The sun beat down on the dirty town streets. Smog hung in the air, casting a hazy yellow glow on everything in sight. A lone survivor walked along the main road, nervously glancing from side to side as he held his weapon. A club crashed onto his head from behind, and he fell over dead. Great hoots of laughter rose up from the square as more bodies hit the ground.
Trevor dashed between two buildings into an alleyway, avoiding the main street as much as possible. The big, ugly gangsters were already out, engaging in their daily ritual of mercilessly beating any poor fool who crossed their path, and each other if they felt like it. Trevor wanted no part of that chaos. Unfortunately, this particular errand would require him to at least cross it. Stealthily, he looked around a corner for an opening.
Trevor twitched with realization and ducked as a huge chunk of metal embedded itself in the wall exactly where his head had been. He drew his knife as he faced his attacker, a short, stocky man with an unkempt beard. The man closed in, yanking his flail out of the bricks with a demented grin. Trevor dodged the incoming punch and stabbed the man in the thigh. Just go through the motions, he thought. Sever the artery, make them panic. The man hurriedly placed his hand over the gushing wound, and Trevor slashed his throat as he did so. He kicked the corpse off him and stowed his knife, resuming his lookout.
He could see her now. The two locked eyes across the street. Trevor quickly pointed to himself, then to the alley she was in, sending a simple message. I'll come to you. He crept out near the street, looking around for an opening. The biggest of the mob was also the closest, wildly swinging his huge blade at a smaller person darting around him. As soon as the man's back was turned, Trevor bolted across the street, trying not to pant too hard. His chest already hurt from breathing in the hot air. She was at his side in an instant.
"Slow breaths, take it easy," she said, patting him on the back. "How are you?"
"Same as always, Lucy, same as always," Trevor answered as he stood up. "Run into any trouble?"
"One attacker," Lucy said, gesturing to the opposite building with her head. A man was lying unconscious on the ground. A thin line of saliva trickled from his mouth. "Hopefully, those monsters out there won't find him before he wakes up, but I'm running out of chloroform," said Lucy.
"You know, it's a lot easier if you just kill them first," Trevor said, glancing back the way he had come.
"Trevor…" Lucy groaned.
"It was self defense, the guy was twice my weight," said Trevor in a deadpan voice. "Let's get going. Maybe we'll get first pick today." He started off. Lucy followed him, still shaking her head. The gang supply shed was undefended as always. One of the door hinges had rusted off, leaving a useless scrap of metal hanging from the frame. Inside was a meager amount of food and equipment. They didn't take much, just the bare necessities, some dried meat here, a little water there, none of it would be missed. They walked out as the sun began its descent.
"Are you sure all you're taking is that meat?" Lucy asked.
"Yes," Trevor responded.
"The thing's half rotten," continued Lucy.
"Yes," Trevor said calmly. Lucy gave him a look and kept walking. Now that they were carrying things, moving quickly was more difficult. On more than one occasion, they had no choice but to retreat into a crumbling building to avoid a roaming marauder. Each minute inside felt like an eternity.
As they were about to continue on their way, a horrible scream suddenly rent the air before choking and sputtering out. Lucy winced.
"That's the second one this week," she said. "The air is getting worse." Trevor just shrugged. Lucy put a hand on his shoulder.
"Trevor, I know that not caring is the easiest way to deal with what the world has become, but it'll only hurt you in the long run," she said.
"I've been fine so far," said Trevor.
"Soon, though, you may not be," Lucy argued. "The world can heal, it can get better, and what will you have then? Do you really want to stay hollow?"
"Nothing's going to get better," Trevor responded. He fiddled with the matchbox in the pocket of his duster. "The planet's been going to hell since before we were born, and nobody has been able to do anything about it." Lucy didn't say anything for a while.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," she finally breathed. She looked out through the doorway, scanning the area. "I should be getting back to my family now. It's been too long since their last meal." She gave Trevor a long look. "Take care of yourself." With that, she was off. Trevor listened. The howls of pain still remained in the streets, accompanied by grunts of pleasure from the attackers. The sun was still high in the sky, burning anything unlucky enough. Trevor sat down and waited.
The sun had set by the time Trevor walked out of his hiding place. The commotion had died down, leaving the streets barren and lifeless. Trevor walked to the decrepit shack that he called home. No one bothered him, not even the few who stayed out that late.
