It happened on Thanksgiving Day. I was on my way to my girlfriend's house when a car slammed straight into mine.

The road was deserted, not a single person was around. The doors were jammed shut from the impact, and flames were licking toward the engine.

I fumbled for the safety hammer, only to find that someone had replaced it with a toy hammer shaped like a cartoon bear.

Panicking, I called my girlfriend. But before she could even pick up, her ringtone started playing from the car that had just hit me.

Luna Hill stepped out, hand in hand with her childhood sweetheart, Julian Ford.

Julian put on a show of alarm. "Oh no, I'm such an idiot! My first time driving, and I already hit a car."

When Luna saw that it was me in the crushed car, she quickly tried to calm him down. "It's fine. He probably did it on purpose."

I pounded on the window, shouting for her. "Luna, the safety hammer's been switched out! Please, help me get out!"

Julian burst into a grin. "Sebastian, that was me! The little bear hammer's adorable, isn't it?"

Luna's face twisted in disgust. "You're fine. Stop being dramatic. Figure it out yourself."

Thick smoke was billowing inside the car, and it was about to explode. I begged her to get me out.

Julian chuckled. "Sebastian, are you cooking in there or what? That smoke's killing me!"

He patted his stomach and said with a laugh, "Man, I'm starving. Luna, let's go home and eat."

Luna hooked her arm through his and tossed a parting line over her shoulder. "Enough already. My parents are waiting for us to start dinner."

Just as I was about to pass out from the smoke, I slammed my hand on the car's emergency button.

The Fire She Wouldn't Believe

This button could send my exact location and the live audio feed straight to my sister.

The moment I pressed it, the system let out a sharp alarm. Luna Hill and Julian Ford, who had already started walking away, stopped in their tracks and turned back.

Luna rushed to my car window and slammed her fist against the glass.

"Sebastian, what the hell is wrong with you? Can you not make a scene for once? It's just a little smoke, and you hit the emergency button? You think the city's rescue teams exist just for you? Could you be any more dramatic?"

Julian folded his arms and let out a snicker. "Don't be so hard on him, Luna. It's my fault, really."

He pulled out a small black device about the size of a matchbox and waved it proudly.

"Remember when you picked me up last time? I bought this smoke simulator and slipped it into Sebastian's car. Thought it'd be funny to prank him a little. Look, press this button, and poof, instant smoke. Totally harmless, no smell. Cool, right?"

Luna's expression darkened even more.

"You hear that, Sebastian? It's fake. Julian was messing with you. What's wrong with your head? Or do you actually think everyone's supposed to babysit you twenty-four seven like I do, just to keep you happy?"

My whole body trembled with rage. They'd been flirting in the car, and Julian had deliberately jerked the steering wheel, ramming his car right into mine.

But there was no time to argue. I pointed to the thick smoke spilling from the gap in the hood.

"Luna, it's real! The engine's burning! The doors are locked from the inside. Open it from the outside, now!"

Luna let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Sebastian, you're really unbelievable. You'd rather fake a car fire than admit you're jealous of Julian? You think I'll fall for that again?"

I didn't bother wasting another breath. Every second spent talking was one more second of oxygen slipping away.

I suddenly remembered the emergency kit on the backseat. My sister had packed a spare heavy wrench there just in case of something like this.

I reached back as far as I could, trying to get to it.

The crash had warped the latch. I pulled with everything I had until it finally snapped open.

Relief flooded through me. I reached inside, but when my fingers closed around the wrench, I froze.

It wasn't metal. It was soft. A wrench-shaped piece of chocolate.

"Chocolate?" My mind went blank.

Outside the car, Julian burst out laughing, clapping his hands like a kid at a carnival.

"Wow, you found it, Sebastian! I told Luna that keeping real tools in the car is such a downer. What if you bump into one? Hurts like hell! Isn't it way better to keep something sweet instead?"

He grinned, proud as ever. "I had that custom-made in Aurenheim, imported and all. Handmade gourmet chocolate. Pretty pricey, but hey, you're welcome!"

Rage surged through me. I crushed the chocolate in my hand and shouted, "Who told you to mess with my car? Are you out of your damn mind?"

