Henry Haul
The scouts set up their camps close to an ugly house on the outskirts of town, it stood out from the rest of the houses. They were going to start clearing the next day. They had been given a two-day rest after their arrival. Mr. Swiss was always there to assist if they needed anything. The boys were not so excited about being in a tiny village, but all the same, they wanted to get the whole thing done. They were not Boy Scouts, their service to the community was nothing but a mere sham. Their parents were politically inclined rich people who only wanted to win the hearts of the natives. Elvis was not supposed to be here. His condition was one of being in the right place at the very wrong time. He witnessed Henry and his boys hit that kid. He wanted to fight them back, but he couldn't give away his identity, his dad would kill him. He was as skilled as a ninja. No thirteen-year-old fought that well. He was sick of acting, it was super annoying. He couldn't believe he missed training fights.
Every activity they embarked on from the following day was going to be on the web. Henry Haul's father had an election to win, and other kids' parents had positions they were all trying to occupy. Elvis wasn't the only one who thought the trip sucks. Henry Haul missed his mommy. He'd call and whine about how he disliked Geeva. "Don't worry my pumpkin, do it for mummy." She'll console him and blow a kiss over the phone. He was the reason they were there in the first place.
Henry had gotten into a big scandal back home. He bullied a poor teenage boy who was currently occupying a hospital wing. The boy had fallen from a high height thanks to Henry. The entire nation was outraged, they demanded Henry get punished. But he never was, his parents did what they do best. Close up the case. They wrote it off as mere rumors and strived hard to make their spoiled son an angel in people's eyes. That's when they got their brilliant idea of a pretend scout. And there he was, alongside his cohorts his parents had blackmailed into joining. Sir Jacob could easily exempt his son but he didn't. He wanted Elvis to learn a thing or two about wrong timing. They sent the kids to a poor place like Geeva to win everyone's hearts.
The night was hot as always, all the damaged plants were dry. The rains had not touched the lands of Geeva for months. The boys were outside, some had followed the scoutmaster to gather sticks so they could keep the fire they lit burning. They were all having a swell time. He was missing home.
Henry walked to the back of the ugly house, it looked shabby. The wooden doors and windows were tightly shut. Piles of very dry hay were strewn all over the house. He stared at the patches on the roof in disgust. Minding his business, he took out the gift the child had given him. He lit it up in flames. "Repulsive!." He cursed under his breath as he watched it burn. He had seen his dad throw stuff he didn't find pleasing into the fireplace. Tossing the little burning paper kite aside, he left. The fire was going to fizzle out in a second.
Henry carried a lighter around because of the big boys. Henry craved their approval so much. They were 11th graders. He'd light up their cigarettes at the abandoned playground after school. Tossing the kite aside, he left. Henry never noticed, the fire had slowly begun to spread.
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Chevy watched the flames of the fire in horror. It blazed fiercely, scorching everything in sight. She couldn't believe her eyes. The ambulance wheeled out the remains of her family in a stretcher. Gerald stood beside her in confusion, he didn't know where to start. He had barely managed to make her return home. He was full of regret. He wished he kept her in his house. "No !." She muttered in tears shaking her head vigorously. "No…I didn't….I didn't apologize."
She stammered in confusion. Memories of how she yelled at her family and dashed out of the house replayed in her head. She let out a loud shrill scream, it pierced into the night. It was all a dream, a bad dream. Just then, Mr. Swiss herded a group of Boy Scouts to where Chevy and Gerald stood. A handful of people had gathered when they saw wisps of thick black smoke making their way to the cloud. The fire had also razed the boy scout's camp to the ground. But they had no casualty. Their camps were empty when it happened.
Henry Haul was visibly shaken. He broke out in cold sweat, he was trembling. No one knew he had caused the fire. His carelessness had killed an entire family. They had died of suffocation caused by the fumes. They were struggling to get out before they died. He was scared to even look at the mourning crying Chevy. Elvis was huddled together with the scouts, they had towels wrapped around their shoulders. He stared at the beauty who was crying vehemently. His heart was filled with pity for her, he wished he could do anything for her. She had lost everything in one night. Their eyes met as she sobbed uncontrollably. She looked at the Boy Scouts, she was only seeing them up close for the first time.
Seeing Chevy crying sprung up pangs of guilt in Henry's heart. He couldn't keep what he had done to himself. Fearfully, he walked up to her, he was trembling. "I'm sorry….I….I didn't mean to, it was an accident." "I did this, I started it." He cried to only Chevy's hearing pitifully, only Gerald who was by her side could grab what he just said. By now, Henry had Chevy's full attention. He was about to explain how it all happened when Mr. Swiss called his name.
"Henry!!!." He yelled rushing to where he stood. Gripping his arm, he dragged him aside. Chevy didn't care, she was too overwhelmed by her emotions. Nothing could bring her family back. The rest of the scouts were curious to know what Henry said to Chevy.
Without warning, Chevy sprung up from the ground and made a run for the fire. She was going to join her family. Gerald was quick to catch her, he held her back firmly. "No!. Let me go !! ...I …they did this !!." She wailed, struggling to free herself from his grasp. Gasping hard, she fainted. Everyone rushed to the poor girl's aid, losing her family to a fire in one night was a lot to take in. Elvis watched in pain as they carried her away on a stretcher to revive her. He wished he could do anything to ease her pain. He had only met her that night, but it felt like he had known her forever.
Once out of earshot, Mr. Swiss let go of Henry and squatted before him to hear what he had to say. "What do you know about the fire boy?." He asked the crying Henry. "I started it, it's all my fault, I'm a murderer." He bawled like a baby.
"Shhhh…. now listen to me." "You know nothing, say nothing, and act like you saw nothing." "This has to remain a secret alright." "Those are not real people, think of it that way." "They were already suffering, you helped them out of their misery." Mr. Swiss whispered to the confused Henry. "Huh!?." He said in tears. "Let's get you back home, you'll have to leave this town." "You have to take this incident to your grave, you know nothing, and you saw nothing." "Understood?." Mr. Swiss said fiercely. Henry nodded in fright. "That's a good boy." "I want you to go out there and act like nothing happened." "Okay." Henry sniffed tearfully and left.
Mr. Swiss dialed Mr. Haul immediately he was gone. He told him all that had just happened. My Haul listened attentively and finally made his contribution. "Tell the press the dead family carelessly lit a fire." "Go live and show everyone the boys are unharmed." "Yes sir!." Mr. Swiss took his instructions diligently. It was settled, they were going to blame the fire on Chevy's family.