"About time," Trevor's mother drawled when he walked in the door. "I thought you finally bit it."
"No," Trevor said simply.
"Where are the goods?" his uncle demanded.
"Show 'em," his sister grunted, leaning across the table with a feral expression. Trevor brought out the half-eaten, half-rotten hunk of meat and tossed it onto the table.
"Dinner is served," he said blankly. His mother greedily reached out to tear off a piece, then his sister punched her in the face, then they were all fighting, scratching and clawing at each other for just a scrap of the meat. Trevor turned around and walked right back out the door. Tomorrow, they'd each have another tooth missing.
The moon was waning. Only a small sliver of silver remained in the sky. There were no stars, only an endless abyss of nothingness. The smog was hidden now, but its effects were still around. Trevor put on his mask as a precaution and began to walk through the streets. He took it upon himself to clean up the town after the daily bloodbath.
Trevor dragged each body to the square. Eight dead today, including the one who attacked Trevor in the alley, a new record. Trevor arranged them in a pile in the center, away from any buildings. In the moonlight, it was almost sad seeing all of them gone. Trevor brought out his matchbox. He took out a single, slender match and struck it against the side. A flame flared to life. He stared at the mound of bodies for a moment longer before he flicked the match at it. The fire spread quickly, and soon, the entire heap was ablaze. Trevor put the matchbox back in his pocket and stared at the growing conflagration.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a low, scratchy voice said. Trevor looked over his shoulder. An obscenely old man was sitting against a building, watching the fire. "These streets see so much blood, but the fire burns it all away," said the man. "A fresh start, you know?"
"It keeps the smell of death at bay," Trevor said, looking back at the bonfire.
"Ah, yes, it does," the man concurred. He coughed dryly. "It didn't used to be this way." Trevor raised an eyebrow. "We used to bury men. In the ground. Far more dignified than a communal corpse burning."
"We'd run out of space in a month," Trevor said.
"Yes," the man said forlornly. "How sad." He let out a huge, rattling sigh. "I suppose I have no one to blame but myself though." That caught Trevor's attention. He turned to look at the man.
"Who are you?" he asked. The man smiled, revealing his cracked, yellow teeth.
"I am all that remains of the old world," he answered. "Others were here once, but they have passed on."
"What happened?" said Trevor.
"The old world was beautiful. Green grass, blue skies…The night was filled with so many stars you couldn't even count them," the man said. "But then…" he coughed again. "But then I came along. Me and my idiotic friends." Trevor didn't break eye contact or say a word. "Obsessed with our status, we were. We wanted nothing more than to be worshipped among humanity as their gods." The fire crackled and sparked. The man took a slow, deep breath and continued. "We tore up the natural world to achieve our goals. And what a sight it was at its prime! Everyone was using our products! Why, even that fine coat you're wearing was manufactured by my best friend's company!" Trevor instinctively looked down at his duster. "We got what we wanted, alright," the man said. "The people didn't care that their own home was being destroyed for their possessions, and we didn't either. We took more and more out of the ecosystem for more and more frivolous nonsense." Again, the man coughed, a bit harder this time. "Oh, sure, there were those who were against us. They warned and warned us, but we didn't listen. We kept going. We were on top of the world, an unstoppable force." He looked down. "And then we reached a point of no return." There was silence for a while. Only the occasional pop of the flames could be heard. Finally, the man resumed speaking. "Suddenly, the very air we breathed was poisoning us. Our factories and farms had pumped so much toxic gas into the atmosphere that simple clean air was a valuable resource." He breathed out slowly. "The water wasn't safe either. It poisoned our crops and killed our food source. That combined with the air and the amplified heat from the sun, and our business crumbled. No more products, no more status. It was kill or be killed at that point." The man coughed for several seconds. "Thirty or so years later, and the population has only dwindled lower and lower. What few morals they had died with them." Trevor thought for a long moment.
"So why are you telling me this?" he asked at last.
"Well, you asked, didn't you?" the man responded.
"Most people would kill you for that," Trevor said, surprised at the man's boldness.
