writing Burning Brighter

[HunterTSN 1,444]

A very short prequel to the classic novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. You don't have to read it to understand this but it does help. It gets pretty dark.

 

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   “It was midsummer when the bombs fell, causing the skies themselves to catch fire. Within seconds cities became craters of ash. The luckier victims died instantly, their bodies reduced to atoms before they knew what had happened. The rest weren't so blessed; one by one they would collapse, from wounds, starvation, or exposure. A small few would survive, and rise up once again every few years to challenge their suppressor, only to be batted back down like toy soldiers each time.

 

 

“America, our land of peace and freedom. First we sucked our home dry, and then we
turned our sights on the rest of the world, determined to ruin it as we had ourselves.  We didn't care for the Earth, only what was inside of it, its resources. But with Earth’s crops came its land, and with its land came its people. We did what we thought was right, we wiped the earth clean, till nothing was left but a grey wasteland. Slowly we began to realize what we had done, but by then it was too late to take it back.

 

 

“We surrounded ourselves with walls to shield us from the nightmares that lay beyond our paradise. We lied to our citizens, pretended that nothing never happened. Instead of cleaning up the mess we made, we ran away and tried to pin the blame on someone else. Only there was no one else, for they had all burned at our hands. The only option we had left was to forget.”

 

 

 

 

   The dry pages spit up a cloud of dust into the air as my fingers slammed the thick book shut, causing a sound like that of lightning to ricochet around the silent theatre. Every eye watched me, searching me for the slightest waver or twitch. I did neither. Every ear waited, they wanted me to
speak, to answer all of their questions so they wouldn't have to.  But I said nothing; I just stared back at the ocean of grey, solemn faces.

 

 

It happened in slow motion. The door fell first, kicked in by a shining black boot. I had expected the law, but I had no regrets. America’s deepest, darkest secret was out, and all I had to do was read a book. It was as simple as walking into a library.

 

 

More police funneled into the house and began making for me down the main isle. A single man in the audience stood up on his chair, before diving into the congregation of cops. I’m not sure what happened next, but the theatre was transformed into a warzone, citizens turning violent against the government that they pledged allegiance to every morning. I had sparked a revolution that wouldn't soon be forgotten, no matter what the outcome.

 

 

Gunshots rang out and bodies hit the floor, signifying a good time for me to leave. I ran off the stage into the maze of dark corridors behind it. I didn't have long before the police would follow me, and I intended to make the most of that period.

 

 

At the end of the hallway was a heavy metal door. I pushed it open and felt the cool night air on my face.  It felt so calming, but I had no time to waste. A short barrier was the only thing keeping me from my freedom. I took a breath and vaulted over it with ease.

 

 

Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that I was on the second floor, but the shots and screams behind me deemed that information unimportant. I didn't even comprehend my free fall till after my left leg gave out beneath me as I hit the concrete below. There was no pain, the
adrenaline pumping in my veins kept me hobbling forward to my destination.

 

 

It took only a minute or two before I reached the library, but it felt like an hour. The thick oak doors were unlocked, although only I ever opened them.  I dead locked them tight behind me and slid to the floor limply. My leg was starting to throb now.  Far off in the distance I could still here the chaos back at the theatre. I thought of all the people I had led to the slaughter. Untrained and weaponless civilians pitched against armed lawmen aiming to kill.  Slowly I fell asleep, the guilt in my chest and the pain in my leg guiding me into unconsciousness.

 

 

 

   I dreamt of flames, of the library burning. Fire cackling in my ears as I limped to the giant wooden doors, they had been were barred from the outside.  All around me books shriveled into black carcasses. The crackling turned into roaring as shelf after shelf went up in orange pyre. I could do nothing as the library caught fire all around me. Sparks showered my clothing; taking only seconds to transform me into a human torch. I was too numb to feel any pain as my skin melted away and left nothing but blackened and exposed flesh. The last thing I saw was a single book, floating in front of me untouched by the heat or fire as it fell in slow motion, tumbling over and over till it reached the burning floor and joined its sisters among the coals.

 

 

I dreamt of flames, and I never woke up.