Fire and Brimstone and Salt
One of the angels said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
Genesis 19:17
The sky is orange, like a sunset at noon. I stand a few inches back from the edge of the cliff, my arms wrapped tightly around myself. Despite the roaring fire below, the wind is chill, slicing through my thin jacket and whipping my skirt around my legs.
Lilibet sits on the ground, leaning against a tree, orange and yellow leaves scattered around her, like bits of the sky fallen to earth. Behind us, Shay waits quietly, dark hair blowing across his face in the wind. I suppose we must be far enough away from the city now or he would have kept us running.
Sparks float over the city like fireflies dancing in the air. By the time they make their way to us, they have faded to specks of ash, grey smudges drifting among the trees. It is so peaceful, I could almost forget the panic of earlier, of Shay’s pounding on our door this morning, of running through the streets one hand in Shay’s and one in Lilibet’s, while hearing the roar of the fire behind us.
A soft, keening sob escapes Lilibet and I crouch beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. Shay kneels on her other side and watches us with sad dark eyes. “I’m…
