No real story to this. It's a short story I was working on, and finished recently thanks to an english class project recently; write a short story. So, I got pushed to finish it, and this is the result. Have a lucky day!
Chapter 1: Ignition
“You’re fired!” yelled Mr. Chapman. Mike was in shock. He couldn’t believe that he was just fired instantly for politely asking for a raise, with some of the best reasons too. Sure, the company was evil, and Mike knew it, but there were limits. He sent in the request weeks ago, saying that he was only barely paying all his bills and the food for his somewhat poor family, but it wouldn’t last.
Mr. Chapman started sorting some papers. He was just ignoring Mike like he didn’t ever exist. Mike was getting angrier and angrier-he felt his blood heating up for some reason, but he didn’t notice it at all. He had lived a quiet, diligent life, and it wasn’t fair. He had a right to ask and be politely denied in the least.
Mike felt more of his blood boil- he didn’t worry, but he knew something wasn’t right. It was getting hotter and hotter, and he was getting madder and madder. After long enough, Mike closed his eyes and tried to relax. To his surprise, he calmed almost instantly. He started to cool down, and he opened his eyes.
Mike didn’t expect to open his eyes to see something burning behind Mr. Chapman’s desk, which had no Mr. Chapman sitting in it. He looked behind the desk, and he saw his ex-boss was burning on the ground. For some reason, the fire wasn’t spreading to the floor or the walls.
Mike had no idea what to do- a man he was angry with was suddenly and mysteriously dead in flame, and started to panic. He started sorting through ideas. He could extinguish the body and stuff it in the vent, or he could throw it out the window, but he realized it’d be found no matter what he did.
So, he just walked out, trying to calm down. What else could he do?
“Have a nice day”, said a voice beside the door, scaring the pants off of Mike. It was Mr. Chapman’s secretary.
She was pretty young- maybe twenty or so. She didn’t seem to be aware that her boss was on fire in the room behind her, and she apparently wasn’t told that he was just being fired; Mr. Chapman liked to put the red stamp on the papers for that sort of thing himself.
“Thanks, I suppose”, Mike nervously said back. He knew that he’d seem very suspicious if he didn’t say anything.
Mike kept walking, shaking with every step he took. By the time he got to the front door of his apartment, he was so tense he could almost feel each of his organs.
He thanked god that the apartment was only a few blocks away from the office. He was amazed he could make it up the many flights of stairs every day, but shaking as much as he was, he was even more so now.
Mike opened the door and his sister, Hayley, peeked out from the kitchen. She was wearing her pink apron over her pajamas. She was making chocolate chip cookies.
“Mike? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in work?”
She reacted just as Mike had assumed. She was acting like the 8 year old she was, asking questions and wanting to know everything. The fact that things weren’t too different than they should be relaxed Mike, and if not that, the scent of dough and chocolate did.
Mike tried to think of something to say to her- some sort of story that he could tell his family to make them relax.
“Um…day off today. Yeah. Some problem with the file sorting. Nobody can do anything ‘till the secretary sorts out a bunch of papers”
Mike was surprised at how quickly he came up with that excuse. Hayley seemed to not worry so much. Mike’s alibi seemed to work fine. Looks like he had to remember that for if anyone else asks.
Mike started walking off to his bedroom. His wife would probably still be in bed. She could help him relax. He wanted to try and forget the whole thing, but as he changed into more relaxing clothes than his pajamas, he couldn’t help but realize that his family would find out what would happen. He still was jobless, and had to at least tell them that.
He quietly crawled into bed and wrapped the sheets around him, trying best not to wake up Aisling. To his surprise, it didn’t work.
“Mike? What are you doing here?”
Mike started stuttering, but eventually spit out the same words he told Hayley only a few moments earlier.
“Well, alright then”, said Aisling, believing Mike’s words. Mike hadn’t ever lied to Aisling before, and the fact that he was now was killing him, but Aisling was convinced enough that she didn’t dig for more info. She was tired and rolled over back into an instant sleep.
Aisling had a job too. She worked a night shift at a local grocery store. She didn’t get paid too much, but enough to pay for food each night. Mike’s job paid the rent and other utilities, and Hayley and Aisling’s father both just stayed at home.
Mike was amazed every day he came back home that he was keeping four people paid for and fed in his house every day. He would be in trouble soon, now that his job was gone, and the fact that he seemed to have burned his boss to death wasn’t news he would want to pass forward, but the way it was looking, everyone was bound to find out eventually.
