Flammable

[Oxidizer]

Type of Story: Oneshot

Rating: T

Main Characters: Eve Jacobsen

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Contains explicit themes of animal cruelty

Is Story being proof read: No

Summary: The reason why Eve set her neighbour's pet rabbit alight

Sequels: Emergency, Shattered

FLAMMABLE

"Who's this?" The woman standing behind the reception desk asked as she watched the transfer officer lead the seemingly timid girl to stand in front of her.

The officer in command of the transfer flipped the sheets on his clipboard and began to read out the young offender's notes. "Eve Jacobsen. Thirteen years old. Set her neighbour's pet rabbit alight and sentenced to six months here, where she'd spend that time until release or otherwise."

The receptionist looked Eve over, silently passing judgement upon the juvenile sadist. She was unnerved when Eve looked back at her; directly in the eyes. Those eyes. They were so blank and dead-like. Hollow and foreboding.

Eve looked at the ID badges on each of them and fell more quite than she had been before, as she embedded those names in her memory. One day will come where she would exact vengeance.

Sara Kelley. Paul Quinn.

"So, why'd you burn that rabbit, Jacobsen?"

ONE WEEK EARLIER

"Thank you. We hope that you'll both be happy with your decision and that you understand the emotional baggage which comes along with this one." Ms. Hates, the adoption agency superior, explained. "Eve Jacobsen is a very unique girl and needs a lot of looking after."

Newly weds, Sasha and Ciaran Hendrey, both nodded in unison as they signed the necessary forms and agreed to the terms and conditions that followed. "We understand. And trust me when I say that she's going to be very well looked after from here on."

"Good." Ms. Hates smiled. "A liaison officer will visit you every Friday for the next month to make sure that she's settling in and that everything's running smoothly - for all involved."

They both grinned in anticipation and rose from their chairs before being escorted outside, where Eve waited for them to come and collect her.

"Who's that?" Eve asked as she looked out of the window in the spare room, that Mr. Hendrey was fixing up for his new adoptive daughter.

She stared into the garden next door where an older boy was kicking a football against the fence.

Mr. Hendrey stopped what he was doing and took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, squinting as he looked outside in the direction Eve's attention was drawn to.

"Ah, him? That's Nicky. He's an athlete at the school you'll be attending tomorrow."

Eve grinned brilliantly. "Cool!"

"What's it's name?" Eve popped up from out of nowhere, looking over the fence at the rabbit Nicky was feeding.

"His name is Lucky." The seventeen-year-old corrected, chuckling as he looked up at her. He was surprised to see his new neighbour there and asking spontaneous questions. She'd only moved in two days ago.

Eve wrinkled up her nose and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Can I pet him?"

"I don't see why not. Just make it quick, okay? I'm already late for school." Nicky hastily replied as he stood up from squatting down on the ground.

He turned around to look at the back door of his house where he saw his mum make a gesture, pointing to her watch.

"I'm sorry, uh-" He paused to look back at the girl who leered over the fence.

She clocked on and supplied him with a name. "Eve."

"-Eve. But I gotta go now. See you around or something." He smiled gently and locked the hutch, pulling his rucksack over his shoulder in preparation to make a quick exit from the back gate.

Eve collapsed from the fence and sighed, where she laid on the grass in her backyard and whispered sullenly to herself, closing her eyes. "Bye."

"So, how'd your first day go? Not too bad I hope." Nicky joked as he walked Eve home from school.

Mr. Hendrey asked him quietly on the side to look out for her, Nicky didn't see any harm so reluctantly agreed. The only problem he had with Eve was that she was stopping him from seeing his mates.

Eve exhaled gleefully. "It was awesome! Thanks for looking after me, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." He chuckled as he walked up the path leading to his house, as she did hers. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Or maybe later. I could look after Lucky or something. I'm really good with animals." Eve stammered as she tried to contain her blushes when she noticed the awkward look on her infatuation's face.

Nicky smiled lightly, replying as he opened the front door with his keys. "I'll think about it. See you later."

"Bye!" She positively beamed as he entered his house. The eurphoria which glowed upon her face soon faded as the door closed on behind him, the boy missing from her view.

Eve rolled on her side where she cuddled Lucky, quickly jumping up in surprise when Nicky returned from football training through the back gate.

"Eve? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Lucky. I'm sorry, I should've asked. I hope you're not angry." She quickly explained with the puppy-dog eyes. How could he possibly be mad at her now?

