Gamble With Fate

• Rhys Pemberton, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2013

He smiled. A sense of foreboding shrouded his figure but still those passing by glanced at him in wonder, intrigued but not willing to slow. Like ants they continued on their way. The clothes he wore were drenched, sticking to his body like a second skin, freezing his bones, but he cared not. A small puddle was beginning to form beneath him, but he hardly noticed the splash of each droplet, so engulfed in his own mind. Unaware to all but his thoughts, his smile never wavered. His eyes wide and glaring, lost in his own world. He stepped forwards.

Lacerations ran down his arms and legs, deep cuts that bled furiously. There was no pain, he felt nothing. A woman approached him cautiously, the first person to have stopped and come close. Her mouth moved but he heard nothing. A small buzz in the back of his mind, nothing more. To enthralled with the imaginations of his dilapidated mind to care. All of a sudden, more and more people started to crowd around, stop for a time and watch as the woman tried to retrieve a response from him. The buzzing became a little clearer.

Voices. He could hear them now, the buzzing in his mind were words from this woman’s mouth. His eyes darted down, meeting hers in a fierce glare. She held his gaze, steady and calm. So peaceful. His mind slipped, and he began to become aware of his surroundings. He was standing in a road, cars stopped all around, blaring their high pitched horns in wonderment of what was taking place. Heavy rain lashed down and whipped across his body, soaking him down to the skin. He could feel it now. In a rush, the pain came crashing through, dismantling his mind in a sudden whoosh of panic.

The woman stepped back in shock as the man screeched in utter agony. The lacerations continued to seep blood, burning as if someone had poured bags of salt into each and every wound. He screwed his eyes shut to try and block out the pain, failing to uphold any strength against the burning afflictions. He fell to the ground, thriving and thrashing, wanting it all to be over. The woman recovered herself and stepped forwards once more, calling behind her in desperation to the ones standing in awe watching.

Through all the fear and pain, he could hear sirens in the distance. Eyes bulging, he looked around him, hoping to find an answer beyond where he lay. Complete ruin surrounded him. Utter destruction and death. Through the blood and sweat he could smell, a sharp smoke filled his nostrils. He spluttered, trying to breathe. Around him, everything burned. Cars lay on their sides or were completely flipped over, flames dancing across their outer shells, finding their way into every hole.

Trees were burning along the road, the fire spreading further and further away. The sky was filled with a dark fog, smoke rising from the flames to suffocate the oxygen from the world. Bodies were littered across the street, some missing arms or legs, some burning, most still and lifeless. He tried to distract himself, to picture what happened before. He had been standing on the curb, he had stepped forward. An explosion. Fire.

His mind became clear for a second. He saw himself step onto the road. Had he caused all this? He just wanted it to end.