FIRE TOWN

I set myself on fire and the whole world comes to watch me burn. That is possible only in my imagination. Right?

ONE: LIZARD THING
They found the lizard-like creature right in the middle of the deserted highway. The sun was a pink blob in the eastern sky, and the horizon itself was a curtain of flames. Papalolo stopped the Chrysler with a squeal of brakes.
"What is it?" Anna demanded in irritation. She was hungry and eager to be home. The picnic in the countryside with her boyfriend had been delightful, but she knew she had to be home before nightfall or else face her parents' wrath, especially her father's. Besides, she was hungry. The snacks they had eaten during their picnic had proven inadequate to sustain her through the rest of the day.
"Can't you see it?" Papalolo replied, pointing ahead.
Her eyes followed his pointed finger and beheld the creature. It was a reptilian being of medium size, its scales shimmering with an eerie luminescence. It had a sleek, elongated body, with a ridge of spines running down its back. The creature's eyes glowed a deep, unsettling red, and its forked tongue flicked out as if tasting the air. Twenty feet away at the roadside was the milestone screaming out: TEJBI. 50 MILES.
A slow and tasty music whispered from the music player.
"There is fire on the mountain
And nobody seems to be on the run
Oh, there is fire on the mountain top
And no one is a-runnin."
The two lovebirds weren't interested in the fire or the mountaintop or in running right now. They had a decision to make concering this strange creature.
"We can't just leave it here," Papalolo insisted, his curiosity piqued. "It's not safe."
"Are you crazy?" Anna shot back. "We don't even know what it is. And besides, I need to get home."
But Papalolo was adamant. "It's not every day you come across something like this. We should take it home, maybe someone will know what it is."
After a heated argument, Papalolo prevailed. They carefully lifted the creature into the trunk of the car and continued their journey. The ride was tense, with Anna fuming in the passenger seat and the creature occasionally making unsettling noises from the trunk.
At the outskirts of town, a huge signboard screamed WELCOME TO TETJI.
They finally reached Anna's parents' house. She stormed out of the car, slamming the door behind her. "This is a bad idea," She warned one last time before disappearing inside.

TWO: JACKPOT
Papalolo drove home and put the creature in a large birdcage he had in the garage. He tried feeding it various things: meat, vegetables, even insects, but the creature refused to eat. At night, he observed its scales glinting with multiple colors each time he shined a torch on it. He wondered what it could be, this enigmatic creature.
Over the next couple of days, Papalolo made a small fortune. His neighbors, and soon people from farther afield, came to see the creature that reflected gemlike lights on its scales. It was a real jackpot for him. The visitors paid good money to witness the spectacle, and many took pictures. Some even recorded videos, which quickly spread on social media. Papalolo uploaded numerous pictures and videos of the creature and himself on his Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram accounts. The number of those who followed him online quickly soared. There was a lot of buzz on his X account (formerly Twitter).. He stopped reading the comments when the number of comments soared past five hundred. Two days after that, the comments had soared past twenty thousand.
The creature still did not eat. Every night, it would screech from midnight until early morning, a haunting sound that echoed through the neighborhood. Despite this, the crowds continued to grow, eager to see the strange beast.


THREE: RAIDERS OF THE LOST LIZARD
On the seventh day, as Papalolo was admiring his unexpected windfall, strange gull-like noises in the sky drew him outside. Two vulture-like creatures, high in the sky, circled and wheeled around his house. Alarmed, he watched as a black Chrysler pulled up and two masked men emerged. At gunpoint, they forced Papalolo to lead them to the cage in the garage. They roughly shoved the creature into the trunk of their car and sped away.
Papalolo forgot common sense and chased after them on foot, shouting at the top of his lungs for them to return his lizard. The entire street, and then more people from the town, joined the pursuit. It was a chaotic scene of shouting and running.
Papalolo was the first to notice the two vulture-like creatures swooping down from the sky. He came to an abrupt halt and stared open-mouthed at their massive frames. Like oversized lizards, their scales flickered fantastically in the sunlight, reflecting a myriad of colors like living constellations of diamonds.
One of the beasts flipped the car over with a twist of a limb as massive as a tree trunk. The two scaly creatures tore the car apart with talons as long as swords, shredding it like paper. The thieves inside leaped out and ran, terror etched on their faces.
One of the beasts snatched the creature in the trunk and took off into the sky. The other opened its mouth and vomited a jet of napalm-like fire that engulfed the car in vicious flames. The crowd scattered, fleeing back into town in a blind panic. Many fell and were trampled in the stampede.

FOUR: A DAY OF RAGE
It became clear that the two beasts were parents to the creature that had been stolen. When the inhabitants of the town realized this, a chill ran through their collective spine. As the sun rose higher, spreading heat across the environ, the remaining beast, enraged and grieving, unleashed its wrath upon the town. It began its rampage, knocking down roofs, incinerating cars, and spreading terror among the townspeople. The once peaceful streets now echoed with the creature's roars, intermingled with the sounds of crumbling buildings and exploding vehicles.
Panic-stricken inhabitants flooded the local police station with calls, their voices trembling as they described the monstrous beast tearing through their town. The police, understanding the gravity of the situation, quickly dispatched several squad cars to the scene. Sirens wailed as the vehicles raced to confront the rampaging beast.
However, upon arrival, the police found themselves woefully unprepared for the creature's fury. The beast's fiery breath turned squad cars into burning husks within seconds, flames dancing on the twisted metal. Officers fired their weapons, but the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the beast's scaly hide, throwing off multicolored sparks that added a surreal beauty to the chaos.
The officers watched in horror as their bullets seemed to only anger the beast further. One by one, they were forced to abandon their vehicles, their uniforms catching fire from the intense heat. They ran for their lives, patting out flames that clung to their clothes, leaving behind a scene of utter destruction.
The fire department, arriving soon after with hopes of containing the inferno, found themselves facing a similar fate. The firefighters attempted to battle the flames consuming the town, but the beast's relentless assault made it clear that their efforts were futile. One by one, they had to abandon their trucks, the price of staying at the scene threatening to be their very lives. The brave men and women of the fire department retreated, watching helplessly as the beast continued its rampage.
Finally, as the sun began to set, the creature flew off into the horizon, never to be seen again. The beast's roars had ceased, replaced by the crackling of burning buildings and the distant wails of sirens. The inhabitants, now scattered and shell-shocked, looked upon the devastation with a mix of sorrow and fear. They understood now the depth of the creature's rage and the reason for its unrelenting assault.
The town was left in ruins, with smoke rising from the smoldering wreckage.
As night fell, multiple flames from burning buildings cast a fiery glow over the smoldering ruins, the town faced an uncertain future. The memory of the rampage would linger, a stark reminder of the day when a parent's grief turned into a torrent of destruction. The news buzzed for a while, but eventually, Tetji began to rebuild. However, a lingering fear remained among the inhabitants, who worried that the beasts might one day return.
Tetji became known afterwards as the fire town.
THE END?

NOBODY KNOWS.

Reviews

[Arundass TP]

Wow. I feel this story is like a floating dragon tale. Not dinos. It looks cinematic while reading. Nicely written.

[Akinlolu]

Thanks my friend. I appreciate your review.

[Arundass TP]

Welcome friend 😊