Burn Baby Burn
Here is a short story that I wrote about my first car catching fire during a road trip. At the time, this was the only way that I could compartmentalize my emotions. I hope you enjoy reading Burn Baby Burn.
Thank you -Aimee
Burn Baby Burn
Instantly, I burst into uncontrollable hysteria and start vomiting. As the flames climb higher and higher, I feel my gut retching. I see everything I’ve worked hard for burning before my very eyes. I’m struggling to catch my breath, gasping for air, and trying to run to the car one last time to save my Yamaha MM-8 keyboard and any other valuable possessions I possibly can. I take a couple steps, and then someone picks me up and stops me. Kicking and screaming, I’m yelling “Let me go! Let me get my keyboard!” Saying that I’m frustrated right now would be an understatement.
It’s Friday and we are driving home from a week-long summer camp in South Carolina and heading back to Oklahoma. We decide to drive only a couple hours and they feel like forever. Finally, we make it to Tennessee to stay the night at a friend’s house. Waking up feeling refreshed, our last day in Tennessee we are just relaxing and enjoying the company of my friends. But the time has now come for us to leave once more. After getting all packed up Sunday morning, the car starts making a weird noise and we want to take it to the Kia dealership. Unfortunately, they are closed on Sundays so now we are on our way to Walmart, thinking the car needs an oil change.
The sirens are getting closer as the flames grow and smoke billows out of my car. My dad is on the phone trying to calm me down. “Dad, it’s on fire! My car is on fire!” But I can’t even talk right now, no matter how hard I try. We hear a boom and I blubber in frustration. I scream out to my boyfriend and try to run back to my car. He grabs me again and all I can say is “Jake! My car! That’s my car!” All the money I saved up for my first car is disappearing before my eyes. I feel a pain in my chest and I feel helpless.
After the oil change, Walmart is telling us that everything should be good now and we are safe to drive. So, off we go. We decide to go to Taco Bell for lunch before getting on the road. “I am starving! I am craving Taco Bell.” I keep saying over and over again. After our appetites are sated, it is now time we start our journey home. We are getting on the interstate, approaching 60 MPH, the car dies.
Finally, the firemen arrive and rapidly get the fire under control. The blaze dies down and is extinguished to leave only the shell of my beautiful green car, Limearita. My nerves are still on edge but I’m holding on to some hope that some of my stuff can be recovered. The fire seemed to stay in the engine bay from what I could see. “Maybe just maybe, my keyboard is ok?” But I quickly let go of that hope as I started looking inside my car. Smoke had filled the cabin so its scent is all I can smell. And what isn’t damaged by the smoke, I see is damaged by the water. Four inches of water are just sitting on the floor of my car.
As we pull off the road, I hit the hazard lights and start to see smoke. “Jake, there’s smoke! We need to get out!” In a panic, we are all rushing to get out of the car. In minutes, we start to see flames popping out from underneath the hood. I can’t breath. Two cars pull off the road to help us as my boyfriend picks me up and drags me away from my car. They offer us
some water but my stomach is rolling. My boyfriend is pushing me behind one of the cars, trying to keep me from seeing my car. But I’m too stubborn. I want to see. I don’t want to hide. So I keep getting away to see.
I’m finally calming down now that the car is put out so I start calling my dad to find out about insurance and try to come up with a way to get home. We can’t rent a car to get home so we call U-Haul to rent a big box truck, so frustrating. With everything figured out, we call a friend and he comes to pick us up. And as we drive away, I am finally getting away from that horror.
