Thomas was far from the shade of the forest and out on the hot city streets. The sun beaming down on the hot asphalt gave the illusion of wiggly lines as the head was transferred between the road and the air. Thomas, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, was lounging at a café with a young woman. Above them, a tall red and white umbrella attempted to shade them from the deadly rays.

“So… Uh…” Thomas said, stretching.

As he stretched, he almost fell backwards out of his chair. Quickly, he righted himself back up. He was wearing a pink button up t-shirt, but his sweat had dyed the shirt red in various spots. Daisy was wearing a short summer dress with noodle straps.

“Careful, Tom,” Daisy said with a laugh.

“I’m trying, sorry… Uh, how’s your croissant?” Thomas asked.

“Pretty good,” Daisy said.

“When do you think this heat is going to let up?” Thomas asked with a sigh.

“Never! We’re all going to burn up and die!” Daisy said with malicious laugh.

“Oh nooooooo!!!!” Thomas wailed.

Suddenly, Thomas’ phone started ringing. Thomas grimaced and picked up his phone. Daisy waited patiently. It was, of course, Chase on the other end.

“HEY, THOMAS! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!” Chase yelled into the cellphone while holding it out in front of himself on speaker setting.

“What?! What happened?! Is Jane alright?!” Thomas asked.

“YEAH BUT WE’RE ALL ABOUT TO BURN UP!” Chase yelled.

“Oh heck! I’ll be right there!” Thomas exclaimed.

“What happened?” Daisy asked.

“Family emergency! I have to go!” Thomas exclaimed.

“Okay! See you at work?!“ Daisy asked as Thomas ran away.

***

Thomas unlocked the gate to Chase Richmond’s mansion. Quickly, he threw open the front door. Chase was lying on the floor, shirtless, with his hands behind his head. Jane and Madeline were nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s the fire?!” Thomas asked.

“Fire? There’s no fire,” Chase said with a laugh and then he started coughing because he choked on his saliva.

“You said on the phone that you were all about to burn up. I assumed that meant the house was on fire,” Thomas said.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Nah. Hey, I’m glad you are back. Can you help me out?” Chase asked.

“Wait a minute, where are Jane and Madeline?! You didn’t eat them, did you?!” Thomas asked.

It was awfully quiet in the house. Perhaps there would have been more noise if the air conditioner was working. The air was heavy and still, feeling like an oven. Through cracks in the curtains, sunlight steamed through, spreading slowly across the floor.

“HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH NO!” Chase said, slowly getting up off the ground with a loud groan.

“THOMAS!!! THOOOOMASSSSS!!!” Madeline screeched, running into the room.

“Oh, heeeey, ma’am!” Thomas said, grinning innocently.

“WHO IS DAISY?!” Madeline asked.

Madeline looked furious. Thomas’ eyes widened. He’s going to be in big trouble for sure. He briefly glanced at Chase, gritting his teeth.

“Oh no… Chase, you weren’t supposed to tell her…” Thomas said with a groan.

“Regardless!” Jane said, interrupting the beginning of a fight. “The air conditioner is broken. You’re the tech guy.”

“What? Why am I the tech guy?” Thomas asked.

“You’re the one who fixed my cellphone when it stopped working the other day,” Chase argued.

“Not exactly. I told you to turn it off and turn it back on,” Thomas argued.

“And it worked! Clearly you have knowledge I don’t!” Chase said. “And, well, I unsuccessfully attempted to fix the air conditioner earlier.”

“Oh no… Show me…” Thomas said with a groan.

The imposingly large man waved for Thomas to follow. Jane watched as they left. Outside, part of the grate on the air conditioning unit is missing. Bits and pieces of metal are scattered everywhere and a wrench is in the blades.

“Dude. This is not the kind of technology I can fix. I work on computer database systems, not air conditioners. But even I know this is wrong! What in the heck did you do to the grate?!” Thomas asks, tossing his hands into the air in frustration.

“I wanted to remove the grate to see if something was stuck in the blades. I couldn’t see anything so I stuck a wrench in it,” Chase said. “Want me to try turning it off and turning it back on?”

“No! Do not turn it-“ Thomas began.

Chase started the air conditioning unit up again. Because there is a wrench in the blades, it sputters and spits sparks. A thick dark smoke puffs out of it. Quickly, Chase turns the unit off again.

“-on…” Thomas continued with a groan of annoyance.

“Eh, I suppose you can’t fix this?” Chase asked, awkwardly.

“Not at all. We’ll have to get a whole new one installed!” Thomas said in exasperation.

Chase was melting into a puddle and still very much shirtless. The two turned and went back inside to deliver the bad news. Madeline was draped over the coffee table in the living room like a dirty dish towel and Jane was massaging her feet. Thomas casually checked his phone as if expecting yo receive a text.

“Guys. I messed up. I’m so sorry. The air conditioner is beyond repair,” Chase said.

“You didn’t stick the wrench into the blades, did you?” Jane asked.

“…I did,” Chase said.

“Oh my gosh…” Jane said with a sigh.

“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” Madeline wailed, accidentally kicking Jane in the face.

“Ow…” Jane moaned.

“Oh, I forgot you were still sitting there. Hah hah…that looks like it hurts,” Madeline said with a smug look on her face.

“Guys! Guys! It’s not the end of the world! Or maybe it is… I have more than one house,” Chase announced. “Would you guys be interested in going to my house that has a swimming pool in the back?”

“I don’t know how to swim,” Jane reminded Chase.

“Oh, right… You can stand in the shallow end, right?” Chase asked.

“I mean, I guess?” Jane said with a sigh.

Thomas was the only one who possessed a car. That, of course, wouldn’t help as he didn’t actively have it on hand. A car isn’t much use this deep into the woods. After all, Chase wouldn’t be able to fit inside Thomas’ car very easily.

“We’re going by foot, right?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, we can become lions and dash through the woods. I’m sure nobody will notice,” Chase said with a hearty laugh.

“Wait! But my leg! There is no way I could walk that far!” Madeline wailed.

“I’ll help you, ma’am,” Thomas offered.

“And next time you see Daisy, tell her you’re taken!” Madeline shouted.

“Ma’am. I’m not dating Daisy,” Thomas said.

“Then why were you on a date with her?!” Madeline asked.

“It wasn’t a romantic date. We were hanging out as co-workers,” Thomas argued.

“Same difference!” Madeline yelled.

“Are we going or are we staying here to bake into roast lion?” Chase asked, transforming into a massive lion.