if we do manage to escape. The thought of what happens next for Ember is almost as terrifying as Richard finding and stopping us.
We will be free from the evil of Richard, but not necessarily free from evil in general. The world is hard and brutal at times, and it can chew up a normal human being. But Ember… she’s different. She’s fragile. And the world could engulf her. Life could be harder for her outside this town than it is inside it, but no matter how hard, anything is better than the hell of Hallelujah Junction.
“I have an idea that is going to help us,” I say. “We will bring the authorities to us.”
I lead us down to the cellar where we have left the lantern still lit. I pick it up and look at the small flame, knowing exactly what I have to do. Ember looks at me with confusion.
“We’re going to catch the town on fire before we leave,” I say, reaching for the matches as well.
“What? No. We can’t.” Ember tugs at my arm and shakes her head furiously. “It’s been here for decades. Long before us. We can’t burn it. The history… we can’t. It’s my home.”
“It’s not your home.” I try to take a deep breath and soften my voice. I know I have to be gentle with Ember even if I grow frustrated. I have to put myself in her situation, but at the same time, I know we are running against the clock.
“Christopher, I don’t—”
“We have no other choice,” I defend. “You’re right in saying that Richard might reach us before we get all the way to town. But if the authorities see the smoke and come, they will meet us halfway down the hill. They will get to us before Richard. The fire will be our own S.O.S.”
“But if he sees the smoke before he reaches Scarecrow, he may return quicker than planned,” she points out.
I pause and consider her words. “True. But it’s a risk we have to take.”
Not wanting to wait another second, I take the lantern over to the pile of dirty blankets that I spent my first week sleeping on. It will be therapeutic in a twisted way to watch the soiled material burn. The cellar should be the first place in this town to burn to the ground.
When they ignite almost immediately, I know we have crossed the line of no return. I lead us to the bathroom and yank the bottle of rubbing alcohol out of the medicine cabinet and begin splattering it all over the floor to help aid the flames in mastering the room.
We both stand for several minutes and watch the blankets burn and the fire spread across the floorboards, making its way to the wooden crates. I know that once the flames lick the wood, it won’t be long until the fire takes over completely.
Taking Ember by the hand, I lead us upstairs to the kitchen to grab the quilt and the coats Ember pulled out of the closet. I put the heaviest coat on her and then also wrap her tiny frame in the quilt. I pray she will be warm enough. We don’t have to last long… just until help comes from the fire department.
I also grab the bottle of Jack Daniels that Richard bought me to help ignite the fires I will set. Once we have everything in hand, I turn on the gas stove and allow the gas to run without a flame. It will help ignite the fire even more when it reaches the kitchen.
“I’m hoping there’s a sprinkler system on the buildings below,” I say, thinking that there may be in some of the buildings.
I’m pretty sure the Forest Department would want that, but then if that is the case, there may also be automatic fire alarms that go straight to a company notifying of a fire emergency. Either way, my intent is to start them all aflame. But first… the fucking mill must burn to the ground.
It’s easier to walk to the mill wearing shoes, even if they are so tight that they border on painful, but at least my feet aren’t freezing in the snow.
“I don’t want to go back there,” Ember says, tugging on my arm and stopping in her tracks. “I don’t want to go anywhere near it.”
I don’t blame her, but this is still something I feel I must do. “Only for a second,” I say with the lantern in