Julian's smile disappeared instantly. His face twisted into mock hurt. "Sebastian, why are you being so mean? I was just trying to be nice…"

Luna immediately stepped between us, shielding him like some fragile porcelain doll. Her tone softened as she comforted him, then she glared at me, her voice dripping with fury.

"Do you have any manners left? Julian left you imported luxury chocolate, something he wouldn't even eat himself, and you're acting like a spoiled brat? Show some gratitude!"

The smoke inside the car had thickened, wrapping around me like a black shroud. The heat beneath my feet grew unbearable.

Then, I saw it, flames licking up from under the hood.

"It's on fire! The car's on fire! It's going to blow!" I turned to Luna, desperation breaking my voice. "Luna, please, open the door! The car's burning. I swear it's real! I'm begging you, please!"

"You've completely lost it, haven't you, Sebastian? To get my sympathy, to make me feel guilty, you'd even set your own car on fire?"

Her voice shook with fury, her words cutting like glass.

"You'll do anything for attention! Look at you. Your eyes are tearing up, and your face is covered in soot. You look pathetic. You think this is attractive? It's disgusting!"

My breathing grew harsher, every inhale burning through my lungs like fire. The smoke clawed at my throat, thick and suffocating.

With what little strength I had left, I pounded on the window again and again, my voice breaking into ragged gasps. "Please, open the door… Help me… I'm going to die…"

Through the smoke-choked glass, I caught a glimpse of Luna's face.

For the first time, the anger in her eyes faltered. Something uncertain flashed across her expression as the flames beneath the hood roared brighter.

Burning Point

Julian clutched Luna's sleeve, his voice trembling with urgency. "Luna, he's acting way too real. It's starting to freak me out."

"Let's just go," he urged. "Mrs. Hill worked so hard on dinner. It's Thanksgiving. We shouldn't keep Mr. and Mrs. Hill waiting."

At that, the hesitation in Luna's eyes vanished. She shot me one last, icy glance, then turned away, her arm looped through Julian's.

They had barely walked sixty feet when the flames at the front of my car suddenly shot up nearly two feet high.

Crackling noises tore through the air as the entire vehicle burst into a violent blaze.

The scorching heat pressed against my skin through the windshield, and a suffocating wave of terror swallowed me whole.

Every survival instinct in me roared to life.

"Help! Somebody help! The car's on fire!"

I screamed until my throat burned, grabbing my phone and hurling it at the window with all the strength I had left.

The screen shattered on impact, and the jagged glass sliced open my palm. Blood streamed down my wrist, but I barely felt the pain.

That desperate cry finally made Luna stop in her tracks. She spun around and froze when she saw the inferno engulfing my car.

But Julian, standing beside her, suddenly let out an exaggerated shriek of his own. "Sebastian! Are you setting off fireworks there? That's wild but seriously dangerous! I get it, your car's got top-notch safety features, but come on, you don't need to play with fire just to impress Luna!"

"Fireworks?" Julian's absurd explanation twisted Luna's thoughts again, muddying what little clarity she had left.

After all, she had always believed that I was someone who would do anything to get my way.

"Sebastian, you're out of your mind!" Luna shouted at the burning car, her voice trembling with fury.

I kept slamming against the window with everything I had until, finally, a crack split across the glass.

A rush of cool air streamed through. I pressed my face to the opening, gasping for breath like a drowning man breaking the surface.

Julian darted toward his own car, yanked open the trunk, and grabbed a roll of wide, clear tape. In seconds, he was back at my window.

"Sebastian, why would you break the window? That's dangerous!"

His voice dripped with fake concern as he tore off strips of tape and pressed them firmly over the crack, layer after layer, sealing off the only flow of air.

He even smoothed it down with his palm, making sure not a single wisp could escape.

"This is your and Luna's car, man. How can you be so selfish, just smashing it up like that?"

"You—" The breath I had just managed to draw caught in my throat, and black spots filled my vision.

Luna stormed over, her anger flaring.

"Sebastian, will you just stop this already?"

She snatched the tape from Julian's hand, glaring at me with eyes that could cut glass, and began sealing the crack herself—one strip, then another, until no trace of air remained.

I stared at her face, so familiar, yet suddenly that of a stranger. My hands dropped limply to my sides as my breathing grew shallow and weak.

Memories flooded my mind, uncontrollable and sharp.