"No," He sighed as he swooped the rabbit up and repositioned him in the hutch before locking the latch. "I'm not angry. Just ask next time, okay? If Kay knew, she'd kill me."

Eve twisted her face in confusion. "Who's Kay?"

"She's my little sister - Lucky's owner. I'm just looking after him while she's away on some fieldtrip to France the school organized for the fortnight."

Eve nodded slowly as she dusted herself off from the grass which had just been mowed in his backyard. The smell fused with the summer heat and sunset. "Oh."

"I'm sorry." Nicky shot her an apologetic look. "I've really got to go. I'll see you tomorrow or something, alright?"

A rueful sigh passed Eve's lips, looking longingly as he began to walk up the garden path towards his house. "Bye."

"Bye."

Nicky held his head in his hands and sighed as he sat on the bench at school. Eve noticed he was distraught and bounded across the concrete of the playing grounds. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her faintly before resuming his sullen mood. "I'll be fine."

Eve noticed the saddened tone to his voice. "What's wrong, Nicky? What's upsetting you?"

"Gemma broke up with me." An exasperated sigh escaped his mouth as he clenched his jaw to prevent himself from showing weakness and crying.

Eve's heart leaped up in the back of her throat. "I never knew you had a girlfriend."

He chuckled sadly and looked up at her. "Well, I don't anymore."

She bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from saying something that she'd regret and instead rubbed small circles on her obsession's back. "Gemma? As in Hazelbourne?"

"Yup." He breathed deeply, appreciating the comfort that he recieved.

"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."

It was lunchtime and Eve decided to skip the rest of the day and head home. She couldn't believe Nicky had a girlfriend. How dare he? He was hers. He should've told her.

Upon walking up the front lawn to the Hendrey residence, Eve's mind became a flood of thoughts and running emotions that she had never felt or experienced before. In a moment of uncertainty she turned around and it wasn't long before she was climbing the fence to the house next door.

She landed agilely on her feet as she dropped down from the wooden fence and opened the hutch. She picked Lucky up and gently placed him on her lap, sniffling brokenheartedly as the tears that fell from her eyelashes tainted the white rabbit's soft and fluffy fur.

In the heat of the moment, and of craziness, the thought of her Nicky being with someone else was almost too much to bear and anger resided inside of her. She unzipped her rucksack and pulled out a 12" canister of deodorant she had packed for gym and read the label to herself quietly.

CAUTION: Extremely Flammable!

Pressurised container. Do not spray on a naked flame or any incandescent material. Keep away from sources of ignition. Do not burn or pierce – even after use. Keep out of reach of children.

Eve went into herself and held the nozzle down as she aimed it at Lucky, sending a flammable substance to spray all over the rabbit's soft fur, making it harden and reek of chemicals. Lucky wiggled and tried to get away, but Eve clawed his back, drawing blood as she held him down tightly on the ground as she whipped out a matchbox from her rucksack.

She kept her pyromaniacal tendencies well hidden and always carried a match or lighter with her, so that whenever she felt anger or hurt, she would just light up and let it all melt away like ice cream.

Her ways of coping with emotional problems were triggered due to the trauma of her grandparents both perishing in fires. She even kept her defence mechanism hidden from the foster care system and adoption agency. It was a private thing.

Eve struck a match on the side of the box; a small hissing sound accompanied the scraping noise as the head of the inch-long stick ignited. She stared at Lucky vacantly before dropping the alight matchstick on top of the petrified rabbit, jumping back as he combusted into a ball of uncontrolled flames.

The smell was rancid and the noises the dying rabbit made were awful. Eve covered her ears and clenched her eyes shut as tears squeezed through her enclosed eyelids. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Before she knew it, Sasha leaped over the fence and doused the charred remains of the oxidized rabbit with the garden hose. Lucky's body was hardened, dark-red among the black, like a lump of scorched coal.

"Eve Jacobsen, I'm arresting you on grounds of animal cruelty and arson. You do not have to say anything, but anything you fail to mention may harm your-" Detective Stephen Thompson's voice faded into nothingness; a distant echo in the back of her mind as she was lead in handcuffs towards the awaiting police car.

Nicky stared at her with a mixture of hatred and sadness. Disappointment. How could someone be so torturous as to extinguish the life of a harmless animal like tears dripping on the flames of a dimly lit candle?

END

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