Andrew - The Pyromaniac
Don’t play with fire. Believe me, I know a story of one person who’s had lot’s of experience, and has taken many risks through it. Fire is, in my perspective, a symbol of destruction. I know this guy like the back of my hand, but then again I really didn’t. I didn’t realize what he had become. He never really intended to do wrong, but he ended up getting into much trouble. It is true that curiosity can be just deadly as fire; both can get you places you never intended to go. I will now tell you the story of this young man. I am getting old now, but I still look into the future, and this device that I am holding in my hand encourages me to look into it. As surely as I see this device in my hand, he is real. I call him: The Pyromaniac.
It was the 1st July, on a warm, slightly windy day near the orphanage. “Hmmm, I need more matches.” said Chase. “What are you up to?” asked a voice from behind. He was under the cool shade of the tree, well away from the orphanage, and Shane, another kid from the orphanage, had come up from behind him. They weren’t really friends, but they’ve known each other for quite some time now. They were actually starting to grow quite fond of each other. “Oh, I’m trying to see what it looks like when you burn a pencil.” “A fire is only a fire, nothing special.” reasoned Shane. No reply. As Chase held a pencil in one hand, he struck the match on the tree with the other, and it crackled with wonder. He then exposed the match to the wooden side of the pencil. The two boys watched closely as the fire slowly ate up the pencil, now held upright, with all of the flames combining into one big fire, until Chase found out that he had made a mistake.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!” Chase dropped the pencil, and both boys backed away.
“What, what?”
“Th… th… the lead.” Chase had used an old pencil, with some of its wood peeling and some of its lead crumbling.
“Of the pencil? So, what?”
“It’s harmful. It can kill you.”
“Where is it now?” The pencil had now burned completely with some of its ash blowing away in the whistling wind.
“It’s airborne, which makes it even more dangerous.”
“How much lead does it take to kill you?”
“No more than 10 micrograms per deciliter in our blood.”
“Am I gunna die?” Shane wondered how he knew that.
“We’re good for now. I’m going back.”
Both of the two were thinking as they headed back for the day. One thought about the world and what it would be like if he were free while the other thought about who the first really was. It was quite a mix, those two, looking at them from a distance as they walked towards the orphanage in the sunset. Chase was a dark-haired, brown-eyed boy with mildly tanned skin. If you look into his eyes you could see strength, with experience on the street. He was 13 years old, completely fit. He also spiked his hair for that intimidating look. Shane was more of worrisome type. He was a little thin at 11 years old and had combed brown hair, blue eyes, and had light skin. You can see in him a willing heart, listening carefully to everyone he encounters, but even with his personality, he still worried about Shane. He worried that he would go too far with his interest in fire, he worried that he would soon vandalize property, he worried that he would soon learn to burn buildings to the ground, but most of all, he worried that he would soon kill himself. Chase had that kind of personality, anyway; He only thought about the thrills of life. The two were still thinking even as they reached for their beds, looking forward on what would happen tomorrow.
Next morning, Shane rushed quickly outside to find Chase. Shane didn’t know why, but he was worried about that boy, and it was his personality that had caused it. He saw Chase on the white concrete of the curb on his block. Shane saw that Chase, now sitting down and facing away from the orphanage, was holding a notepad. Shane could also tell that he was concealing another object with his torso. Shane ran up to him quietly, but Chase heard him, or sensed that he was near, somehow.
“Hi, Shane!”
“Oh, um… hi. What are you up to this time?”
“Oh, just playing with fire.” Chase unleashed what he was covering, a match.
“Not again…” Shane sighed, but Chase had already sparked into action––No, he literally, sparked into action. He roasted the notepad while flapping it in a whirling motion. It made a lot of smoke and debris (Well, noise mostly). “Wooooooooohooooooooo!” hooted Chase, right before he accidentally dropped the burning paper. A few seconds later they were coughing uncontrollably from the quickly rising smoke. As they crawled away from the source of the smoke, they realized that they had made almost the exact same mistake as yesterday, observing fire inside its deadly range.
Now Shane was beginning to get concerned.
“What did you find out about fire now?”
“I didn’t find out about anything. I was just testing something I saw in my dream.”
“Which is to make smoke? That’s pretty basic.”
“Did you notice that I lit the notepad on its corner? I held it at a 45° angle so then––Fwooooooooosh! The fire will climb at its fastest pace. I tried that on a paper towel once and it was up in flames in like half a second.”
“That’s really impressive, really.”
“Huh? I’m still going to be trying something new tomorrow.” Shane worries started to come to him again. He worried that he would grow into a––
“Chase? Aren’t you going a little too far?” Shane was thinking; First the pencil, then the notepad, and the paper towel?
“Me? Nah, I’m just… following my dreams.” Shane thought long and hard about that. The time had past quickly and it was already 12:00 a.m.
“Well, I’m gunna get lunch now. Wanna come, Shane?” Chase suggested.
“Okay. Wait, where are you going?” Shane asked curiously.
“I’m going to this… diner place.” He answered.
“It’s only a few blocks away. So, do you still want to come?”
“Hold on, let me get my hooded jacket.” Shane muttered. Chase chuckled quietly to himself as Shane hurried for his jacket.
When Shane came back, He looked like an Eskimo. “Dude, this isn’t winter.” Chase said blandly. Shane shrugged, “I’m going with a maniac to some diner in which I don’t even know where it’s at.” “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.” insisted Chase “Think of it as a… five-star hotel.” “I’ll try” muttered Shane.
They arrived at the place of their lunch. It was decorated nicely, with lights and other sorts. They went inside, and Chase talked the employers into thinking that he was an adult.
“C’mon, son.” Chase said to Shane, “Hurry up.”
“Credit card, please?”
“Oh, whoops. I forgot mine in the car. Now I have to go all the way back to my house. Do you still take cash?”
“Sure.” Chase handed over some money and took his change.
The place was pretty occupied, with only a few seats open around the house. The first thing Chase ordered was a soda. “Here is your drink, sir.” said a waiter when she arrived. Chase said, “I’d much rather prefer it in a can, please.” The waiter paused for a moment, but then she said, “Right away sir.” “Why does it have to be in a can for you?” asked Shane. “The glass isn’t mine, but the can is. The can, to me, displays ownership.” Chase replied. Shane pondered about that. The waiter came back with a soda can, and the two boys ordered their lunches. Shane ordered some teriyaki chicken and Chase ordered some french fries.
The boys had finished their lunches. Chase invited Shane to come downstairs, into the game room. “Wanna play ping pong?” challenged Chase.
“Sure, but I’m not paying for it.”
“Fair enough.” Chase had put a quarter in the ping pong ball dispenser and they picked up the paddles.
“Have you even played table tennis before?” Chase served the ball.
“Not really, I’ve used a ping pong ball and a paddle before, and I’ve watched other people play, but I’ve never actually played against anyone.” Shane tried to outmaneuver him with a trick he’d seen once.
“Well, you’re pretty good.” Chase tipped it back.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t think I’m going easy on you, though.”
“Oh yeah? Well, same here!”
“First to one point?” Chase suggested, as it was getting dark outside.
“Sure.”
“How many tricks do you know?”
“One.”
“Only one?” said Chase, as he barely saved himself as he catapulted the plastic ball into the air.
“The only trick in any game is keeping your cool.” Shane slammed the ball down hard, winning the game point.
“Hmmm.” Chase said surprised, not only at the win, but also at what Shane had said. He had never thought about games that way. He only thought about winning. Shane gave the plastic ball back to Chase, right before he put in a few more quarters into the dispenser. He put the ping pong balls in his pockets. “What are you going to do with those?” asked Shane, but Chase ignored him. “You go on back.” said Chase, “I’m gunna get something from this pawn shop.”
“Are you sure?”
“Just go!”