"But you haven't," said the man. He coughed again, spraying flecks of spittle on the pavement. When he recovered, he stood up, leaning on his gnarled walking stick. "Come with me," he said. He led Trevor away from the fire, down the main street to a small shed directly across from Trevor's house. Trevor felt like he must have passed it a thousand times and never noticed it. The man walked inside, and Trevor followed him. Inside was a cot with no blankets and an old, worn dresser. This must be where he lives, Trevor thought. The man opened a drawer and took out a roll of paper.
"Ages ago, before I was born, there was a plan to fix the planet if it ever got to this point," the man said. He coughed into the crook of his arm. "Before all the plants dried up, seeds for each of them were stored in vaults all over the world. By the time everything happened, though, everyone was too panicked to remember their lifeline." He held the paper out to Trevor. "There's a vault not far from here. This map will lead you right to it." Trevor took the map from the man, who coughed yet again.
"Why are you giving me this?" Trevor asked.
"I have lived in this town for thirteen years, two months, one week, and three days," heaved the man. "I've lived elsewhere for longer. You are the only person in all that time to have asked 'who.'" He coughed again, and this time, he didn't stop.
"And you haven't gone yourself?" said Trevor.
"Look at me, I'm a dying man," choked the man between huge, wet coughs. "And the last time I was given the fate of the world, I got us into this mess." He leaned on Trevor for support.
"So you're pawning this off on me," Trevor said, seeking confirmation.
"The world needs a new savior," the man hacked, his eyes bulging out. "A fresh start, you know?" He grasped Trevors face with both hands, making him recoil. "Find the vault, and save the world. For your own sake and theirs…find it…" The man drew one last, haunting breath and was still. He crumpled to his knees and fell to the side. Trevor was left standing alone in the shed with the map and a dead man.
It was a slow day. The previous slaughter had taken a lot out of everyone involved, some more than others, and they were all taking time to recover. Trevor and Lucy sat on one of the few intact rooftops and observed the stragglers walking through the streets.
"How's your family?" grunted Trevor after a long silence.
"Better than they were yesterday," Lucy said wearily. "My brother smiled for the first time in months." Trevor nodded in acknowledgement. "How is yours?" asked Lucy.
"Someone's dying within a week," Trevor said. "Mark my words."
"No, it can't be that bad," Lucy said, horrified.
"It can, and it is," Trevor confirmed. Lucy grimaced.
"It's awful that people feel the need to resort to infighting to survive," she said. "I wish there was a way to fix all of this." Trevor sat up a little straighter.
"That reminds me, something weird happened last night," he said. He brought out the map from the inside of his duster. "An old guy gave me this, and then he choked on the air." Lucy leaned in to examine the rolled-up paper.
"What is it?" she asked.
"He said it was a map. You can have a look if you want," said Trevor, handing the map to Lucy. She unfurled it and studied it with interest.
"A seed bank…for plants?" she wondered aloud.
"That's what the man said," Trevor said. "He said they could fix the world, somehow." Lucy didn't say anything. She brushed the labelled spot on the map with her hand. "Is that a good thing?" Trevor asked.
"Good?" Lucy responded. "This is great! This could solve everything!" She scanned the map for anything else of interest. "The vault is only a couple days' walk from here. We could go there right now!" She was practically jumping with excitement.
"Hold on," said Trevor, looking over at the map. "That's a pretty dangerous path. It might not be worth it."
"Not worth it? How could it not be worth it?" asked Lucy incredulously. "Trevor, this is the fate of the entire world we're talking about."
"And if it turns out to be a trick? If the guy was lying?" Trevor said.
"If there's a chance, we have to take it," Lucy said with finality. "I'm going." Trevor was quiet for a while.
"If you're going, I'm going too," he mumbled at last. Lucy gave him a quick hug from the side.
"Thanks. It means a lot," she said.
"If we're following the map, though," said Trevor, "we should get some supplies first. Leave tomorrow morning?" Lucy hesitated for a moment.
"Okay," she sighed. "I can wait that long." She didn't sound very happy.
They left at dawn the next day. Most of the main threats tended to sleep in, so leaving early would let them escape the chaos. By the time the screams of pain began to issue forth from the streets, Trevor and Lucy were already long gone.
The air was cleaner outside of the town, but still polluted enough to where Trevor and Lucy periodically needed their masks. It was another scorching day, the sun mercilessly torching anything its rays could touch. There was no shade for miles around. Despite that, the travelers continued on.
