New Year

• Sam Allan, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2020

Far beyond their sight, Austin knew, a fire was burning. He knew because the fieries had called them earlier that day, rattled off predictions to Reg faster than Austin could hear, and hung up just as abruptly.

Now, their town was on high alert. Folk zipped around, preparing where they could. None left, despite the fieries' advice to evacuate. They were a stubborn lot, and were going to go down with their ship if necessary.
Austin didn't know how to help. 'What do you do if the world is burning?' had never come up in training.
He could only wait.

Austin looked over the wasteland that surrounded the town. The air was more ash than air, now. He watched tiny white flakes float around him. They reminded him of powdery snow from back home, but this was the exact opposite. It was a promise. A threat.

It was quarter to five in the afternoon, and the sky was black infused with bloody red. Austin shivered, his entire body shaking, arm hair standing on end, as he trod the well-worn path of the main street. It was entirely abandoned, every person in town waiting in their homes for news. The temperature had more than halved and he could see the flashing lights and eerie wails of fieries in the distance. His internal clock insisted that he should be in bed.

Reg sat just outside the last building, a silent statue illuminated in scarlet, the lines on his face dark as the sky. He didn't glance over as Austin walked up beside him, both of them watching the haze of light in the distance. Austin thought it was quite far away, but Reg knew how fast fire could travel.

"Reg," Austin murmured, and waited until the Chief turned toward him in acknowledgement. "It won't get us, will it?"
Reg paused, a lie on the very tip of his tongue. But Austin deserved better than that, even if he was only going to panic because of it.
"I don't know, Austin. Bushfires make their own wind at that size. It's unpredictable."
Reg stayed still as stone, but Austin sunk down low to the parched dirt, eyes fixed on the horizon line. Something about their situation had finally become real to him, like being woken from sleep by a kick to the backside. Fear made its steady progress from his gut to the rest of his body.

For all that he claimed, Reg was neither heartless nor senseless, and he could tell the newcomer was nervous. Comforting people was not his strong suit."It's gonna be okay either way, Austin. The townsfolk will get out in time."
"That is not helping, Reg. We could lose the town. What is everyone going to do without a home?"
The old man didn't speak for a long time, watching the light in the distance grow brighter, watching the flames race towards them. When he finally found a reply, his voice was quiet.
"We will survive."