Set the Sky on Fire (Fire Trilogy Book 1) (4 page)

The air was cool and hardly a breath of wind stirred the green leafy trees lining the street. The blue sky above lacked its usual summer fervour, suggesting that a cold front was on its way. The weather had been the least of Ari’s concerns when she had wrenched on her trainers to walk to school. Now, she hoped it wouldn't rain before she got home. As she wandered along, so too did her thoughts. Luke’s sumptuous lips thrusting up against hers was on repeat in her head. The memory resulted in an involuntary smirk, and she looked around to make sure no one was watching.

The happiness in those memories started to deflate. They became tinged with an unwelcome emotion, flickering at the edge of her thoughts, a strange sadness that was out of place. For no particular reason, her eyes suddenly welled with tears. She shook her head to rid herself of the melancholy, which receded again to the edges, not disappearing, but held at bay. She tucked away her thoughts of Luke for a time when she could enjoy them. Before long, she had walked the 30 minutes it took to get to school.

School never gave Ari a feeling of excitement, but the gnawing sensation in her stomach, escalating with each step, was not her usual experience leading up to the gates. As the feelings of anxiety and nausea deepened, Ari felt tempted to turn around and make a run for it; to disappear back home and hide under the sheets. She stopped and stared back in the direction she had just come from. The thought of having to trudge all the way back again was not enticing. Ari forced her feet to move, one after the other, towards the gates.

It’ll pass
. She tried to convince herself.
The pale yellow building of the western block loomed over her, echoing the flutter of bird wings in the empty grounds. The air around her suddenly felt thick and stale, as if a dense fog engulfed her. Ari’s shoulders slumped forward and her back hunched. She swore to herself, wishing she had gone home when she had a chance. It was too late now. With every inch of her body, she knew something was wrong. It dragged her down. She couldn’t get away from it. But she kept walking, desperate to know what
it
was.

Grief drowned her as her
palm
hit the classroom door handle. Sounds of crying surged through the slats in the wooden door and anguish lashed at her like tidal waves. Ari stood, hand wrapped a
round
the handle. She took a deep breath to steady herself and walked in.

Everywhere she looked, she saw people crying or trying desperately not to. They stood in groups of three or four. The room was full, but so few talked, mouths sealed against the horror. It didn’t matter. All the hugging and shaking of heads said more than enough. Mr Stanley sat solemnly at his desk, rubbing his forehead with his first finger and thumb. For the first time since Ari had been in his class, the strong and commanding man, who normally stood proud at the whiteboard, looked feeble and reserved. Ari stepped in and closed the door behind her. The latch clicked back into place with enough noise to draw the attention of the group standing closest to her. Lisa and two other girls who had been at the bonfire, one by one, lifted their eyes to Ari’s face. Bewildered, Ari stared at them. Their eyes were red and ragged. Tracks made by tears were visible on their cheeks.

Ari focussed on Lisa, caught her eyes and held them intently. The look returned was one of sheer pity.

“Oh Ari, you haven't heard,” Lisa gasped, a fresh flow of tears falling down her cheeks.

“Heard what?” Ari’s voice sounded too loud, too rough, as it bounced off the walls.

“Mike and Luke, last night …” Lisa paused, as if in search of the right words. “Mike had downed a few drinks. He was driving. Totalled his car.”

Lisa’s voice was as fractured as her sentences.
Her tears came faster. She dropped her head and
stared
at the ground. Her shoulders started to shake. Drops sploshed to the floor at her feet. Next to Lisa, Kaitlyn also had a fresh run of tears. She took Lisa by the shoulders, turning her around then hugging her tightly.

Ari had one question. She already knew the answer, but she had to hear someone say it, out loud. She had to hear the words spoken in order to believe it. But Ari didn't want to ask. Once heard, there would be no going back. As she waited, comforted by her ignorance, there was still hope Mike and Luke lay in hospital beds somewhere, not dead. There was still hope they were alive. But
her blissful ignorance was soon stolen from her
. Kaitlyn, looking over Lisa's shoulders, spoke the words that she both needed to hear and that she would have given anything not to be true. “They were both killed.”

Ari couldn't imagine life without them. Without Luke.

Bye Ari, see you tomorrow
. Luke's last words reverberated in her head, and the feeling of his lips returned, tormenting her. The butterflies that had fluttered their wings at his touch now ripped her stomach wide open.

