#explosion tw

presley didn’t even like popcorn, and yet the buttery smell drew her in. she blamed ryker, and the weed in her system that he so graciously gifted her. there was nothing worse than the munchies at a place with a million snacks at your fingertips.

here she was, waiting in the longest line in the universe.

it moved slowly, festival-goers in front of her mentioning something about needing to make another batch. she didn’t even like popcorn.

that’s when the tent exploded.

orange and smoke swallowed the tent in an instant. the blast hit like a shockwave, knocking her hard to the ground. the buttery smell vanished, replaced with smoke that burned at her throat.

presley coughed as heat and smoke rushed over her, stinging her eyes and filling her lungs.

“fuck…” she breathed out, pressing a hand to the dirt as she tried to orient herself.

her thoughts drifted back to the date she was supposed to be on. was damian okay? was he hurt?

she pushed herself up quickly, stumbling as the chaos around her erupted — screams, running feet, the crackle of fire behind her.

too close.

she turned and ran.

her arm burned faintly where hot air had caught her, but it wasn’t enough to stop her — just enough to sting and linger. she coughed again, smoke scratching at her throat as she made it out of the immediate blast zone.

around her, people were shouting, pushing away from the tent as it collapsed into flames behind them.

scout.

her mind snagged on her best friend as she staggered forward, lungs tight but still working.

they had a system. they always had.

she couldn’t —

they needed each other.

her vision blurred at the edges from smoke, but she kept moving until cleaner air finally broke through the haze.

she bent over, coughing hard, hands braced on her knees as the ringing in her ears slowly faded.

when she finally looked back, the popcorn tent was gone in fire and chaos.

home, she was more than ready to just go home after the day she had. her date had gone off to god knows where. it was in that moment though that she was glad she had drove herself there. if she hadn't, she would have been stuck with no way home. making her way through the crowd, she found her sister first before telling her she was heading home. after that, she continued walking through. nothing could have prepared her for what was about to happen. something neither she nor anyone else knew. saying good bye to a few of her friends, she soon enough found her way towards the end of the festival.

purse in hand, she took one last look at the festival and everyone there. for the most part, she had fun. despite having to deal with a few things, she did end up having fun. making her way towards the parking area, all hell broke loose not long after. with the sound of a blast, jules ducked down behind one of the tents that was there. probably wasn't the best idea. but it was the only thing that was there.. "what the hell." she muttered. heart starting to race as she looked away from the area. this wasn't how she thought the night would end. her first thought was vinny. oh god vinny. where was he? digging her phone out, hands shaking sligjtly, she sent him a text asking if he was okay. god he prayed he was okay. standing up, her body started to shake slightly.

the reality of what had just happened settling in. someone had attacked the festival goers. someone had made sure they were all there for this to happen. looking around, she couldn't see through the fire that was starting to make its way through. another person that came to her mind? her sister. and gods, dulce. were those two okay as well? this couldn't be happning. taking a deep breath, jules took a step out from the tent. step by step, her eyes gazed around that the hell hole the place had become. the fires that had started because of the blast too. it wasn't untl she spotted someone that she came to a complete stop.

almost on instinct, she ran over to where the person was. seeing here there on the ground, burns covering her back. gods, this was a mess. a huge mess. one they needed to get out of. bending down, she gently grabbed brooklyn before pulling her away from the tent. the last thing the both of them needed was to be around any of the tents. but they were stuck there. pulling her towards the middle of the area, she gently put her back down on the ground. breathing starting to hitch, she sat down on the ground beside her.

❛  C’mon,  you’re  fucking  fearless!  I  bet  there’s  nothing  you’re  afraid  of!  ❜ ❛  I’m  scared  of  fire.  ❜ 

Ryker’s  teenage  voice  echoed  in  her  mind.  They  had  been  so  young  when  they  had  shared  those  words  when they had just jumped into the ocean and  yet,  Jia  seemed  to  be  trapped  in  that  memory.  The  words  repeated  themselves  in  her  head.  Rippling  in  waves,  the  volume  going  up  and  down  and  surrounding  her  like  her  head  was  trapped  inside  a  bowl  or  an  aquarium,  or…  as  if  she  was  watching  one  of  those  reruns  the  brunette  liked  so  much.  Her  body  was  paralyzed  on  the  ground,  except  for  her  eyes.  The  tears  welled  them  up  as  the  heat  increased  in  the  distance,  the  explosion  swallowing  everything  in  flames  and  smoke.  She  couldn’t  move.  She  wished  she  could,  but  it  was  like  her  body  didn’t  obey  and  she  couldn’t  snap  out  of  it.  Everything  around  her  was  white  noise,  it  seemed.  Static  sounds  and  heat.  A  buzzing  sensation,  an  insect-like  sound,  a  siren,  ringing  in  her  ears  and  making  her  head  spin.

