{"id":22213,"date":"2025-12-02T20:33:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T20:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=22213"},"modified":"2025-12-02T20:33:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T20:33:36","slug":"22213","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=22213","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

“Sign the papers, you old hag!\u201d Travis screamed. His voice was a jagged tear in the air, high-pitched and vibrating with the manic energy of a three-day methamphetamine bender. Spittle flew from his mouth, landing on my cheek. \u201cDo you want to die here? Do you want to burn? Because I don\u2019t care! I swear to God, Martha, I will light this whole place up!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His eyes were terrifying. The pupils were blown out, swallowing the iris, leaving two black holes that looked into a void where a human soul used to be. His skin was pasty, covered in a sheen of cold, chemical sweat. He was trembling\u2014not with fear, but with the electric, uncontrollable jitters of withdrawal and psychosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In his right hand, he held a cheap, translucent plastic lighter. He flicked the wheel.\u00a0<\/span>Click-hiss.<\/span>\u00a0A small, yellow flame danced into existence, terrifyingly cheerful against the gloom of the room. He lowered it inches from the gasoline-soaked rug.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTravis, please,\u201d I rasped, my voice barely a whisper. The fumes were making me dizzy. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to do this. We can talk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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“Sign the papers, you old hag!\u201d Travis screamed. His voice was a jagged tear in the air, high-pitched and vibrating with the manic energy of a three-day methamphetamine bender. Spittle flew from his mouth, landing on my cheek. \u201cDo you want to die here? Do you want to burn? Because I don\u2019t care! I swear…<\/p>\n

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