Chase looked at the items at the counter warily. There were guns, switchblades, and other nifty contraptions, but he wasn’t here for those. He was here for something else. Of course, he could have gotten other strategic items like the one he had in mind, but he’d be back for them. Chase wafted through his bills, handed them to the store keeper, and took his change. It was in the midst of the night and Chase had come out with his new tool.
Shane awoke next morning and started off the day early with scrambled eggs he got quickly from the cafeteria lady. He was eating in a plain serving room and the eggs were steaming while looking at them from close-up. He ate them greedily, toasty warm for his mouth to chew on. As he put down his fork, he felt the heat of his food come out of his nose, and it reminded him–– “Heat” he thought, “I wonder what Chase is doing today.”
Shane had finished his breakfast and decided to go outside for some fresh air. Kids from the orphanage had been going in and out of the building for quite some time now, and the adults didn’t seem to mind. As Shane opened the cold metal doors, he felt the sun’s warm rays shining down on him. Just then, Shane felt another presence. There was a familiar outline in the west as the morning light surrounded him. He was holding a hammer in his right hand. As he raised the mighty weapon, he roared, “I am Thor! Who on this wretched planet will dare to defy me!?” As he gave a mighty war cry, the legend sent his weapon crashing down on his target. “Nooooooooo!” cried Shane as he ran faster than bloodthirsty hounds towards the figure.
When Shane reached the figure he said, “No… don’t… kill him.” “What are you talking about?” said a familiar voice. “Oh, Chase, it’s only you.” said Shane, embarrassed. Shane saw that Chase was smashing his ping pong balls from yesterday into a powder with a hammer, which he had gotten from the pawn shop.
Chase went out on a field of tall, dry grass. Directly west, It was a few blocks away from the orphanage, following the long path of the main street of the city. Shane looked at Chase, looked back, and back at Chase. Chase waved him on to come inside the abandoned barn in which he stood right beside.
Shane followed him inside the building. Chase picked up the plastic powder and put it into his soda can, which he had gotten the day before. He then took out a match, struck it, put it in the can swiftly, right-side-up, and told Shane to run away.
“We won’t make the same mistake as last time.”
“And the time be––”
“Homemade smoke bomb!” Chase interrupted as smoke came erupting out of the can.
“What is that?” asked Shane as he inched closer.
“Don’t go near it. When the ping pong ball material is burned, hydrogen cyanide gas is released.”
“Where do you learn all this?”
“Again, I don’t learn, I only test things from my dreams.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Not gunna be as crazy when I put the lights out of the pawn shop!” laughed Chase.
“What!? Don’t do this, man.” Shane was shocked on what Chase had said.
“Try and stop me.”
“Okay, I will!”
“No, you can’t, cuz’ I’m running away.”
“I will stop you, Chase.”
“Stop calling me that! I am a genius. From now on, I shall be known as: The Pyromaniac.”
Chase had fled and Shane was left alone in the hot, dry field. Shane wondered what he was going to do about Chase. Then he realized he had to warn the people in the pawn shop, first things first. He still had time. He sprinted out of the field of grass and into the main street. He raised his hand and called, “Taxi!” over the noise of the engines of the cars passing by. A taxi pulled over and Shane climbed in. “To the local pawn shop” he said as he paid the driver “And step on it!” The taxi was going at top speed, and there was a guy on a bike in front of them. It was Chase. Just then the street light turned yellow. The taxi driver had switched lanes and Shane and Chase were now side by side. As the light turned red, Chase saw Shane in the yellow car, glared at him, and ran the red light! The cars driving in the intersection honked, unable to stop, but Chase had dodged them effectively. “Don’t let that guy beat us to the pawn shop!” said Shane as he waved some more bills at him. The light had now turned green and the cars had subsided, and the taxi driver put the pedal on the metal. The other street light ahead of them was still green, but just then the taxi driver, Shane, and Chase had all realized there was another obstacle they had to overcome. “Oil spill.” breathed Shane, as he braced himself for the coming turn. Chase had to take a right turn to get to the pawn shop, and the taxi driver and Shane had to follow. The taxi and the bike were side by side again. They rounded the corner, and at the last second, the taxi driver turned a hard left sliding easily towards the desired direction, followed by Chase as he did the same at an equal skill level. They had passed the obstacle and Chase was slightly ahead of them. Chase was fast, but the taxi driver and Shane were faster. They easily overtook him as the road and sped away to the pawn shop.
The taxi had dropped Shane off and he walked into the pawn shop. There were some other people inside the building. First, he talked with the store keeper.
“Hello, kid. How can I help you today?”
“Get everyone out of here, the shop is in danger.”
“What makes you think that you get to tell people what to do?”
“Sorry, but there’s this guy who’s going to raid this shop.”
“Why should I trust you if you knew about this raid?”
“He told me himself.”
“Who?”
Just then, Chase walked in and threw 3 smoke bombs around the room. “Everyone get down!” yelled Shane, and now the store keeper was listening. After a few minutes, the smoke had dissipated and Chase was nowhere to be seen. “Some raid.” groaned the store keeper as he got up from the ground. Chase had stolen a lighter and some paint cans. “Oh no. This is bad.” said Chase, “This is very, very bad.”
“Chase was going to destroy the city.” Shane thought. Shane wondered what was he was going to do next. Shane wondered what the city would look like with Chase on the loose. Most of all, Shane wondered who he really was. He had many questions, but he knew where he had to start; for the sake of the city he had to stop Chase. “To defeat the enemy, you have to be like the enemy.” Shane concluded, “I’ll run away from home too, like him.” Shane was walking down a long alley when just then, a man grabbed him.
“Hello.”
“Aaaaaaaaah! Wh… who are you?” Shane retreated.
“Sorry for my sudden appearance. My name is Seymour.”
“I don’t know you.”
“But I know you.”
“How?”
“I secretly have cameras around the whole city, I am secret even to the local police, and I saw you trying to stop Chase. If he is not stopped soon, I predict that he will destroy the city, since fire is his ultimate desire.”
“You have cameras, why didn’t you stop him yourself?”
“I’m not as fit as I used to be, but you… you did a good job.”
“Do you really think so?”
“People look at the outward appearance too much. And what I mean by that could be by strength, agility, toughness. I want you to stop him.”
“But I can’t… I’m too weak, and he has too many tricks up his sleeve. I’m no match for him.” His spirit said yes, but his flesh said no.
“It is all about the mind. And you have mental strength. I’ve seen you run with such speed and reflex, trying to save anyone in danger, determined. Now you will save the city. I will supply you with food, shelter, water, and the tools you need to defeat Chase. Do you accept this offer?”
Shane thought about this. He thought about what it would be like to do something useful. He thought about what it would be like to see something great. He thought about what it would be like to be a hero. After a long pause, Shane said “I accept.”
“Good boy. It’s getting dark now. Why don’t I show you your room?” suggested Seymour. They walked past a few houses and reached their destination. When Shane walked inside he saw a few computers. “Here is the computer lab, where I watch the city.” Seymour explained as they walked a few more paces, “And here is your room.” It was nicely decorated with wallpaper and had a nice, comfy bed. There was also a desk right beside the bed and there was something on top of it. It was a squirt gun. Shane walked over to the childish toy, picked it up, and fired it at Seymour. “I can see that you have a unique sense of humor.” said Seymour “That is no ordinary squirt gun, it is a water gun. The application of water removes heat from the fire faster than the fire can produce it.”
“So what you’re trying to say is, it’s not really the water that puts out a fire, and it’s actually the property of water, which is the ability to remove heat?”
“That is correct. Similarly, blowing hard on a flame will displace the heat of the currently burning gas from its fuel source.”
“So, is that my first lesson; Fire can be extinguished by removing the heat element of fire?”
“Hmmm. So I see that you are already making accurate predictions. You learn quickly. More lessons will come for the days to follow, along with training, which will start tomorrow morning.”
