Vendadi House Fire 1986

Athos covered his mouth and nose desperately to shield his senses form the stench of gasoline. It was spread thoroughly throughout the house,starting at the fire place. Now all he had to do was light it. But he chose to wait. Just for a few minutes. Picking up his last full gallon,he made a trail to the front and back door.

The boy was supposed to be in the school's recently remodeled basement sitting in detention. But he had slipped out through the window and headed home.

Hastily gathering his supplies,Athos left and waited for his father to come home with his little brother. As soon as they were inside,he'd light the fire and slam the door on them.

Minutes turned into a half hour,and a blue van pulled into the driveway.

''Can I go play at the park?''a small boy called out as he climbed out of the vehicle. Athos swore silently. Dammit. Friday. His little brother didn't have any homework.

He missed what his father said next and the sound of sneakers running towards the swing-set across the street. He only heard the front door close,and he lit the match. Time slowed to a crawl as he crushed ten empty milk jugs that had once held the gasoline into an old backpack and took off. The school building was only one block away,and the window was still open.

By the time he'd reached the basement window,there were four fire engines parked outside of his house. The fire was massive,as he could see it reaching several feet above the trees. He hurled the old backpack into a dumpster and forced his skinny body through the window.

He sat down comfortably next to his current schoolbag,and began to do his homework for the afternoon. It was a very good thing the teacher was still in the bathroom,and it was even better that he was the only kid in detention this week.

The airflow through the open window brought the rich and overpowering stench of smoke and burnt wood,and he found himself not just loving but adoring the smell.

Leaning his head back and relaxing,he smiled warmly and let the smell be permanently imprinted in his mind.

...

Athos flinched and stared at the lit match in his hand. The flame danced in front of his eyes,and he realized that the flame was almost touching the tips of his fingers. He unhappily blew it out.

He looked around him and took a heavy breath. What was once finished hardwood flooring was now crunching and creaking beneath his shoes. The smell of charred fabric from old furniture filled his sensitive nostrils as he paced through the unstable house. The windows only needed one solid punch to crumble into a pile of ashes on the ground outside.

A stairway was still standing. It had not been overly damaged by the fire. He gripped the railing firmly as he made his way to the second floor of the house. A blackened hallway lined the path to his destination. The first room in the hallway was to his right. The walls were still blue,the bed was still made,and books were still in their places on the shelves. It was his old room;the only room in the house with no fire damage.

''...Four hours were taken to put out the fire of the Vendadi house. Though the parents were in fact in the house at the time of the fire,no bodies were recovered...''

Athos smirked. 'Huge relief for me,at least.'

The next room down the hall was his parents' room. There was a decent amount of fire damage. He expected that. The ceiling had collapsed during the inferno. How no bodies were recovered was beyond him,as he was looking at what was very clearly a skull among the pile of roasted wood.

'That's right,mother had the flu that day,'he though to himself.

His feet took him to the bed,and from under the pile of burnt wood,he removed the cracked skull. Holding it up to eye level,he saw that the crack on the skull extended from the top to the left eye socket.

As soon as the ceiling collapsed,Athos' mother never had a chance. The wood striking her skull had killed her instantly. Smirking slightly,he left the room and continued down the carbonized hallway. His smile faltered,however,when he entered another room that was neither his nor his parents. This room was special to him. He had not been thinking clearly when he set the fire.

Wallpaper that was once red was brown and peeling off of the walls. The details of a teenage girl's cheetah print fleece blanket on a bed was still slightly visible. This room was not meant to suffer from the fire. But it had. Plastic flowers were only slightly melted onto the hardwood of a desk. Charred dolls were still strewn about the room.

Athos sighed and let one single tear slide past his cheek. He didn't miss his parents at all. He absolutely hated his brother. His brother's room was the room that had suffered the most damage. But this room belonged to the most innocent part of the family.

Anya Vistovia Vendadi.

His twin sister. She had not been killed by the fire. Instead,she had been at school tutoring a friend. Anya had walked home to find her life burnt black and crumbling. Her various belongings...were gone. Her little brother was being held firmly in the arms of a young redheaded detective,and her parents were nowhere in sight.

Athos remembered standing a few feet away,hands in his pockets with the hood of his sweater hiding his face from view.

She approached the detective,eyes over flowing with tears. Her hand found the redhead's shoulder,drawing his attention. Arms were outstretched to take the weeping child he held,and the small boy had more than willingly run to her.

He witnessed it all;the tears,the approach,the open arms and finally the destroyed and crying child.

Athos even clearly recalled the rather sudden and painful slap to his face he'd received from Anya. He had seen it in her eyes that she knew he was the cause of the inferno that had taken everything away. She just couldn't prove it.

Instead,she spat on the red hand-print on his cheek that she had given him,and carried her little brother away from the scene.

Yet,despite everything,he couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry. Not even the slightest bit.

Sighing and shaking his head,Athos headed back downstairs to the kitchen,which was located at the back of the house. Upon reaching the doorway,a smile graced its way onto his face. Tiny bits of bone crunched under his shoes,bringing peace to his mind once again.

Jay lay back on the couch,resting his somewhat aching body. But while his bones received rest,his mind was spinning. His phone had not rung at all. It had been three days since the last call. Three days too many.

His heart pounded heavily in his chest. Worry was evident in his eyes,and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It had no reason to be there since his ribs were fine. Horatio came out of the kitchen,well aware of the lack of phone calls on his own cell.

He watched Jay remove his phone from his pocket,set it on the coffee table,and stare at it.

Minutes ticked by...

''Jay,what are you doing?''

''If I stare at it long enough,it'll ring,''the angel replied.

Horatio rolled his eyes. ''If you're that worried,call him yourself.''

Jay sighed and closed his eyes. ''You're worried,too. Admit it.''

Horatio paused,realizing that his son-in-law was right. ''Yes,I'm quite worried. But Genesis was left in Detective Taylor's care. I trust him enough to take care of my son.''

Grabbing the phone,he dialed the younger redhead's phone. It rang...and rang...and rang...

Danny's eyes went from the paperwork he was reading to the ringing cell phone on the table near him.

Mac was prepping dinner when it went off. He looked at the blond,who was staring at the device in fear.

''It's Jay...!''

Mac paused and set a knife down on the counter. He wasn't anymore ready to answer the phone than Danny was. They'd kept the fact that Genesis was in the hospital and that Aidan was missing a secret from both Horatio and Jay,since they didn't really want to throw more wood in the fire,so to speak.

But they knew one of them had to answer.

''You want to pick it up,or should I?''Mac asked.

Danny gulped. He may have been sitting in New York,but he could almost feel Jay's fury and impatience.

''You answer it,''Danny finally squeaked.

Mac took a deep breath,and just as the phone was about to go to voice-mail,he brought it to his ear.

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