I’m sitting in a trailer at Shady Oaks, seated on a worn yellow bar stool, listening to an old Eagles record someone has left behind. I'm struggling to get any volume out of an ancient turntable's small speakers. I lean on the kitchen counter in front of me, the orange covering lifting at the corners, I pick at it with my fingernail. I’m looking out a tiny window, staring into the darkness. In great contrast to the harsh light emanating from the fluorescent tube directly above me. I can hear the crickets chirping outside, so noisy I can hear them over the record. It’s too hot, I get up and switch on a fan that’s attached to the wall. The silver blades begin to spin loudly, I stand in front of it for a minute and let the air hit me. It’s still too warm, the fan is no match for a heatwave. I sit back down, my legs sticking to the stool’s vinyl top. I'm uncomfortable, sweaty and bored. I hate the heat. I stand back up again.

Today I left the house, it wasn’t safe there any longer. I put what I’d found in a safety deposit box, not wanting to carry it with me. My brother still doesn’t get why I needed his help. I convinced him it was incredibly important and eventually he went along with it. If something happens to me, hopefully he’ll go and check it out. I sit down on a lumpy red armchair in front of a tiny TV with a coat hanger antenna. This place has seen better days. Somebody had attempted to spruce the place up at some point, colourful floral wallpaper is beginning to peel off the walls. I'm surrounded by cartoon prints of horses in unpainted wooden frames, I wonder who they'd belonged to. When I’d gone to the front desk and asked if there was anywhere I could stay this isn’t what I’d expected but it was all I could afford tonight. Surely nobody would find me in a place like this.

I sigh and lean back in the chair, without a car I don’t have a way out of town until the morning, I already have a ticket to catch the 9:35 bus, I just need to wait out the remaining hours, not long now. Then I’ll figure out how to get justice for my father, convince the police to look into what I’ve found. I hear a click and the light goes out, the record slows, the music warping, I hear the whoosh of the fan slowing it’s spin. The power’s out again. It’s so hot, I fan myself with my hands. I get up from the couch and walk to the kitchen, turning on the tap and splashing water on my face. I feel restless. It's going to be a long night. I look through the drawers for a light source, I find a lighter, I guess it will have to do, I search for candles but come up empty.

I lay down on the bed, I haven't had much sleep in days. I close my eyes and try to relax. I still don’t know why my father got killed, but I think I have enough evidence to give to the police. My uncle had set up his scheme alone, after his death, my father had a plan to give the money back. It didn't look like there was foul play when it came to my uncle's death, he just couldn't take the pressure anymore. My father was going to buy up the properties here and use the profits from the oil to pay everyone back. Probably destroying the town in the process, something I had no issue with. Ridgemont always felt cursed, no good came from this town. I'd fix everything when I got out of here. This morning someone had left me a threatening message under my bedroom door, It was generic, watch your back scrawled in messy writing on a scrap of paper. I took it as a sign to leave. If I’d known the house was full of cameras I would have been much more careful.

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I hear a crunch outside, I sit up and look around, I’m too low to see out any windows. I get up and remain as quiet as I can. I tiptoe and take a quick look outside one of the few small windows I have, wiping the dust from it and glancing through, I see nothing unusual, just the dark trees of the forest. I lean my head against the wall and listen carefully, holding my breath. It's probably nothing, just an animal darting through the trees. Maybe the the dog chained up next door. I lay back down on the bed, the mattress creaking under my weight. I close my eyes again and not long after miraculously fall asleep. I wake several hours later, feeling groggy. I look at the digital watch on my wrist, clicking the light button, the blue light hurting my eyes, 3:45am.

I hear the same sound outside again. This time it sounds closer, right outside my door. I rub my eyes and sit up. I walk over to the window and look out. I see the silhouette of someone standing there, it’s too dark to see their face. "Who the hell is that?" I say to myself. He holds something in his hands, a tiny ball of flame appears after a quick movement, it temporarily lights his face. I know him from somewhere. I can’t look away. He throws the match on the ground before him. A trail of flame quickly begins to make its way toward my trailer. I look out in horror. How did he find me here? The man with the match backs away and runs off, he disappears out of sight. It takes me a second to react. I go to open the front door, it’s stuck, I continue to rattle it, I kick at it, denting the metal but not opening the door. The thing won’t give. I have to get out of here. I look around me in panic, I’ll have to go through a window. The flames have reached the front of the trailer now, I see them licking the bottom of the window. I start to feel the heat, the flames have spread so quickly, I’m surrounded. I push the window at the back of the trailer across, it begins to slide open, but gets stuck halfway. "You’ve got to be kidding me." I look around, finding a bat in a closet, I close the window again and swing at the glass. I keep swinging as hard as I can. It just won't break. I see flames outside this window now too, smoke starts to choke me. I can’t get out this way. The only way out now is up. I look at the roof, I see the small hatch above me. I go to pull the old red armchair over, I start coughing uncontrollably, my eyes watering. I pull my t-shirt up and over my mouth, it doesn’t help. I grab the armchair and push it underneath the hatch. I climb on the armchair and reach for it, it’s too far from my hands. I’m too short to reach, I get the bat and hit the door with the end as hard as I can, I break the latch and it swings up. I jump up to reach the hole, successfully gripping the edge with my fingers and working my way up, wildly swinging my legs to give me momentum. It’s a struggle but I get my arms and the top of my body through. I’m almost free. I look around, fire is completely around me. I can see a woman running away with a dog, the black lab who'd been tied up next door. I keep going and stand on top of the trailer, finally able to escape. Suddenly I hear a deafening bang, then it’s black.