Animal - Part 1

[whedonist]

Animal

Part I – Prologue

I’ve found that there are moments in one’s life where if you look closely enough, if perhaps you are paying enough attention, the path that you must travel is laid out before you. It is clear and direct. There is very little second-guessing on what needs to be done.

As I stand here in the not-quite-chilly autumn night, the heat from the fire warms my skin. Careful not to get too close, the blaze holds poetry few masters of the pen have ever been able to capture. The flames lick the frame of the house, consuming it and the occupants inside.

There is orchestration to the blaze. The crunch, pop and sizzle are the allegro, the beginning of the piece. The screams of the victims begin as the fire takes shape. They act as the slow build. The minuet comes in the form of the sirens. They start in the distance, faint and indiscernible. It builds against the backdrop of the first two components. As the minuet melds into the rest of my masterpiece, the final portion of my beautiful symphony comes alive.

They gaze into the blaze and their cries of panic and grief create the rondo. My symphony devours and devastates. The wails of the dying and those left behind warm me; envelop me with a sense of accomplishment. The pain swells and crashes over me.

As the police and fire trucks grow near, I know it’s time for me to leave. I mustn’t be caught here. I gaze longingly at my tour de force and the living victims it has left. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I will see them again. They are only a start. I have others to consider and take under my wing. The ones remaining will receive my final message soon enough.

I turn away and slip into the night, allowing the darkness to wrap around me and conceal my departure.

Onward and upward as they say.

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