Ari had never known anyone close to her die before. The agony in her chest took her by surprise, knocking the wind out of her. For a moment, her body forgot its basic functions. She had to make herself fill her lungs with air and force it back out, again and again, and even then the breaths were sharp and uncontrolled. She felt a tickle on her face and reached up to see what it was. When she moved her hand away, all she saw was clear liquid dripping from her fingertips.

A fierce sob racked her body. Once she realised she was already crying, there was nothing to hold back the deluge. Her legs weakened, and she stumbled to a desk, nearly tipping the chair over as she grabbed at it. She dropped into the hard seat and s
heltered her face with
arms on the desk, shutting the world out.
H
er body convulsed as the tears streamed from an endless waterfall. An arm slid along her back, offering her comfort, but all she could feel was its weight. Ari didn't even look up to see who it was. For a while, her mind was lost, trying so hard to find a way out of the pain. But death is final.

*****

Although the tears had dried up, her mind was still numb when they filed out of school into the carpark. They drove in a convoy out to the beach where they had spent their last night together. Ari took up an offer of the spare seat in Kaitlyn's car. She was glad she hadn't brought hers. She could barely see through the teary haze. Driving would not have been an option. All the passengers remained silent. A stereo speaker, positioned behind Ari’s head, blocked out any other noise, giving her a private audience with the singer, the mournful melody drawing her in and making her heart ache.

Shadows from the large pine trees along the roadside submersed the car in gloom. They arrived at the crash site too soon. Ari had envisaged the scene devoid of any colour, but the sharp hues of bright bunches of flowers lay at the base of the tree, a memorial to Luke and Mike already started. The Police’s highlighter spray-paint, fresh on the road, marked out the car’s final path. When they rounded the tree itself, the site of the impact was undeniable. Shards had been ripped clean from the trunk
and
branches hung in a mangled mess.

Without even realising she was doing it, Ari imagined their last moments. Luke and Mike’s bright faces laughing, just as she had seen them do so many times before, and then came the impact. She tried to force the images from her head, but they had burrowed in like an old, well-used memory. Turning away from the horror, instead she watched mindlessly as the houses zipped past the other side of the car.

Ari sat on the beach with the others as they told stories, not contributing, just listening. She watched as the high tide lapped at the remains of the Frisbee court lines drawn in the sand. Grief consumed her. At some stage, Nevaeh had sat down next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders, but she didn't know how long ago that had been. Now, she looked around to find the group had already started to disperse.

Nevaeh patted her shoulder. “Come on, it’s time we went home. I’ve borrowed
Mum’s
car. I can drop you off.”

Ari turned up the corners her mouth, the attempt at a smile an acceptance of the offer. She wished she could get away from the pain, or that it would somehow lessen. Right now that just didn't seem possible.

Ari wanted nothingness. No sadness, no tears, no huge hole in her chest. Darkness made it worse, as if she had a blackboard where her soul had once been, with nothing to look at to take her mind from the grief.
Dawn brought little relief. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. The constant patter of water running down her body helped to numb her mind.

A knock came at the bathroom door.

“Honey, are you okay? You’ve been in there a while.” Her mum’s voice was gentle.

“Yip, just getting out now,” Ari heard the monotone in her speech as she responded.

She could see her grief devastated her parents. They felt useless in their failure to comfort her, but Ari loved them for their efforts all the same. But today of all days, she couldn’t deny the pain. Today was the funeral.

Ari threw on clothes
for the service. She hadn’t meant to dress all in black, but when she looked down that was what she wore. She wrapped a pink scarf around her neck in a feeble attempt to add some colour.

Adele quietly played in the car on the way to the funeral. Normally, Nevaeh would have changed songs, saying it made her feel desperately sad or something like that. Today, it seemed to be the ideal soundtrack.

S
tepping from the car, Ari regarded the
large grey clouds covering the sky, threatening rain
. She felt transfixed by their apathetic crawl across the sky. Nevaeh silently linked her arm in Ari’s and led her along the footpath.

L
arge wooden arches framed the two doors into the church. Nevaeh pushed one open and ushered Ari inside. The interior was rustic, solidly built. Wooden pews blended with the rich wood covering the walls. At the front in the chancel was a pulpit draped in red velvet. Beautifully intricate stained glass windows spanned the entire reach of the back wall.

The church was packed, all the seats occupied, and people lined the walls. Two men offered them seats. Ari and Nevaeh thanked them, before taking their places in the back row.

