The fire on Bald Hill
You count heads before the hike so nobody is left in the dark. Before the fire there were nine of them.
- ThemHow was the hike
- YouWe made it. Fire on Bald Hill
- The counselor set a rule: count before and after
- ThemWhy
- YouSo nobody gets left in the dark
- ThemThat is actually sensible
- YouBefore there were nine
- pause 1.5 s
- After there were ten
- ThemCount again
- YouWe counted four times
- Ten every time
- ThemSomeone from another cabin joined you
- YouThe hill is an hour on foot. Nobody came
- pause 1.2 s
- ThemMake everyone say their name
- YouWe did. Nine names
- ThemAnd the tenth
- YouThe tenth says nothing
- pause 1.8 s
- ThemGet out of there
- YouThe counselor is putting the fire out. We walk in a chain
- Each of us holds the shoulder of the one in front
- ThemGood call
- YouI am walking last
- pause 1.5 s
- ThemWhy last
- YouBecause I was the one counting
- pause 1.2 s
- ThemAnd
- YouNobody should be holding my shoulder
- pause 1.5 s
- There is nobody behind me
- Somebody is holding on
- ThemRun
- pause 1.8 s
- YouI cannot
- It already said my name
How it works
The counting rule exists for safety, and it is the rule that brings the trouble. The last line turns the narrator around: the one doing the counting turns out to be part of the count.
Every story here is fiction. Any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.