Right before Shane went to bed, Seymour said “Oh, and take this. It’s a mini super-powered fan. It rotates about 30 times per second.”
Next morning, Shane awoke with a start. Seymour had set an alarm clock on his desk. It said 6:00 a.m. and it was the 4th of July, Independence Day. Shane put the water gun went into the computer lab, but he was not there. He decided to search for another room. He walked into a white marble room, with appliances all around. It was the kitchen, and Seymour had prepared pancakes for him. “Ah, good morning, Shane. Here’s your breakfast.”
After Shane had eaten his breakfast, Seymour had called him into the basement. When Shane entered the underground floor, he thought “This must be the training room.”
“Here is the training room” Seymour explained, “Today I will require you to improve reflex, agility, and coordination. Did you bring your water gun?”
“Right here.”
“Good, you will now shoot the tennis balls I throw at you.”
“What!? I can’t do that?”
“Then you will practice shooting on stationary targets.”
Seymour put three tennis balls on the three boxes he stood behind. Then he said “You will shoot the tennis balls I point to, however many times, as fast as you can.” Shane nodded as Seymour pointed at the first ball. Shane aimed and fired, but the beam of water hit the box. Seymour pointed to the next ball, Shane aimed higher, but it was too high. Next, Shane calculated the earth’s gravitational pull on the water, and when Seymour pointed, Shane fired and hit it. Seymour pointed again and Shane hit the tennis ball. Seymour pointed and Shane hit. They did this again and again until Seymour decided that Shane was ready for the next course.
“Next we will shoot moving objects.” said Seymour. Shane knew what to do. When Seymour threw the ball, Shane fired, but missed, and the ball hit him in the face. Seymour chuckled a bit, and then continued. He threw the ball and Shane had already made his calculations, blasting the ball away. Seymour, surprised, threw more balls at a faster pace, but Shane easily blasted them in a consecutive order.
They continued the course with more movement now. Seymour threw the balls while running from one side of the room to the other. Shane had succeeded. Then Seymour added the element of wind using electric fans. Shane had succeeded still. Seymour then told him to dodge the rocks and shoot the tennis balls. Eagerly, Shane had done so with such accuracy. Finally, Seymour challenged him to a fun little exercise.
“For the final test, I will use some sort of tennis ball launcher at you.”
“Sounds easy.”
“But this time, your target aren’t the tennis balls. Your target is me.”
“I see...”
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I have to tell you, Shane.”
“What’s that?”
“Try not to get hit.” Seymour smirked.
Seymour fired his bazooka at him and Shane doubled over. He fired again, and Shane barely dodged the rubber bullet. Shane fired back and Seymour ducked, soon after fired at Shane. Seymour had reloaded quickly, and Shane knew the ball wouldn’t hit him, but then he realized what Seymour was aiming for. His gun toppled to the ground. As Shane kneeled to pick up his gun, Shane took a direct hit on the forehead. Shane started getting serious now. He dashed to the left and to the right trying to hit Seymour from an angle. Seymour dodged all of these shots and started to do the same. Seymour was pretty fast for his age. Shane ducked behind boxes and Seymour mimicked his actions. It was a warzone. Shane tried to outmaneuver him by leading him into a corner, but Seymour saw this and started playing some tricks of his own. He bounced the tennis balls off the walls, trying to hit Shane, but Shane had improved reflex. They continued shooting for minutes, and neither contestant gave in. “I have to think outside the box.” Shane thought. Then he found something. Seymour was reloading behind a box and heard Shane fire a shot, and so he waited for the shot of water to pass, but it didn’t go past him nor did it hit the box or the ground. He heard something in the background to his side before he realized it was too late. The water splashed at his chest. How did it hit him? It was because of the fan.
“Yes!”
“You show amazing skills, boy!”
“What do I have to do next?”
“Eat your lunch, of course!”
After Shane had eaten lunch, Seymour invited him into the computer lab. There was something he had to show him. “Firework theft. The Pyromaniac.” flashed the news. One who calls himself The Pyromaniac, had threatened the booth worker at a local fireworks stand for fireworks. The worker gave him some fireworks, but The Pyromaniac was in for all or nothing. So, The Pyromaniac threw a makeshift bomb using a paint can and a lighter, as reported. The explosion hit the fireworks that were around the man, and they exploded, too. Luckily, the man survived, with only some minor cuts and burns. He had escaped on a motorcycle, which was also believed to be stolen.
Seymour showed him the video feed from one of his cameras and it showed Chase lighting the plastic top of the paint can and throwing it at the man. He saw the booth blast into bits as Chase escaped on a motorcycle. “Chase…” was all Shane could say.
Seymour then started teaching Shane some more information about fire.
“Oxygen is another requirement for fire to survive, right?”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“Well, you can smother fire by covering the flame completely.”
“Okay…”
“But there is another way to remove oxygen.”
“How?”
“Here, this is a rapid-fire carbon dioxide pellet gun. It is among one of my finest projects I have made in my invention room. Shoot it at a solid object, and upon impact, the pellets will release concentrated carbon dioxide to displace the oxygen in the air.” said Seymour as he handed over the gun.
“Cool!”
“Keep it with you, as it may come in handy.”
The time was now 11:00 p.m. He was in his bed and it was a quite, and peaceful night when all of a sudden––Boom! Shane heard a single blast of a firecracker, along with the rest of the city. He knew right away who it was. And he went to sleep with a single tear running down his cheek. “Chase…” was all he could think about, “what have you become?”
The next day, Shane was in the basement again, doing training. He was practicing with the pellet gun. Seymour was using torches to light boxes on fire. Each one lit super-fast. By now, Shane was getting used to the law of gravity. Then Seymour did something extreme. He threw some boxes (which were pretty light) around Shane in a fast pace and then threw the flaming torch. There was a wall of fire around Shane in a split second. “Aaaaaaaaah!” screamed Shane. “Just do what you need to do!” yelled Seymour. Shane had to think fast. First, he tried shooting on the tops of the boxes, which seemed the reasonable thing to do. Ratatatatatatatatat! Nothing happened. Then, he started shooting on the bottom of the boxes. No effect. He tried the sides. Still nothing. He felt one of the flames singe his arm and the intense heat coming to him. Then he found the answer. The boxes had to be targeted one at a time, like a real firefighter. He put out one box, then the next, and the one after that, and kept putting out the fires until the only heat he felt was the burn he got on his arm.
“Congratulations, you passed.”
“I burned my arm.”
“Let’s give it some treatment, then.”
After Seymour had bandaged up Shane’s burn, he showed him what was on the news. Newsflash: “The Pyromaniac Strikes Again! Miners Attacked!” This time, Chase had snuck in the midst of the night into a mine. He used fireworks to steal something even more dangerous: Dynamite. The miners ended up getting second-degree burns. Again, no one was killed. “Chase is a serial killer.” said Shane.
“He hasn’t killed anyone yet.”
“Soon.”
The time was now 12:00 p.m. He couldn’t sleep because of the lit night sky. It was lit not by street lights or fireworks or by any human-made invention. It was lit, by fire. Fire is meant only to destroy. “Fire is meant only to destroy.” muttered Shane, emotionless, “I will stop him, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Day three with Seymour started without breakfast, 5:00 in the morning. Seymour had called Shane into basement, skipping breakfast, but Shane didn’t complain. He handed him a spray can.
“What you hold in your hands is a fire retardant spray can.”
“What does that mean?”
“In other words, you can spray its gel on any object and make it resistant to fire.”
“But it doesn’t work if you use it on an object that’s already on fire?”
“That is correct.”
“So… how does it work?”
