The Fires of Lying

Toby is probably the most feared teenager in the town. No-one messes around with him. No-one underestimates him. He has every kid you can think of under his control, mainly because he is so popular at school despite the useless brain stuck in his head and the baggy eyes that stop you knowing what he is feeling. In the past six years he has attempted murder, committed theft, vandalised public facilities and some say he even murdered a young woman, but no proof or evidence has been found except random rumours from locals who have luckily managed to keep themselves anonymous. The town is small and secure. While Toby destroys many lives there he also protects the remaining relative- his younger brother (13 years of age) Patrick who stays with him until Social Services pluck up the courage to speak to them.

Patrick never likes what Toby does and is quite good at school but is never picked on because of his brother. One gang of boys who used to bully Patrick were locked in a public toilet overnight with nothing to eat or drink. To make matters worse, there wasn't any toilet paper either.

The one thing Toby has not done yet is arson. Now this was going to be a good challenge, he thinks. It had come across his mind when a friend threatened under his breath to burn the Post Office down after the owner kicked him out for buying an adult magazine.

"It's not up to him what I buy, is it?" he had said. "Stupid, effin'-"

Toby thinks he could achieve arson for his friend. After all, he also had a confrontation with the owner, Mister Vernon. It was about two years ago but he rarely talks or thinks about it. He had been kicked out after the incident was over. But this time he isn't going to leave when told to.

Mister Vernon, sitting at his chair behind the counter desk, reads a newspaper reporting the crime rate. He finishes reading the report and scoffs disapprovingly.

"Ruddy criminals. No hope for them." He puts the paper down to see the Toby kid entering the shop. "Don't you kids ever listen, never mind learn? I told you to not come back in this shop!"
"What are you gonna do?" Toby shrugged. He takes out a match and it's box, preparing to light it.

"You wouldn't dare! You would never kill somebody!" Mister Vernon recoils a little from him.

"You'll get out. The back door's only behind you. I just want to bring this place down, know what I'm saying. Give you a message not to mess with me."
"You can't scare me. No matter what you've done. Is it true you killed that woman?"
"Might be. Look at you, old man. Not much left to go. You might as well stay. I don't really care." He enjoys what he's doing so much that he almost sounds evil to himself. Too evil.

"I'm a man of God. I'd rather have the Angels above take me than have Satan's flames consume me!"
"I like those words. Better get out while you still can." He lights the match and throws it just in front of the desk. The flames manage to get hold of the items around and soon spreads, reacting from various chemicals on the items and sending sparks of flame all over. Mister Vernon cannot believe what he is seeing, just standing motionless watching the chaos unfold. He didn't get the message to get out until a spark of flame shot over the desk and landed next to him, quickly catching on to objects and cracking the windows. Toby turns to look outside the shop, the smile flickering a little but then resuming as he turns back to Mister Vernon.

"Damn you, child! You will go to hell!" he cries as he points at Toby accusingly, hissing anger.
"LOVE IT!" Toby screams happily, running through the fire and jumping over the desk to get out.

Mister Vernon runs one way to phone emergency services. Toby runs the other way, climbing over the wooden fence and climbing up the hill covered in trees and bushes until reaching the street above. He waits until all signs of human life are not visible and sprints at the fastest pace he has ever managed to the other end of the street, where his home resided. Something very much like an explosion sounds behind him but he ignores it.

Meeting his two mates outside the house, who congratulate him on the success, Toby falls to the ground in victory. He then goes inside with his mates to talk about what happened.

Sooner than expected, the local news speaks of the fire at the Post Office. The entire building was burnt down to the ground and only a minute or so before the emergency services arrived it exploded, killing the owner, James Vernon as he was waiting for help to arrive. According to medical services various chunks of wall hit him in the explosion. Toby feels his heart sink. He hadn't expected the man to die. He thought he would be fine, not that he cared. But for some strange reason, Patrick begins to cry and runs to his room upstairs. Toby sighs and puts his feet up, with nothing on his mind other than the accident.

Patrick has the same thing on his mind too. Whilst lying on the bed in tears, thinking about his poor old friend's death, he feels a surge of guilt that is yet to come. Toby thinks there is no evidence. No witnesses. But he is wrong. Who's to say that his own brother Patrick won't turn on him?

TWO YEARS AGO...

Patrick is lost. His brother Toby went after some boys who called him gay. He sees the lights on in the Post Office on the other side of the road. Mister Vernon is sitting reading his evening newspaper and as Patrick gets closer to the shop he can hear the classical music playing over the old man's radio. He knocks on the door, much to Mister Vernon's surprise. The man quickly abandons his paper and music to go to the door and see him.

"It's eight o'clock in the evening, little Patrick! What brings you here?"

"I'm lost, Mister Vernon. My brother ran off to find some boys. They called him gay-"
"They said he was a homosexual?" He raises his eyebrows at Patrick.
"Y-Yes, sir." Patrick answers, embarrassed.
"Well, he's no good anyway. You better come in until he come and finds you."

