_{photo credit: respect to pixabay, edited by jacksondavies}
"Hey Dan, did you read the news?"

That was the voice of my friend Wells. It was his habit to query me about the day's news whenever we met in the morning. He handed me a newspaper which contained a story about a recent fire, another headline detailed a woman's encounter with the "burning man".

The burning man was our town biggest urban legend. According to eye witnesses he was a rugged man with patched skin, covered head to toe in fire. Sightings we're usually reported in the vicinity of buildings that had suffered a major fire disaster. Various attempts had been made to verify his existence and these had all come to conflicting conclusions.

Curious about the subject, I proposed conducting an investigation. My plan was to lurk around the site of the most recent fire incident in the hope that I might catch a glimpse of the burning man. Wells was intrigued by my plan and decided to accompany me.

At 9:39 pm we were at ground zero. Thereafter, two hours were spent loitering around the burnt building. At 12:03 am we were fed up with our lack of success and decided to head home. That was when we smelt smoke.

Turning around we saw a man in front of us, covered head to toe in fire. His skin was patched and his eyes white as snow. We were starting at the burning man.

After a minute of silence the air was rent by his scream. He then ran towards us, and we made a break for our dear lives. We didn't get far before we were brought down by the unbearable heat emanating from him.

He made one final push towards us and my life flashed before my eyes. I felt instead of saw him leap over our heads and disappear into the night. Wells and I got up and made our way home faster than we ever did in our lives.

Two weeks later Wells left town, the terror of the encounter still fresh in his mind. As for me, I joined an online forum dedicated to sharing reports on the mysteries of the unknown. Two years later we formed the Juggernauts; a team whose sole purpose was to track down supernatural phenomena where ever we could. My search for the truths behind the mysteries around us continues, and who knows maybe one day I just might meet the burning man again.

story written by @jacksondavies for steemiansarena

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