The Night of the Fire

The flames were too bright to be real.

For a long moment, all Anyah could do was stare, transfixed by the billowing smoke curling into the sky, spreading like dark fingers clawing at the moon. The old house was supposed to be abandoned, a forgotten relic of the past on the edge of town. With broken windows, vines overtaking its brick walls, and a sagging front porch, the place was always deserted except for them.

And yet, there it was, burning.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Josh whispered, his eyes wide and locked on the flames. His voice was barely audible over the crackling roar. He gripped Anyah’s arm like a lifeline, and the colour drained from his face. At that moment, he looked younger and more fragile, and she found it terrifying and strangely comforting that someone else shared her fear.

“No,” Anyah murmured, shaking her head, “this wasn’t—”

“Shut up!” Danny hissed from behind them, his voice shaking. Danny, the ringleader of their group—the fearless one—sounded as if he was about to cry. That, more than anything, jolted Anyah back into reality. “Just… shut up, okay? It’s not—it’s not a big deal. We just need to—”

“Not a big deal?” Lauren’s voice rose an octave, her words trembling as badly as her hands. “Are you insane, Danny? The whole place is on fire! We need to call—”

“We’re not calling anyone!” Danny snapped, spinning around to glare at her. His face was pale in the moonlight, his eyes blazing with something that looked awfully like fear. “We’ll get into trouble. If they find out we were here, they’ll—” “Danny,” Anyah interrupted, “we need to call someone. It’s—it’s spreading too fast. We have to—”

“No!” Danny’s voice cracked. “No, we don’t. We can’t. This’ll just go down as another old house burning down. No one’s gonna care. We were never here, alright? We were never here.” He took a step closer, lowering his voice to a desperate whisper. “Just… don’t tell anyone. Do you hear me? No one.”

The words felt like a punch to Anyah’s chest. The world was closing in on her—trees, smoke, and the scent of burning wood mingling with the metallic taste of panic. She looked at Josh, then Lauren, but neither met her eyes.

And maybe that was worse than the fire itself.

Two Weeks Earlier…

The first time Anyah had gone with them to the old house, it was on a dare. Danny had boasted for days about sneaking into the abandoned place on Oak Ridge, talking it up like some rite of passage. Everyone knew Danny had a knack for turning boredom into trouble. He was why they broke into the country club’s pool after hours and took turns climbing the radio tower at the edge of town despite the “NO TRESPASSING” signs and barbed wire.

But there was something about the old house that made it different.

“There’s something creepy about it, y’know?” Danny had said, grinning. “Like it’s stuck in time or something. I bet people died there or whatever.”

“Or whatever,” Josh had scoffed, but Anyah could see the curiosity in his eyes.

The first night, they broke in through the back window, and the inside was exactly what Anyah had expected—dust-covered furniture, peeling wallpaper, and floors that creaked with every step. What she hadn’t expected was the heavy silence, the way it felt like the house was holding its breath, waiting for something.

They didn’t find anything supernatural—just old family photos, crumbling newspapers, and a grandfather clock that still ticked despite being broken. The whole place felt like a ghost—one that wasn’t sure if it wanted to linger or fade away completely.

It wasn’t until the third night they returned that things started to feel different. Danny brought matches.

“Why do you even have those?” Anyah had asked, frowning as he flicked a flame to life and grinned at the slight orange glow.

“For fun,” he had replied with a shrug. He waved the match around, leaving trails of light in the darkness. “Chill out, Anyah. We’re just messing around.”

That night, they stayed longer than they should have. Josh started it as a joke—a dare to see who could write their name in the air with the flame before the match burnt out. It was stupid and pointless, but it was a thrill in a place that felt dead. It made the shadows move like they were alive, and the laughter seemed louder and more reckless, echoing through the empty halls.

But eventually, the thrill wore off, and Danny got bored.

“What if we made a bonfire?” he’d said. “In the backyard or something?”

Lauren had laughed, but Anyah saw the unease in her eyes. Josh tried to play it off, saying it was too risky, but Danny brushed it aside.

“Don’t be such a wuss,” Danny had said. “It’s not like anyone’s gonna miss this place.”

The Night of the Fire…

When the old house was caught, it didn’t look like it was dead and had been forgotten. It lit up like it had been waiting for the spark like it had a final breath left and wanted to let it all out in a single blaze. It happened so fast that Anyah barely had time to react before the small flames that Danny had started in the living room spread to the walls, climbing and twisting like angry fingers.

“What did you do?” Anyah choked out, her voice barely audible over the roar of the flames.

“It wasn’t supposed to spread this fast,” Danny muttered, running his hand through his hair, eyes wide and darting between them and the house. “It’s just old wood. I didn’t—”

“You didn’t what?” Lauren cut in, her voice raw with panic. “You didn’t think?”

“Guys,” Josh interrupted, pointing towards the street, “we need to get out of here.”

