Fireproof

Unexpected

There's a drumming noise inside my head
That starts when you're around.
I swear that you could hear it;
It makes such an all mighty sound.
Louder than sirens, louder than bells.
Sweeter than heaven, and hotter than hell.

There was nothing but ash there; ash and dust and the faint smell of smoke still lingering in the air, like a memory clinging to its roots. The building had burned down almost entirely, leaving just a husk of a foundation and a few remaining logs and boards that made the place look similar to a graveyard; the blackened boards serving as bones protruding grotesquely from their coffins, akin to something out of a horror film.

And there, amidst the ash and dust with his way lit only by the faint starlight in the night sky above, stood Baekhyun, frowning. He knew that these fires were not just mere happenstance. Everyone had accepted that they were gas leaks and left it at that, but this was the sixth abandoned building in nearly two months that had burned down, and Baekhyun just didn't believe in coincidences.

But now that he was there he wasn't sure what he was looking for.

Anxious to be on his way - for he felt as if he wasn't the only one there - he pulled his flashlight out of his coat pocket, setting it on the lowest beam possible before flicking it on and casting its illumination around the smoking remains of the most recent burnt-down building. At first glance he saw nothing of interest, but his curiosity prompted him to look closer, and so he did. He shuffled through the pool of ash mixed with dirt at his feet, anxious and somehow excited all at once as he peered around at whatever had been left in the fire's wake, looking for something - anything.

And then he found it.

There, on the ground and hidden beneath the ash, something had been carved into the foundation with something small and sharp; most likely a pocketknife. It was faint, and hard to make out, but Baekhyun recognized it instantly for he'd seen it many, many times before.

The Phoenix.

Baekhyun smiled, triumphant. I was right! He thought. I knew this had to be his work!

Even more excited than before, Baekhyun quickly took a picture of the mark with his phone and then flicked off his flashlight, feeling his way out of the burnt remains of the old building and resisting the urge to leap for joy as he headed back to his car. He was cold, and covered in ash, and exhausted, and he had to drive a whole half hour back to his apartment, but honestly he didn't care.

The Phoenix was still out there, and now Baekhyun was one step closer to finding him.

Upon getting home he quickly stripped off his clothes and threw them in the wash, stepping into the shower soon after. He wanted any trace of him being at that crime scene to be gone, for the last thing he wanted now was his co-workers to find out about his plans, because - unlike him - they didn't understand the Phoenix. They thought he was evil; a murderer, they said. But Baekhyun knew the truth.

He was a hero.

Checking the picture on his phone one last time before he went to bed, Baekhyun smiled and glanced up at the wall just above his desk. It was littered with papers; news clippings of the Phoenix, rumored sightings, possible alibis, and - Baekhyun's own work - possible addresses. That was what he hoped to find, in the end, an address or perhaps even a name. Just something better to go on than a sketch from a frightened (and possibly unreliable) witness and a few scorch marks etched into wood and stone.

He needed more.

Much more.

But it was not the time for that now. Right now he needed to get some sleep, because the next day he was going to try his last resort. The next day, hopefully, he would finally find the Phoenix.