“Here, read my notes.” Seymour handed him a piece of paper. The paper read:
The polymer in gels soak up hundreds of times their weight in water creating millions of tiny drops of water surrounded by and protected by a polymer shell. The result is a "bubblet" or a drop of water surrounded by a polymer shell in contrast to a bubble which is air surrounded by liquid. As the gel and water are sprayed onto an exposed surface, millions of tiny "bubblets" are stacked one on top of another. The stacking of the water "bubblets" form a thermal protective "blanket" over the surface to which it is applied. In order for the heat of the fire to penetrate the protected surface, it must burn off each layer of the gel "bubblets" coating. Each layer holds the heat away from the next layer of bubblets beneath. The polymer shell of each bubblets and their stacking significantly prevent water evaporation.
The stacking of the bubblets is similar to aspirated fire fighting foam or compressed air foam systems, except that bubblets are water filled, whereas foam bubbles are only filled with air. Due to the high specific heat of water, it requires more energy to raise the temperature of water than air. Therefore, water-filled bubblets will absorb more heat than the air-filled foam bubbles (which are more effective for vapor suppression). When gel is applied to a surface such as an exterior wall, the water-filled bubblets can absorb much of the heat given off by the fire, thereby slowing the fire from reaching the wall.
Gels can provide thermal protection from fire for extended periods even at 3500° Fahrenheit. Depending on the fire conditions, applied fire retardant gels offer fire protection for periods of 6 to 36 hours.
After the retained water is completely evaporated from a gel, fire resistance is lost.
After thinking a long time, Shane asked “So what is polymer, exactly?” “A polymer is a large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds, a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms; and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms when they share electrons is known as covalent bonding.” Seymour answered expertly. “I… see.” commented Shane, in which in fact he really didn’t. “I’ll let you eat your breakfast first, then I have to show you something.” said Seymour.
Shane ate his breakfast speedily and returned to Seymour. He was at the computer lab. The title was a little catchy: “Oil Well Attack by The Pyromaniac!” The Pyromaniac came in the secured perimeter with ease. He was in no rush to break in, or get out. He merely smoke-bombed the guards and threw dynamite at some oil cans. It caused a chain reaction throughout the perimeter and many people were severely wounded. The Pyromaniac now threatens to destroy the city if the citizens do not surrender to him. He is calling the mass surrender July 5th, 12:00 p.m. If the people do not submit, Mayor Arthur will be assassinated.
“Is this why you set my alarm so early?”
“Yes.”
“Why does he want so much power?”
“I watched him closely from my live video feed and I think he wants to rule the world.”
“Man, he is crazy.”
“No more jokes, this is serious.”
“Right.”
“Mayor Arthur is being protected in the city hall by the fire department.”
“They’re no match for Chase.”
“And that’s why you’re going to stop him.”
“Oh…”
Then there was a long pause.
“Why don’t you stop Chase yourself?”
“When I said that I wasn’t as great as I once was, I meant my reputation, not my physical strength.”
“I wish I had a way to thank you…”
“You have to go, now.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and Shane?”
“Yes, Seymour?”
“Take this.” Seymour handed him a fire extinguisher. It included Halon 1211, which was and alternative name for Bromochlorodifluoromethane, which was a chemical that retards the chemical reaction of fire itself until the rate of combustion is too slow to maintain the chain reaction. It was 11:30 a.m. 30 minutes left.
Chase turned the corner and saw the whole fire department in front of him. When the firefighters saw him, as well as the mayor, who was well behind them, they turned in shock, but prepared, because he was: The Pyromaniac. Chase was calm, though, intimidating the firefighters with his piercing eyes. The protectors were strong, but were not fast. He threw his ping pong balls at them, but they ignored it, for they thought it was too small to do any damage, until it was too late. The protectors of the city hall had collapsed, poisoned. As Chase squinted at the dissipating smoke, he saw a familiar figure. It was Shane, and he was in the path between Chase and the mayor. They both stared at each other for a long time. Not one made a sound, not one said a word. They now knew the true reason of their existence; to defeat the other. They both looked at each other’s weapons. And that’s when they made their move.
Chase threw his smoke bombs at Shane, and in a split second, smoke was surrounding him from all sides. Shane used his mini super-powered fan and blasted away the smoke. Chase then made a makeshift flamethrower using a paint can and a lighter, it was a melee weapon, and Chase sprinted at Shane at lightning speed. Chase slashed across his chest, but his clothing was fire retardant from the polymer gel. Chase realized this, and made an uppercut to his head, and Shane dodged the flaming sword just barely, inches away from his face. Chase aimed for his head again, but this time, Shane was ready and parried the attack with his fan, and they did this again and again until Shane took initiative and revealed another weapon. Chase had run out of attack angles, so he retreated, swapping his weapons too. Shane had taken out his water gun and Chase had taken out his gadget of his own. He had an auto-reloading firecracker launcher. Chase aimed straight at Shane, and fired. Shane blasted the firecracker but it had no effect, and the firecracker exploded right in his chest, and he blasted away, taking damage, but was fire resistant. Chase aimed at Shane’s head this time, and Shane unleashed his ultimate weapon, the fire extinguisher. Shane fired the weapon on the oncoming rocket and had put out the fuse from inside the firecracker. Shane then blasted Chase away. Chase was well away from the city hall now, but Shane noticed the black ooze that was around him. It was like a maze, with the final path leading all the way to the big can that was strapped on Chase’s back. And that’s when Chase lit the match, not a lighter, but a match. Chase had gotten up and engraved the ground with his signature. The match was his pride, his glory, and his spirit. This time it roared with evil. He raised it high above the air, higher than any skyscraper he had seen, and dropped it on the black ooze. Shane was surrounded by flames, and he had to get out of the maze, before he overheated. He took one way, dead end. He took another way, got pretty far, but was also a dead end. He went back and took the last way, running now, but he saw no opening. But then he found a small gap of the fire, and jumped through it. Chase saw Shane come out of the maze of death, surprised. Chase equipped his flamethrower and charged at Shane. Shane did the same with his extinguisher, and at the last second, Chase had jumped, slashing downward. Shane moved to the side and fired back at Chase, making a non-stop beam of freezing liquid. Chase seemed to teleport, as he was lightning-quick. Chase dashed again, but Shane swept him off the ground. Chase was down now, and Shane moved in to finish him off. Shane aimed, and fired, but Chase was able to counter, even while he was down, with fire! The extinguisher was weakening. Chase’s fire seemed to be pushing back Shane’s water, and it pushed it back, closer and closer to Shane, until it reached him. But the fire didn’t reach him; it reached the rubber top of the extinguisher. Shane dropped it, ran away, and Chase, now confused, didn’t realize what was about to happen before it was too late. The extinguisher blew up right in front of his face.
Shane was a hero. He had saved the city. Mayor Arthur had called for a celebration for the hero. He asked Shane if he would like to give a speech, and Shane accepted. As he went up on the stage, he remembered Seymour. And so he said “I am here today, not to celebrate, not to congratulate, but to remember. To remember the day I met this man who has offered me food, shelter, water, his teaching, and most of all, friendship. He is kind, gentle, and loving. And this man’s name is… Seymour.”
There was then a familiar hand that patted his shoulder. It was Seymour. The crowd looked and was surprised, and they were silent. He was once known around the city for making great inventions, but one day, he just abandoned the city, forgot all about the city, and came back, expecting greetings from all around. But it didn’t happen that way. The city had grown weak, economically, and the city blamed Seymour. He promised that he would fix the city, but the city didn’t believe him. The crowd at first was silent, but then there was a single clap. More started to follow, and more, then cheers started to come. And the loudness of the crowd grew mightier, shouting “Seymour! Seymour! Seymour!” because Seymour had made a promise, and proved that he was willing to keep it. Then the crowd went up onto the stage, and raised Seymour and Shane above their heads as they cheered them on around the city.
Why am I telling you this? This device that I am holding in my hand is a detonator for a pack of C4. Seymour is now participating in the FBI, and miraculously, Chase survived. Both were lucky, but one still seeks revenge. One day, Chase will rise again, and he already has. Chase realized that having street skills was not enough. He needed more than just that. That was how he lost to Shane. Seymour was became a great person with his technology and I seek to do the same, for the sake of the world. And when I say for the sake of the world I mean world domination, because I am Chase. I am: The Pyromaniac. And I’ll be back.
