From the Flames

The woods appeared untouched by the flames yet nothing else seemed to be spared as Andrew watches it all burn. His house, car, and all the valuables within were all but gone and would soon be reduced to ash. The anger and despair he had felt earlier were now replaced by a numbing acceptance as he watched on. Firefighters now begin to arrive to continue their eternal fight with the elements.

Through the thick smoke and fiery blaze, one could see the luxurious house was an impressive build with its imposing entrance and three garage doors.

The fire engulfed it rather quickly and lay waste to this multimillion-dollar property. 

Andrew now turns away from the view as several men in suits get out of their car while viewing the whole fiasco. They soon notice Andrew and two of them approach him. They are somewhat confused by his presence and walk to him cautiously. Before they reveal their badges Andrew gives a sign and puts out his hands.

“Suprised I’m still here are ya. Well, consider this my official surrender.”

Both FBI agents look perplexed by his attitude and the older one looks him up and down.

“Very well, Andrew Pearson, you are under arrest for grand larceny, assault, and various criminal conspiracies. You’ll have to come with us now.”

Andrew puts his hands out in acceptance.

He is soon handcuffed and put into the back of their car. As the fire rages on they now begin to drive away. Andrew never looks back as he knows that the life he once had is gone forever. 

5 years later.

Andrew looks quite worn down with his unkempt beard and downward gaze as he washes dishes at a Denny’s. It’s nearly midnight and his shift still has several more hours to go. As he shuffles around the washing station his metal anklet remains a constant reminder of his situation.

“Hey, Andy! Take out the trash will ya?.” 

A balding and grumpy cook yells from the kitchen. 

“On it boss!” 

Andrew responds as he glances at the clock. He nods and goes to retrieve some garbage liners. The restaurant has just started to fill with its regular clientele for the night. A handful of stoners and a few truckers.

In another life, Andrew would have never been caught dead near these kinds of people. Yet here he was cleaning their dishes. 

As he began dragging the garbage outside he thought back to his former self and thought -Even with all that wealth and glamour was I ever really happy? 

He knew the answer to that almost instantly despite his current situation and continued carrying the trash out to the large bin.

Now as he throws away the last garage bag, his phone starts to ring. He quickly answers as he suspects its parole officer.

“Hello?”

“Andrew! Hey, it’s me, Jonah. I know it’s late and we haven’t talked in years but I got something you’d be interested in! I’m putting a team together…”

“Jonah you know better than to call me about this, I’m done with that life…”

“Come on man no bodies ever “done” and besides it's easy money especially for you!”

“Well, I’m done alright and doing okay as it is so forget it.” 

“Look why don’t we meet for drinks and talk about this? You were the best back in the day, arent you itching to get back at it?”

“It was nice talking to you Jonah but goodbye and best of luck.”

“Hey wait don’t you want something more than that crappy job at Denny’s, you’re better than that my friend.”

Andrew looks around him suspiciously while appearing a bit paranoid.

“You been watching me, Jonah? Goddamn, you guys have no boundaries do you?”

“Just keeping tabs on old friends alright don’t mean to spook you.”

“But you know I’m on probation right like I couldn’t join you even if I wanted to.” 

“Let us deal with that ok, trust me we got guys who take care of that.”

“I said I’m done alright...goodnight Jonah.”

Andrew now hangs up and looks at the phone somewhat surprised at his own reaction.

He shakes his head and walks back into the restaurant as he thought back to the call. It’s an easy out he knew with lots of money to be made.

But no, He thought, Just got three more months and I’m free besides I know better. That was another life, now it’s time to live it properly.

Finishing his shift he now gets in his beat-up honda and drives to his apartment. Along the way, he can see that the party life of Los Angeles is vibrant in the streets around him. Clubs are brimming with the usual chaos of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Several attractive women roam corners of the streets as bypassers slow down to greet them. And muscle cars remain parked nearby with their drivers waiting for it to catch someone’s eye.

Andrew ignores all this as he drives by and makes his way onto the interstate. As he reaches his place and makes it to the entrance. As he’s about to go in a young man approaches him from a nearby alley.

“Hey my man, looking to get some brown? It’s 40 a gram.”

The dimly light pot light shows the youth’s worn gaze as he offers him the dope.

“I’m good thanks.” 

Andrew looks to him in slight pity but then turns away walks into the building and takes the elevator. Graffiti is covering parts of the wall and the above light flickers from lack of repair. Andrew signs as he reaches his suite. Despite appearing exhausted he now looks opens the laptop he has set up on his desk and turns it on. The time shows 3:30 am. Yet Andrew doesn’t seem fazed anymore as he takes a sip from his coffee and cracks his knuckles. 

“Alright, let’s get to work…” 

He looks through some notes he has laid out and continues to type furiously through the night.

Three months later.