It was like being yanked out of a nightmare. Anyah felt her feet move before she fully processed his words. The four of them stumbled over each other as they scrambled away from the burning house. The smoke followed them, curling into the night air, thick and suffocating.

By the time they reached the edge of the woods, Anyah was gasping for breath, the taste of ash bitter on her tongue. They all stopped, watching the house burn in silence. No one spoke, each of them too afraid to say the wrong thing, too scared to acknowledge the reality of what they’d done.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Danny repeated, his voice shaky. “We weren’t here. This didn’t happen.”

Anyah wanted to scream. She wanted to shout that it did happen, that pretending it didn’t wouldn’t erase it, that staying silent wouldn’t fix anything. But the words stuck in her throat, tangled up with the smoke and fear, and all she could do was nod numbly.

Present Day…

The fire made the news, but not in the way Anyah had feared. It was reported as an “unfortunate accident” resulting from faulty wiring in an abandoned house. No one questioned it—after all, who would care about an old, empty house on the outskirts of a town no one talked about?

But the fire haunted her. She saw it every time she closed her eyes and heard the crackling flames in the quiet moments when the world seemed to pause. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget Danny’s voice: “Don’t tell anyone.”

They didn’t talk about it, nor did any of them. It was like an unspoken agreement, a pact made out of fear and guilt. Danny acted like nothing had changed as if the fire was just another one of their adventures. But Anyah could see the strain in his smile, the way his hands shook when he thought no one was watching.

Lauren withdrew into herself, spending less time with the group and more time alone, her eyes dark with something Anyah couldn’t name. Josh tried to keep things regular, but there was a distance between them now, an invisible wall that kept them from ever being as close as they had been before.

And Anyah—Anyah didn’t know what to do. She carried the weight of that night with her everywhere she went, the guilt like a shadow that followed her even in the daylight. She wanted to tell someone and confess, but every time she thought about it, she heard Danny’s voice, saw his eyes wide with fear, and stayed silent.

But silence wasn’t enough to keep the nightmares away.

The days after the fire blurred together. At school, whispers of the blaze became the backdrop to everything—hallway conversations, locker gossip, even in the quiet spaces where Anyah once found comfort. No one suspected anything, at least not yet, but the secret sat heavy between them.

Anyah thought about telling her mom once. She imagined sitting down at the kitchen table and confessing everything. The idea of relief—of the guilt lifting, even just a little—tempted her like an open door. But she never walked through it.

It was Danny’s face that stopped her. His eyes were pleading that night, a raw desperation she had never seen before. “Don’t tell anyone.”

So she stayed silent.

One Week Later…

Lauren started skipping school. It began with a day here and there, excused with sick notes forged in her mom’s handwriting, but after a week, she stopped bothering with the notes altogether. Whenever Anyah asked, Lauren just shrugged and said she needed time and couldn’t be around people right now.

“You’re acting weird,” Danny muttered one afternoon when he, Anyah, and Josh met after school. “You’re making this more suspicious than it needs to be.”

“I’m acting weird?” Lauren’s laugh was sharp and cold. “You burned down a house, Danny.”

“It wasn’t—” he started to argue but then bit his tongue, looking away. “I didn’t mean—”

“Doesn’t matter what you meant,” Lauren said, her voice lowering. “It happened.”

Josh, always the peacemaker, tried to cut in. “Come on, guys, let’s just—”

“What?” Lauren snapped. “Pretend this is all fine? Just go back to being friends like we didn’t screw everything up?”

No one had an answer for that. They stood in silence, the space between them feeling wider than ever. Anyah wanted to say anything to improve things, but she didn’t know how. Words felt too small to contain the mess they were in.

That night, she stayed awake long after everyone else in her house had gone to bed. She lay in the darkness, staring at her ceiling, and felt the fire burning behind her eyelids. She didn’t sleep. She didn’t know how to anymore.

Two Weeks Later…

It was Josh who broke first.

Anyah found him sitting on the bleachers after school, staring at the empty football field like he saw something else. His hands were clasped tightly together, knuckles white, and he didn’t notice her approach until she sat beside him.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

Josh flinched like he hadn’t heard her coming. He didn’t look at her. “What do you think?”

Anyah sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she settled for silence. They sat like that for a long time, neither speaking nor the empty field stretching in the fading light.

“I think I’m losing it,” Josh murmured eventually, his voice barely above a whisper. “Every night, I dream about it. The fire. I hear it, feel it… and when I wake up, I—” He swallowed hard. “I can’t breathe, Anyah.”

She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of his words settle over her. “You’re not the only one,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.

“I keep seeing her, you know?” he said, his voice trembling. “Lauren. I think she’s gonna break, and if she does—”

“We’ll figure it out,” Anyah interrupted, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “Lauren’s just… she’s scared. Like the rest of us.”

“Yeah,” Josh replied softly, but he didn’t sound convinced.