Come see my Storybird - He Lies in Wait
It was the 1st July, on a warm, slightly windy day near the orphanage. “Hmmm, I need more matches.” said Chase. “What are you up to?” asked a voice from behind. He was under the cool shade of the tree, well away from the orphanage, and Shane, another kid from the orphanage, had come up from behind him. They weren’t really friends, but they’ve known each other for quite some time now. They were actually starting to grow quite fond of each other. “Oh, I’m trying to see what it looks like when you burn a pencil.” “A fire is only a fire, nothing special.” reasoned Shane. No reply. As Chase held a pencil in one hand, he struck the match on the tree with the other, and it crackled with wonder. He then exposed the match to the wooden side of the pencil. The two boys watched closely as the fire slowly ate up the pencil, now held upright, with all of the flames combining into one big fire, until Chase found out that he had made a mistake.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!” Chase dropped the pencil, and both boys backed away.
“What, what?”
“Th… th… the lead.” Chase had used an old pencil, with some of its wood peeling and some of its lead crumbling.
“Of the pencil? So, what?”
“It’s harmful. It can kill you.”
“Where is it now?” The pencil had now burned completely with some of its ash blowing away in the whistling wind.
“It’s airborne, which makes it even more dangerous.”
“How much lead does it take to kill you?”
“No more than 10 micrograms per deciliter in our blood.”
“Am I gunna die?” Shane wondered how he knew that.
“We’re good for now. I’m going back.”
Both of the two were thinking as they headed back for the day. One thought about the world and what it would be like if he were free while the other thought about who the first really was. It was quite a mix, those two, looking at them from a distance as they walked towards the orphanage in the sunset. Chase was a dark-haired, brown-eyed boy with mildly tanned skin. If you look into his eyes you could see strength, with experience on the street. He was 13 years old, completely fit. He also spiked his hair for that intimidating look. Shane was more of worrisome type. He was a little thin at 11 years old and had combed brown hair, blue eyes, and had light skin. You can see in him a willing heart, listening carefully to everyone he encounters, but even with his personality, he still worried about Shane. He worried that he would go too far with his interest in fire, he worried that he would soon vandalize property, he worried that he would soon learn to burn buildings to the ground, but most of all, he worried that he would soon kill himself. Chase had that kind of personality, anyway; He only thought about the thrills of life. The two were still thinking even as they reached for their beds, looking forward on what would happen tomorrow.
Next morning, Shane rushed quickly outside to find Chase. Shane didn’t know why, but he was worried about that boy, and it was his personality that had caused it. He saw Chase on the white concrete of the curb on his block. Shane saw that Chase, now sitting down and facing away from the orphanage, was holding a notepad. Shane could also tell that he was concealing another object with his torso. Shane ran up to him quietly, but Chase heard him, or sensed that he was near, somehow.
“Hi, Shane!”
“Oh, um… hi. What are you up to this time?”
“Oh, just playing with fire.” Chase unleashed what he was covering, a match.
“Not again…” Shane sighed, but Chase had already sparked into action––No, he literally, sparked into action. He roasted the notepad while flapping it in a whirling motion. It made a lot of smoke and debris (Well, noise mostly). “Wooooooooohooooooooo!” hooted Chase, right before he accidentally dropped the burning paper. A few seconds later they were coughing uncontrollably from the quickly rising smoke. As they crawled away from the source of the smoke, they realized that they had made almost the exact same mistake as yesterday, observing fire inside its deadly range.
Now Shane was beginning to get concerned.
“What did you find out about fire now?”
“I didn’t find out about anything. I was just testing something I saw in my dream.”
“Which is to make smoke? That’s pretty basic.”
“Did you notice that I lit the notepad on its corner? I held it at a 45° angle so then––Fwooooooooosh! The fire will climb at its fastest pace. I tried that on a paper towel once and it was up in flames in like half a second.”
“That’s really impressive, really.”
“Huh? I’m still going to be trying something new tomorrow.” Shane worries started to come to him again. He worried that he would grow into a––
“Chase? Aren’t you going a little too far?” Shane was thinking; First the pencil, then the notepad, and the paper towel?
“Me? Nah, I’m just… following my dreams.” Shane thought long and hard about that. The time had past quickly and it was already 12:00 a.m.
“Well, I’m gunna get lunch now. Wanna come, Shane?” Chase suggested.
“Okay. Wait, where are you going?” Shane asked curiously.
“I’m going to this… diner place.” He answered.
“It’s only a few blocks away. So, do you still want to come?”
“Hold on, let me get my hooded jacket.” Shane muttered. Chase chuckled quietly to himself as Shane hurried for his jacket.
When Shane came back, He looked like an Eskimo. “Dude, this isn’t winter.” Chase said blandly. Shane shrugged, “I’m going with a maniac to some diner in which I don’t even know where it’s at.” “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.” insisted Chase “Think of it as a… five-star hotel.” “I’ll try” muttered Shane.
They arrived at the place of their lunch. It was decorated nicely, with lights and other sorts. They went inside, and Chase talked the employers into thinking that he was an adult.
“C’mon, son.” Chase said to Shane, “Hurry up.”
“Credit card, please?”
“Oh, whoops. I forgot mine in the car. Now I have to go all the way back to my house. Do you still take cash?”
“Sure.” Chase handed over some money and took his change.
The place was pretty occupied, with only a few seats open around the house. The first thing Chase ordered was a soda. “Here is your drink, sir.” said a waiter when she arrived. Chase said, “I’d much rather prefer it in a can, please.” The waiter paused for a moment, but then she said, “Right away sir.” “Why does it have to be in a can for you?” asked Shane. “The glass isn’t mine, but the can is. The can, to me, displays ownership.” Chase replied. Shane pondered about that. The waiter came back with a soda can, and the two boys ordered their lunches. Shane ordered some teriyaki chicken and Chase ordered some french fries.
The boys had finished their lunches. Chase invited Shane to come downstairs, into the game room. “Wanna play ping pong?” challenged Chase.
“Sure, but I’m not paying for it.”
“Fair enough.” Chase had put a quarter in the ping pong ball dispenser and they picked up the paddles.
“Have you even played table tennis before?” Chase served the ball.
“Not really, I’ve used a ping pong ball and a paddle before, and I’ve watched other people play, but I’ve never actually played against anyone.” Shane tried to outmaneuver him with a trick he’d seen once.
“Well, you’re pretty good.” Chase tipped it back.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t think I’m going easy on you, though.”
“Oh yeah? Well, same here!”
“First to one point?” Chase suggested, as it was getting dark outside.
“Sure.”
“How many tricks do you know?”
“One.”
“Only one?” said Chase, as he barely saved himself as he catapulted the plastic ball into the air.
“The only trick in any game is keeping your cool.” Shane slammed the ball down hard, winning the game point.
“Hmmm.” Chase said surprised, not only at the win, but also at what Shane had said. He had never thought about games that way. He only thought about winning. Shane gave the plastic ball back to Chase, right before he put in a few more quarters into the dispenser. He put the ping pong balls in his pockets. “What are you going to do with those?” asked Shane, but Chase ignored him. “You go on back.” said Chase, “I’m gunna get something from this pawn shop.”
“Are you sure?”
“Just go!”
Chase looked at the items at the counter warily. There were guns, switchblades, and other nifty contraptions, but he wasn’t here for those. He was here for something else. Of course, he could have gotten other strategic items like the one he had in mind, but he’d be back for them. Chase wafted through his bills, handed them to the store keeper, and took his change. It was in the midst of the night and Chase had come out with his new tool.