Mike was worried as hell, but he was the most relaxed at that moment of the day; being in bed next to the woman he loved, with his loving sister and supportive father-in-law only a few rooms away.
Mike wanted to fix everything, and he knew he’d have to have a plan, and he’d have to be brave, and he was going to do it, no matter how scared or worried.
“Tomorrow, I fix everything”, Mike thought to himself. After enough rolling around in bed, he fell asleep.
Chapter 2: Gasoline
Mike woke up in his bed alone. Aisling had gotten out a while back and started making dinner, Mike discovered after smelling the smoke and pork scented air. He quickly got up and got dressed in his suit casually, leaving the sleeve and top buttons unbuttoned, and without his tie or jacket.
He walked out to see Aisling’s father, Jack, and Hayley sitting in front of the TV. The news was on, just with the anchors talking about some book store opening up today. He disregarded it and went right off to kitchen.
“Morning, Mikey” said Aisling. She knew he hated people calling him Mikey; it sounded childish and unprofessional, but Mike agreed that Aisling had a right to call him something he didn’t like. Besides, Mike had one of Aisling too.
“Morning, Ash”, said Mikey. Aisling laughed to herself and shook her head. Aisling kissed Mike on the cheek, and Aisling just about got back to cooking, when Hayley got their attention.
“Hey Mikey, isn’t that your boss?”, said Hayley. Mike let the name she used slide, because it was his boss; that is, it was his bosses charred corpse. He turned up the volume and listened in to what the reporter was saying. Aisling left the kitchen to watch as well.
“-found dead an hour ago, burnt in his own office. Nobody knows exactly when or how this happened. We have the secretary here, who found his body. Tell us, what exactly happened when you found him?”
The secretary was in complete shock, but had no tears. She wasn’t close at all to Mr. Chapman, and like all the employees, she believed Mr. Chapman was complete evil. I think that if she wasn’t so shocked, she would’ve started dancing in joy.
“I just needed him to check over some sales records, and when I went in, he wasn’t sitting in his chair; I checked behind his desk, and he was dead and charred black”
“Do you have any idea of when this might have happened?”
“I don’t, no”
“Do you know what he was last doing?”
“He never usually needed me in his office, and I never needed him. Any work he did in his office usually stayed there”
Mike stopped and though; the secretary was right, if Chapman did something, he was the only one who worked on it. Chapman hadn’t told his secretary about firing Mike, and he didn’t do any of the paperwork.
Mike still had his job, and he got away with his accidental murder scot free. He was in complete awe.
“So, how is the rest of the company going to handle this?” asked the reporter.
“Mr. Chapman’s job will be filled by the V.P., and the V.P. job will be taken over by whoever he chose, which is…” the secretary looked at a piece of paper for a moment, and then finally said,
“Michael Adams”
“Holy shit”, Mike said in front of his family. He just became the V.P. of his company. He not only murdered his boss, but he also got an intense promotion. He had no idea that he was on that list. Mike killed a man because he wouldn’t give him what he wanted, and after killing him, he got what he wanted.
“Aisling, Mikey swore”, said Hayley, who didn’t realize what everyone else had; Mike had his promotion and his raise, and everyone was happy and proud. Aisling gave Mike a surprising, strong kiss, and Jack grinned. Everyone was happy, and Mikey was out of trouble.
So Mike went to work the next morning, after more congratulations from his family and a special congratulation from Aisling in bed.
Mike walked into his office building that morning with a gigantic smile on his face.
“Morning Linda”, Mike said to his new secretary, Linda, who used to be the last V.P’s secretary. She was kind of like Chapman’s secretary; twenty years old, blonde, with a smile on her face while she silently worked.
“Morning Mr. Adams”, she said back. Mike thought to himself about the name Mr. Adams. He never thought of that for his name. He proudly walked into his office and saw on the desk was a memo from the previous V.P.
It said, “In case you didn’t know, the V.P. job is mainly sorting and filling out generic forms, not too much difficulty or change from your standard cubicle job before. You basically just have to finish all the forms you’re given when you come in each morning. Also, if there’s something I’m too busy to do, you have to do it, but I don’t expect that shouldn’t happen too often, but just in case, try not to leave too early; just have something to entertain yourself while you’re stuck around in the office. Enjoy the job, and enjoy the pay!”
