Joel had read about the state of Wyoming in a textbook he’d found at Skyline. People often considered it a masterpiece of nature, and Joel agreed with them. The vast landscape was always captivating. There were prairies adorned with wildflowers, river’s that meandered through valleys, and towering mountains that normally commanded the eye as they stretched towards the heavens. Right now, Joel couldn’t focus on any of that. Instead, he stared in horror at the scene before him. 

Judging by their surroundings, this had once been a pine forest. Now, it was reduced to nothing but ash. The charred skeletons of old trees stood still, as if still bearing witness to the destruction that had taken place. Moss free boulders jutted from the ground, covered in nothing but soot.  

Joel thought of all the species that had once made this place their home, and the humans that had probably lived here. Almost everything was gone. The burned forest stretched as far as his eyes could see, probably thousands of acres. Joel had seen the effects of hell fire on a small scale, but nothing like this. 

An acrid smell filled Joel’s nostrils and he pulled up his shirt to cover the lower part of his face.

“It stinks.”

“That would be sulfur,” Levi said. “I know it’s intimidating, but the ground is safe to walk on.” Levi began moving forward, creating small puffs of ash with every step, but Joel stayed still.  

“Joel? Are you coming?”

He felt paralyzed. Seeing the remains of hellfire was like looking at a mass grave. It suddenly made sense why people didn’t come through here. Why the twins avoided it. Their dad had died in hellfire. 

Levi turned around, walking back towards him. He was much taller than Joel, and he crouched slightly to meet his eye line with a surprisingly sympathetic look on his face. 

“We can turn around and take the normal route if you really want to, but this can’t hurt you. Not anymore.”

Joel thought back to the overturned, green tractor they’d seen the day before. It would take nearly an entire day just to make it back to the start of the usual trail. Maria and Luca were still missing, and turning around would be a waste of time. The burned remains of the forest was frightening, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. 

“How long will it take before we’re on the other side of this?” he asked shakily. 

Levi scratched the back of his neck, looky somewhat guilty. “A while. We won’t spend the night here, but it will be a few hours.”

Joel gave a hesitant nod and took a fortifying breath. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Joel’s steps started out delicate, as if one wrong move would make the ground open and swallow him whole. Ash and rubble crunched between his boots, cracking like sun bleached bones under his feet. 

Joel was starting to go nose blind to the scent after an hour of walking, but he still kept his shirt pulled up over his face. The fire may have burned out years ago, but the lingering smell made his stomach squeeze uncomfortably. 

The further into the blackened forest he traveled, the more unsettled he felt. It took him a while to realize what had him so unnerved. It was the silence. Aside from their harsh steps, there were no other noises. Joel spinned to scan the area for movement, but there was none. Not a single animal inhibited the land. He couldn’t even spot a bird flying in the sky. It was like they knew there was something wrong with this place. That it should be avoided. That it was damned.

Distracted by his search for animals, Joel had stopped looking at the path before him. He was surprised when his boot caught on something, and his breath left him as he hit the ground hard.

“Ouch,” he hissed, brushing the cursed ash from his clothes. He would definitely need to wash them now.

Levi was by his side in a moment. His hand was on Joel’s elbow, already assisting him to stand. Joel could feel his arm tingle where Levi was holding him, as if his touch was electric. Joel could feel himself flush as he realized he liked the sensation. 

It’s because I’m touch starved, he told himself, as he turned his flaming face away from the demon. He scrubbed his hand over his face with embarrassment. Levi wasn’t even human. 

I must be pathetically lonely.

Joel was so absorbed in his thoughts that he nearly missed Levi’s words as he spoke to him. 

“Are you alright?” he asked. 

“I–,” Joel swallowed. “I—,” before he could finish his sentence, he gasped in shock. He finally saw what he tripped over. “Oh my God!”

“What is it? Are you hurt?” Levi asked, his gold and black eyes wide with worry. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothings wrong. It’s just–,” he pointed at the ground before him, at the small sapling his foot had caught on. “It’s a tree.” 

Now that Joel was looking for it, he could see small patches of green emerging from the ground. Young saplings stood behind the skeletons of their parents. It was like an eerie promise of new growth and resilience. The transformation was scarcely beginning, but nature was starting to reclaim what had been lost.

“I thought hellfire destroyed everything it touched. I didn’t think this would be possible.”

Levi knelt to the ground, his long fingers delicately stroking the leaves unfurling from the tiny tree. 

“Me too,” he said. 

“Can you make hellfire?” Joel asked. He watched Levi’s hands as they gently caressed the sapling. His movements were so reverent; it was hard to believe he could possibly create something that destructive. Joel wondered if he handled all things so carefully. If those long, slender fingers were even capable of causing harm. 

In lieu of responding, Levi stood and stretched out a hand. Blue flames began flickering in his palm. It was unlike the fire Joel laid the previous night. This fire danced slowly, almost as if it were made of liquid. It didn’t even look like it would be hot. He wondered what it would feel like against his own fingers, but didn’t dare to reach forward. 

“All demons can make hellfire, but not enough to burn down an entire forest. It must have been multiple demons working together. An army.” 

“Why did you do it?” he asked, still transfixed by the languid blue flames. 

