Melting Point

Heat. I hate it the most, but it's the one thing I cannot seem to get away from. Living in Texas is my own personal hell.

I reached my hand out the car window, allowing the wind to dance in between my fingers. I look towards to the long road in front of us. It was such a depressing sight. I turned and looked at my best friend driving. The sunlight illuminated her smooth caramel skin, but her black braids fell in a way that created soft shadows under her cheekbones. They were seamlessly fighting for dominance.

The golden streams flowing through the windows were warming my body. Before I knew it, we were at the beach. Soon after, me and Scarlet—I like to call her Scar—were sprinting to the water. The water robbed me of the heat that was burdening me, but it was I needed

I don’t know how long we were in the water, but my hands and feet look as though the life force was sucked out of them. As I was walking out, my feet met what felt like rigid plastic. I blindly reached under the water and grab it. There in a plastic bag, was a black notebook. The notebook was in pristine condition. Taped inside the front cover was a small silver key. There was also writing on the first page of the book.

To whoever finds this…I have a safe with $15,000 in it.

Do these 4 tasks and you’ll receive $1,250 and then

you’ll be given the code to the safe.

For your first challenge, I’ll start you off with something

simple. Go the the concession stand and order a vanilla

ice cream cone.

“I call bullshit,” Scar claimed. I agreed, but I was already craving an ice cream cone anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to try. Right?

“Let’s try anyway.” I put my sandals back on and walked over to the concession stand. “May I have a large ice cream please?”

I waited as the boy made my cone. The man handed me my ice cream cone and began to hand him the money for it.

“Oh, you don’t have to pay. Someone already paid for your cone.” I retracted my hand, shocked at what I was hearing. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Hours went by and no money. I figured it was a joke, but I was a bit disappointed.

“Told you it was bullshit,” Scar said in her know-it-all voice. I mocked her and continued to pack up our belongings. I could’ve used that money towards school. “I put my car keys in your bag, could you pass me them?”

I reached into my bag, but instead of finding keys, my hands met a small paper bag. It couldn’t be. I took the bag out and in it was the $1,250. Written on the brown bag was an 8. I looked around, thinking it was a joke. It must be.

“This is crazy,” I said. Scar agreed alongside me. “Well, since we have the money. Let’s treat ourselves.” We wouldn’t be the great Kai and Scar duo if we didn’t spend all our money on alcohol. And if this really is real, I’ll still have $19,000 more to keep anyway.

My phone pinged. ‘Go to Neon Nights bar and find this man. Inside his wallet is your next challenge.’ How did this person get my number? I showed Scar the picture of the man.

As we were close to the bar, we saw a man being pulled over. We noticed the cop car first. It was Scar’s dad. Right away, we tried to duck out of view. Although it proved to be futile when we saw him waving from the rear-view mirrors. I got a glimpse of the person who got pulled over. It was the man from the picture.

As we walked in the bar, the man was finally pulling up. For a guy who just got pulled over, he didn’t seem that frustrated. I don’t believe I’m ugly in any way, but when it comes down to flirting, Scar surpasses me. Scar watched as I tried to walk sexily towards the man, then I stopped in my tracks and turned around. I started walking towards the door.

“You’re such a pussy, but guess what?” She waves the wallet like a winning lottery ticket as she finally comes out of the bar, smiling. “I’m not.”

“Our dads our cops. We shouldn’t be stealing anyway,” I joked.

We walk back to the car and inside the passenger seat is another brown bag. This time it has a 5 on it. I tried to give Scar the bag because she did complete this challenge herself, but she denied.

“This is so creepy,” I said anxiously.

Inside the wallet was a piece of a paper with an address and instructions on it. There was also a diagram of where I would find the next clue. It was to the police station where our dads work. ‘Break into the evidence room and steal a map that will show the location of the safe’

I stood in front of the police station, staring at the door. Scar received a call telling her she needs to be home to watch her brother. No amount of convincing helped, so here I am. Alone. The small station was empty. I walked to my Dad’s office

“Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?” He kisses my forehead and continues he is placing documents back into some boxes.

“I need a ride home,” I said. I tell him about my day, but not all the details. Obviously. Talking to my dad almost made me forget about the challenge, but my phone pinged again. ‘In 10 minutes, the power will shut off. You will then have 3 minutes until the back-up generators come on.’

