Adam's Apple Pie

Twenty-Three - Eden Burns

Which makes her the only Museum Manager to be in charge when there was a fire.

I caught her gaze as she looked up. I saw the terror and desperation in her eyes – and it made me chuckle.

I smiled back at her, waved a little hand. I couldn't resist a little joke at her expense.

"Looks like you're the one that's – fired!"

A bit cheesy I know, but this is my story after all.

With that, I introduced the flame to the area. It burned through the upper staircase quickly, causing it to break and rain flaming rubble toward the crowd. Their screams were eaten up by the fire, and I just left them to it.

I wonder if this will reflect badly on my CV for future roles?

Just then, who should I see next – but Gavin! He appeared down the corridor, covering his mouth to hide from the flames and smoke. As soon as he saw me, he immediately turned and tried to run. Of course he wasn't going to get far. A quick move from my hand and a fireball struck his back and took him down. Strangely, I could still hear him squeaking, like a mouse. I walked up to him in true movie monster villain fashion. I must have burned his back badly, because he was trying to crawl, but couldn't move any faster than a snail. I toyed with him a little, holding back the flame from him to make him think he could get away – but he took too much time and it got boring waiting after a time. Instead, I stood on the back of his head, forcing him to the ground. He whimpered and cried, but this time I was the one in control.

"Well, Gavin," I said to him in a low voice, "am I enough of a 'typical white male' for you now?"

"Oh Jesus!"

Not quite.

I allowed the flames to dance around Gavin's body, causing him to cry out with a high-pitched wail that sounded something like a mixture between crying and screaming. His hand, previously clenched, fell open and I saw that he was holding something. I caught it just before the flame took it away forever.

It was a picture of him and Richard.

Out brief candle. His life was a tale told by an idiot.

The flames were really eating through the museum now and it wouldn't be long before the entire building was condemned to the depths of hell. I'm sure it would take me with them, but that was ok. I didn't need to be around much longer anyway. In fact I planned not to be.

It then occurred to me that I hadn't paid Mysti a visit just yet. Maybe I would go and see how her book release was going on.

The Conference Room was just like the rest of the museum, slowly being devoured by the flame, but being held back just enough to make everyone feel the pain and suffering I had been through all this time. The heat didn't even really register with me anymore. Along the rows and rows of chairs were burning corpses of the poor sheep that had made an effort to be here today. They were fused to the very chairs that they sat on, their flesh merged with steel. They probably couldn't have even moved if they wanted to. I noticed one of the corpses had a pink coat that was being eaten by the fire. I remember Lara saying they had invited Anita here by way of an apology. Anita had learned a valuable lesson – doesn't matter how much you earn; man or woman, we all burn the same.

Mysti herself was in the corner, trapped by the flames that now licked around her. She had her hands to her head and appeared to be weeping uncontrollably, probably lamenting what should have been her best moment of her life. Little cunt didn't deserve it anyway! She only got this because her mum (who was a smoking corpse next to her). I couldn't even feel sorry for her, she was always whining and winging, kissing my arse before stabbing me in the back. Now she saw what the result of my wrath was.