Page 36 of The Pacifist
Mila came out with her shirt inside out and ran toward the other guest room, which Hunter and Emanuela were in.
The house of my family unit was large and quickly became lively as doors opened upstairs where most of my family slept. My mom’s three dogs came running down from her room. Cole sprinted past me as I was putting on my boots. He was only wearing his briefs but didn’t seem to care when he ran out the door. I grabbed his winter jacket and large boots and ran after him.
“Stay back, Cole. There’s nothing you can do.”
Cole was standing with a look of horror watching the storage building burn. His hands were in his hair and a silent scream was on his lips.
“Don’t go any nearer,” I warned when Cole took a step forward.
The massive building worked as a gigantic bonfire, warming the cool night air.
“Here, put this on.” I pressed Cole’s jacket and boots into his arms and went back in to find Mila. She and my mom were putting leashes on the three dogs and comforting the scared animals.
“You okay?” I’d only asked them the question when Emanuela came running down from the upstairs with Hunter right behind her.
“We’ve checked every room. It’s all clear.”
“Good.”
Everyone in my family gathered outside. We stood powerless watching with grief and shock on our faces as high flames engulfed the large building.
“How did this happen?” my mom cried out behind me, and was hugged by Emanuela.
“At least there’s snow on the ground. It will help to keep the fire isolated in that building,” Hunter pointed out.
“Mila.” I pulled her between my arms, with her back against my chest, and wrapped my arms around her. We weaved our hands together as if the fire would try and break us apart.
“Look up.” Hunter was pointing to four fire drones flying in. Timed to perfection they each dumped water on the building before circling back and releasing a fine powder that fell like snow. On impact the snow particles grew in size and soon what was left of the building was covered by a gray layer of fire-inhibiting material.
Mila sighed. “Oh, thank god they came.”
Emanuela, Cole, and I, however, exchanged a worried glance. Most of the things in the storage room were items used for running the theme park, but it was also where the hidden part of the family business was kept.
For years our family had run a side business for a very limited and trusted clientele. Outside the normal opening hours of the park, we arranged illegal races in anything from drones to hover bikes to retro dirt bikes. Not only were the machines tuned to go way above the legal speed limit, but we also allowed betting between the spectators. When it was too cold to race, we arranged gambling nights where participants put items of value on the line.
Everyone was sworn to secrecy because we were breaking a number of laws – especially when it came to serving the alcohol that we produced in that storage building.
“This is bad,” Cole muttered when the fire drones descended. “They are going to go through the building.”
“Can we get in there first?” Emanuela whispered.
“I doubt it.”
“Maybe we can pay off the fire marshal to avoid being reported.”
“With what? A season card to the park?” I shook my head. “A bribe will only make things worse.”
Emanuela frowned. “But we have to do something, Jonah. Maybe we can offer to include the fire marshal in the clientele.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Cole whispered back. But the moment we saw the fire marshal, a woman of around forty-five come walking toward us with decisive steps, we knew that was a hopeless plan. The small golden pin formed as a honey bee on her chest was a well-known order for high integrity, given to citizens showing an altruistic mindset and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” she said. “While my people make sure the fire is extinguished, would you mind if I ask some questions?”
“Not at all.” Cole took a step forward and introduced himself as the head of the theme park.
We listened as he described what was inside the storage room and that he had no idea what had started the fire.
“We met a drone on our way here. Do you know if anyone left the area?”