Still,  she  didn’t  move,  no  matter  how  close  the  fire  spread  across  the  venue  and  almost  reached  her.

A  scream  pierced  through  the  white  noise.  Loud,  desperate.  A  perfect  mix  between  sadness,  anger.  Pure  agony  tearing  up  the  night.  

❛  I  love  you,  Jia.  Thank  you  for…letting  me  just  exist.  ❜ ❛  You’ll  always  have  a  home  in  me,  pretty.  ❜

The  screams  kept  coming.  More  desperate,  more  torturous,  ripping  the  silence  apart  and  suddenly,  her  chest  was  on  fire  too.  They  were her  screams. 

She  couldn’t  see  through  the  tears,  her  eyes  burning  as  much  as  her  throat  and  lungs  because  of  the  smoke.  She  was  coughing,  out  of  breath  and  out  of  logic.  Before  she  realized,  Jia  was  running.  Scrambling  on  the  ground,  struggling  to  get  up,  and  running.  Towards  the  fire.  Towards him.  As  if  she  could  ever  find  him  among  the  flames.

Her  body  collapsed  against  something.  No,  not  something. Someone.  Someone  held  her  by  her  waist,  pulling  her  further  away  from  the  explosion  site,  yet  she  fought  like  she  had  never  fought  before.  She  tried  to  be  set  free,  she  tried  to  move  away  from  that  person’s  grasp,  but  they  were  so  much  stronger.  Her  legs  faltered  in  the  process  and  Jia  dropped  to  the  ground  again,  scraping  her  knees  on  the  dirt  as  her  screams  slowly  evolved  into  loud  sobs.

She  kicked,  screamed,  smacked  that  person’s  back,  scratched  their  face  and  neck,  all  to  try  to  get  away  from  their  hold;  all  so  that  she  could  go  to  him.  But  they  wouldn’t  let  her  go.  It  felt  like  a  Chinese  finger  trap.  The  more  she  struggled,  the  stronger  the  hold  got. 

Her  heart  was  breaking.  It  hurt  too  much.  

❛  Go  get  the  girl,  Saja  boy.  You  deserve  it.  ❜

Ryker’s  smile  was  etched  in  her  memory  as  her  best  friend  walked  backwards  towards  the  popcorn  stand,  the  glint  of  that  nose  ring  caught  in  the  lights  of  the  concerts  happening  in  the  distance  while  he  blew  her  an  exaggerated  kiss  and  stole  a  giggle  from  her  lips.  Jia’s  hand  flew  up  and  her  fingers  closed  into  a  fist,  pretending  to  catch  said  kiss  in  the  air  and  then,  she  brought  it  to  her  chest,  pressing  that  hand  over  her  heart.  Playfully  and  exaggeratedly  sweet,  the  brunette  swayed  her  body  from  one  side  to  the  other,  before  flipping  him  off  in  between  a  laugh  that  soon,  Ryker  joined  in.  Jia  watched  as  he  turned  around,  her  heart  swelling  with  joy  for  the  first  time  that  night.  She  was  so  happy  for  Ryker  to  have  been  there,  happy  because  he  had  asked  Arisa  out,  happy  because  she  was  going  to  be  okay.  He  would  make  sure  of  that.  Jia  was hopeful.  This  sadness  and  awkwardness  she  felt  in  her  heart  would  not  last  forever.

She’d  told  him  to  go  get  the  nurse  some  popcorn  so  they  could  share  a  moment  together  with  the  child,  Luna.  They’d  finish  the  night  off  together,  grabbing  a  meal  and  laughing  about  nothing  in  particular. I’ll  call  you  later,  he’d  said  before  turning  around. I’ll  call  you  later.  A  silent  promise  lingering  in  those  words.  ❝  You  got  it.  Love  you,  Saja!  ❞  Jia  called  out  to  his  back,  and  then,  then  next  thing  she  knew,  there  was  an  explosion.

The  blast  was  so  strong  it  knocked  her  backwards  and  Jia  fell  on  her  ass.  On  the  ground  she  stayed  for  a  few  moments,  the  ringing  in  her  ears  making  her  groan  in  agony.  On  the  ground  she  laid,  as  if  trying  to  tell  herself  she  hadn’t  just  seen  that.  Trying  to  make  the  buzzing  sound  stop  ringing  in  her  ears.  Until  she  made  it  to  her  hands  and  knees  and  stared  as  the  flames  consumed  everything  by  the  stand.  All  she  could  do  was  stare.

