The Heritage of Sephtis: The Returning

2: Fire

Jack walked down the alley, not knowing where to go. He had to go somewhere, but he didn't know where to even begin. The alley ahead of him opened into a street. Great, he thought, two paths. He looked at the street. Left or right. Which way should he go? Left. Left seems right. He turned left and walked down the street. The sun was setting quickly now. It was going to get dark soon. What are you going to do then, Jack, huh? He sighed. Why did he do this in the first place? His parents would be worried sick. Maybe he should turn back. He stopped, the street had ended in a T with the highway, and a bus stop sat on the corner. He looked at it. Maybe he should turn back, but maybe he shouldn't. He walked over to the bus station, hoping he had money. He sat down on the bench, and felt some sort of paper as his hand hit the bench. He looked down and saw a twenty dollar bill. He looked around for an owner, but he didn't see anyone but him. Maybe it's a sign? He thought, a little bit confused. At that moment a bus pulled up. Jack sighed, and grabbed the twenty.

The bus driver opened the door. “You gonna get on, kid? Well?”

Jack looked down at the money in his hand. He shook his head yes, and walked on the bus. He handed the bus driver the money, and walked to the back of the bus, avoiding the stares that some of the people gave him.

He looked down at the letter in his other hand. Maybe there was something on it that would give him a hint at something, anything. He stared at it, flipped it upside-down a couple of times, but he just couldn't get anything from it. He took off his backpack and put the letter in it. He looked out the window. It was dark now. He closed his eyes. He would want to sleep for this journey. He had no clue when his next chance to sleep for a long time would be.

The bus stopped. Jack woke up and looked out the window. They were downtown at a bus stop. It was dark, except for the street lamps along the road. Jack looked around the bus, there were few people still on the bus. Jack looked back out the window, as a man passed him and got off the bus. Where exactly was he? The bus started moving again. Jack watched the building pass by, as the bus drove down the street. He looked up at a window, and saw a face staring down at the street below. A while passed before the bus stopped again. The bus was now near the edge of town. A woman in the back of the bus got up and made her way towards the door. As she walked past Jack, she dropped a folded up paper.

    “Miss, you dropped something.” Jack called out to the woman, but she didn’t hear him, and got off the bus. Jack grabbed the folded paper, his backpack, and got off the bus. Jack saw the woman walking down the road. “Hey! Miss!” Jack called out, but she kept walking. She turned a corner, and Jack ran after her. He turned the corner and saw her walking toward an apartment building. She turned and looked at Jack. Jack waved the paper in the air at her and stopped running. The woman smiled, and pointed down a street towards the highway. Then she turned and walked into the office building of the apartment. Jack stared confused for a few seconds, and then walked slowly towards the building. The building suddenly burst into flames. Jack ran towards the building, and saw someone take off out of the side of the building. As Jack reached the apartment sign, a man and a young woman ran out of the building.

“Kid! Don't go in there!” The man ran up to Jack and pulled him away from the building.

“But, there's a woman. She dropped this,” Jack held up the paper. “She needs it.” Jack struggled to get loose of the man's grip.

“If she went in, she doesn't need it anymore.” The man tried to reason with Jack. “If you go in you'll die, and what will that leave your family with?” Jack looked at the building and stopped struggling.

The doors flung open as two more people ran out, practically coughing up their lungs. Jack got a glimpse of the woman again in the doorway, ushering more people out. The man let go of Jack and walked away, phone in hand. Jack took a few steps towards the door, and the woman looked at him again. She shook her head, pointed down the street, and pushed another person out the door. Jack looked at her. She almost looked familiar. The roof of the building started crumbling. She looked up and smiled sadly. Her hauntingly light hair started fading. Then she disappeared. The roof completely caved in, and sparks flew into the air. A fire siren could be heard in the distance growing closer. Jack looked down at the paper in his hand. It was blank. He crumpled up the paper angrily, and threw it at the smouldering ruins of the building. He looked where she had been pointing earlier. He wasn't sure why she wanted him to go this way, but she disappeared before his eyes. Maybe she wrote him the letter, or maybe she was helping whoever wrote the letter. People don't disappear into thin air very often after all. He looked back at the burning appartements, the fire truck had arrived. He turned and walked away from the building, he would take the woman’s advice. He walked down the dark street, as a stream of tired people in robes and slippers stumbled out of their houses, towards the fire. He reached the highway, and looked both ways. One way led back into town. The other led away from town into dark nothingness. There was only one choice. He wasn't going to go back into town, back home. He had to keep moving, forward and away from where he had been. So he turned right. Into the darkness, and the cold. His only hope was the next town wasn't too far away.