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“Oh my God,” Ember screams as she points up toward the mill. “He’s coming! Richard is coming!”
I snap my head in the direction she’s pointing and see Richard running as fast as he can in his snowshoes down the hill. His strides are wide, and his arms propel him faster down the hill than I think is possible. His body charges forward with a mission to save, with a goal to capture his prey, and a determination to be victorious.
He’s watching everything that has ever meant a thing to him go up in flames. He has to witness it all disappear before him.
I warned him that I would see his world burn.
Burn.
Burn!
By God I am burning it all to the fucking ground.
He’s still a distance from us, and I know if we act fast, we can still get away. I also know it’s likely he has his pistol on him, and after what he sees we are doing to his precious town, he will no doubt aim the gun right between my eyes and pull the trigger.
I still have the lantern with me, and I run Ember and me toward his truck which is parked by the ranger’s office. I don’t want to wait for the flames to reach the truck on their own in case Richard gets to the vehicle before they do. I decide I need to speed up the process. I run to the gas tank and open it. I then rip a piece of fabric from the hem of Ember’s dress and stick it in. I then pull out the gas-soaked material, stick in the clean side, and then light it.
Not waiting to see the truck light, and concerned it could explode, I take Ember by the hand. “Run. Run as fast as you can. He’s coming, but he’s not going to catch us.”
I’ve already decided in my mind that if he does catch up with us, I will fight to my death. I will strangle the man to death if I have to. I will kill him at whatever cost.
I can hear the fire burning behind us, and with a quick glance over my shoulder, I see the truck light up in flames. Now it will be a matter of if Richard can outrun us. Yes, we are chained together, but we have a head start. He’s still a ways away from the mill, and he has a long distance to even get where we are.
“Run!”
Ember and I begin hobbling side by side as if we are running a potato-sack race. Step after step, we make our way out of the burning town. When we hit the parking lot, I pause just enough to see if I can view where Richard is. I see him run into the main house, and by the sudden stop of our run, Ember must see the same thing.
“No! He’s going inside! The fire! It will burn him alive,” she screams.
I have no idea why he’s running inside the burning building. Maybe to get the pistol I incorrectly assumed he was carrying. Maybe there is something valuable inside he can’t live without. Maybe he thinks he can save it.
It’s Ember…
He doesn’t see us. He doesn’t know Ember is outside on the run.
He thinks she’s inside burning to death, or at least could be. He’s running into the burning building to save his daughter. He’ll die to save her. He won’t allow her to die.
Monster or not… he’s still a father.
And because of that… the flames with swallow him whole.
“Christopher! He’s going to die in there.”
There’s nothing we can do, and even if we could, I won’t. I know I can’t allow Ember to break down now or try to foolishly insist we return to help.
“Don’t look. Run,” I order, and thank God, she obeys.
I can only imagine what watching the only world she has ever known burn around her is doing to her sanity. But Richard can emerge from the fire any second and catch up to us. “We need to keep running, Ember. Run. Our lives depend on it.”
The mill is collapsing, the main house with the cellar underneath is completely engulfed, and the rest of the town is turning into an inferno. It won’t be long until nothing is left at all. But the schoolhouse… the schoolhouse on the top of the hill remains untouched. The only thing different about the schoolhouse is that the ghost of Hallelujah Junction is no longer inside. She’s beside me. She’s my captive bride. She’s mine and will never return to her eternal damnation.
Ember looks over her shoulder again, hesitates for a moment, but then allows me to tug her forward. I see tears running down her face, and my heart breaks for her.