A few shards of light broke through the stained glass windows, littering the floor with a multitude of colours. The illumination dissipated before it got to the edge of the chancel, leaving the mourners in an unnatural half-light, drawing shadows on their faces. The colours flickered as the clouds slid their way across the sky. It was as if they were taunting the mourners, providing them a glimpse of happiness and beauty that was just beyond their reach.

To Ari, the sadness in the church was crushing, and it took all of her self-control to stay seated. She could see Luke's family in the front row. She knew his mother well enough but now hardly recognised her face. Grief had misshapen her features, once so warm and engaging.

As Luke’s sister stood before them and spoke, finally, Ari began to cry, letting the pain in. The young girl moved them with beautiful words spluttered through desperate tears as she tried to finish her eulogy.

As the service neared its end, Ari felt fear and anger bubbling up. They were the same emotions that had consumed her at Nevaeh’s house the night she brought her friend home drunk from the party. Images of the shadows facing off against one another sparked back to life, vivid thoughts swathed her mind.

This time, the feelings barrelled at her like a train. She sat and waited for the impact. A woman sitting next to her glanced across uneasily as Ari's body shuddered and she gave a moan of pain. The emotions filled her like an over-inflated balloon, and she teetered on the point of exploding.

It was too much. She couldn’t catch her breath. Ari frantically looked around for an escape route, eyes locking on the door. With as much self-control as she could muster, she stood, pushed past the men who had given up their seats and headed for the exit.

Ari placed both palms on the old wooden door and forced it open. It let out a lamenting groan as its seal with the church yielded. Everyone would see her leave early, not that she cared right now. Her only thoughts were of escape.

*****

Ari sucked in a lung full of fresh air, trying to clear her head, but it wasn’t enough. The feelings were still there, still strong and still coming for her. Something pressed against her lower back. She hadn't heard anyone coming and jumped as if receiving an electric shock. As she turned, Ari found Nevaeh standing beside her, hand outstretched, her face crinkled with concern. Nevaeh steered her towards a bench seat that encircled an old and twisted tree to the side of the church entrance.

“Are you okay?” Nevaeh’s voice was soft and reassuring.

“I could hardly breathe—needed some fresh air.”

As she spoke, the feelings intensified. She turned to face the direction they seemed to be coming from. A wave of malice knocked her off balance. It was then she saw him. A man, dressed in black, as most of the funeral’s attendees were, but he appeared to wear the clothes as a badge of distaste rather than as a mark of respect. The sneer on his face couldn’t be mistaken for sorrow. His amusement was out of place at the church. Ari stared at him. He was a good-looking man, but his features were sharp and hard, and his demeanour unsettling. Somehow, this turned his good looks into something much less attractive. His dark hair sat in lustrous waves, long enough to reach the bottom of his ears. A slight breeze brushed the strands away from his face.

He was
halfway
along the path when he seemed to register Ari and Nevaeh’s presence. The man rearranged his expression into something more solemn before gazing in their direction. Light blue irises flicked between Ari and Nevaeh. His stride faltered then came to a complete halt. He looked directly at Ari, his eyes riveted to her face. Ari repressed a shudder. There was something very different about this man. She would have sworn she could
feel
his presence. She would know exactly where he was even if her eyes were closed. The invasive feelings she desperately tried to ward off originated from him. The thoughts and feelings she had had at Nevaeh’s house, the partly drawn curtain looking into the yard, the two figures—all of it was real. It hadn't been her imagination running wild. It was him. He had been there, and now here he was standing right in front of her, in the daylight, blatantly
staring straight
at her with shock-filled eyes.

Ari searched her mind for memories of that night. Something was different. Something was missing. The feeling of hope, of happiness, which had given her strength at Nevaeh's house, i
t
hadn’t come to counter the wretched emotions. In its absence, she felt abandoned and scared. Her left hand slipped along the seat beside her, groping for Nevaeh’s hand. Finding it, she
grabbed hold, squeezing tightly
,
silently crying out for support. Nevaeh said nothing, just squeezed back. Nevaeh turned to face her, Ari could see that much from the corner of her eye, but she dared not divert her attention away from this man. She wouldn't look away this time. Sh
e couldn’t.
Last time, when she’d done that, he had disappeared.

The strange man finally came out of his trance. The confused look on his face quickly morphed to one of derision
, and he started walking towards them.

Ari edged back in her seat.