Back in college, when she'd been struggling because her family couldn't afford much, she'd skipped meals so often she developed stomach problems. I used to cook for her every single day, making sure she ate something nourishing, changing the menu constantly just to help her get better.

After graduation, I stayed by her side as she started her own business. I used every connection I had, pulled every favor, and chased down investors for her. I drank through endless business dinners until my stomach bled just so she could focus on her career without worry.

And now, she was the one sealing off my only chance to live, layer by layer, with her own hands.

Just as my mind began to blur and the edges of the world dimmed, a middle-aged man on a motorcycle drove by.

He spotted the burning car and hit the brakes hard.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing? The car's on fire. Call 911! Someone's still in there!" he shouted.

A spark of hope flared inside me. I started pounding on the window with everything I had left.

Smoke and Scorn

Luna's face went pale, but Julian quickly turned to the man and said anxiously, "Sir, you've got it all wrong! My friend's just cooking there!

"He's into crazy experiments. He said he wanted to try out this car kitchen thing and cook us a Thanksgiving dinner on the road. Guess he overdid it a bit. It's fine, really. The car's on fire, sure, but he's perfectly safe inside!"

"Cooking?" The man looked utterly confused.

Luna jumped in right away. "Yes! My boyfriend loves pulling stunts like this. Sorry you had to see that. We'll take him home right now."

The man looked from me to Luna and Julian, suspicion flickering in his eyes. He shook his head and muttered, "Kids these days really know how to have fun."

Then, he started his motorcycle and rode off into the distance.

Inside the car, the oxygen was nearly gone. The system blared its final warning.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Danger! Carbon monoxide levels are critical. Oxygen below eight percent. Evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately!"

The flames surged higher. The window glass glowed red-hot, creaking under the heat.

Suddenly, I remembered that my sister had insisted on keeping an emergency fire extinguisher under the passenger seat, just in case something like this happened.

I used the last of my strength to drag it out, but when I tried to pull the safety pin, it wouldn't budge.

I stared closer and froze. The pin had been sealed to the handle with superglue. Worse yet, the extinguisher was completely empty.

Julian saw what I was holding and burst out laughing.

"Oh, Sebastian! I told Luna the other day I'd never tried using a fire extinguisher before and was dying to know what it felt like. Luna's the best. She even showed me how to use it herself. We might've emptied the whole thing by accident."

Tilting his head with mock innocence, he added, "But you're such a careful driver, Sebastian. I figured you'd never need it anyway, so I just put it back where I found it."

Luna stood behind him, not the slightest hint of guilt on her face. Instead, she affectionately said, "You're such a kid sometimes."

Then, she turned to me, her expression hardening into pure irritation. "Sebastian, would you stop this nonsense already? What are you trying to do by putting on a whole show? You even pulled out the fire extinguisher. Keep this up and you really will get yourself killed!"

I didn't answer. I just stared at her.

Then, before they could react, I lifted the extinguisher high above my head with every ounce of strength I had left.

"Sebastian, what are you doing? Are you insane?" Luna finally lost her composure, her voice cracking with real fear as she shouted at me.

I ignored her and slammed the extinguisher against the window hard.

A deafening crack rang out. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces.

I was free.

I didn't care that the shards tore into my skin. I clawed and scrambled toward the broken window, ready to drag myself out.

But before I could, a hand shot in from outside, yanking my hair and wrenching my head backward.

Luna, furious, had thrown open the car door the second the window shattered.

"You bastard! You were faking it this whole time! Still strong enough to smash my car, huh?" she screamed, shoving me back into the driver's seat with brutal force.

She grabbed a roll of duct tape and bound me tight against the chair, layer after suffocating layer, until I couldn't move at all.

I struggled weakly, but she didn't even budge.

To my horror, she tore off another strip of tape and pressed it over my mouth and nose.

"Mmph… Mmph…"

The pain of suffocation hit instantly, flooding my brain like fire and ice all at once.

Luna watched me gasp for air, her eyes dark with something unreadable. She leaned in close and murmured, "Sebastian, you never learn, do you? Tonight, I'll make sure you do."

The fire inside the car roared, reaching its breaking point. The air vibrated with the deep, growing rumble of an impending explosion.

My vision dimmed. My thoughts blurred.

Just as the darkness swallowed me, a furious shout echoed from not far away.

"How dare you hurt my brother! Are you sick of living?"