Chapter 8 - Fire and TruthPastor Thomas lowered his gun by a fraction of an inch, his eyes darting toward the fuel lines. A cold, calculating smile crept onto his face.
“You’re just a boy, Lucas. You don't have the courage to pull that trigger,” Thomas mocked, slowly pivoting his pistol away from Gabriel and aiming it directly at the catwalk. “Put the flare down, or I’ll do what I should have done to you months ago.”
“Lucas, NO! Don't do it!” Gabriel screamed from the floor, straining against the guards.
Candice smiled, taking a step toward the stairs. “Give me the flare, sweetie. You’ve been confused for a long time. Let me help—”
“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Lucas roared, tears streaming down his face as his hands gripped the flare gun tighter.
He didn't hesitate.
THUMP-HISS.
The flare rocketed from the barrel, tearing through the air in a blinding streak of crimson fire, and punched straight into the main fuel intake valve above the server racks.
For a second, there was total silence.
Then, a deep, guttural roar shook the foundations of the earth.
BOOM.
Flames erupted across the ceiling in a massive wave of fire. Alarms wailed deafeningly, and emergency sprinklers flooded the room with icy water, creating a chaotic, deafening storm of smoke and steam.
In the confusion, Gabriel exploded into action. He slammed his elbow backward into the ribs of the guard behind him, grabbed the dropped tire iron, and swung it with the full force of a man who had nothing left to lose.
The guard crashed to the floor, unconscious.
Gabriel lunged at the second guard, dropping him with a swift, brutal kick to the knee.
Across the room, Pastor Thomas stumbled backward as flames engulfed the control console, his face twisting in blind panic as he dropped his gun and ran for the emergency exit.
Candice screamed, dropping Clara’s silver cup as she tried to flee toward the back staircase.
“Dad! Grab my hand!” Lucas shouted, sprinting down the metal stairs through the smoke and descending water.
Gabriel caught his son mid-flight, pulling him into a fierce, desperate embrace against his chest.
“I’ve got you, son. I’ve got you,” Gabriel choked out, tears mixing with the soot on his face.
Suddenly, the heavy steel front doors blew inward with an explosive CRASH.
“POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS! NOBODY MOVE!”
Detective Renee Cole rushed through the smoke, followed by a wave of armed tactical officers, guns drawn and sweeping the burning room.
May you like
Candice was pinned against the wall by two officers before she could reach the exit. Pastor Thomas was intercepted near the back corridor, his tailored suit ruined by soot and mud, his hands locked in cold steel handcuffs.
As the smoke cleared and the flashing red and blue lights of a dozen police cruisers painted the snowy woods outside, Gabriel and Lucas walked out of the burning ruins of North Valley together.