The banging of the church doors made her jump. The
funeral goers started to filter out of the church. The sneer left the man’s face, momentarily replaced by
annoyance, before
the solemn look re-emerged. He turned his head back to the path and moved once again towards the church doors, mingl
ing
with the mourners. He took one last look over his shoulder and then was gone, swallowed up by the people spilling out.

“What the hell was that?” Nevaeh blurted out, her voice full of panic.

Ari sat there, silent, trying to process what had happened, knowing her world had just changed but not why or by what.

Nevaeh’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Ari, hey, what the hell
was
that?
Whoever he
was
—the way he looked at you. It was terrifying
. I can't stop shaking.”

Ari didn't know what to say to Nevaeh or how to explain what she thought had just happened. But Nevaeh, too, had noticed
his malevolence
. Feared him. But
had
she felt it too? Had she felt the emotions coming directly from him?

“Did you know that guy?” Nevaeh snapped.

An almost inaudible, “no,” parted Ari's lips.

“That was so
disturbing
, he was just staring. I don’t know about you, but I don't want to be here when he comes back. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Nevaeh grabbed Ari’s hand.

“Let's go,” Ari agreed.

Nevaeh led her from the church grounds the same way she had led her in, arms hooked. This time though, much faster. As Nevaeh dragged her along, Ari continually checked they weren’t being followed.

The car was parked a block away. As soon as they reached it, Nevaeh dropped Ari's hand to fumble for the keys in her handbag.

“
We’ll go to
my place,” Nevaeh
said
.

That jolted Ari from her trance.
He had been there. He could find them there. Nevaeh
’s house was the one place they
shouldn’t
go.

“No. Not there.” The words came out sharp as if she was scolding a naughty child.

Nevaeh
flinched
. Her
mouth opened to protest, but instead she took a deep breath.

“Where to?” she asked instead.

“Can we go to mine?”

As the car gained distance from the church, Ari started to relax again. The feelings began to fall away. She rested back on the seat and let her head relax against the headrest.

“What just happened, Ari? Who was that guy?” Nevaeh asked.

“Pull over.” Ari's voice was urgent.

“What? Why?”

“Just
pull over
.”

Nevaeh yanked the wheel to the side, aiming at an empty spot free of cars. Ari expected the tyre to catch the kerb and braced for the impact. They missed by millimetres. Ari unbuckled her
seat belt
before the car had a chance to stop. She threw the door wide open. The bottom of it scraped along the footpath, letting out a sharp, metallic graunch. Ari's head made it clear of the car just in time and she watched her partly digested breakfast heave into the gutter. The feelings, swimming in her, had been too much to cope with. Her body had found the only way it could to purge some of her distress.

“You alright?” Nevaeh asked, rubbing reassuring circles on Ari’s back.

Ari nodded.

The queasy feeling had gone. She spat into the gutter and wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve. After flopping back into her seat, she put her seat belt on and tried to ignore the rancid smell wafting into the car.

“Okay, I'm good now.”

*****

T
he strange man entered the church as the mourners slowly filed out. He hate
d to leave the girl on the bench, but he couldn’t do anything about her with so many witnesses about.
He looked around the room and saw two girls, maybe seventeen or eighteen years old, talking with an older woman. All had red eyes, a mark of the tears they had shed.

“Thanks, Mrs Williams,” said one of the girls.

The older lady responded by placing a hand on the girl's shoulder and giving her a comforting smile.

The man walked up to Mrs Williams and in his sincerest voice introduced himself.

“Hello, my name is Dominic Grey. Are you a teacher at the school?”

It was a pretty safe bet to think she would be. Her mannerisms, speech
,
how she interacted with the girls, who were most likely students, all suggested it.

“Yes, I am. How can I help?” She turned to give the
stranger her full attention.

“Actually, it was me who was hoping to be of some assistance. I’m a counsellor, relatively new to town, and I heard what happened. I am very sorry for your loss. It’s such a tragedy when they are so young. I hoped to offer my services to your students, free of charge, of course.” He handed over a business card.

“Well, that is very kind of you Mr, umm …” She stole a look at the card. “Mr Grey.”

“Anything I can do to help.” He
plastered
on a
supportive
smile. “My contact details are on the card.” He tapped a well-groomed nail on the top of the card, just above his number.

With a practised look of sympathy, he took his leave. As he left the church, he checked to see if the girl still sat by the tree. But she and her friend were gone.
She had taken him completely by surprise,
and now that she had vanished he wished he hadn’t taken his eyes off her. He shrugged. She would show up again somewhere among these weeping morons.