Shane awoke next morning and started off the day early with scrambled eggs he got quickly from the cafeteria lady. He was eating in a plain serving room and the eggs were steaming while looking at them from close-up. He ate them greedily, toasty warm for his mouth to chew on. As he put down his fork, he felt the heat of his food come out of his nose, and it reminded him–– “Heat” he thought, “I wonder what Chase is doing today.”
Shane had finished his breakfast and decided to go outside for some fresh air. Kids from the orphanage had been going in and out of the building for quite some time now, and the adults didn’t seem to mind. As Shane opened the cold metal doors, he felt the sun’s warm rays shining down on him. Just then, Shane felt another presence. There was a familiar outline in the west as the morning light surrounded him. He was holding a hammer in his right hand. As he raised the mighty weapon, he roared, “I am Thor! Who on this wretched planet will dare to defy me!?” As he gave a mighty war cry, the legend sent his weapon crashing down on his target. “Nooooooooo!” cried Shane as he ran faster than bloodthirsty hounds towards the figure.
When Shane reached the figure he said, “No… don’t… kill him.” “What are you talking about?” said a familiar voice. “Oh, Chase, it’s only you.” said Shane, embarrassed. Shane saw that Chase was smashing his ping pong balls from yesterday into a powder with a hammer, which he had gotten from the pawn shop.
Chase went out on a field of tall, dry grass. Directly west, It was a few blocks away from the orphanage, following the long path of the main street of the city. Shane looked at Chase, looked back, and back at Chase. Chase waved him on to come inside the abandoned barn in which he stood right beside.
Shane followed him inside the building. Chase picked up the plastic powder and put it into his soda can, which he had gotten the day before. He then took out a match, struck it, put it in the can swiftly, right-side-up, and told Shane to run away.
“We won’t make the same mistake as last time.”
“And the time be––”
“Homemade smoke bomb!” Chase interrupted as smoke came erupting out of the can.
“What is that?” asked Shane as he inched closer.
“Don’t go near it. When the ping pong ball material is burned, hydrogen cyanide gas is released.”
“Where do you learn all this?”
“Again, I don’t learn, I only test things from my dreams.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Not gunna be as crazy when I put the lights out of the pawn shop!” laughed Chase.
“What!? Don’t do this, man.” Shane was shocked on what Chase had said.
“Try and stop me.”
“Okay, I will!”
“No, you can’t, cuz’ I’m running away.”
“I will stop you, Chase.”
“Stop calling me that! I am a genius. From now on, I shall be known as: The Pyromaniac.”
Chase had fled and Shane was left alone in the hot, dry field. Shane wondered what he was going to do about Chase. Then he realized he had to warn the people in the pawn shop, first things first. He still had time. He sprinted out of the field of grass and into the main street. He raised his hand and called, “Taxi!” over the noise of the engines of the cars passing by. A taxi pulled over and Shane climbed in. “To the local pawn shop” he said as he paid the driver “And step on it!” The taxi was going at top speed, and there was a guy on a bike in front of them. It was Chase. Just then the street light turned yellow. The taxi driver had switched lanes and Shane and Chase were now side by side. As the light turned red, Chase saw Shane in the yellow car, glared at him, and ran the red light! The cars driving in the intersection honked, unable to stop, but Chase had dodged them effectively. “Don’t let that guy beat us to the pawn shop!” said Shane as he waved some more bills at him. The light had now turned green and the cars had subsided, and the taxi driver put the pedal on the metal. The other street light ahead of them was still green, but just then the taxi driver, Shane, and Chase had all realized there was another obstacle they had to overcome. “Oil spill.” breathed Shane, as he braced himself for the coming turn. Chase had to take a right turn to get to the pawn shop, and the taxi driver and Shane had to follow. The taxi and the bike were side by side again. They rounded the corner, and at the last second, the taxi driver turned a hard left sliding easily towards the desired direction, followed by Chase as he did the same at an equal skill level. They had passed the obstacle and Chase was slightly ahead of them. Chase was fast, but the taxi driver and Shane were faster. They easily overtook him as the road and sped away to the pawn shop.
The taxi had dropped Shane off and he walked into the pawn shop. There were some other people inside the building. First, he talked with the store keeper.
“Hello, kid. How can I help you today?”
“Get everyone out of here, the shop is in danger.”
“What makes you think that you get to tell people what to do?”
“Sorry, but there’s this guy who’s going to raid this shop.”
“Why should I trust you if you knew about this raid?”
“He told me himself.”
“Who?”
Just then, Chase walked in and threw 3 smoke bombs around the room. “Everyone get down!” yelled Shane, and now the store keeper was listening. After a few minutes, the smoke had dissipated and Chase was nowhere to be seen. “Some raid.” groaned the store keeper as he got up from the ground. Chase had stolen a lighter and some paint cans. “Oh no. This is bad.” said Chase, “This is very, very bad.”
“Chase was going to destroy the city.” Shane thought. Shane wondered what was he was going to do next. Shane wondered what the city would look like with Chase on the loose. Most of all, Shane wondered who he really was. He had many questions, but he knew where he had to start; for the sake of the city he had to stop Chase. “To defeat the enemy, you have to be like the enemy.” Shane concluded, “I’ll run away from home too, like him.” Shane was walking down a long alley when just then, a man grabbed him.
“Hello.”
“Aaaaaaaaah! Wh… who are you?” Shane retreated.
“Sorry for my sudden appearance. My name is Seymour.”
“I don’t know you.”
“But I know you.”
“How?”
“I secretly have cameras around the whole city, I am secret even to the local police, and I saw you trying to stop Chase. If he is not stopped soon, I predict that he will destroy the city, since fire is his ultimate desire.”
“You have cameras, why didn’t you stop him yourself?”
“I’m not as fit as I used to be, but you… you did a good job.”
“Do you really think so?”
“People look at the outward appearance too much. And what I mean by that could be by strength, agility, toughness. I want you to stop him.”
“But I can’t… I’m too weak, and he has too many tricks up his sleeve. I’m no match for him.” His spirit said yes, but his flesh said no.
“It is all about the mind. And you have mental strength. I’ve seen you run with such speed and reflex, trying to save anyone in danger, determined. Now you will save the city. I will supply you with food, shelter, water, and the tools you need to defeat Chase. Do you accept this offer?”
Shane thought about this. He thought about what it would be like to do something useful. He thought about what it would be like to see something great. He thought about what it would be like to be a hero. After a long pause, Shane said “I accept.”
“Good boy. It’s getting dark now. Why don’t I show you your room?” suggested Seymour. They walked past a few houses and reached their destination. When Shane walked inside he saw a few computers. “Here is the computer lab, where I watch the city.” Seymour explained as they walked a few more paces, “And here is your room.” It was nicely decorated with wallpaper and had a nice, comfy bed. There was also a desk right beside the bed and there was something on top of it. It was a squirt gun. Shane walked over to the childish toy, picked it up, and fired it at Seymour. “I can see that you have a unique sense of humor.” said Seymour “That is no ordinary squirt gun, it is a water gun. The application of water removes heat from the fire faster than the fire can produce it.”
“So what you’re trying to say is, it’s not really the water that puts out a fire, and it’s actually the property of water, which is the ability to remove heat?”
“That is correct. Similarly, blowing hard on a flame will displace the heat of the currently burning gas from its fuel source.”
“So, is that my first lesson; Fire can be extinguished by removing the heat element of fire?”
“Hmmm. So I see that you are already making accurate predictions. You learn quickly. More lessons will come for the days to follow, along with training, which will start tomorrow morning.”
Right before Shane went to bed, Seymour said “Oh, and take this. It’s a mini super-powered fan. It rotates about 30 times per second.”
Next morning, Shane awoke with a start. Seymour had set an alarm clock on his desk. It said 6:00 a.m. and it was the 4th of July, Independence Day. Shane put the water gun went into the computer lab, but he was not there. He decided to search for another room. He walked into a white marble room, with appliances all around. It was the kitchen, and Seymour had prepared pancakes for him. “Ah, good morning, Shane. Here’s your breakfast.”
