him. He’s vowed to come after me, and he’s already shown a willingness to hurt others in order to do so. I can’t afford to let anybody else get caught in the crossfire. I need to put an end to this before things get any worse.”
“Let the police handle this. He’s not your responsibility,” Madeline said.
