by Shawn Jolley
Melvin shook his head and bit his lip. "I didn't say anything about running away from the law." He sat back and took a deep breath. "I wanted to see you. I had to protect you from being raised in a world so evil and corrupt."
"What are you talking about?" asked Eden. He was beginning to feel uneasy. Melvin smiled. Eden stood up. "I'm leaving. I don't want anything to do with you."
Melvin placed his hand on the pistol and stood up as well. "You're not going anywhere until I say so," he said.
"This isn't protecting me, this is crazy!" yelled Eden.
The sound of a gunshot rang out and Eden saw Sammy's lifeless body fall to the floor. Smoke rose from the barrel of the silver pistol. Eden was paralyzed by shock. He didn't know what to do. Sammy shouldn't have jumped. He shouldn't have jumped.
Suddenly the basement door crashed open and all of the prisoners ran into the room. Dustin was at the lead and he came straight toward Eden. "What happened?" he asked, grabbing Eden, and pushing him toward the front door. Eden looked down at Sammy then back over to Melvin who, in his bewilderment, stood in the middle of the room looking at all the people running around him. "Come on," said Dustin. They were almost to the door.
"He shot him. He shot Sammy. How'd you escape? Where's the sheriff?"
"He'll shoot us if we don't get out of here. We'll talk later," screamed Dustin.
"What about everyone else?" asked Eden.
"They know where we're meeting," said Dustin. "Come on." They made it out of the front door. They heard a gunshot from behind them. They kept running. The Rottweiler was nowhere to be seen.
Eden turned around. He saw Principal Bolt running through the living room toward the kitchen. He was shouting something, but all Eden caught was: "Tony". "Have you been here the whole time?" asked Eden.
Dustin nodded. "We can talk about it later. Let's just say I never want to see your dad again." They were running toward the makeshift road which ran through the woods.
Eden grabbed Dustin's shirt collar. "Wait," he said. "There's a bike." He ran to the bush where Sammy had hidden the dirt bike and pulled it out. He turned toward the cabin; everybody was still inside except for Tony, Anna, and the Veres twins who were running toward them. "There's only room for two of us," said Eden.
"It's okay, they'll catch up," said Dustin. "You're the one we need to protect, just get on." Eden got on the dirt bike with Dustin; the engine turned over and they sped onto the road. The others continued to run toward them. "We really need to get away," yelled Eden.
At that moment, there was an explosion and the trees turned orange. The dirt bike moved to the side, Dustin overcorrected and they almost ran back into the trees. Eden could feel the heat from the fire. From somewhere in the back of his mind he had a thought of a fallen tree, then he was pitched forward into the night. The branches whipped his limbs and torso, there was a sickening crunch, and everything went black.
Epilogue
Winter Wildfire Extinguished
Sunday 8:20 a.m.
A rural wildfire broke out shortly after eleven o'clock on Saturday night. We know that the fire was caused by a large explosion, but it is still unclear as to what actually sparked the explosion. Nobody has come forward as having anything to do with the explosion. However, a building of some type has been confirmed to be at the center of the destroyed area. According to county records, there should not have been a structure of any kind located in the area in question.
Our best guess is that the building in question is an illegally constructed hunter's cabin that has for reasons unknown met a grisly end. At the time of this report, firefighters and officers are still searching the area for survivors as they believe the building was occupied at the time that the explosion occurred.
As you may have guessed, wildfires in the middle of winter are quite uncommon in this region; in fact, this is the first November wildfire for the county in over ten years. The County Sheriff's Department declined to say whether or not they are aware or not of anyone being injured or killed as a result of the explosion or spreading fire. However, it is currently believed that the explosion was a result of human error.
As of this writing, the fire zone has been contained to a 4-acre radius. It is expected that it will remain contained until it is officially put out later this day. Luckily, no winter storms appear to be coming into the area, so clean up should be fairly easy. We will update this story as soon as new details become available to us.
Update
Sunday 4:30 p.m.
We have received new details regarding the cause of the wildfire that broke out last night (see previous story) and the people responsible for the winter blaze. It is reported by the county that the fire did indeed start just after eleven o'clock Saturday night and that the cause of the fire was an explosion resulting from a kitchen gas leak. It is believed from evidence recovered at the area of the fire that the owner of the cabin was prone to smoking and that this smoking habit was what ignited the gas.
The small hunting cabin where the explosion took place was thought to have been abandoned more than ten years ago and had been scheduled for demolition last October, more than a year ago. It is not uncommon for illegally constructed homes such as the one referred to in this story to be used and lived in for years without any action being taken to bring the structures up to code. When asked why the dwelling had not been demolished as scheduled more than a year ago, the county planning officials declined to comment.
