The Pantheon (13 page)

“
Need help?” He admired the body of the car. “Is this custom paint?”

“
Yeah, it is.” Zach straightened up and looked at Evan. He hadn’t been expecting aid from a short cripple on a bicycle. “Do you know anything about classic cars?”

“
Tons.” Evan ran his fingertips over the chrome trim of the car. The engine caught the sun and flashed in his eyes. “You keep her real clean.”

“
Clean doesn’t help when she won’t move.”

“
Try to start it up.” Evan checked the oil while Zach got in the car. He turned the key. Sparks, but it wouldn’t start. “Well your spark plug sounds like it works.” He closed his eyes and imagined the functions of an internal combustion engine. When he opened them he went straight for the spark plug. He came up with a wire that had been broken. “You must have mice in your garage.” The final thread of wire had finally given out. “This wire takes the spark to the fuel.”

“
That’s it? That bit of wire?” Zach stared incredulously.

“
That’s it.”

“
So how much does that cost to fix?”

“
I’ve got some of this in my garage. I could fix it.”

Zach looked at the bike. He wasn’t going to ride on the handlebars. “How far is it?”

“
Oh, it’s the yellow cape, right there.” Evan could see his house from where he was standing. He grabbed his bike and started to walk toward his house, stepping heavily on his left leg with each stride. “C’mon.”

Evan unlocked the side door of the two car garage. His mother’s minivan was parked in one bay. His father’s truck was out front. Evan had half of the garage to himself. Inside were a workbench and a plethora of tools. In the middle of the concrete floor was some sort of motorized vehicle Zach had never seen before. It had three, round, over-sized wheels and an old bucket seat from a car. There were more buckles and straps than were normally found on the seat of just a regular go-kart.

“
What’s that?” Zach asked, approaching it cautiously.

“
It’s an all-terrain go-kart I’m working on. I still have some additions to make on it. It needs more torque. It takes too long to get up to speed.”

“
Nice. You built it?”

“
From scratch.” Evan started opening drawers on his workbench. He finally came up with a bundle of tangled wire. “It’s in here.”

Zach touched the leather seat of the vehicle. “Can I sit?”

“
Yeah, go ahead.” Evan searched for some wire cutters, which lead to a thunderous clatter as he rifled through another drawer.

Zach sat down and felt enveloped in the seat. He gripped the steering wheel, which was closer to the tiller of an airplane than the wheel of a car. “You’ll have to let me drive it when it’s done.”

“
I still have to work out the speed and the steering. I need more parts, though. That’s why it has all the straps, so you don’t fall out when it flips.” Evan slapped the back of the seat. “I got your wire.”

They walked back down the street to Zach’s car. Evan popped the hood and started fastening the wires. Zach leaned on the bumper and watched him work.

“
I never got your name,” he realized. Everyone knew who he was, but that didn’t mean it worked in reverse.

“
Evan Fuller,” he mumbled the introduction, still absorbed in his work. He was wrapping the spliced wire in green electrical tape to insulate it.

“
I’m Zach.” He didn’t need the introduction, he knew that, but assuming would be a little too pompous, even for Zach.

“
I know,” Evan straightened up. “Start her up.”

Zach climbed into the driver’s seat and turned the key. The old Thunderbird sparked and started. Evan tried not to look too pleased with himself. Zach jumped out of the car and clapped him on the back. “Hey, thanks man.” He moved to pound fists with Evan, but Evan held out his hand to shake. There was an awkward moment of Zach and Evan both trying to figure out what the other was doing before Zach shook his hand.

Zach got into his car. Evan walked back to his driveway. Zach had changed gears and was ready to pull away when there was an explosion.

In an incredible display of flames and smoke, the windows to Evan’s house blew out. Shattered glass was thrown in all directions. Evan was knocked backwards by the shockwave, his arms shielding his eyes.

Zach turned off his car and threw the door open. Evan struggled to get to his feet before Zach got to his side.

“
You OK?” Zach asked as he helped Evan stand up straight.

“
Yeah, I think so...” Evan shook it off before realizing that his parents were still inside. “Mom! Dad!” he exclaimed. Every muscle in Zach’s body fired up. Adrenaline kicked in. He was about to do something stupid.

Mr. Fuller stumbled out the front door, coughing and covered in ash. Blood was pouring down his neck from a gash on his jaw. “My wife is in the bedroom.” That was his cue. Zach ran into the burning house with Evan following slowly behind.

The heat was a solid wall. The roof was collapsing in. Zach could hear a woman screaming on the other side of the rubble. He took off his Miami Dolphins jersey and wrapped it around his hands so that he wouldn’t burn himself moving hot furniture and dry wall out of the way. Evan was behind him, coughing.

“
Mom!” He didn’t think to wrap his hands and yelped when he grabbed a hot piece of the caved-in ceiling. Zach unwrapped his hands. The door to the bedroom was blocked and she was trapped.

“
Stand back!” He only gave her a moment’s notice before electricity shot from the palms of his hands. There was a flash, a crack, and the door was blasted in. Zach climbed through the new path and threw Mrs. Fuller over his shoulder.

Evan tripped and fell on his way to the door. Zach grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him up off the floor. He dragged him along, out the front door, and on to the lawn.

Mr. Fuller hugged his wife and kissed her forehead. She had latched on to Evan and wouldn’t let him go. Zach was now doubled over coughing.

“
Thank you,” Evan gasped.