After Shane had eaten his breakfast, Seymour had called him into the basement. When Shane entered the underground floor, he thought “This must be the training room.”
“Here is the training room” Seymour explained, “Today I will require you to improve reflex, agility, and coordination. Did you bring your water gun?”
“Right here.”
“Good, you will now shoot the tennis balls I throw at you.”
“What!? I can’t do that?”
“Then you will practice shooting on stationary targets.”
Seymour put three tennis balls on the three boxes he stood behind. Then he said “You will shoot the tennis balls I point to, however many times, as fast as you can.” Shane nodded as Seymour pointed at the first ball. Shane aimed and fired, but the beam of water hit the box. Seymour pointed to the next ball, Shane aimed higher, but it was too high. Next, Shane calculated the earth’s gravitational pull on the water, and when Seymour pointed, Shane fired and hit it. Seymour pointed again and Shane hit the tennis ball. Seymour pointed and Shane hit. They did this again and again until Seymour decided that Shane was ready for the next course.
“Next we will shoot moving objects.” said Seymour. Shane knew what to do. When Seymour threw the ball, Shane fired, but missed, and the ball hit him in the face. Seymour chuckled a bit, and then continued. He threw the ball and Shane had already made his calculations, blasting the ball away. Seymour, surprised, threw more balls at a faster pace, but Shane easily blasted them in a consecutive order.
They continued the course with more movement now. Seymour threw the balls while running from one side of the room to the other. Shane had succeeded. Then Seymour added the element of wind using electric fans. Shane had succeeded still. Seymour then told him to dodge the rocks and shoot the tennis balls. Eagerly, Shane had done so with such accuracy. Finally, Seymour challenged him to a fun little exercise.
“For the final test, I will use some sort of tennis ball launcher at you.”
“Sounds easy.”
“But this time, your target aren’t the tennis balls. Your target is me.”
“I see...”
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I have to tell you, Shane.”
“What’s that?”
“Try not to get hit.” Seymour smirked.
Seymour fired his bazooka at him and Shane doubled over. He fired again, and Shane barely dodged the rubber bullet. Shane fired back and Seymour ducked, soon after fired at Shane. Seymour had reloaded quickly, and Shane knew the ball wouldn’t hit him, but then he realized what Seymour was aiming for. His gun toppled to the ground. As Shane kneeled to pick up his gun, Shane took a direct hit on the forehead. Shane started getting serious now. He dashed to the left and to the right trying to hit Seymour from an angle. Seymour dodged all of these shots and started to do the same. Seymour was pretty fast for his age. Shane ducked behind boxes and Seymour mimicked his actions. It was a warzone. Shane tried to outmaneuver him by leading him into a corner, but Seymour saw this and started playing some tricks of his own. He bounced the tennis balls off the walls, trying to hit Shane, but Shane had improved reflex. They continued shooting for minutes, and neither contestant gave in. “I have to think outside the box.” Shane thought. Then he found something. Seymour was reloading behind a box and heard Shane fire a shot, and so he waited for the shot of water to pass, but it didn’t go past him nor did it hit the box or the ground. He heard something in the background to his side before he realized it was too late. The water splashed at his chest. How did it hit him? It was because of the fan.
“Yes!”
“You show amazing skills, boy!”
“What do I have to do next?”
“Eat your lunch, of course!”
After Shane had eaten lunch, Seymour invited him into the computer lab. There was something he had to show him. “Firework theft. The Pyromaniac.” flashed the news. One who calls himself The Pyromaniac, had threatened the booth worker at a local fireworks stand for fireworks. The worker gave him some fireworks, but The Pyromaniac was in for all or nothing. So, The Pyromaniac threw a makeshift bomb using a paint can and a lighter, as reported. The explosion hit the fireworks that were around the man, and they exploded, too. Luckily, the man survived, with only some minor cuts and burns. He had escaped on a motorcycle, which was also believed to be stolen.
Seymour showed him the video feed from one of his cameras and it showed Chase lighting the plastic top of the paint can and throwing it at the man. He saw the booth blast into bits as Chase escaped on a motorcycle. “Chase…” was all Shane could say.
Seymour then started teaching Shane some more information about fire.
“Oxygen is another requirement for fire to survive, right?”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“Well, you can smother fire by covering the flame completely.”
“Okay…”
“But there is another way to remove oxygen.”
“How?”
“Here, this is a rapid-fire carbon dioxide pellet gun. It is among one of my finest projects I have made in my invention room. Shoot it at a solid object, and upon impact, the pellets will release concentrated carbon dioxide to displace the oxygen in the air.” said Seymour as he handed over the gun.
“Cool!”
“Keep it with you, as it may come in handy.”
The time was now 11:00 p.m. He was in his bed and it was a quite, and peaceful night when all of a sudden––Boom! Shane heard a single blast of a firecracker, along with the rest of the city. He knew right away who it was. And he went to sleep with a single tear running down his cheek. “Chase…” was all he could think about, “what have you become?”
The next day, Shane was in the basement again, doing training. He was practicing with the pellet gun. Seymour was using torches to light boxes on fire. Each one lit super-fast. By now, Shane was getting used to the law of gravity. Then Seymour did something extreme. He threw some boxes (which were pretty light) around Shane in a fast pace and then threw the flaming torch. There was a wall of fire around Shane in a split second. “Aaaaaaaaah!” screamed Shane. “Just do what you need to do!” yelled Seymour. Shane had to think fast. First, he tried shooting on the tops of the boxes, which seemed the reasonable thing to do. Ratatatatatatatatat! Nothing happened. Then, he started shooting on the bottom of the boxes. No effect. He tried the sides. Still nothing. He felt one of the flames singe his arm and the intense heat coming to him. Then he found the answer. The boxes had to be targeted one at a time, like a real firefighter. He put out one box, then the next, and the one after that, and kept putting out the fires until the only heat he felt was the burn he got on his arm.
“Congratulations, you passed.”
“I burned my arm.”
“Let’s give it some treatment, then.”
After Seymour had bandaged up Shane’s burn, he showed him what was on the news. Newsflash: “The Pyromaniac Strikes Again! Miners Attacked!” This time, Chase had snuck in the midst of the night into a mine. He used fireworks to steal something even more dangerous: Dynamite. The miners ended up getting second-degree burns. Again, no one was killed. “Chase is a serial killer.” said Shane.
“He hasn’t killed anyone yet.”
“Soon.”
The time was now 12:00 p.m. He couldn’t sleep because of the lit night sky. It was lit not by street lights or fireworks or by any human-made invention. It was lit, by fire. Fire is meant only to destroy. “Fire is meant only to destroy.” muttered Shane, emotionless, “I will stop him, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Day three with Seymour started without breakfast, 5:00 in the morning. Seymour had called Shane into basement, skipping breakfast, but Shane didn’t complain. He handed him a spray can.
“What you hold in your hands is a fire retardant spray can.”
“What does that mean?”
“In other words, you can spray its gel on any object and make it resistant to fire.”
“But it doesn’t work if you use it on an object that’s already on fire?”
“That is correct.”
“So… how does it work?”
“Here, read my notes.” Seymour handed him a piece of paper. The paper read:
The polymer in gels soak up hundreds of times their weight in water creating millions of tiny drops of water surrounded by and protected by a polymer shell. The result is a "bubblet" or a drop of water surrounded by a polymer shell in contrast to a bubble which is air surrounded by liquid. As the gel and water are sprayed onto an exposed surface, millions of tiny "bubblets" are stacked one on top of another. The stacking of the water "bubblets" form a thermal protective "blanket" over the surface to which it is applied. In order for the heat of the fire to penetrate the protected surface, it must burn off each layer of the gel "bubblets" coating. Each layer holds the heat away from the next layer of bubblets beneath. The polymer shell of each bubblets and their stacking significantly prevent water evaporation.
