The Blazes of Markoff

“UGH,” I grunt as my foot slipped on a displaced rock.

Climbing this hill is all the exercise I’ll be doing for this year. I’m tired of running. My legs are burning, my feet ache, and now my ankle feels sprained. My curls stick to my face as I grab onto an inclined part of the hill to stable myself for the final steps. As I finally reach the top, I turn back to see the horror this man has created. When you look down on the country of Markoff, what once was a quiet yet suppressed society is now a chaotic inferno. You could feel the heat on your face as the town roars with fire.

“Well, won’t you look at that? He switches up his scare tactics,” I say quietly.

I look down below to my left and see crowds of people rushing to vacate the land.

They’ll have nowhere to go. The boats and planes are too small.

A deafening explosion rings from the far end of our small country. So close to the president’s quarters. I reach into my pocket to pull out a heart-shaped locket and slowly crack it open. Encased inside is a small picture of President Cecil and a woman with soft eyes. He looks happy, so different than the ruinous look he holds now. We’re not allowed to speak about the woman. It is forbidden even to mention her in this country, yet I’ve done worse. In my hands is the president’s most prized possession. I didn’t mean to take it. You have to understand. I was only upset when he removed Markoff’s food from our markets for the 6th time this year. When he’s in a bad mood, everyone is punished. I couldn’t help but react. He made me so angry. Frankly, I don’t care about the stupid locket, but if he wants it, so do I.

I’ve been running for hours as he lit the nation on fire the moment he realized it was gone. The ashes have begun to settle on us, the soot matching my dark skin. I can’t give it back now. He’ll kill me. So, I’m running.

“They haven’t found you yet?”

I whip my head around and let out a sigh of relief.

“You almost gave me a heart attack, Mikael.”

Across from me, trekking out of the bushes, is my dear friend, Mikael. A faithful friend I’ve made over my years of defiance.

“I’m surprised you’re still around, Blaze. Whispers on the streets say that you’re in hiding,” he pushes his brown hair off of his forehead as he walks up to me.

“They know it was me?”

“How would they not? This isn’t the first time you’ve done something drastic for the people.”

I sighed and looked out at our small land. A group of guards push through a circle of our latest refugees. In their hands are long batons. Wonder what they’re going to use it for.

“Mikael, what do I do? They’re terrorizing everybody because of me. I went too far this time.”

“Surrender and give it back.”

“You know it’s not that simple.”

“I know, but Markoff is on FI-RE,” he enunciates each syllable. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“At this point? Anything! Markoff is on FI-RE,” I imitate. “If he sees me, I’m dead. He’s worse than he’s ever been. All for this dumb necklace!”

I yank the locket out of my pocket and dangle it between our faces. Mikael gently takes it and opens it. He’s silent for a few moments.

“She was beautiful.”

“She’s dead.”

“You know that’s why President Cecil cares about this, Blaze. My parents say he wasn’t always like this," he remarks.

I strain to hear him over the explosions happening in the distance. Shouts from civilians hurt my heart as we sit on the tallest hill in Markoff. Can it get any hotter?

“Don’t have sympathy now. Whoever she was, she took anything good about this man with her,” I begin pacing. “He’s a dictator. He will kill all of us for this piece of metal. There’s no freedom! If he’s angry, he takes our food supply away. If he throws a tantrum, we suffer. And then people get scared and start hurting each other, stealing from one another, killing each other. People are dying because of him, Mikael! We’re constantly being watched-“

“You’re constantly being watched,” a deep voice enters the conversation.

Mikael and I whip our heads to see two guards emerging from the bushes Mikael had arrived from. Behind him, more guards are climbing the hill.

No, no, no. This can’t be happening.

“Blaze, the president would like to see you,” he speaks again.

“Tell him to leave a message?” I try to buy myself time to think.

The guards snicker, and just as quickly as it came, their faces fall into stoic looks. They slowly walk towards us. Mikael and I inch backward to the edge of the hill. I quickly glance behind me to see the steep fall that could occur. I could roll down it like a child.

It’s like they heard my inner thoughts. “Let’s go,” the guard demands, and without a second thought, we were captive.

~ ~ ~

I’m well too familiar with these white steps. Coming down here as a child used to be so fun. This was before he became a tyrant and me, his worst enemy.

I already know how this goes. I go in, President Cecil yells at me, I get thrown in the cell ‘down below,’ and he stops wreaking havoc for maybe a week. But something feels different about this time. The glass doors shut behind us, instantly quieting the raucous from the outside. Walking along this marble reminds me of the other four times I’ve gone through this process. Still haven’t fixed that chip in the floor, I see.

We suddenly come to an abrupt stop in front of a wooden door lined with gold trim. Real gold. Pfft. But you can’t give us clean water? The door jolts open by two guards inside. Sitting across the room by his large desk is one of the scariest people I’d ever laid my eyes on. His royal blue suit complimented his dark skin tone. His hair and beard impossibly neat, not a single gray hair. He’d never let the people of Markoff bring him stress. The only thing missing from his usual ghastly appearance is his notable heart-shaped locket. The one that is burning a hole in my pocket. President Cecil stands up and walks around his desk.

“Blaze!” He says with a sarcastic smile. “How I’ve missed seeing you in here.”

My heart’s beating out of my chest. I look over to Mikael. His bright eyes are pried open and staring at our president in fearful awe.

I swallow hard before saying, “Hi, Dad.”