Mike looked at a stack of papers on the desk beside the paper; there was a small stack of forms he had to fill out, and took a seat and started on them. His hand got pretty tired after about half of them, and he took a look outside his window. The fresh air felt good after working. After he finished the other half of the stack, it was 3:00; the time when his previous job was finished.
He grabbed his suitcase and left the building. As it appeared, he was one of the first people leaving; the lobby of the building was completely empty, except for him and his new boss; Vince Popperfield. Vince was always cool with the rest of the guys in the office. He used to be one of them, and when someone above retired, he was next in line.
Vince was ahead of Mike, and he didn’t seem to notice Mike pretty closely behind him. Vince opened the glass door and closed it behind him, but because Mike thought he’d hold the door, or at least not close it behind him, Mike got smacked in the face by the door. He fell back and gave off a grunt.
Vince heard the grunt and went back inside.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry”, said Vince, “You okay?”
“Not really; you slammed a door in my face”
“You were being so quiet! I had no idea you were there!”
“It’s a quiet room; you could’ve heard at least my footsteps, if not my breathing”
Once again, Mike was getting worked up. He didn’t realize it at first, but his blood was boiling. He put his hand on his face and closed his eyes, and felt the heat come off from in front of him.
“Shit”, Mike said aloud. He opened his eyes and saw his friend and boss, dead and burning on the ground in front of him. He looked around the room and even outside the door of the building, even though the door wasn’t made of glass. Nobody.
Mike couldn’t believe it; he now knew it wasn’t a coincedince; he was able to burn people to death in an instant. He couldn’t explain it, but he didn’t want to; life was good, and another firey murder from him could only make it worse; or better, considering that’s what happened the last time.
Once again, Mike needed a solution to deal with the body, but he couldn’t do a thing without seeming more suspicious.
Once again, he left the building, with Vince’s burnt corpse in the middle of the room.
Chapter 3: Inferno
Mike was almost afraid to go back home, but he had nowhere else to go at this point. He was an accidental murderer. He had no idea how it was possible, but whenever his temper was reaching a certain point, whoever he was angry at got scorched. He couldn’t stop it, he couldn’t do anything. He was an accident waiting to happen.
Mike wasn’t very nervous walking back to the apartment. He knew a bit on what he could expect, considering he’d done it before. He was too busy figuring out what to do that he couldn’t be afraid of anything. If he was afraid, it would burn.
Mike entered the door of the apartment and looked at the clock; 3:30pm. Nobody was in the kitchen, or in Mike’s bedroom, or in the living room. He ran off and checked the only other room that could have had any of his family inside; Jack’s room. Mike was relieved to see Jack in the room in his armchair, reading the paper.
“Where’s Aisling and Hayley?”, Mike asked.
“They went off to the zoo, I think. Left about twenty minutes ago”, Jack said. Mike was surprised that Jack didn’t ask why he was home so early. Mike left the room and turned on the t.v. He sat on the edge of the couch, tense as hell, because once again, his murder was on the news.
“-, this being the second murder in the Consolidated International Company’s building. We were given the same knowledge from yesterdays burning; that the V.P., who currently is Michael Adams, is taking the place as head of the branch. No evidence was left behind of a murderer, but the heads of the entire company, in New York, have shut down the branch until this serial killer has been caught. If you have any informa-“ Mike shut off the t.v. there. He couldn’t hear anymore.
He felt his heart rate rise. He was going to get caught sooner or later. He couldn’t live his life without any anger, it just wasn’t who he was. He put his hand on his face and closed his eyes, crying slightly, but he stopped and opened his eyes instantly. He shouldn’t have closed his eyes. He worried. His blood was boiling again.
He sprinted from the couch to Jack’s room. He did it again. Jack was in his chair and on fire, already dead. Mike did live with Jack, but he wasn’t attatched. However, he knew that his daughter would be upset.
Mike had nothing left to do. He had to leave. He thought about where he might go; maybe off to New York. He had nothing to lose at this point, so maybe he’d burn up the company big wigs for the hell of it. He figured he hated the company enough that he’d eventually be able to tame this fiery murder. Raise his heart rate and close his eyes, that’s all it took. Then the victim was dead in flames. It was that easy.
He didn’t take anything with him. He readjusted his suit and left out the door. He got down the stairs, but then tragedy struck; Aisling and Hayley were coming into the lobby.
“Hey Mike”, said Aisling, who was happy to see him. Mike wanted to say hi back, but he couldn’t bear to. He couldn’t say goodbye, he couldn’t say hello, he needed to run. There wasn’t a calm way to tell someone that they just magically killed their father. Mike started silently crying, trying to keep a straight face, and walked right past Aisling and Hayley.