Anyah wasn’t convinced, either.

Three Days Later

Lauren cracked.

It wasn’t a dramatic breakdown, no screaming or public outburst—just a quiet, exhausted admission to Anyah after school one day. They were sitting on the swings at the park, the rusty chains creaking with every gentle sway. Lauren hadn’t said a word in over half an hour, and Anyah was starting to feel like she was drowning in the silence.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Lauren finally said, her voice barely audible over the wind. “I can’t keep pretending.”

Anyah’s heart skipped a beat. “Lauren—”

“I’m telling someone,” she continued, eyes fixed on the ground. “Maybe my mom, maybe the cops, I don’t know. I just—I can’t live like this.”

“You promised,” Anyah said, her voice breaking. “You said you wouldn’t—”

“I know what I said,” Lauren snapped, facing her. Her eyes were red, tear-stained, and angry. “But I can’t sleep, Anyah. I can’t eat, I can’t focus, I can’t—” She stopped, shuddering. “I can’t do this.”

“Please,” Anyah whispered. “If you tell, we’re all—”

“I know!” Lauren’s voice cracked. “I know, okay? But I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t ask for any of this, and I won’t let Danny drag me down with him.”

“Lauren, if you tell anyone, Danny—”

Lauren’s eyes hardened. “Danny deserves it.”

The words stung, and Anyah couldn’t find the strength to argue. Deep down, she knew Lauren was right. Danny did deserve it, and so did the rest of them. But knowing that didn’t make it any easier to accept.

They sat silently, the wind picking up and making the swings sway. The sky was a dull grey, heavy with the promise of rain. Anyah didn’t know what to say or what to do. All she knew was that if Lauren talked, their fragile facade of normalcy would come crashing down.

“Lauren,” Anyah said quietly, “don’t tell anyone. Please.”

Lauren didn’t respond. She stared at the ground, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Two Days Later…

Josh called an emergency meeting at the old train tracks after dark. It was a spot where they used to hang out all the time, a place that felt safe in a way that nowhere else did anymore. The four stood in a loose circle, the tracks stretching into the darkness on either side, rusted metal glinting faintly in the moonlight.

“What’s this about?” Danny asked, his voice sharp and impatient.

“It’s about Lauren,” Josh said, his voice anxious. “She’s gonna tell someone.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I talked to her,” Josh continued, running a hand through his hair. “She says she can’t keep the secret anymore. She’s losing it, man.”

“No,” Danny muttered, shaking his head. “No, she wouldn’t do that.”

“She would,” Anyah said quietly, looking at Danny angrily. “She’s breaking, Danny. We all are.”

Danny clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. “If she talks, we’re all screwed.”

“We know that,” Josh snapped, the strain in his voice breaking through. “But what are we supposed to do? Tie her up and keep her quiet? You can’t control people, Danny.”

Danny was silent for a long moment, his eyes darting between them. Anyah could see the gears turning in his head, his desperation twisting into something darker. When he finally spoke, his voice was flat and cold.

“She can’t talk if she’s not here.”

The words sent a chill down Anyah’s spine. She glanced at Josh, who was staring at Danny in horror.

“Are you insane?” Josh hissed. “You’re not seriously suggesting—”

“She’s going to ruin everything!” Danny shot back, his voice rising. “We’ll all end up in juvie or worse if she talks. We have to—”

“No,” Anyah interrupted, her voice firm despite trembling hands. “We’re not doing that.”

“You don’t understand—”

“Yes, we do!” she yelled, her voice echoing in the darkness. “We understand perfectly, Danny! But this isn’t the answer. Hurting Lauren—doing something like that—won’t fix what happened. It’ll just make things worse.”

For a moment, Danny looked like he was going to argue. But then his shoulders slumped, the fight draining out of him. He looked small and lost, and for the first time, Anyah saw just how afraid he was.

“What do we do, then?” he whispered.

The question hung heavy in the air, and Anyah didn’t have an answer. None of them did.

The following day, Lauren didn’t show up to school.

Anyah’s stomach twisted into knots as she waited in the cafeteria, watching the door as if she were expecting Lauren to walk in any second, smiling and laughing like everything was fine. But the minutes ticked by, and Lauren never came.

That night, she got the call.

The Aftermath…

Lauren was gone. She left a cryptic note, but Anyah knew what it meant. She had run away, too afraid to face what they’d done, too desperate to escape the guilt. Anyah’s heart ached, knowing Lauren had been hurting so badly, and she hadn’t done enough to help her.

But what haunted her most was the last line of the note, written in shaky handwriting that Anyah barely recognised.

“Don’t tell anyone.”

The words felt like a heavyweight curse that she couldn’t shake. As she sat there, staring at the note, Anyah realised that no matter how hard they tried to keep the secret, it would always find a way to burn its way back into their lives.

The fire hadn’t just consumed the house. It had consumed them, too. And there was no going back.