Ashen Aftermath

There was a human saying back in the day, one used to describe being forced to make a hard decision for yourself or others.

It took me a while to remember, but here it was:

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

Such was the phrase I used to describe my current situation.

The fires around me bloomed brighter and bigger as they engulfed the surrounding forest. Smoke billowed up the night sky, illuminated by the raging inferno below.

It was a sea of blue flames, uncaring and unquenchable compared to the red and orange variants that came about naturally. 

However, I was not about to let the forest burn down alongside everything in it. With a snap of my fingers, the fires were snuffed completely from existence, as if blown away by some terrible wind.

Smoldering ash and burnt bark remained where the fires once burned. A landscape of smoking debris remained. 

But the night was not yet over.