"Thank you, Mister Vernon." It's true what Mister Vernon thinks of the two brothers. He always liked Patrick better than Toby because of the difference in intelligence, respect and personality. The two respect each other well, and always will. Patrick tries his best to ignore his brother's ways and finds Mister Vernon a good man to talk to. Of course, Toby doesn't approve of it.

"Well, try and keep yourself comfy, heaven knows how, until he arrives." Mister Vernon notices Patrick's usual sad look and feels sympathy for him. "Don't worry about him. I've seen him grow up. I was once a friend of your mother's. Bless her, she was the good one- I see her in you, Patrick. But then she died of cancer. Your father abandoned you and-" He stops. "The thing is, Patrick... your brother first turned bad when he started lying. You must never tell lies. Not for yourself, for friends or in some cases for family. Never. Do you understand?"

Patrick nods. "I understand, Mister Vernon."
"That's good then. I think this is your brother coming over now."

And indeed it is. Who else kicks a shop door open, grabs their brother by the arms and pulls them backwards until they're standing behind him?

"What the eff' are you doing with my little brother!?" he shouts angrily. Except he doesn't say 'eff', he says the actual word.
"Calm down, Toby. He was lost, I was just-"
"What!? What were you going to do? Hurt him? You want me to hurt you, huh?" He threatens to attack, clenching his fists.

"Toby, will you just listen-"
"No! I'm sick of you people who think they can make things better for us. No-one can!"

"I was just helping him-"
"I've been looking all over for him, you stupid twa-"

"I WAS LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU TOO!" Patrick screams at his brother. Both Toby and Mister Vernon stare at him in shock. "BUT DID YOU CARE ABOUT ME? NO! DID YOU EVEN THINK IF I KNEW MY WAY AROUND IN THE DARK? NO! ALL YOU CARED ABOUT WAS GETTING A KNIFE OUT AND STABBING PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE THEY CALLED YOU GAY! YOU'RE NOT GAY, YOU'RE PATHETIC!" He then hyperventilates from all the shouting and makes an apologetic look at him and strangely at Mister Vernon too, who looks as if he agrees with him.

"Patrick... I didn't have a knife." Toby doesn't look or sound like he wants to hurt or shout at his brother. He feels he never could.
"I don't care..." Patrick hangs his head in shame for shouting. Toby places his hand behind Patrick's back, and leads him out. He looks over his shoulder at Mister Vernon.

"You'll pay for this."

TWO YEARS LATER...

About forty minutes later, Toby wakes from a sleep. The television is still on from the news report earlier and the light is starting to fade. What a weekend it had been. But the first thing he sees through the window is the blazing lights of blue and red, the sound of sirens and the roar of the vehicles' engines. The police are coming for him. Without thinking, he leaves the house to confront them. Before he can do anything, heavily armed police grab him by the arms and drag him to a huge van. A red car drives round the police vehicles and parks directly behind the struggling Toby. Patrick steps out of the house, holding two bags of stuff and a suitcase. A smartly dressed woman leaves the car and takes him back there, looking at Toby and sighing. Patrick holds her hand, to her surprise.

"Social services." Toby mutters. He tries to pull himself away from the police. "Patrick! No! NO! PATRICK! PATRI-" Seconds pass and he is shoved into the van and secured inside. The police pat the sides of the van it drives off, followed by four cars. The last two wait for Patrick and the Social Services woman to leave before setting off with them. During the incident several people had watched the commotion, including both Toby's and Patrick's good friends. It wasn't a good sight for them, nor was it for the two brothers to see each other like that.

Toby was sentenced to 34 years in prison after his own brother, Patrick, appeared in court against him. When asked by his brother in caught why he 'grassed' on him, despite the Judge's order for him to remain quiet, Patrick replied; "When I was younger, that night I was lost two years ago, Mister Vernon told me I must never tell lies. I couldn't hide the truth. You knew I saw you with him when you set the Post Office on fire but you didn't think I would say anything. His death would count for nothing if I lied and he wanted me to do the right thing, to be the better person. And I have made him proud. You've shown you can't look after me. You'll end up getting me killed or making me be like you. I don't want to be like you. I don't feel safe." He stopped as if he couldn't believe he had spoke and that was the end of it. He would hopefully never see Toby again, because it was too much shame to look at him, let alone call him a brother.

Meanwhile, Patrick stayed with a foster mother who treated him like her son and looked after him, caring for him more than anything. She even allowed him to visit his parents' graves monthly to give flowers, as well as the grave of Mister Vernon, a blessed old man who wanted nothing more than to find the better person in people, especially Patrick. Whilst lying in bed, Patrick remembered what Mister Vernon had once said to him.

"To be the better person you must avoid the fires of lying, and in return you will find the angels of truth."