Run for the night
Reasoning
None of them dared say a word. It seemed like the total darkness clogged their mouths. But now was not the time to ask questions. He turned around and started running, He had to get back to her as fast as possible, before it was too late, before she did something stupid.
‒ What’s wrong with him? the woman muttered.
‒ What’s wrong with us would be the question. the other man replied. Did you run here for no reason also?
‒ Yeah, she smiled in the dark, kinda weird.
There was a long silence. Even with their pupils as wide as possible, absolutely no light could touch their retina. Until the sky exploded into a sea of fire and blinded them for a moment. And, out of the blue, thousands and thousands of balls of flames screamed toward the surface in every direction. One whooshed close to them and pursued the running man. It struck him in the back and then, nothing was left when the fire died away.
‒ What the hell? the remaining man said, panicking.
He looked at the woman and yelled “watch out” as he saw a ball of fire heading in their direction. In a sur?naturally quick movement, she side stepped out of the way the projectile struck him square in the chest. But he didn’t feel anything, he didn’t even feel the impact, which threw him metres away. He got up, like nothing had happened. He saw the woman was lying down. As he approached, she also got up.
‒ Are you alright? she asked.
‒ Never been better, he replied, did you get hit too?
‒ Yeah, but it actually didn’t hurt!
‒ Same for me. He’s probably still alive over there, let’s go see.
They ran without noticing that everything had slowed down; the wind in the nearby trees, the clouds of fire, time itself seemed to flow slower that usual. Quickly, they reached the city they had come from, without any sign of the other man. Almost each house had a smoldering hole into it. Smoking corpses littered the streets.
‒ Did they get hit too? the woman asked.
‒ Most probably, he replied, they’re still smoking. Apparently, they weren’t as lucky as us.
‒ How come?
‒ I have absolutely no idea. But it might have something to do with our running aimlessly.
‒ Not aimlessly, towards the sunset.
‒ You got a point.
There was an awkward pause as they both looked into each other’s eyes. The usual ambient noise had died down. For a couple of minutes they stared at each other. But sobs ripped through the silence and made them look at a near house in which lights were on. They got in and were surprised to see the other man, kneeled beside a body. They quickly noticed that the body wasn’t charred nor even a little burned. But blood oozed on the floor, soaking the mat and the corpse’s clothing. He had his head resting on her chest, his shoulders shuddering slowly. The two standing ones thought better than talk to him. They went and sat on a couch.
‒ She was dead before the fire struck everywhere, The man whispered.
‒ I know, she answered, I think she slit her throat.
‒ She was his girlfriend you think?
‒ Yeah.
The other man wouldn’t stop crying and muttering to himself.
‒ I’m going to use one of the beds, I’m stabbed.
‒ Me too.