Into Flames

The water ebbed to and fro as the waves thrashed on the bleached rocks. “Finally reached the mountain,” I sighed as I picked my luggage with all my might. Carefully, I picked up the green flag I was designated for and stuffed it deep inside my bag. “No one must find it before I make it to the summit,” I remind myself.

 Small ferns trailed beside the path as wildflowers peeked out here and there. The towering canopy of oaks and deodars kept the sweltering sun at bay. I walked along with the unkempt bushes and listened for the mockingbird’s songs. 

Hues of pink and red played peek-a-boo with the lush foliage of the unkempt bushes. The layer of pine needles muffled my footsteps as I tried to track down a source of water. I headed deeper into the seemingly endless forest, looking for animals while covering my tracks. “This is tough,” I breathed. Tired, I sat under the shade of an enormous tree and began rummaging through my luggage. One sleeping bag. A pack of beef jerky. Night-vision goggles. A medical kit. A box of matches. A plastic cover. And a water bottle as dry as a bone. 

“I need water; I haven’t had water all day.” My lips were cracked, and my throat was parched. Dehydration had set in. I looked closely for a water source but found nothing. Suddenly, I recalled a lake I had seen before. “That should not be the only freshwater source here cause it would surely be occupied,” I hoped silently.

Snap! The sound of a breaking branch jolted me. Snap! Snap! I slowly turned myself in the direction of the voice. Smoke billowed from about a hundred meters away from me. “This moron, lighting a fire in the middle of the day. Why doesn’t he just broadcast his location to everybody else?”

I quickly climbed up a willow tree, hiding in its dense foliage, and looked out for other people. Like hyenas, more than twenty competitors were lured to the scene of the fire. In a matter of a few minutes, the ground was dyed in blood. Only five boys, with colorful flags they had taken from the people they defeated, were standing around the fire. 

“There should be eleven people left. Since these boys are going to finish each other, I should focus on others.” Just as I was about to move ahead, a column of smoke swelled high into the sky. The small bonfire that was lit to roast meat now encroached the woods. It grew larger as everybody was thrown into a panicked frenzy.

The leaping flames, like a rampaging beast, devoured everything in their way. The trees that stood tall and mighty were now reduced to ashes, no more than lifeless sticks of charcoal. The flames moved fast like the wind, without even looking back at the charred remains of the canopied green. The fire hissed and crackled as if cussing in its unbridled fury, and the smell of pine diffused with the scorching air. As the dappled shade of the riveting forest was combusted into smoke, the screeching and howling of the frightened animals were left unheard. 

The scarlet-gold flames called out to the clouds, greedily engulfed everything in their way. Embers trailed into the sky, leaving wisps of smoke in their wake. Grey talons of smoke ripped off the little pure air left. When the smoke billowed into the lamenting sky, the unfettered fire illuminated the ground. The green of the day seeped out of the lively jungle, and the horizon glowed a ferocious orange beyond its arsenic plume. The smoke was a black curtain for the fire, and the scorched ground was its stage. In its majestic beauty, the fire danced passionately with the woods. 

“The competition has been canceled. It would be appreciated if all competitors could reach the medical unit at the peak of the mountain. We repeat the tournament has been canceled. It would be appreciated…” declared a robotic voice. As soon as I heard the announcement, I abandoned my luggage and escaped towards the summit. All the participants, whom I was earlier supposed to kill, were now racing beside me.

As we made our way to the safety zone atop the mountain, we saw our sponsors waiting for us. “You need medical treatment, your calf is burnt,” my sponsor said as he yanked me away from the crowd. I did not even realize I burnt myself while running through the forest. Soon, everybody quietened as the organizers of the tournament approached us.

“Since this year’s competition was canceled, all the tributes who are alive would be dismissed from their status as slaves. You are now free citizens of the country. Here are your citizenship Ids.” 

Tears welled in my eyes as I tightly clenched the citizenship Id in my fist. It felt as though the heaviness and burden I had been carrying as a slave was released. “Congratulations, you are now a free citizen of our nation,” my sponsor cheerfully said. As I walked out of the tent with newfound freedom, the world around me seemed to be a happier, better, and newer place.