"We should be about halfway there," Trevor said, looking at the map after hours of walking. The paved streets had given way to an open, dry field.
"Hey, what's that over there?" said Lucy, pointing to a shape in the distance. Trevor narrowed his eyes trying to make out detail.
"Let's check it out," he said. Once they got a bit closer, it became clear that the object was immobile. It was a skeleton, the bones of something big. Whatever it was, it had been dead for a long time. The bones were covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime.
"I've never seen something like this before," Lucy said. "What do you think killed it?" Trevor examined the area around the bones, setting his eyes on a huge ditch right behind it.
"Probably not a fight. Look," he said, pointing. The ditch looked to have been carved out by something, probably water. Now, it was bone dry, and likely had been for a long time. "Whatever animal this was probably died of thirst." Lucy examined the ditch more closely. "Come on, we should get moving," said Trevor.
"We should walk in the ditch," Lucy stated. Trevor looked at her like she had two heads. "When the sun goes down, we'll be in the shade," argued Lucy. For a few moments, Trevor struggled to think of a counterargument, but he couldn't find one, so he agreed. The two descended into the pit.
They walked on the dried-up riverbed for a few more hours. The walls cast long shadows as the sun continued to fall into the horizon. It wasn't much cooler in the shade, but it was enough to make a difference. The barren channel was devoid of life, and no sound could be heard in it. Then they heard the choking.
A man was lying on his back in the middle of the trench. He was bleeding from several cuts and was foaming at the mouth. Trevor kept walking, trying not to make eye contact. He couldn't be bothered right now. Suddenly, he noticed that Lucy was no longer at his side. She was kneeling next to the dying man.
"Shhh," she murmured gently. The man kept flailing, trying desperately to get up. Trevor stopped walking, waiting for Lucy to finish. "It's alright. No one can hurt you now," Lucy crooned. She placed a hand on the man's shoulder. The man stopped fighting. His neck was unharmed, but his horrible choking continued. "Close your eyes," said Lucy. "Focus on what makes you happy." The man did as he was told. His breathing slowed, his strangulation briefly halting. If not for his wounds, he looked almost peaceful. Then he gave one last rattling sigh and lay still. For a moment, no one moved. Trevor turned back around and continued walking along the riverbed. Lucy hurried to catch up.
A while after dark, they finally decided to make camp. They had gathered some dried brush and wood planks, which they used to start a fire. In the crushing atmosphere, the flame struggled to stay alive, perpetually casting a weak light on its surroundings. Trevor and Lucy sat in silence for what seemed like an age. An imperceptible sliver of the moon passed overhead.
"Crazy day, huh?" Lucy said, trying to break the tension.
"Yes," Trevor said.
"I'm glad we found that trench. I don't know if I could handle walking in the sun for that long," Lucy said.
"Hm," Trevor responded. There was another awkward pause.
"How close are we?" asked Lucy.
"We should get there a bit after noon tomorrow," answered Trevor.
"Good," Lucy said. She took a deep breath. "I can't wait to find those seeds. What do you think the world will be like once the plants grow?" Trevor just grunted in response. "I hope everything will be as green and lush as I've heard. And no one will have to kill each other to survive…wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"It's not happening," Trevor muttered under his breath. Lucy's face fell.
"Why do you keep saying that?" she asked. Trevor struggled to respond.
"Well, we don't even know if this seed bank is real, and if it is, these people aren't just going to stop what they're doing," he managed to say. "Sooner or later, everyone's going to go right back to tearing each other apart, but then we'll have a pretty place to put the bodies."
"Can you at least pretend to care?" Lucy said scornfully. "All our lives, you've been the apathetic loner type. Doesn't that get depressing?" She was getting agitated. "No one is telling you to be this sad, empty shell all the time, but you're doing it anyway." The words cut surprisingly deep.
"I'm just saying the most likely outcome," Trevor said, fumbling his words slightly.
"And what's wrong with having a little hope once in a while?" Lucy retorted. "If all you do is complain about how bad things are, it won't matter if you're still breathing because you'll be just as dead as everyone else!" She exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry, Trevor. I just want you to be a little bit happier." There was another long silence.
"I'm sorry," Trevor mumbled timidly.