Zach nodded in response. He hadn’t thought twice about rushing into danger. It just felt like the right thing to do. Fire trucks echoed in the distance.

Evan walked around the charred remains of the house. The garage was about the only thing that hadn’t been burned. The stairs to the back deck were still clean at the bottom. They were solid cedar and looked new, but as they ascended they blackened until they reached the deck, which was dissolved into the bones of the former structure and then into nothing. The fire had started in the kitchen and the back door to the deck opened into that room of the house.

Firefighters were spraying and stirring the ashes to make sure the fire stayed out. The Chief was upstairs, risking his life on the rickety floor to discern the exact cause of the gas explosion. Arson was still a possibility.

Evan’s eyes followed the banister down the deck stairs. A black handprint was on the rail. He looked closer. It was a hand-shaped burn. Another hand-sized mark was burned into the grass just on the other side of the rail. It looked as if the owner of the hand had jumped the rail and caught himself, scorching the grass.

Evan crouched and examined the torched spot of lawn. One of the police, Lieutenant Gutierrez, saw Evan on the ground and approached.

“
You find something?”

“
Look.” He just pointed as he stood up. Evan was tired and his leg was sore. He was breathing heavily.

Gutierrez squinted at the hand on the rail. “What the hell?”

“
What is that?” Evan asked.

He stared for a minute in disbelief before his attention came back to the present. He looked over at Evan.

“
You been checked out by the EMT yet?”

Evan shook his head, “They can look over Zach and my parents first.” His hands stung from the mild burn he’d received and he was having a hard time getting a breath of air. Tomorrow his fingers would feel tough, smooth, and desensitized, like he’d gotten superglue on his fingers.

“
You breathed smoke too, maybe more than your dad. And you’ve got burned hands.” The cop led Evan to the ambulance and away from the evidence. He needed Sergeant Thompson to have a look at that handprint right away.

“
Look and you will find it-- what is unsought will go undetected.”

-Sophocles

xi.

She had been searching for him everywhere

from fields to forests to meadows and mountains.

Someone had told her he had been unfaithful.

He had been untrue.

She tracked the sound of laughter from a clearing.

She had been with him for ages and knew him.

She knew his habits and she knew that laughter.

And so she found him.

He was sitting on the edge of a clear pool

with a beautiful woman next to his side.

He had excellent taste in all his affairs

and she was with child.

He saw his wife staring with fire in her eyes.

He tried to explain it away to calm her

but she flew at his mistress and struck her head.

She had aimed to kill.

“
Accomplish your limit.”

-Delphic Maxim

XI.

Zach Jacobs rolled over in bed, still asleep. It woke June. He had come up to her room last night before her parents had gotten home from their party and he’d be out before sunrise-- before her father woke up. Until dawn they’d pretend like they were already adults, married and on their own. June tried to curl up against him and sleep again but the dream was trickling back to her. Zach had gotten another girl pregnant. June had killed her.

She sat up and pulled the sheet to cover her body. June stared down at Zach, full of suspicion. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. Here in the moonlight with her red hair down around her face, she was as beautiful as Zach had ever seen her. For a moment he caught the vulnerability in her eyes before the guard went up. Her expression turned severe.

“
What’s wrong?” he asked.

“
Your chin scratched me. It hurt, so I woke up,” she lied.

Zach rubbed his chin. Yes, it was very scratchy. “Sorry, you know I can’t help it.” It seemed to grow faster when he slept.

June settled back down next to him. He propped himself up on his arm and looked at her. Zach wished so much that she’d soften. He had loved her since they were in kindergarten, when he’d tell his mother that some day he was going to marry her, but she had become more and more cold over the years.

June watched him for some sign of betrayal. Finally she asked, “Do you love me?”

“
Of course,” it was an easy answer for Zach. “More than anything.”

June closed her eyes as he touched her cheek. “I love you too.”

Zach pressed a kiss to her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lazily kissed him back, even though his stubble scratched against her lips. He pulled her closer, his hand wandering over her hip. Zach made a move to roll over her, tugging at her pajama bottoms, but she pushed him back down.

“
Zach,” she scolded.

Zack grumbled a quiet protest. He didn’t get why June had never let him past second base. She wasn’t exactly religious.

“
Goodnight, Zach.” She turned on her side. Zach wrapped his arms around her middle and settled down to sleep.

“
Goodnight, Junebug.”

Homecoming at Olympia Heights had once been a time of glory. In the early nineties the Thunder had won five consecutive State Championships, the last four of which were in the first division. Everyone was hoping that this year would bring redemption to the fallen team. Homecoming was a rematch against the Titans and the Thunder needed to prove that their loss a few weeks ago was solely because of the freak accident involving their quarterback.

Zach Jacobs had inhaled smoke a few days before and still wasn’t back to a hundred percent. He had enjoyed the few days of fame, taking over Teddy Wexler and Nick Morrisey’s positions as home town hero, until he realized that it wasn’t fun to be incredibly winded at practice.

The parade was to take place before the game and the junior class float was still not complete. June was furious that Devon Valentine had been named Princess of the Junior class. She was to stand next to Zach during the parade. It made matters a whole lot worse when the blonde succubus had showed up after school to help finish the float. She was standing by the giant pile of tissue paper flowers, her hand on Zach’s shoulder, laughing far too often for June’s comfort. Zach, dressed in well-fitted boot cut jeans, a tight white screen printed t-shirt, and his Olympia Heights Senior High letterman jacket, didn’t seem to mind Devon’s purposeful touches. June had to go babysit.