Silent Ignition

Prologue

How the hell did I get here? Two years ago I was a normal high school geek sitting in Geometry class, wondering how to find the volume of a prism. Now here I am, wondering how much more smoke my lungs can take.

I pull the collar of my shirt up over my mouth to filter out most of the smoke in the room. My eyes sting as I try to focus on my surroundings. I can see the door on the other side of the room. There aren't any windows, because my smart ass decided it would be smart to start a fire in the basement. I start walking towards the door, the gash in my left leg stinging with every step. My head is starting to feel faint.

I stumble over something halfway across the room. No time to check it out. I step over the mystery object and continue limping to the door. I reach it, and grab the handle. I pull my hand back immediately. The handle is glowing from the heat. I pull the dish rag from earlier out of my back pocket and use it to open the door. The alcohol on the rag ignites, and I quickly shake it out. The fire is already climbing up the other side of the door, but it doesn't bother me. 

I plow through the flame to the staircase and make my way up them, practically slamming the door open at the top. It's a straight shot to the front door from here. I can feel the hardwood floor giving way underneath my feet as I run towards the front door, throwing it open and bolting across the front yard. 

I can hear the sirens wailing from down the road. I quickly turn towards the cornfield where Russell is waiting in the old square body pickup truck. The sky blue paint has clearly seen its fair share of fires in its life. 

I open the passenger door and hop into the seat. Russell cranks the starter and slams it into drive. Before I can even close the door, he stomps the gas pedal and starts plowing his way through the cornfield. The abrupt start slams my door shut. 

I use the dish rag to wipe the sweat off of my brow. Russell lets out a loud whoop and smacks his hand on the steering wheel. He slugs me gently on the shoulder. 

"Nice one!! That's gotta be record time!!" He laughs loudly. We finally get to the other side of the cornfield, and the truck jets out onto the road. I look in the rear view mirror to see if anyone saw us. To my utmost delight, I see the bright glare from a blue and red light as the sound of the sirens slowly gets closer. Russell finally picks up on the sound and curses aloud, picking up speed. 

I didn't want to do this. I reach over to the console and open it, pulling out the Glock and a few bullets. I load it up, and roll down the window. I fire a few shots in the general direction of the cruiser. The cop swerves a bit, but quickly regains control and picks up speed. I load a few more bullets into the gun and take careful aim towards the windshield of the cruiser. I squeeze the trigger, but Russel hits a pothole and the shot misses. 

I take aim again, but before I can pull the trigger, I feel a sharp pain hit my stomach.

Everything goes black.