As far as the identity of the person responsible for the gas leak is concerned, we don't yet have a name, but several bodies have been taken from the area. It is assumed so far that these persons are hunters and that they were simply victims of a faulty gas line and spark. If anyone has details relating to the cause of Saturday night's events, please contact local law enforcement immediately. We will update this story again as soon as the victims’ identities have been revealed.
Update
Monday 12:10 p.m.
A total of twelve individuals lost their lives as a result of the gas explosion that destroyed a rural cabin on Saturday night. The body count was higher than anticipated. The names of the individuals who lost their lives have not all been released as some of the victims, it turns out, were minors.
The scene where the fire was blazing little more than a day and a half ago is now being treated as a crime scene. No locals from the area have come forward with any statements of any kind. We have reached out to local law enforcement and leaders for more information.
Interestingly enough, one of the victims was revealed to be Melvin Burns-Ardburn, an escaped prisoner who was expected to appear in court later next month for several accounts of kidnapping, murder, and some lesser charges. The Sheriff's Office has stated that they don't believe Burns-Ardburn was responsible for the fiery explosion, but that his presence in the cabin with what appears to be a good portion of the local population does raise some concerns.
We are currently interested in and investigating the question of why so many people were gathered in the cabin as it is unusual for large parties or gatherings to take place in this rural area, especially so late at night. While it may have been a planned party of some type, there are several more possibilities that will need to be considered.
If anyone has information regarding the cabin explosion, Melvin Burns-Ardburn, or anything else relating to Saturday night's events, please contact the local authorities as soon as possible.
Update
Wednesday 11:15 a.m.
The rural cabin explosion, which occurred last Saturday night, has been ruled as an accident. It seems that many of the local people came to the cabin for a sort of everlasting holiday party (the area Thanksgiving party having been held less than a week before during a severe snow storm).
The party was organized and hosted by the owner of the cabin, Melvin Burns-Ardburn, and his family. We are unsure as to whether or not his wife and son were aware of his recent escape from prison, or any court cases against him.
So that night, when one of the guests lit a cigarette, which was more than likely the owner, Melvin Burns-Ardburn, the explosion and fire followed. It was a cloudless and clear night, which allowed a park ranger to see and report the blaze from his station tower just across the county line.
As we uncovered earlier this week, Melvin Burns-Ardburn was among the people who lost their lives in the explosion. It has also been confirmed that his wife and son were with him at the time of the explosion.
In fact, it appears that Burns-Ardburn's son was escaping with a neighborhood boy on a dirt bike shortly after the blast occurred. It is believed that smoke inhalation and severe fatigue caused them to faint before leaving the cabin's property line.
Losing control of the dirt bike, they were both ejected into the path of a nearby tree. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Our hearts go out to anyone who knew them.
The father of Anna Jones, the last living relation to any of the victims, has yet to comment on what happened at the cabin despite our numerous attempts to interview him. We do know that Mr. Jones reported his daughter Anna missing on the night before Thanksgiving.
How she ended up at the cabin for the extended holiday party is still under investigation although it is believed that she was friends with Burns-Ardburn's son. If and when Mr. Jones decides to comment, we will be there, and you will be the first to know.
Afterward
When I started writing Fracture After Dark at the end of 2013, I didn't know it would take me until the end of 2016 to complete it. Three years, after all, is far too long to spend on a novel, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. The important thing is that I finished it.
I can think of a few valid reasons for why it took me so long, but I can think of many more reasons for why it should have been done sooner. What it all boils down to is that I was forcing the story to be something it wasn't. The characters wanted to do one thing, but I wanted them to do another. By the time I realized the story was fine the way the characters wanted it, almost two years of needless tinkering had gone by.
All in all, I'm grateful for the learning experience, and I'm proud of what Fracture After Dark has ultimately become. Of course, I had plenty of help and support along the way, and I'd like to thank everyone who guided me through the writing process.
Thank you, Professor Sproat, for encouraging me to start writing the first scenes. Thank you, Timothy Eckstein, Agustin Torres, and JD Flygare, for your time, insight, and willingness to listen. Thank you Robert Johnson for designing the cover and being so enthusiastic about the project. Thank you, Kevin Wilder and Taibre Layton, for reading the final draft and providing invaluable feedback.
And, a big thank you to my wife, Allie, most of all, for knowing what to say, when to say it; and, most importantly, when to leave things unsaid. My fragile ego is still intact, not too large, and not too small.