My dad had me wait as he put the documents back into the evidence room. He walked out, letting the door close on its own. As he walked away, I quickly caught the door before it fully closed and followed my dad outside towards his car.

“I forgot my phone in your office,” I faked a shocked tone and ran back into the station. As the door shut behind me, the power turned off. “Perfect,” I whispered to myself.

I turned my phone’s flashlight on and quickly began searching. There was so many boxes. I found a box that had my name scrawled out in the front. Shivers ran down my spine. I picked up the only file that was in the box. Pictures of the fire that burned my home fell out. I was only six at the time. A folded map also fell out. I hurriedly picked up all the pictures and placed them all back in the folder. I put the folder back in the box and ran out with the map in my hand. The power turned on just as I was walked outside.

He was so busy talking to Scar’s dad, that he didn’t even notice the lights turned off.

“Dad, I forgot. I actually have somewhere else to go.”

“I need to get home asap. You know how your mom gets”

“I can take her,” Scar’s dad chimed in. I kissed my dad on the cheek and walked in Scar’s dad car. I watched my dad drive off, as I opened the small map. An old, abandoned building that Scar and I used to go to a lot when we were younger was circled in red.

“What’s that?” Scar’s dad asked, as he drives out the parking.

“A secret,” He chuckled at my response. I looked up at Scar’s dad. Then my eyes moved down to his right leg. He was an amputee and a burn victim. And he was this way because of me. There was a clear difference between his left and right side from his arms to the middle of his neck. His scars were old, but they were still as clear as day. The guilt I felt never diminished since that day. A brown bag being thrown on my lap suddenly interrupted my thoughts. It had a 1 on it. A towel covered my mouth and nose. A chemical smell filled my nostrils. I look towards Scar’s dad, fear filling my entire being.

“One more challenge,” I heard before my eyes closed.

Fire. I was surrounded. There was nowhere for me to go. My screams were deafening. My body was heating up, but I was slowly losing consciousness. My body goes limp, and I brace myself to meet the scorching floor. It never came.

I opened my eyes. My hair was stuck to my forehead with sweat. My head was pounding. All I saw was the color red. I was so hot, and it felt as if the heat was getting worse. I didn’t know where I was. I was sitting in a chair with my hands handcuffed behind it. There was a door in front of me. I turned my head to the left and saw my bag sitting on a bench. Abruptly, a screeching noise filled my ears. I looked towards the source of the sound. There in the corner of the room, was an intercom.

“Welcome to the last challenge. I’m surprised you made it so far,” Scar’s dad voice filled the scorching hot room.

“LET ME OUT YOU PSYCHO!” I screamed. Why was he doing this?

“Did you know the melting point of the human flesh is 162 degrees. Sounds hot, doesn’t it? Well it feels even worse. But, you wouldn’t know any of that. All you have to show is a teensy tiny little scar on your shoulder.” My mind was spinning. He had so much anger in his voice.

“Today, you choose your fate and this time, no one will save you. This room is basically a large oven. Stay here, you will meet your melting point and die. Get out, you live. Whether you live or die, I’ll be gone.” With that final statement, the screeching stopped. Somehow, I knew he was truly gone. I had to get out, and I think I knew how.

I was able to slowly scooted the chair over towards the bench. I reached inside my bag and felt for the black notebook. The metal handcuffs were starting to get hot and burned my wrist. Once I found it, I took the small key out. I prayed it was for the handcuffs, as I jiggled it through the lock. They dropped on the ground, making a noise that only made my head hurt more. Now I just needed to get out. My clothes were dripping with my sweat and breathing was getting harder. The more I walked, black spots filled my vision. I was so close. I quickly grabbed the door handle with my left hand and screamed just as quickly. The door handle was burning. I looked at my hand, and it was already blistering. I didn’t know what else to do. I counted down to 1.

3…2…1. I grabbed the door handle, screaming loudly as I was engulfed in pain. The door creaked open, and I was met by a cool breeze that seemed to make my hand burn more than it already was. Right in front of the doorway was a large safe. Another brown bag with a 2 on it was on top. The safe had a keypad. I tried to remember the correct order of the numbers. 8-5-1-2. The light on the keypad blinked green and made a chiming noise. The safe opened and inside was my phone and a bookbag. There it was inside the bag. All $15,000. I let out a sigh of relief and the lingering black spots filled my vision.

Was $20,000 worth all this trouble? I don't know. Why and how did he do this? I don't know. What I do know, is that I really hate the fucking heat.