“Mike?”, asked Aisling. Mike changed his mind. He had one thing he could say.
“I’ve got some work to do”, said Mike. Then he kept walking, a tear in his eye. Hayley gave a confused look at Aisling, they shrugged, and kept going back up to the apartment.
That was the last time Mike saw Aisling.
Chapter 4: Smoke
The airport was huge, maddening, and active. Mike was lucky to have gotten a ticket on any of the planes; he was off to New Jersey, and would be able to get on a bus off to New York, and he’d kill the heads of the company, just to end his life with some righteousness in his own eyes.
Mike sat down near the loading section for his plane, and he was lucky enough to only wait for 10 minutes before he was loaded up. The luckiest moment of Mike’s day was getting that last second ticket.
He took his seat on the plane. He was in a middle seat, and stuck between a toddler and an elderly woman who started sleeping almost the instant she sat down. The woman wasn’t a problem, and the toddler was quiet, but it’s strange to see some of the people going to New Jersey.
The safety demo was performed by the flight attendants, and was boring and pathetic as it always is on planes, and the take off was fine. Mike was surprised at himself for not being as surprised or afraid as he should be; he hadn’t ever been on a plane before.
The plane ride was long and boring for Mike. No in-flight movies, he didn’t bring a book, he was alone with his thoughts; which was a nightmare, considering the thoughts in his head.
Eventually, he’d be caught. He knew he’d either be killed, arrested, studied in some laboratory, and no matter what would happen, he’d never see his family again. He didn’t know what to do.
And unfortunately, about half-way through the flight, an answer came along, but not one he’d want or expect at all.
The attendants started supplying a meal; some strange, frozen fish and fries that looked boxed for about a year before recently being thawed out. By this time, the toddler was asleep, and the old lady hadn’t woken up. Mike was sitting generally still, so the attendants thought his whole row was asleep. They just walked past Mike, and Mike tried to get their attention by poking at her arm.
As Mike poked the attendants arm, an insanely bright light came from her body. The people on the plane who weren’t asleep closed their eyes and looked away. It would probably have blinded someone if they looked directly into it.
When the light dimmed, everyone looked at the attendant; as everyone else who he closed his eyes to, the attendant was burning, dead on the ground. Everyone looked at Mick. He wanted to cry, but he was far too shocked. He didn’t even close his eyes before he burned this innocent person. He just killed her with a single touch.
It was getting too far. The burning was accelerating faster and faster. At this rate, he thought he might burn anyone he saw. He wouldn’t be able to live a new life, let alone go and do his risky murderous dream at the New York office.
Mike got out of his seat and walked over to the cockpit. He was feeling dizzy. He was frightened, somewhat airsick, and was walking to his death. Nobody can say they could do that easily.
Mike must have started falling about three times on the way to the cock pit. He grabbed on to another person to grab his balance. Of course, those three people burnt in a shining light.
Mike opened the door to the cock pit.
“Who the devil are you?”, asked the pilot, who didn’t know there were four dead, burning people in his plane. Mike grabbed the shoulders of the pilot and the co-pilot, and they were burning in their seats.
Mike worried on one more thing. He noticed, as he got to the cock-pit, his blood was boiling. These people were burning up, but not while his blood heating up. Something worse would’ve happened soon, he was certain. He knew what he had to do.
Mike pushed the pilot out of his seat and grabbed the control wheel. He shifted it up, and pointed the plane downwards, right into the ocean. The plane was going to crash at any moment, and nothing worse would be able to happen. He’d be dead.
As the plane pointed down, and the rush of force pushed him to the back of his chair, Mike put his hand in his jacket pocket, and pulled out a photo of him, Aisling, and Hayley. He shed a tear, and crumpled the photo in his hand, put it to his heart, and closed his eyes.
His blood cooled.
*****
“In other news, a plane to New Jersey has apparently crashed in the middle of the Atlantic. The closest families of each of passengers are being sent a letter of their apologies, and a sum of money as an apology. The cause of this crash is currently unknown, but what we were told was that the floating majority of the plane was smoking, assumed to have been on fire right before it crashed. All the passengers were also scorched. This reporter, and news network, and the government, are all considering it could be a suicide bomber, but we can’t be certain now. What we do know now, is that many people died innocently, and surely will be missed. For BBC news at 8:00, I’m Jean McCoal”.
