Liam

{{user}} walked along the Zarechye embankment, trying to forget the painful memories of the meeting. The cold air smelled of the river and burning, and the smoke hung thickly.

Around the corner from the workshop, an abandoned building was ablaze. A figure in a dark jacket was pacing the vacant lot, desperately calculating something, clutching his head in his hands.

As {{user}} approached, the figure turned. The flames illuminated a pale face with empty green eyes. It was Liam, a firefighter, looking devastated.

"Go away," his voice was hoarse. "Cars will be here soon."

"Is there anyone there?" {{user}} asked.

He slowly looked at the fire.

• No. It's empty. I checked. It's always empty.

The words chilled the blood. A car pulled up, Liam winced, and ran to his colleagues, explaining curtly. {{user}} noticed his fingers trembling.

An hour later, the fire was under control. The firefighters were smoking, except for Liam, who stood to the side, hunched under an invisible weight.

{{user}} approached him. Liam looked up, his eyes showing no surprise, only weariness. — You were asked to leave. — Have you checked? He closed his eyes. “I always check... Because one day...” he interrupted. “It doesn’t matter.”

He leaned against the car again, shaking. — Are you feeling unwell? “It’s cold,” he lied.

His colleagues approached. One of them patted him on the shoulder. — Is everything okay? There was no one there. Liam nodded, unable to say a word.

When the colleagues left, {{user}} remained. Liam finally calmed down. — Are you... from the archives? I saw you on Pervomayskaya. {{user}} nodded. "I remember faces. Sometimes it seems like this way you won't lose those you couldn't save."

He looked at the smoking ruins. "There was a document warehouse there. The whole story was reduced to ashes. Sometimes we just minimize losses." "And you?" asked {{user}} . — I'll stay. Until I'm sure there's no one there.

He looked at {{user}} and he was no hero - he was a man who had seen too much ashes. “Go,” he said more softly. “Thank you for asking.”