did the writing go? Up at the cabin?”
“Fine. I think I made a breakthrough. I’ve finally worked out how the story’s going to end.”
“That’s good,” I tell him, “maybe I can read it some time.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come over?” he asks. “Or I could come inside for a bit? Don’t take this the wrong way, Beth, but you don’t seem like you’re quite in the right state of mind to be alone right now.”
“I’m fine, I swear,” I tell him. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
With that, I close the door and lock it, and after a moment I hear him making his way back to his own house. Resting my forehead against the wall for a moment, I take a series of deep breaths and try to stay calm, but finally I realize that staying in this house a moment longer is going to drive me crazy. Grabbing my phone, I bring up Jacqui’s number and wait for her to pick up.
“Hey,” she says as she answers, “I was gonna call you in a bit, how did it go with -”
“I need to come over,” I tell her. “I need to stay the night. I’ll grab a few things and I’ll be there in half an hour. Is that okay?”
“Uh, sure, honey, but -”
“I’ll tell you when I get there,” I reply, glancing over my shoulder and watching the shadows for a moment, half-expecting to see David and Hannah. “I think this time I might actually be losing my mind.”
Six
Although I spot the faint orange glow on the horizon almost as soon as I pull out of the driveway, I don’t pay any attention at first. I figure it’s just a sports stadium in the distance having a late game, or maybe a random fire in one of the suburbs. It’s only a few minutes later, when I turn onto Jacqui’s road, that I realize a house is ablaze. Still, it doesn’t seriously occur to me that the house might be Jacqui’s, not until I come to a halt at a roadblock and see two fire engines on her lawn.
“No,” I whisper, getting out of the car as fast as possible and racing along the street. “No no no…”
“Hey!” one of the firemen shouts, stepping in my way and grabbing my arms. “You can’t go this way!”
“That’s my friend’s house!” I shout back at him as I try to twist free. Looking over at the fire, I’m shocked to see that the entire detached building is already being consumed by flames. For a moment, all I can do is stare in stunned silence, before suddenly I realize that I haven’t asked the most important question of all.
“You have to go back,” the fireman tells me. “This is -”
“Where is she?” I shout.
“Who?”
“The woman who lives in that house! Where the hell is she?”
“I…” He pauses, and I can see from the look in his eyes that it’s not good news. “We think the occupant fell asleep in bed with a cigarette and -”
“No!” I shout, pulling free and racing past the nearest fire engine just in time to see several men carrying a covered stretcher from the scene.
“M’am,” the fireman continues, grabbing my arm. “You have to -”
“Is that her?” I ask, as my entire body starts to tremble with shock.
“There appears to have only been one person in the house when the fire started,” he replies. “We only got the call about ten minutes ago, everything happened so fast.”
Just as I’m about to tell him that he’s wrong, that there’s no way Jacqui would have fallen asleep in bed with a lit cigarette, I spot movement at the side of the stretcher, and a burned arm slips out from under the black cover, its skin blackened and raw. One of the other firemen quickly slips it back under the cover, but it’s too late: I saw it.
“M’am,” the fireman next to me says after a moment, still trying to gently pull me back toward the roadblock. “You can’t be here. We have no idea whether or not the -”
Before he can finish, there’s a crashing sound nearby. Turning, I watch in horror as the entire front of Jacqui’s house comes crashing down in a wall of fire,
“Fine. I think I made a breakthrough. I’ve finally worked out how the story’s going to end.”
“That’s good,” I tell him, “maybe I can read it some time.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come over?” he asks. “Or I could come inside for a bit? Don’t take this the wrong way, Beth, but you don’t seem like you’re quite in the right state of mind to be alone right now.”
“I’m fine, I swear,” I tell him. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
With that, I close the door and lock it, and after a moment I hear him making his way back to his own house. Resting my forehead against the wall for a moment, I take a series of deep breaths and try to stay calm, but finally I realize that staying in this house a moment longer is going to drive me crazy. Grabbing my phone, I bring up Jacqui’s number and wait for her to pick up.
“Hey,” she says as she answers, “I was gonna call you in a bit, how did it go with -”
“I need to come over,” I tell her. “I need to stay the night. I’ll grab a few things and I’ll be there in half an hour. Is that okay?”
“Uh, sure, honey, but -”
“I’ll tell you when I get there,” I reply, glancing over my shoulder and watching the shadows for a moment, half-expecting to see David and Hannah. “I think this time I might actually be losing my mind.”
Six
Although I spot the faint orange glow on the horizon almost as soon as I pull out of the driveway, I don’t pay any attention at first. I figure it’s just a sports stadium in the distance having a late game, or maybe a random fire in one of the suburbs. It’s only a few minutes later, when I turn onto Jacqui’s road, that I realize a house is ablaze. Still, it doesn’t seriously occur to me that the house might be Jacqui’s, not until I come to a halt at a roadblock and see two fire engines on her lawn.
“No,” I whisper, getting out of the car as fast as possible and racing along the street. “No no no…”
“Hey!” one of the firemen shouts, stepping in my way and grabbing my arms. “You can’t go this way!”
“That’s my friend’s house!” I shout back at him as I try to twist free. Looking over at the fire, I’m shocked to see that the entire detached building is already being consumed by flames. For a moment, all I can do is stare in stunned silence, before suddenly I realize that I haven’t asked the most important question of all.
“You have to go back,” the fireman tells me. “This is -”
“Where is she?” I shout.
“Who?”
“The woman who lives in that house! Where the hell is she?”
“I…” He pauses, and I can see from the look in his eyes that it’s not good news. “We think the occupant fell asleep in bed with a cigarette and -”
“No!” I shout, pulling free and racing past the nearest fire engine just in time to see several men carrying a covered stretcher from the scene.
“M’am,” the fireman continues, grabbing my arm. “You have to -”
“Is that her?” I ask, as my entire body starts to tremble with shock.
“There appears to have only been one person in the house when the fire started,” he replies. “We only got the call about ten minutes ago, everything happened so fast.”
Just as I’m about to tell him that he’s wrong, that there’s no way Jacqui would have fallen asleep in bed with a lit cigarette, I spot movement at the side of the stretcher, and a burned arm slips out from under the black cover, its skin blackened and raw. One of the other firemen quickly slips it back under the cover, but it’s too late: I saw it.
“M’am,” the fireman next to me says after a moment, still trying to gently pull me back toward the roadblock. “You can’t be here. We have no idea whether or not the -”
Before he can finish, there’s a crashing sound nearby. Turning, I watch in horror as the entire front of Jacqui’s house comes crashing down in a wall of fire,
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