Page 47 of Help Me Remember

“Fourth thoughts.”

I lit the fabric, blinking rapidly when it burned faster than I expected. I waited until I saw it spreading down the trail of fabric and closer to the liquid before throwing it into the room of uniforms. Unlike a glass bottle, it didn’t shatter but bounced, which only served to spread the flame into the alcohol faster. Physics took over, and the thin plastic bottle turned into a fireball, sending spinning droplets of flame arcing in every direction.

I jerked in surprise when I saw the flames catch quickly, spreading out. As far as I could remember, I had never known how flammable paint thinner could be, but apparently, it wasn’t a whole lot different from gasoline. The flames quickly spread through the room and down the trail of paper and boxes we had strewn about.

“Oh fuck, alright, we’ll just add arson to our list of things we did today. Is that a felony?” Eric asked faintly as the flames leaped higher. We both watched as the flames finally caught not just on the accelerant but on the paper, boxes, and fabric. The carpet beneath was also beginning to burn, and I watched it curl and blacken before flames spread across it.

“That’s our cue,” I said, grabbing the handle of the alarm and giving it a yank.

Eric jerked as the alarm brayed with a piercing shriek that felt like it was trying to drill into our ears. I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed him and hauled him past the blockade of flames and toward the door we’d seen earlier. It looked like all the other doors, save for the small sign that proclaimed it an emergency exit, warning that an alarm would go off if someone opened it.

“Nice fire safety,” I grumbled, reaching up to the small box above the door and yanking open the plastic. The shouts of shocked and horrified officers could be heard, but I didn’t hear anyone near us. Then again, the flames were getting high and hot enough that the sound was bound to be distorted, especially with the alarm hysterically screaming through the building.

“What the fuck happened?” I heard as I got the cover off.

“Get an extinguisher!” another barked as I pulled the wires out and looked them over.

“Christ, get back, get back!” someone ordered as Eric tugged nervously at my arm.

“It’s on the other side of this shit!” a woman screamed as I gave up trying to make sense of it and yanked all the wires out at once.

“Let’s go,” I told Eric, hitting the bar of the door to pop it open and drag him out. Thankfully, the door’s alarm didn’t go off as we barreled outside, nearly toppling over the railing of the steps that led down.

“Shit,” Eric grunted, pointing up above the door where a camera sat. He frowned when we realized at the same time that it was angled upward, staring at the sky instead of down at us. “Uh…that’s probably not standard protocol.”

“The one in the hallway was like that earlier. That’s one thing that tipped me off,” I said, looking around to realize we were in a narrow alley between the station and the building next door. There was enough room for two cars to sit nearby, and a cruiser near the back, against a wall that went up nearly fifteen feet.

“Shit,” I hissed, immediately realizing there was no way we could go that way without both of us being expert brick wall climbers. The only way out was through the mouth of the alley, right in front of the station. “Why are there so many walls in this city?”

“Aww fuck, remember those repeated second thoughts I had earlier?” Eric asked with a groan.

“Save your fifth thoughts for later,” I said, looking down at the second car in the alley. It was sleek, black, and looked like it probably hadn’t seen much use. The windows were down, and I could see there wasn’t a dashboard computer, which probably meant it wasn’t an undercover vehicle.

I was beginning to wonder how I knew all this but shoved the thought away as I nodded toward the car. “I’ve got another plan.”

Eric’s eyes widened. “Uh, grand theft auto?”

“I mean, what’s one more felony, right?”

“That’s easy for you to say! There’s a good chance you’ve already committed a few. One expunged record is enough for me in a lifetime, thanks.”

I winced at the reminder of what I most certainly, or at least probably was. The pain and shame disappeared as I cocked my head. “Expunged record?”

“Fuck, I forgot that you forgot,” he said, rubbing his face. “Fine! Whatever! This day’s already fucked. Why not?”

It wasn’t exactly the rousing support I was looking for, but it would have to do. We scrambled down the steps, and I rounded the driver’s side door. It was unlocked, and I helped myself inside, sliding behind the wheel as Eric did the same on the passenger side. I pulled back the visor, huffing in unsurprised annoyance when I didn’t find a set of keys waiting for me.

“Of course,” I said, glancing down at the steering column with a frown. I grabbed the plastic covering and yanked it free, looking at the wires and frowning. Nothing there made sense, and I gave a disgusted sigh, leaning back in the seat. “Okay, Dylan, think, think.”

Eric growled, reaching into his bag and leaning over me. “Oh, fucking move!”

I blinked as he practically shoved his head into my lap. “Is this, uh, really the time for that?”

“I’m going to rescind all invitations for you and me to do anything if you keep this shit up,” Eric grumbled as I watched him use the object he’d pulled from his bag, a Swiss Army knife, to cut wires. I was distracted enough by what he was doing that I managed to stop paying attention to the fact that his head was in my lap.

“So, about that expunged record,” I said slowly, glancing up to look down the alleyway. Eventually, people would start showing up, and we needed to move.

“Boy, I wonder why I looked so freaked out about committing grand theft auto. But congrats, you just figured out how we first met as teenagers. You happy?”

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