Playing with Pyros

The aerosol can hissed and sprayed chemicals across the living room; igniting instantly. The trail of flames eventually engulfed the brown suede couch, crimson curtains and gray carpet. Lodin ran out the back door just as the rest of the cans he had planted began to pop and rupture with the rising heat. Once outside, he walked through the alley and examined the back of the house. He enjoyed the yard, and he thought that she would too because she had talked about how much she wanted a big yard for future kids and family dogs. Amidst his admiration of the smoldering house, he heard voices and knew people had already begun to gather for tonight’s show.

Lodin sprinted down the alley and then walked briskly to the front street to join the bystanders. Some began to film the event with their phones while others stood in awe and made comments about where the fire department was. A smile creased Lodin’s face as he watched the large house glow, incinerating the family’s belongings. The smell of the charred possessions was a perfume to Lodin that he could not get enough of. He breathed it in deep, temporarily satisfying his addiction until the pyromania would break through his conscious again. Lodin’s heart raced and he felt his hair stand up on end all over his body. A tingling sensation ran down his arms and took over his fingertips. His pupils focused on the dancing colors and the dilation erased his peripheral focus. He adjusted his backpack which tightened the chest of his jacket. The heat of the fabric pressed against his skin and sent excitement through his nerves that resulted in butterflies in his stomach; little monsters grow up so fast.

Blue flames raced up the side of the house as the last of the second story windows shattered. Shrapnel of glass and window framing ricocheted across the yard and became embedded in the grass and nearby trees. The sage green paint was now tinted with ebony soot, charred paint chips and melting shingles. It reminded him of the first house he saw burn. Though lightning had started it, he found the incinerated remnants to be beautiful as the glowing embers obscured the view of anything inside. Even then, the flames gave him a burst of emotion that could not be paired. Lodin was always chasing that feeling and found it with increasing his fires. But now, however, he was only motivated by her. The replication of the emotion was injected into his life every time she was near, or when they touched.

“Beautiful,” Lodin whispered to himself as the lights from the firetrucks glowed and reflected off the neighbor’s windows. Gazing around the dimly lit neighborhood, Lodin could see many of the residents in the area watching the blaze from the security of their own homes. He wondered if anyone else there enjoyed the carnage as much as he did.

Firetrucks, police cruisers, an ambulance and a black SUV came to a halt outside the burning home. The firemen jumped from the truck and immediately unraveled the hose to spew the water over the house. Policemen pushed the audience back and taped off the perimeter as the ambulance drove as close as it could without disrupting the giant red wagons. The black SUV stayed parked behind the growing crowd and after a few minutes one male and one female FBI agent exited the vehicle. Their logos glimmered with the chaos of light and the reflective surface creased and bent with their every movement. The male FBI agent walked to one of the police officers and began what Lodin could only assume was making demands. The agent poked the officer in the chest and waved his arms around as if he was very exasperated. The female agent focused her attention on the crowd and made her way through the mob asking questions to the members of the crowd. The on lookers were not very helpful because soon she was no longer taking notes. Lodin smiled and imagined her hearing the same explanation by the potentially useless people who repeated the same tell-tale information. He turned his gaze back to the house. Before long, the agent had made her way to him and looked at him with a suspicion. His smile faded.

She inspected Lodin from his feet to his face before speaking, “Did you see anything sir? These other people are claiming you showed up from around the corner after the house was already burning, but I suspect you know something. Also, you look exactly like a man I saw at another fire two nights ago.”

Lodin thought to himself how pretty she looked with the various glows and strobe of lights. Even at the previous fire he had set, she looked just as good, but she had gotten more sleep then. “Unfortunately, no, I was just walking down the street and heard a commotion. By the time I rounded the corner there was already a very large group standing here. They must have been inspecting and enjoying this beautiful yard. What do you think of it, Ms.—?” Lodin hesitated with his hand partially extended to the agent. Her brown hair was pulled back in a loose, messy pony tail. Lodin knew she had been up all night.

Irritation crossed her face, but then disappeared when she looked at his hand. She placed her hand in his. “Agent Adara. And your name, sir?”

Lodin smirked at her, “What a pretty name. I am Lodin.” They held their hands together for a moment. Agent Adara then pinched the fabric on Lodin’s sleeve and brought his attention to the burned and melted fabric at his wrist.

“Reckless,” she said. Then turned and walked away and joined the other agent.

Lodin looked at the fabric and silently swore to himself. Before anyone could notice him, he disappeared to the back of the group. Walking to his car, he began to recount for the events of the day and attempted to pinpoint where his flawed plans left him vulnerable enough to melt his own jacket and not notice.

The Toyota Camry was parked almost a mile away beneath large oak trees in a wealthy part of the neighborhood. Once he was far enough away from his showcased fire, Lodin sauntered and examined the houses surrounding him. The beauty of the large houses and rod iron fences caused his concerns to melt away and goosebumps raised on his skin when he realized how alone he was.

Once he arrived at his car, he popped open the back and placed his backpack inside. It set nicely among the various bottles of chemicals, homemade bombs and fuses that crowded the trunk. His new items were shoved at the front of the space and the empty pipes clanged together with every movement. Lodin took a step back and admired his collection of items for his created and escalating turmoil. Peering over the roof of his car, with his hands rested on the trunk lid, he stared at the house he parked next to.

The grey paneling that structured the house held up cedar stained shutters and a tan propanil roof. A red front door was illuminated by lanterns that welcomed Lodin and invited him to stay awhile. The colors that illuminated the house reminded him of the caramel shades of Adara’s hair and he knew the house would be perfect for her.

“She would love it,” he whispered.

Lodin reached into the trunk and pulled out two of his large, liquid-filled cannisters, four aerosol cans and four fuses. After attaching the fuses to the tops of the cans, he carried both of the cannisters to the house and distributed a liquid line around the perimeter. The scents of kerosene and flammable household chemicals ribboned through the yard and made his nose sting; he enjoyed it.

Once he had walked the border, he returned to his car where the aerosol cans waited to be lit. Lodin felt an urge of something missing. He pulled out his favorite picture of Lodin and Adara together and a pen that had been known to leave ink spots. He wrote her a note on the back of the photograph:

Adara,

I hope you know how stunning you looked in the glow tonight. I hope to be with you again soon because the nights we have already had together aren’t enough for me. I thought you would love this house, and I wanted you to know that I don’t think anyone deserves it besides you. Until next time,

-L

He took a final look at the photo, then placed it in the mail box and flipped the flag up. He knew she would find it, she was too smart for her own good and had a talent for finding and placing small details, even in their apartment together. He wouldn’t want her to miss it and though he wished he could see the look on her face when she could see the house burn, he knew he had to miss it in fear of recognition by the other agent.

Lodin walked back to his car where the fused cans sat, waiting for his return. He lit each cannister one by one then threw them at the house. Two of the four splattered on the side of the building as the impact burst the seam and sprayed chemicals across the yard. The line he had laid around the house ignited and began to crackle, sending up a thick, black smoke around the house, obscuring the porch lights temporarily. One of the cans immediately exploded, shattering a window, while the other landed on the roof and hissed before finally exploding.

Satisfaction welled up in his ribs as Lodin blew a kiss to the heat. He casually took his phone out of his pocket and took a picture of the smoldering structure and the monarch embers that were already floating through the air. He sent the picture to Adara and paired it with the message “good luck. I will see you soon.” Lodin then sunk into his car and left the neighborhood. As he turned the corner he saw the red and blue lights making their way up the street towards the new destruction.

“Reckless,” he said and smiled.