Burning Bright Novels & Stories

**Disclaimer/Trigger Warning** This chapter contains an explicit depiction of torture involving cutting. If this is a trigger, please skip to the end of the chapter. **** My feet dangle above the hard floor as my wrists begin to ache from the metal cuffs digging into my skin. My voice is going hoarse from screaming for help. As I hear heels click on the marble floor, my heart stops. The fluorescent lights flicker to life casting a blinding light that makes me pinch my eyes closed. When I slowly open them, I see Jessica, Heidi, and Lenore, standing before my suspended frame.

“Uh, at what, exactly?” “The shooting star. It’s falling just there...” I trailed off, realising that in covering up my first mistake I’d made a second. Human eyes couldn’t pick out half as much as mine could, no matter how little light pollution marred the sky here. “It’s gone now. Burned up into dust.” “The brightest candle burns twice as hot but for half as long,” he said, eyeing me like he’d relayed some great wisdom. My lips twitched. Taking pity on him, I filled the swelling silence. “It sure does.”

Allena's eyes went wide, and he moved away from the desk, coming closer to stand in front of Jonathan. The sky blazed with fire. Not because of the bonfires or the fire slowly burning the forest - it seemed to radiate an eerie heat by itself, turning the air orange. It was hard to breathe because of the pungent smell of burning, which clogged in the nostrils and burned the mucous membrane to the very throat, the eyes were watering and sweat poured down the faces of the fighters in three streams.

"I don't believe in miracles anymore, Ben. I believe in stubbornly refusing to die. There's a difference." "Is there?" he asked, his voice softer now. "Sometimes I think your stubborn refusal to give up is the closest thing to a miracle I've seen since The Burning." The mention of The Burning made my chest tighten, as it always did. The memories were still too fresh, too raw. I could still smell the smoke, hear the screms, see the sky turning that terrible shade of orange as the world caught fire. I pushed the thoughts away, focusing instead on putting one foot in front of the other.

Once I started to brush away the ash and soot of her previous life, she began to glow, her fire mostly directed at me, but fire nonetheless. Even when she tried to extinguish it, when the weight of the world and her sadness threatened to crush her spirit, she came back to me, her fire bright and true. Loving her has been hot and pure and never boring, never predictable, almost like flame itself. Right now, burning with rage, with righteous indignation, she is the brightest I’ve ever seen her. “PRIMUS!!!!!”

He pushed to his feet, trying to get out of the suffocating air—then hit the suitcase by the couch. It crashed open. Everything spilled out. He dropped down on instinct, grabbing her things. Stuffing them back in, his fingers hit something hard in the lining. He pulled it out. A medical report. He opened it. [Diagnosis: Deep second-degree burns with infection.] [Long-term rehab required. Monitor for scar buildup.] [Recommendation: Psychological counseling. Signs of PTSD.] 'Burns.' His breath cut off. He remembered. The overturned tea tray. He'd shoved Cleo aside to shield Nora...

“I will never forgive you for this.” But I stood up anyway. Because I’m an idiot. Because it's Kai. And also because he was already turning off the lights, leaving only the warm orange glow of his living room lamps. The karaoke screen lit up the space like a spotlight. He pulled out a candle from the shelf and used his phone flashlight to “ignite” it, holding it up like a true fanboy. “You’re insane,” I said. “You’re the star,” he replied. I scrolled until I found something dumb. Something harmless.

"Then you will admit you want me. Or it all stops." I whimper. This fucking asshole. I won't. No, I won't give him the words. He's taken enough from me, more than he even realizes. Then he begins to slow down, and my eyes, that I had not even realized were still closed all this time, because what does it matter in the dark, fly open, because he can't possibly be about to stop, right? "Please," I gasp out before I can stop myself. I can feel the fire dulling, constricting, and I can't let it. Not when my body had to go through so much pain for it.

Those endless days and nights spent wandering through shadows had transformed into the art before me, unveiling a wellspring of hope and strength. As I looked around, a sense of peace and freedom settled over me like never before. The dark times had finally faded, slipping away with Tucker's silhouette. At last, I had found the happiness that was truly mine.

The concert's atmosphere grew more intense by the minute, with everyone's focus locked on the stage. It seemed like I was invisible, blending into the shadows of the concert. The dim lights gave me a false sense of bravery. I moved to the beat of the music, letting the rhythm guide my steps. She moved with a rhythm that made the air between us tremble, every motion sent a heat through me that I could not contain. I reached for her waist and pulled her close, the sudden rush of contact hit me like fire, every cell in me coming alive.