Chalice.
"Urghh!" I groaned in pain, writhing when the stone grazed against my knuckles instead of the second stone which should serve as ignition.
My flesh burned at the contact, causing to hiss between my teeth. But do you know what was more annoying than not being able to easily create a fire with stones?
Her constant voice.
’Her’ or ’She’ was the new na I called the girl whose cell was beside mine now as I have long grown tired of calling her by the na (murderer) that the guards called her. She has also refused to tell what her real na was, and I had better things to do than to keep asking for it.
Now, that aside, even though I couldn’t see her face, her voice wouldn’t stop ringing through the empty space between us. She asked;
"What?" And goddess, I couldn’t help but hear how condescending she sounded. How easily she seed to be grating on my nerves. "You couldn’t light it up? You’ve never used anything besides a cooker and a lighter before?"
I rolled my eyes at the sound of her voice, whilst thanking the goddess that all I had to manage was her voice and that was all. When I still wouldn’t respond, she snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she spat; "Can’t you strike them? If you can’t, give it to ! I can do it!"
"And how do I give it to you if I can’t even see where you are?!" I hissed back, hating the way her deep chuckles filled the air.
I vaguely heard the sound of rattling chains, aning that she was moving. But because I was unable to see anything further than the 10 inches around my body, I didn’t turn to acknowledge her.
She let out a long string of profanities, most of which I couldn’t understand because they were in Spanish. She snapped; "I am 3 o’clock from you! If you want to throw it, bitch, do so now!"
And by the gods, as soon as I heard that, my anger soared, especially since she kept referring to as ’bitch’ despite knowing my na. I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I turned away from the sound of her voice as if that could magically stop from hearing her.
But you know what?
It didn’t!
I struck the two stones against each other once more and this ti, I couldn’t help the screech that slipped past my lips when once again, it struck at the surface of my skin, drawing blood.
I threw the stones away, ignoring the way they clattered to the floor until they hit the tal bars of my cell, and seethed; "It hurts!"
"That’s because you’re striking them together like a fucking bitch!" She hissed back. "This is not a fucking runway! This is survival, and if you cannot do sothing as basic as creating fire or sparks from stones, how the fuck do you intend to survive after successfully fleeing from the pack?!"
Her words, coupled with the condescending tone that dripped off each one made see red. I dragged in a lungful of air, exhaled and crawled back to the tal bars where I picked up the accursed stones one more ti.
And hell, I hit it.
And hit it.
Until a small spark ford.
However, before I could expose it to the petrol, it went off.
I hissed through my teeth, blowing so hot air into my face as I spat; "this is infuriating!"
"What is more infuriating is the fact that my survival is resting in the hands of an ass like you!"
"If you cannot open your mouth without being so pessimistic, then shut the fuck up!"
"Hey don’t say that to !"
"I can. And I will!" I hissed back, feeling my anger reach its peak. "If you want to complain about everything I do, why can’t you just take care of everything yourself? You could ask the guards to get you so petrol and then create the largest fire ever known to mankind?!"
And at that, she finally shut the hell up. I knew that she was watching because I could feel her eyes boring holes into the side of my skull. She was quiet but the silence between us was loud and thick.
It seed to rattle . Made my hands and head feel heavy.
I however, managed to block her out of my mind as I began to strike the stones again against each other, and this ti— maybe it was because I was already frustrated— the sparks ca quicker.
I dropped so petrol into the small pile of sawdust I had gathered earlier and as the goddess would have it, as soon as the sparks ca in contact with these piles, it grew into fire.
My heart leaped in my chest.
"Now, spread the fire!" She scread desperately from her cell. "Scatter droplets of petrol around. I understand that you may be afraid but that’s the only way to get out of here!"
Again, I blocked her voice out but I did as I was told and imdiately began to spread the fire, my heart racing in my chest as the flas increased, beginning to engulf my cell.
With a deep breath, I continued to pour out the petrol, gasping when thick smoke filled the air and my lungs. My once dark cell was now outlined with a reddish-orangish fla and for the first ti since I was brought in here, I let out a really long sigh.
I sighed because finally, I could escape. Because suddenly, the concept of leaving the godforsaken place had begun to shapen itself.
Because the petrol is in its liquid form, it was quite easy for it to begin to spread to the nearest cells where it caught on to other objects and materials that served as more fuel to it.
—And just like that, the other cell mates began to scream.
Shouts spread out from here and there as the entire place was plunged into a fiery ruckus.
Due to the fla, I was finally able to see ’her’ face and my breath caught when I saw her golden hair and wide blue eyes. She smiled when she caught staring, but I couldn’t return the smile.
Why? Because she looked familiar. Too too familiar.
Her eyes caught on to mine for a very brief mont and then she turned away from to scream out the words; "HELP! FIRE!"
And soon, everyone joined her... and I did too.
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