"I forgive you," Lucy said. She laid down on the ground with her back to the fire. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. You should too." She stopped talking. Trevor stared at the heart of the flame. This was a new feeling. Remorse, maybe? He didn't know, but for the first time in his life, he wanted to. He pondered this late into the night.
"We need to be careful. This is dangerous territory," said Trevor.
The sun was at its peak. The riverbed had slanted up and become level with the ground a few miles back, and now a collection of shacks lay before Trevor and Lucy. In the distance, an angular fortress loomed over the town.
"What's so dangerous about it?" Lucy asked.
"Rumor has it the mob that runs this place is the most brutal for miles around," Trevor explained. "Listen, we're going to keep our heads down and try to go around the edge. With any luck, we'll get by unseen." Lucy nodded in agreement.
They skirted around the perimeter of the village. Despite this precaution, there were still quite a few mean-looking things near the edge. They didn't do anything at first, but the further Trevor got, the more eyes he could feel looking at him and Lucy. He did his best to ignore it, but he couldn't shake that feeling.
"Trevor, tell me those guys aren't staring at us," said Lucy. Trevor looked over his shoulder. There were quite a few unsavory looks aimed in their direction.
"Just keep walking, we're almost there," Trevor said. He picked up his pace. Lucy followed suit. They were almost to the edge of the town now. Once they were up the hill, they could run as fast as they could without drawing pursuers. But then something hit Trevor on the side of the head, and he blacked out.
Trevor woke up to the sound of jeering and hollering from above. He looked up to take in his surroundings. He was standing up, tied to a board. He could feel Lucy's wrists tied to his from the other side of the plank. At his feet were several bundles of dried-up wood and other flammable materials. Above him were a great many cheering creatures standing around what appeared to be an arena of sorts. He decided the word "creatures" was the most accurate because they were all too scarred and deformed to be called human. The roof opened up to the sky, which was the deep orange of sunset.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Trevor said, trying to lean over his shoulder to the other side of the board.
"Yeah, are you?" Lucy responded.
"I'll be fine," said Trevor. The noises from the animals began to blur together, forming something that sounded coherent. "Burn," they were chanting. A door opened in the pit. Trevor turned to look at yet another thing walking through it, this one small and grotesque, holding some kind of device. With a look of pure glee, it pointed the device at the bundles and clicked the trigger. A jet of flame issued from the nozzle, lighting the ground ablaze. The smell of smoke quickly filled the room.
"That fire is going to spread to us before long," Lucy said, panicking. Trevor's eyes darted around, searching for a solution. He settled his gaze on the wall of the pit, which appeared to be made of wood.
"Stay calm. I have a plan," he said. The closest bundle was in reach of his leg, and mercifully, it wasn't fully on fire. Carefully, he slid his foot underneath it. This next step would require the utmost precision. A bead of sweat rolled down his neck. With what he hoped was the right amount of force, he kicked the bundle aside. It rolled over and over and over again, closer to the wall. Come on, work, he prayed. The fire on it was going out, suffocating in the dirt and dust. Just a few more inches… The bundle slowly came to rest against the wall of the arena. The flame was small, but still burning. Then it began to spread.
It took a few moments for anyone else to notice that the building was now on fire, but once they did, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, the screams of delight turned to ones of fear. The upper level of the room became a whirling sea of panic.
"Trevor, did you do that?" asked Lucy. "Why? And how?"
"These guys may be big, ugly, and ruthless," Trevor said nonchalantly, "but they're also sloppy. Hold still." He pulled his right hand forward as far as he could. The rope was just loose enough for Trevor to slip his hand free. The other rope soon followed. "That'll buy us enough time to get out of here," explained Trevor.
"Alright, if you say so," conceded Lucy, rubbing her wrists. Trevor grabbed her hand and the two ran out the nearest door. The fortress was a veritable labyrinth, rooms upon rooms with seemingly no point. Even the hallways were poorly structured, having constant narrow sections and jagged turns. All around, Trevor and Lucy could hear loud, heavy footsteps and incoherent shouting. By now, the predators had realized that their prey had escaped and were on the hunt. A million thoughts raced through Trevor's head as the cacophony grew louder. Scared for what felt like the first time in his life, he turned a corner and came face-to-face with the consequences of his actions. The fire had spread.