And  then  the  screaming  started.  

❛  I  don’t  give  a  fuck  what  other  people  say.  We  deserve  good  things,  too,  d’you  hear  me?  ❜

We  deserve  good  things  too.

More  and  more  people  kept  dying  and  Jia  didn’t  know  how  to  deal  with  all  the  pain  that  just  kept  adding  up  inside  her  chest.  She  was  going  to  explode,  too. Not  him.  Her  brain  yelled.  Or  maybe  she  was  yelling,  the  sounds  getting  muffled  by  the  torso  of  the  person  that  she  had  eventually  started  clinging  to,  after  incessantly  having  struggled  to  get  away  from.  Jia  had  put  up  a  fight,  that’s  for  sure.  She  had  kicked,  smacked,  pushed  this  person  away  and  yet,  they  refused  to  let  her  go  anywhere  near  the  spot  where  black  smoke  gave  into  the  sky.  Her  whole  body  was  shaking,  adrenaline  and  shock  coursing  through  her  veins  and  having  her  unable  to  fight  back  these  reactions.  She  felt  something  cover  her  legs—a  jacket,  maybe?  The  commotion  had  pushed  up  her  dress  up  to  her  waist  as  she  struggled,  but  she  couldn’t  care  less  about  that  at  the  moment.  How  could  she  care  if  anyone  saw  her  in  distress,  with  scraped  knees  and  no  dignity?

It  took  Jia  a  few  extra  minutes  to  recompose  herself,  the  flames  catching  her  gaze  again  and  she  didn't  know  if  she  was  shaking  out  of  fear  or  desperation.  Adrenaline  kicked  in  and  so  did  she.  She  pushed  against  who  was  holding  her  once  more.  Yujin.  She  recognized  him  now,  and  when  the  hitman  refused  to  let  her  go,  Jia  punched  him  in  his  face  so  he  would  let  her  go  and  ran  to  where  Ryker  had  landed  after  the  explosion.  Thick,  dark  blood  covered  the  grass  surrounding  him.  Her  shaky  hands  were  scared  of  touching  his  burnt  flesh. God,  the  smell!  The  smell  of  propane,  burned  wood  and  burned  flesh  was  going  to  make  her  go  sick.  ❝  No...  ❞  Jia  said  under  a  shaky  breath  as  she  kneeled  beside  him.  ❝  P-please…  please  stay  with  me,  Ryker.  ❞  Tears  kept  streaming  down  her  face,  blurring  her  vision  and  maybe  that  was  for  the  best.  She  didn’t  want  her  last  memory  of  Ryker  to  be  this.  She  didn’t  want  to  think  of  him  like  that.  Her  hands  trembled  profusely  and  at  his  apology,  Jia  moved  them  to  her  lips,  covering  a  loud  sob. 

Ryker  was  dead.

❝  No…  no,  no,  no,  you  can't  leave  me.  No.  ❞  The  brunette  sobbed,  shaking  her  head  as  her  shaking  body  reacted  to  what  had  just  happened.  ❝  Please  don't.  Not  you.  You're  the  best  thing  I  have.  ❞  Her  voice  was  barely  a  whisper  as  she  laid  down  against  his  unmoving  chest,  his  blood  staining  the  right  side  of  her  face  and  hair  as  the  flames  engulfed  their  surroundings.  Maybe  if  she  stayed  there,  they  would  get  her  too.  Why  did  it  have  to  be  him?  Why  couldn't  it  be  her?  Bargaining  already?  In  between  pleas,  Yujin  pulled  her  away  from  the  fire  again  and  this  time,  he  dropped  to  the  ground  with  Jia  safely  in  his  arms  and  there  she  stayed,  unable  to  move  away  as  she  watched  Ryker's  body,  still  mumbling  pleas  as  if  they  would  bring  her  best  friend  back  somehow.

Ryker  was  dead.

He  was  dead  because  she  had  told  him  to  go  buy  some  fucking  popcorn.  He  was  dead  because  of  her.  He  was  supposed  to  have  his  happy  ending.  He  was  supposed  to  get  the  girl  and  the  kid.  He  was  supposed  to  make  it  out.  To  get  more  photography  jobs  and  be  able  to  provide  for  himself  in  a  clean,  straight  up  way.

Oh,  what  a  horrible  thing  hope  was.  Dangerous  even.  It  could  drive  people  mad  in  search  for  good  things.