Watch it All Burn by Casey Stegman

from Betrayal: a PUNK NOIR Magazine series

I watch Frank’s house burn from the sidewalk across the street.

Flames crawl out of every window on both floors, sending black smoke into the night’s sky.

Photo by Kyle Cleveland on Unsplash

In the distance are sirens.

Glancing up Fullerton Street, I see flashing lights just beyond the hill. They’ll be here in less than a minute.

I won’t be.

I’ll be moving on to the next me. This version—the one watching the last remnants of his life burn—will cease to exist come sunup.

I put the takeout bag with Frank’s tacos and my burger on the ground.

As people come out of their homes to look at the fire, I walk toward the bus stop two blocks north.

The whole way, I wonder if the team that tracked me put a bullet in Frank before starting the fire. If they told him the truth about his best friend. If Frank used his last breaths to curse me—the real me.

I’m by myself when the Fifty-Six Bus arrives. It’ll take me to the airport. After that, my next identity, and my next best friend.

Maybe they won’t find me this time. Maybe Frank’s the last one who has to suffer.

Maybe.

This story appears as part of Betrayal, a PUNK NOIR Magazine series, originally published May 2024.

Bio

Casey Stegman lives in North Carolina. His work has also been published by Mystery Tribune, Tough, Shotgun Honey, Dark Yonder, Bristol Noir, and Cowboy Jamboree Press. When he’s not typing up stories about miscreants and malefactors, he rescues and rehabilitates dogs with his wife. So, if you’re looking to adopt, hit him up. He can be found on Twitter/X: @cstegman

---

PUNK NOIR, the online literary and arts magazine that looks at the world at its most askew, casting a bloodshot eye over the written word, film, music, television and more.

Subscribe for a regular dose of hard-boiled flash fiction, straight to your inbox.