"We're running out of time," Trevor said, trying to maintain a calm tone as he and Lucy raced in the other direction. The fire spread faster, blocking off some pathways and causing flaming debris to start falling from the ceiling.
"Try the wider halls," Lucy suggested nervously. "The gate looked pretty wide from the outside." Trevor listened. He followed the broader walls as best he could as the thundering of the crowd got louder and louder, and the fire consumed more and more of the building. Flames danced along the floor and ceiling, licking up the walls and through the air. Finally, he saw a light.
"There's the exit," Trevor said, a glimmer of hope in his voice. He ran for it, Lucy following close behind. Time seemed to slow down as they approached the gate. Every step took an eternity, every sound was magnified in the impossible silence. They were right there, right at the threshold of freedom. There was a loud crack, and something pushed Trevor forward. He fell onto the ground outside the fortress as something big crashed to the ground. He got up, and his heart started racing. A huge piece of flaming debris lay across the gateway. Lucy was trapped behind it.
"I can't make it across," said Lucy. Trevor's head spun. This wasn't real. This couldn't be happening.
"There's got to be a way," he said. There was no hiding the fear in his voice.
"There isn't, it's too heavy to move even if it wasn't on fire," Lucy said. The footsteps from the gangsters were getting louder, and now their voices could be heard.
"Come on, I'm not leaving you here," Trevor told her desperately. It was getting dark now. The fire seemed to glow even brighter than before.
"You have the map, right?" Lucy asked. Trevor felt around his duster, confirming the map was still there. "Listen, I want you to keep going until you find the seed bank."
"Not without you," Trevor pleaded.
"Trevor, look at me," Lucy said. "This is our one chance to save all of humanity. We have to take it." She glanced over her shoulder, toward the growing noise. "I'll distract them so you can escape. Do you understand?"
"Lucy…" Trevor groaned.
"Promise me," Lucy said. "Promise me you'll find the vault."
"I promise," said Trevor. Lucy turned to go back into the maze. "Lucy, I–" Trevor started to say, but she was already gone. Somewhat in a daze, Trevor brought out the map and started walking in the direction of the seed vault. Every step felt too heavy. He didn't know what this feeling was, but he didn't like it.
It's fine, he thought.
He walked faster.
She has a plan.
He sped up even more.
It's just a little fire.
He started to jog.
She's all alone in there.
He turned right back around and broke into a run, throwing the map to the ground as he did so. Damn humanity, damn the world, damn it all, he wasn't going to let anything happen to Lucy. Not after all they've been through.
He was fifty feet from the building when a loud snap echoed across the rocky hill, and the entire fortress collapsed. No, he thought. No, no, no. He felt weak. His legs buckled and he fell to his knees, staring at the flaming wreckage. There were no voices, no footsteps, barely even the crackle of the fire. Trevor's huge, wracking sobs were all that filled the vast, starless sky.
It was nearly midnight by the time Trevor picked himself back up again. The fire had long since died, leaving nothing but the embers in place of the fortress. The moon was new, bathing the world in complete darkness. Trevor had exhausted all of his tears, and now he just felt hollow. Even more hollow than before. But he made a promise.
He fumbled with a match for a moment before he finally managed to get a flame. It wasn't very much light, but it was enough to see. He remembered the path that the map laid out. The vault was just a bit further up the hill. Limbs feeling like lead, he started walking.
A few hundred feet later, the firelight shone on something new. For miles around, there was nothing but rocks and dust, but here, there was something different, something made of metal. Trevor felt along the smooth wall. Yes, this had to be it. He found his way to the great steel door and pulled on the handle.
The hill was suddenly covered in light. Fresh, filtered air burst through the doors, a cool breeze in the middle of a barren wasteland. The inside of the seed vault was everything Trevor imagined and more. Rows upon rows of shelves containing bins of seeds lined the walls. The ceiling was covered in neat electric lights. At the back of the room, some plants were already growing, covering the wall with green. It truly was a paradise.
Trevor didn't move. He didn't react. He didn't twitch a muscle. He just stood there, holding his match. After destroying everything resembling hope, the world expected him to use what remained to make the right choice, to be its savior. But the rest of him died when the fortress came down. She was still buried underneath the smoldering ruins. Without saying a word, he flicked his match into the nearest seed bin and watched the fire spread.