Andrew sports an elegant suit and sits in a luxurious waiting area keeping his briefcase at his. The marble tiles and modern artwork hanging from the walls hinted at the wealth being made here.

Through the window to his left, Andrew could just barely glimpse the Hollywood sign as it stood prominently over the rest of L.A. 

Andrew appears a bit nervous as he glances at his watch. It’s ten minutes past his appointment and his hands are starting to get jittery.

Just then the receptionist calls him over.

“Mr. Pearson? Yes, they will gladly see you know just head to room 137. I apologize that one of them can’t come out to greet you, but you understand that they are quite busy. Yes, and it’s through that hall and on your left. Oh and good luck”

“Thank you.”

Andrew nods to her, a bit surprised by her kind attitude as he makes his way through the hallway. Photos of various film stars cover each side of the walls along with well-known tv shows and movies.

Andrew now makes it to the said room and knocks. 

“It’s open, come in.”

He takes a deep breath a walks in.

Three men and two women greet him as he walks in. While not expecting such an audience Andrew looks quite collected as he greets them. 

One of the women, who looks about 30 gestures to Andrew to sit down at the table with them. Her enthusiasm surprises him as he expected something to the contrary.

“Andrew! So glad you could make it! Let me introduce you to the rest of the writer’s room! This is Mark, Lisa, Jacob, and Anthony. Each one’s a character...but today’s not about them. You’re in the spotlight now but don’t worry you don’t have to pitch anything new...yet.”

The man referred to as Mark chimes in.

“Please Julie I think you’re confusing him...what she means to say is that you got the position. You see we really enjoyed your pilot scripts, especially the one involving bank heists. What was it called again?”

“Delirium I think it was, yes that was my favorite as well.” Lisa answers. “For me, the characters seemed so real and gritty, just the kind of skillful writing we need right now.”

The others appear to nod in agreement. Andrew is taken aback by this seemingly endless praise. 

“I don’t know what to say...but thank you...when would I start?”

Julie smiles and gestures to the group. 

“Well we thought now would be a good time actually, if you’re open to it. Just listen in as we work on this new show called “Sudden”. You see we’re on a tight schedule to finish the pilot but kinda stuck on a few characters. Hoping your new perspective might lend us a hand.”

“No pressure of course,” Mark says with a grin.

Andrew can’t seem to believe his luck and agrees 

“Yes, of course, that works for me and I’ll try my best.”

The group looks to him encouragingly and the one named Jacob now walks towards a whiteboard that covers the left wall.

“Ok, glad to have you onboard Andrew, now let’s bring you to speed...the protagonist's name is Frank and he’s somewhat a loner….”

Andrew listens intently with the others and so begins his first day as a hired screenwriter. They remain in that room for several hours and it isn’t until late evening that they call it a day. All seem thrilled with Andrew’s presence and each gives their own cheery goodbyes as they leave the office. There is a Tv playing the news near the exit and one of them stops with surprise as he ingests the information. They all start to key in as the reporter continue’s 

“It was just a few hours that a failed bank heist was attempted on Bank of America located on Queen and James st. As you can see behind me, this was no small operation and led to destructive aftermath.”

You could see that the front of the bank appears shot up and many of the windows shattered. Black marks were clearly visible on the tarmac and bank steps. Possibly created by grenades or something similar. 

“The six robbers faced off against our city cops and carried heavy firepower. Two have been declared dead and the rest are in custody. Luckily only one cop was injured during this fiasco. Their leader has been identified as Jonah Rivers who surrendered but not without a violent end.”

The next clip shows a video through a body cam as Jonah looks around frankly and punches one of the cops as they approach him. He is soon tackled to the ground by three other cops.

“Jesus man, you write this stuff, can you?” Mark jokes while glancing at the others.

“And you’d think they’d better right? Like Bank of America, really? Only takes two brain cells to know you’re never getting out of that.”

“Anyway, see you guys on Monday ok,” says Mark.

Andrew appears entranced by what he is witnessing and Julie takes notice. 

“Hey, you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Now breaking contact with the screen he looks at her.

“Ya, I’m good, just shocking really.”

Julie agrees and then puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey you did well today, looks like a start of a promising career if I ever saw one.”

“Thanks...see you next week then?”

“You got it.”

They all begin to leave and Andrew follows them to the elevator as he takes one last look at the news. A reality that would have been his if he’d chosen it. 

The easy escape, the shortcut, and the immediate pleasure… the option is always there - He thought. But it always leads down the same rabbit hole, doesn’t it?

 Now he felt immense relief knowing that his hard work was finally paying off. He knew his past fortune had never made him happy and his criminal life was finally behind him. Now a free man and a hired screenwriter what more could he ask for?

Now it’s time to really live. -He thought with a smile as he got in his car and drove back home through the streets of Hollywood.