The stacking of the bubblets is similar to aspirated fire fighting foam or compressed air foam systems, except that bubblets are water filled, whereas foam bubbles are only filled with air. Due to the high specific heat of water, it requires more energy to raise the temperature of water than air. Therefore, water-filled bubblets will absorb more heat than the air-filled foam bubbles (which are more effective for vapor suppression). When gel is applied to a surface such as an exterior wall, the water-filled bubblets can absorb much of the heat given off by the fire, thereby slowing the fire from reaching the wall.
Gels can provide thermal protection from fire for extended periods even at 3500° Fahrenheit. Depending on the fire conditions, applied fire retardant gels offer fire protection for periods of 6 to 36 hours.
After the retained water is completely evaporated from a gel, fire resistance is lost.
After thinking a long time, Shane asked “So what is polymer, exactly?” “A polymer is a large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds, a form of chemical bonding that is characterized by the sharing of pairs of electrons between atoms; and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms when they share electrons is known as covalent bonding.” Seymour answered expertly. “I… see.” commented Shane, in which in fact he really didn’t. “I’ll let you eat your breakfast first, then I have to show you something.” said Seymour.
Shane ate his breakfast speedily and returned to Seymour. He was at the computer lab. The title was a little catchy: “Oil Well Attack by The Pyromaniac!” The Pyromaniac came in the secured perimeter with ease. He was in no rush to break in, or get out. He merely smoke-bombed the guards and threw dynamite at some oil cans. It caused a chain reaction throughout the perimeter and many people were severely wounded. The Pyromaniac now threatens to destroy the city if the citizens do not surrender to him. He is calling the mass surrender July 5th, 12:00 p.m. If the people do not submit, Mayor Arthur will be assassinated.
“Is this why you set my alarm so early?”
“Yes.”
“Why does he want so much power?”
“I watched him closely from my live video feed and I think he wants to rule the world.”
“Man, he is crazy.”
“No more jokes, this is serious.”
“Right.”
“Mayor Arthur is being protected in the city hall by the fire department.”
“They’re no match for Chase.”
“And that’s why you’re going to stop him.”
“Oh…”
Then there was a long pause.
“Why don’t you stop Chase yourself?”
“When I said that I wasn’t as great as I once was, I meant my reputation, not my physical strength.”
“I wish I had a way to thank you…”
“You have to go, now.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and Shane?”
“Yes, Seymour?”
“Take this.” Seymour handed him a fire extinguisher. It included Halon 1211, which was and alternative name for Bromochlorodifluoromethane, which was a chemical that retards the chemical reaction of fire itself until the rate of combustion is too slow to maintain the chain reaction. It was 11:30 a.m. 30 minutes left.
Chase turned the corner and saw the whole fire department in front of him. When the firefighters saw him, as well as the mayor, who was well behind them, they turned in shock, but prepared, because he was: The Pyromaniac. Chase was calm, though, intimidating the firefighters with his piercing eyes. The protectors were strong, but were not fast. He threw his ping pong balls at them, but they ignored it, for they thought it was too small to do any damage, until it was too late. The protectors of the city hall had collapsed, poisoned. As Chase squinted at the dissipating smoke, he saw a familiar figure. It was Shane, and he was in the path between Chase and the mayor. They both stared at each other for a long time. Not one made a sound, not one said a word. They now knew the true reason of their existence; to defeat the other. They both looked at each other’s weapons. And that’s when they made their move.
Chase threw his smoke bombs at Shane, and in a split second, smoke was surrounding him from all sides. Shane used his mini super-powered fan and blasted away the smoke. Chase then made a makeshift flamethrower using a paint can and a lighter, it was a melee weapon, and Chase sprinted at Shane at lightning speed. Chase slashed across his chest, but his clothing was fire retardant from the polymer gel. Chase realized this, and made an uppercut to his head, and Shane dodged the flaming sword just barely, inches away from his face. Chase aimed for his head again, but this time, Shane was ready and parried the attack with his fan, and they did this again and again until Shane took initiative and revealed another weapon. Chase had run out of attack angles, so he retreated, swapping his weapons too. Shane had taken out his water gun and Chase had taken out his gadget of his own. He had an auto-reloading firecracker launcher. Chase aimed straight at Shane, and fired. Shane blasted the firecracker but it had no effect, and the firecracker exploded right in his chest, and he blasted away, taking damage, but was fire resistant. Chase aimed at Shane’s head this time, and Shane unleashed his ultimate weapon, the fire extinguisher. Shane fired the weapon on the oncoming rocket and had put out the fuse from inside the firecracker. Shane then blasted Chase away. Chase was well away from the city hall now, but Shane noticed the black ooze that was around him. It was like a maze, with the final path leading all the way to the big can that was strapped on Chase’s back. And that’s when Chase lit the match, not a lighter, but a match. Chase had gotten up and engraved the ground with his signature. The match was his pride, his glory, and his spirit. This time it roared with evil. He raised it high above the air, higher than any skyscraper he had seen, and dropped it on the black ooze. Shane was surrounded by flames, and he had to get out of the maze, before he overheated. He took one way, dead end. He took another way, got pretty far, but was also a dead end. He went back and took the last way, running now, but he saw no opening. But then he found a small gap of the fire, and jumped through it. Chase saw Shane come out of the maze of death, surprised. Chase equipped his flamethrower and charged at Shane. Shane did the same with his extinguisher, and at the last second, Chase had jumped, slashing downward. Shane moved to the side and fired back at Chase, making a non-stop beam of freezing liquid. Chase seemed to teleport, as he was lightning-quick. Chase dashed again, but Shane swept him off the ground. Chase was down now, and Shane moved in to finish him off. Shane aimed, and fired, but Chase was able to counter, even while he was down, with fire! The extinguisher was weakening. Chase’s fire seemed to be pushing back Shane’s water, and it pushed it back, closer and closer to Shane, until it reached him. But the fire didn’t reach him; it reached the rubber top of the extinguisher. Shane dropped it, ran away, and Chase, now confused, didn’t realize what was about to happen before it was too late. The extinguisher blew up right in front of his face.
Shane was a hero. He had saved the city. Mayor Arthur had called for a celebration for the hero. He asked Shane if he would like to give a speech, and Shane accepted. As he went up on the stage, he remembered Seymour. And so he said “I am here today, not to celebrate, not to congratulate, but to remember. To remember the day I met this man who has offered me food, shelter, water, his teaching, and most of all, friendship. He is kind, gentle, and loving. And this man’s name is… Seymour.”
There was then a familiar hand that patted his shoulder. It was Seymour. The crowd looked and was surprised, and they were silent. He was once known around the city for making great inventions, but one day, he just abandoned the city, forgot all about the city, and came back, expecting greetings from all around. But it didn’t happen that way. The city had grown weak, economically, and the city blamed Seymour. He promised that he would fix the city, but the city didn’t believe him. The crowd at first was silent, but then there was a single clap. More started to follow, and more, then cheers started to come. And the loudness of the crowd grew mightier, shouting “Seymour! Seymour! Seymour!” because Seymour had made a promise, and proved that he was willing to keep it. Then the crowd went up onto the stage, and raised Seymour and Shane above their heads as they cheered them on around the city.
Why am I telling you this? This device that I am holding in my hand is a detonator for a pack of C4. Seymour is now participating in the FBI, and miraculously, Chase survived. Both were lucky, but one still seeks revenge. One day, Chase will rise again, and he already has. Chase realized that having street skills was not enough. He needed more than just that. That was how he lost to Shane. Seymour was became a great person with his technology and I seek to do the same, for the sake of the world. And when I say for the sake of the world I mean world domination, because I am Chase. I am: The Pyromaniac. And I’ll be back.
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He Lies in Wait by Andrew on Storybird