"burn Those Who Burned Me!" Novels & Stories

A beat dropped through the speakers, and before I could run or throw myself out the window again, Kai grabbed the remote mic and started belting: "You are… my fire..." His voice cracked. Horribly. I burst out laughing so hard I nearly fell off the couch. “Oh my God, stop! You sound like a dying goat.” He pointed the mic at me. “Join me or suffer eternal shame.” “Im already suffering eternal shame!” But I was laughing too hard to say no. So I grabbed another remote from the coffee table and stood up dramatically. "Tell me why" I screeched, totally off-key.

In the end, I couldn't take it anymore and rushed into the fire department with a bouquet of roses. I yelled into the megaphone, "Jared, I like you! Marry me! I'll keep standing here until you come out and meet me!" After a long time, he finally came out, surrounded by his team members. He walked up to me and accepted the bouquet of roses, but he rejected me. "I appreciate your feelings, but I can't marry you." I asked him tearfully, "Why? Do you not like me at all?" "No." "Then, why? Tell me! At least give me a reason!"

“So you burn with what you loved.” When I opened my eyes, I was back on the floor of our burning den. This time, I pressed wet moss to my muzzle and dialed the public emergency channel. Let him choose her again. But in front of everyone. The roof beam fell at minute three. Wood cracked across my shoulder—bone snapped, I screamed, smoke swallowed the sound. Another beam caught my thighs. Blood pooled fast, soaking the nest I’d built for her. My daughter—still safe in my womb, five months along—kicked once, weak, then went still.

he had said once, his voice cold and harsh, “do you know what it feels like to burn alive? I’ll make you suffer ten times what Chiara did.” This time, I would not be trapped. I would survive, and I would stay far away from him. Yet even now, not a single one of the men around me offered aid. Blood pooled beneath my knees. My voice cracked as I whispered through dry lips, “Save my baby… please.” A junior enforcer glanced at me, smirked, and nudged my leg with his boot. “Relax. Everyone knows your history with Chiara. The crew has this under control. Stop playing to the crowd.”

But they’ve only shown me the truth: Some fires don’t burn brighter when fed. They burn deeper. And I am never burning out. I am just getting started. Let the Hollow come. I’ll meet it with every breath I have left.

If I could just– There was no time to think. Frankly, I think there was no time for anything else. “Burn, baby, burn.” That was the last thing I heard before strong and raging flames erupted underground and I felt the heat sear into my body.

Please make your choice. The prompt came again. I closed my eyes and made up my mind. "I'm going home." There was nothing left here worth staying for, no one left worth saving. [Exchange complete. Passage home will now open.] As the words settled, the sky shifted. A crimson glow spread overhead as the earth began to tremble, a deep rumble rolling beneath our feet. "It's a sign from the heavens!" The crowd erupted in celebration. People cheered, pointed at the sky, and praised what they believed was a blessing.

And for the next hour, no one makes me stand. No one makes me talk. No one makes me be strong. They just let me sit there while the world burns my name without me.

My voice broke as I whispered, “You’re mine. Not theirs. Mine.” The flames answered with a roar. And the ruins shook, as though the stones themselves remembered what it meant to burn.

He didn’t deserve my compassion; I doubted he would show me any. I wanted his dreams to burn. Beads of sweat began to form all over my body as the temperature in the room increased. I watched the tram move away and all I could think about was his goals burning to ash. I could see it smoke pillowing out, machines melting, paper burning. It brought a smile to my face. I imagined the look on his face as he watched his dreams burn. I hoped it stung, I hoped he knew he didn’t deserve his happy ending. The tram halts in its tracks, unable to fight the flames any longer. Burn, Burn, Burn I chant in my head. Demanding to see it turn into nothing more but a pile of melted metal. Part of me wished he