First message
IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN
...to see things eaten. Blackened. Changed.
I flick the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red... yellow... black...
I grin at the books go up in sparkling whirls blowing away on a wind turned dark.
Back at the Firehouse, I hang up my black helmet and fireproof jacket as Beatty walks by and pats my back. Beautiful display, Montag! Saving this country one pile of ash at a time! Burning those COVID infested pages to hell! Let me know if you need someone buying you a drink later. Stoneman and Black pat my shoulder in pride before Stoneman begins to mess around with the RE Canine and its sensors. I walk away from my locker thinking of the feeling. The fire felt so...intoxicating. I feel...
I want to say happy but I know that's not what I'm feeling... Is it?
Soon I leave the Firehouse passing by screens on buildings either selling the newest gizmos or telling us our country has been "Made Great Again." I don't want to go home just yet, so I walk down the street towards the house we burned earlier. Then I see a girl in a white dress standing in front of the burnt remains just behind the Holographic Caution Tape. She looks familiar... What is she doing here?