Levi made an offended noise and closed his palm, extinguishing the fire at once. Curls of white smoke wafted into the air as he unclenched his fist. “I had nothing to do with this.”

Joel shook his head. “Sorry, I mean, why do demons light things on fire like this?” Joel thought back to Maria and Luca’s father. “People have died from hellfire. Lots of people.” 

“It’s for the same reason angels have flooded entire cities with holy water. We’re trying to flush each other out of hiding.”

“Not kill each other?” 

“No, we can’t kill each other with hellfire or holy water, but it is extremely painful. Almost unbearable.” Levi gestured to the charred forest around them. “Demon’s didn’t do this to kill angels directly. They probably set the area on fire on the off chance angels were hiding here. It’s easy to pick them off one by one when they flee.”  

Joel tried to swallow the indignant nose he made.“The off chance? All of this death is because maybe some angels were around here?”

“That’s war,” the demon said with a shrug. “It happens.” 

Joel could feel himself bristle at Levi’s words, though it was mainly his tone that upset him. It was so casual, as if they were discussing the weather, not the agonizing way thousands of human’s died in this holy war. 

“And you’re okay with this?” he snapped. 

Levi looked affronted, as if shocked by Joel’s irritation. “I already told you that I didn’t do this.”

“Have you done things like this? Have you used fire to hurt people?” He had to know. Even if Levi hadn’t burned down this particular spot of land, he needed to know if he’d done something similar elsewhere. 

Levi remained silent as he shifted on his feet. It gave Joel his answer, and he felt sick. 

Levi looked as though he could feel Joel’s disgust. The demon rolled his eyes as he plowed on defensively. “Everyone has done things they aren’t proud of. It’s not like I’d do something like that now.”

“Yes, but not everyone has burned entire forests full of people to the ground!” he snapped. “Not everyone can talk about it so casually!” 

“I already told you that I didn’t do this!” Levi growled. His posture had become more defensive. His dark gray lips curled back, showcasing his pointed teeth. 

Joel tugged at his brown curls in frustration, and he could feel his heart beating faster. Levi was being purposely obtuse, and he wasn’t having it. “But you’ve done things like this. And I have to travel through this place knowing that you don’t care about what happened here!” 

“What do you want? For me to start crying?” Levi asked facetiously. “What’s done is done. Yes, this is terrible, but there’s no reason for either of us to get upset by it.” 

“No reason!” Joel squawked. He knew his voice sounded shrill, but he couldn’t help himself. “Humans have died horrifically because of these ‘war tactics’ and you're being so blase about it!”

“Wars have existed since the dawn of time. Wars amongst humans destroyed most of this world before we even got here. I’ve done bad things, but so has everyone.” 

Joel made a disgusted noise. “This is why no one can trust biblicals.” 

This is why I don’t trust you, the implied words hung heavily in the air. 

Hurt flashed in the demon’s sundrop eyes, before he arranged his face into a mask of indifference. “That doesn’t change the fact we’re stuck traveling together, so get over it.” The demon’s jaw muscles twitched as he spun around and stomped away.

“Hey!” Joel said, running to catch up with the demon’s massive strides. He was aided by the adrenaline coursing through his veins. “Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you!”

Levi didn’t even turn around to address him. “Yelling at me is different than talking to me, and the faster we move, the sooner this will all be over.”

“So we’re just not going to address this? We’re just going to pretend you haven’t killed people?”

“I can’t change what I am or what I’ve done. How you handle that is your business, not mine.” 

Joel wanted to keep arguing, but he swallowed his bitter words like bile. What else was there to do? Levi was right, any arguments would be circular. The past was done with. 

But how do I know he’ll be different in the future? How do I know he won’t kill me like he has others? 

Joel walked behind Levi sulkily, stewing in his own thoughts. He fished his mp3 player out of his backpack, no longer worrying it would be rude. He powered it on and mashed the play button harder than necessary. 

Levi was still ahead of him, and he wondered if the demon could hear what he was listening to with his enhanced senses. He turned up the death rock blasting in his ears, hoping the demon could feel his sour mood.  

Joel only grew more irritated as they continued moving through dead brush. Now that he couldn’t talk to Levi to distract himself, the darkness of this cursed place weighed more heavily on him. It felt like something malicious was in the air. Joel began feeling uncomfortable in his clothing and started picking at his sleeves. 

He tried to take the time to process what he’d recently learned. Hellfire could wipe out thousands of acres of acres of forest. Levi had killed people with hellfire. It was possible to kill bibs with special weapons. Bibs couldn’t come back to Earth when their ‘corporeal forms’ were destroyed. Humans shouldn’t want bibs to die, because everything would die when the holy war ended. 

It was no wonder he’d had a panic attack earlier. His mind was clearer now, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious. Not only at what he’d learned, but his eerie surroundings, which felt more ominous than a graveyard. He wanted to trust his traveling companion, Nan had told him he could, but this new revelation was too much. Nikki was right, he needed to keep his distance. 

Joel was mad at Levi, but he was also angry at himself. He thought back to Levi’s hand gripping his arm, at how much he’d liked the feeling. 

Those hands have wrought destruction, he told himself. Stop picturing—, Joel was too embarrassed to even finish his thought. Instead, he exhaled deeply, wondering how long it would be before he could finally return home with his friends.