Entry for Flash Friday!

Wow! If you haven't visited Rebekah Postupak's Flash! Friday this week, you're missing out! She's celebrating the year two FLASHVERSARY! (I can't believe it's been TWO YEARS!!! CONGRATS, Rebekah!!!) The first round is open until midnight tonight, so there's still time to get in on the AMAZING prizes! I've already told Rebekah that she's not allowed to read my blog until noon tomorrow when she and her team are finished judging the first round of stories. (That's right, there are TWO rounds this year! The top 25 are semifinalists!) Join the fun! (But hurry!)

The rule today is 150 words exactly. Here's the prompt:




Thanks for reading. Here's my story:

Escalation

They set the fire on purpose.

To contain.

To protect.

A few, upset, protested peacefully. When that fateful spark jumped, no one could’ve predicted the damage. Destruction. Devastation. Smoldering embers of rubble that once held people’s lives and livelihoods.

Vitriolic hate spurted from both sides. Blame surged hot, spreading faster than fire. Virulent voices spewed condemnation, pointing fingers and vilifying everyone.

The next fire may have been an accident.

But not the next.

Or the next.

Soon the world was burning. Retaliation. Revenge. Retribution.

Ash and smoke choked our throats and our bodies smeared with soot as we scrabbled through the blackened wreckage. Searching. Seeking. Scouring. Scrutinizing. Sifting. To find the grain of truth. The right. The side.

But there was nothing.

Nothing left.

Nothing gained.

Listless among the ruins, the ravages of what remain, we dream of refreshment.

Water.

A deluge to quench the fires raging out of control.