Fire Burns Bright

The fire had slowly burned closer and closer each day. Almost seeming to be taunting them with each foot it gained. In the
 ears of the watchers the roar of the fire held different meanings. To some it seemed to gleefully shout "Victory is
mine" To others it seemed to but whisper "You cannot escape"  To those guilty of former crimes, no matter how great or
small it may have been, it was a constant chanting "You know why I'm here"  

 To one of the watchers, one that went by the name of Nolan. The fire strangely seemed to hold no meaning, it did not
matter if the fire should come to his very doorstep and devour him. But still it was no matter to him if it simply went
away either, he simply did not care. Thus he spent his last remaining hours lounging under a tree whittling on a
fallen limb that had once graced the tree under which he sat.

 To another watcher, this one by the name of Nancy the fire meant the end of everything. Her hopes, her dreams, all was
crashing down around her in ruinous heaps. And what bothered her the most, there was nothing she could do about it. So she
restlessly paced and waited, wondering the while why this was happening to her of all people. Pausing in her pacing she
stopped and stared angrily at Nolan who was still invested in his stick. "Why do you just sit there and whittle on your
stupid stick? Why don't you find us a way out?"  "Because there is none miss, we are in a mile long box canyon at the
very end of it. The fire is less than half a mile away. And the walls are too steep to climb. There is no escape. So just
settle down"   "How can you say that? Don't you want to live?" "I guess it don't really matter to me. To live is to live
with my past hanging over my head, but with a chance to make up for it. To die is but punishment for what I've done. To
me they are almost the same."  The girl Nancy was speechless, she had never met anyone who cared not if they lived or died.  
But of course it was nonsense, everyone wanted to live. So she kept noiseilly pacing. But ironically it was the keen hears
of Nolan that caught the low rumble of thunder above her noisy pacing. It did not sound far off, but still would it be
in time?

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A/N

Hey there! Thanks so much for reading my short story! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it! Please comment below and tell me what you think! Always open to advice and suggestions. I'm not sure if this is being seen, so please comment and let me know how you found this story and any questions you might have. Vote are a plus as well!😉
Should I leave this as a one-shot or make into a longer story? Ideas please!

                                                         Marie