Victor, Eric, and Jason sat at a square table in the center of the airport, locked in a conversation that bordered on meaningless.

“I just don’t see how you could mess it up that badly,” Victor said with a grin.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Eric replied, his tone defensive.

“Bro, she was talking about her grandma dying, like, five minutes before you tried kissing her. The timing is off, dog—you need to read the room.”

An awkward silence settled over the table after Victor’s comment.

“Yeah, you have a point, man. I just—” Eric stopped mid-sentence, noticing Jason. Quiet and focused, Jason wasn’t engaging in their banter at all. Instead, his attention was locked on something else entirely.

Following Jason’s gaze, Eric spotted something unusual. About a hundred feet away, a man in a dark trench coat was running full speed through the airport in their direction.

“What’s up with that dude?” Eric asked, jerking his thumb toward the man. “Either he’s about to miss his flight or he’s got the shits.”

“Nah, if he had the shits, he wouldn’t have run past the bathroom. You see his face, though? Dude looks intense,” Victor added, his tone still casual.

Jason didn’t respond. He kept his eyes locked on the man, his expression growing darker by the second. The three watched as the man sprinted past their table. Strangely, something under his coat made a distinct metallic clinking sound as he moved.

Jason’s gaze darted to the crowd, scanning for any sign of what might be happening. His stomach tightened as he noticed something unsettling: security guards were converging, moving with purpose. But none of them were chasing the man in the trench coat. Instead, they spread out, some heading for the exits, others scanning the terminals with radios pressed to their ears.

The usual rhythm of airport chatter and announcements seemed to dim, the air itself growing heavy.

Jason stood abruptly, his movements slow but deliberate. “Guys,” he said, his voice firm, “I think something’s seriously wrong.”

Victor leaned back in his chair, tossing a glance toward the mobilizing security. “Maybe someone tried to smuggle a shampoo bottle,” he quipped with a smirk.

Eric chuckled, trying to keep the mood light. “Yeah, I saw this one dude chug a bottle of conditioner once ‘cause TSA wouldn’t let him bring it on board.”

Jason didn’t laugh. His eyes stayed fixed on the guards, his composure unraveling. “I’m not joking,” he said flatly. “Something clinked in that guy’s coat when he ran past. That’s not normal.”

Victor raised an eyebrow, still unconvinced. “What, like he’s carrying a sack of coins or something? Chill out. Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t about to shoot up the place.”

Before Jason could respond, a metallic bang echoed through the terminal, sharp and unnatural. Heads turned toward the sound as the lights flickered ominously.

Then came the first explosion.

It wasn’t just a sound—it was a gut-wrenching thump that shook the ground beneath their feet, followed by the ear-splitting crack of shattering glass. The air itself seemed to rip apart as the blast tore through the terminal.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The roar of the explosion hit like a tidal wave, a violent surge of heat and pressure that sent debris spiraling into the air. Shards of tile and twisted metal rained down as the steady hum of the airport was replaced by screams, blaring alarms, and the panicked stampede of hundreds of feet.

Flames erupted where kiosks and walls had stood moments before, casting chaotic shadows through the thickening smoke. Victor and Eric were knocked back by the shockwave, while Jason ducked instinctively, his face pale with horror.

For a split second, time seemed to slow—every scream, every fragment of glass suspended in the air. Then, reality snapped back with a second explosion, louder and closer than the first. The floor trembled violently, and the air filled with a high-pitched whistle as supports groaned under the strain.

“We need to get the fuck out of here!” Jason shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.

When Victor and Eric didn’t move immediately, Jason grabbed Victor by the arm and yanked him to his feet. Eric rose slowly, his face twisted in horror.

The three took off down the nearest corridor, following signs to the exit. Around them, the airport was a scene out of hell. Fires consumed everything, their orange tongues licking at crumbling walls. People screamed in every direction—some sprinting blindly for the exits, others huddled in corners, paralyzed by fear.

The acrid stench of smoke and burning plastic filled their lungs as they ran, their breaths coming in ragged gasps. Jason led the way, weaving through the chaos with Victor and Eric close behind.

Just ahead, he spotted a service hallway beyond a half-collapsed kiosk. “This way!” he yelled, pulling them toward it.

They raced down the corridor, the flames chasing them with relentless hunger. At the end of the hallway, a steel utility door loomed. Jason, Eric, and Victor threw themselves against it.

It didn’t budge.

Jason slumped against the wall, his chest heaving as tears streamed down his face. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I’m so sorry...”

Victor was on his knees, his hands pressed against the steel door, his breath coming in shallow, panicked gasps. “No... no, this can’t be it,” he muttered, his voice breaking. He pounded weakly on the door one last time, the sound hollow and hopeless. “I had so much I wanted to do... so much...”

Eric slid to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest as his eyes darted between the fire and the door. “I don’t want to die,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I was gonna move out next year... get my own place. My mom’s gonna lose it when she finds out...” He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed.

Jason stared at them, his mind racing, desperate to find a solution. But there was none. The fire was closing in, its roar deafening, its heat suffocating. “We’ll get out,” he said, more to himself than to them. “We’ll get out... we have to.”

Victor turned his head, his face pale and streaked with sweat and soot. “Jason...” he began, his voice thick with emotion. He didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he looked down, his shoulders slumping.

Eric wiped at his face, his eyes red and swollen. “I just wanted to make her proud,” he said, his voice cracking. “My mom... she worked so hard to give me a good life. And now I’m gonna die here, in some stupid airport, and she won’t even know why.”

The flames surged closer, the oppressive heat forcing them to retreat into the corner of the hallway. Smoke filled the air, each breath burning their throats and lungs.

Victor groaned as the fire reached him first, his sleeve catching alight. He screamed, batting at the flames, but they spread too quickly. “Help me!” he cried, his voice raw with terror.

Eric scrambled to him, trying desperately to smother the fire with his hands, but it was no use. The flames leaped to his own shirt, and he screamed, his voice filled with pain and panic. “No, no, no!” he wailed, clawing at the fabric, but the fire was merciless.

Jason pressed himself against the wall, tears streaming down his face as he watched his friends fall. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again, his voice broken. “I’m so sorry...”

Victor’s screams grew weaker, his body trembling as the fire overtook him. He looked at Jason one last time, his lips moving as if to say something, but the words never came. His body slumped to the ground, motionless.

Eric collapsed moments later, his cries fading into soft, broken gasps before they stopped entirely.

Jason felt the heat against his skin now, the fire consuming everything in its path. He clawed at the wall, desperate for a way out, but there was none. “I don’t want to die,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I don’t want to die...”

The flames engulfed him, and the pain was immediate and all-consuming. He screamed, his voice raw and primal, as the fire took him. His mind filled with fragmented thoughts—regrets, memories, and a desperate yearning for more time.

In their final moments, the three of them were just boys, lost in a world that had turned against them. And then, as the fire raged on, there was nothing left but ash and silence.