The Administrator by S. Joan Popek Read Free Book Online

struggled to untie his hands from behind his back. In Billy’s mind, George’s body rotated slowly as he swung gently back and forth suspended from the black chain around his feet. George’s head began to swell from the heat, until it burst like a ripe watermelon thrown against a brick wall.       
    Billy opened his eyes wide, and suddenly his guts squirmed like a thousand snakes were writhing inside him. He was sweating. The whole scene had played in black and white, but then, Billy never had liked blood and gore. That’s why he watched the old reruns on TV. The blood was always black. Not real.
    His mother screamed from the kitchen. A long, horrified scream that rattled in her throat like sewage draining through a clogged pipe.
    Billy jumped to his feet and lunged through the kitchen door. “Mama! Mama!” His mother was backed against the refrigerator. He skidded to a halt, grabbed his mother around the waist and buried his face against her. “Don’t touch her!” He screamed into her skirt, afraid to turn and face the vicious George. He hugged her tighter and waited for the blows he knew were coming.
    Nothing happened. No screaming, no swearing, no fists beating at his head—nothing. Absolute silence. He couldn’t even hear his mother breathing.
    Slowly, he loosened his hold on her waist and looked up at her face.
    She stared wide-eyed and horrified in the direction of the stove.
    Billy’s gaze followed hers.
    George was on the floor. His body burned scarlet. Ragged pieces of blistered skin opened into corrupted wounds. He gasped once, then lay silent. Blackened holes where his eyes had been stared sightless at the stained, yellow ceiling.
    Suddenly, the stench of burned flesh registered on Billy’s senses. He felt dizzy.
    Billy’s mother covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, “He ... he was coming at me ... and ... and he just—just burst into flames! Burst, I tell you, just started burning! Then ... then the fire stopped just like it started. Instantly! Oh, God. What happened here? Oh God! Oh God!” She stopped talking and started screaming.
    The dizziness subsided, and the resiliency of the very young took charge. He called 911 and led his mother into the living room to wait for the police.
    An hour later, the burly detective who had answered the call ran his stubby fingers through his almost nonexistent hair and sighed. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “Must have been a gas leak from the stove. A freak accident. Can’t figure how it stayed contained in one spot. You’re lucky the whole building didn’t go up. As old and rundown as these apartment complexes are, I’m surprised any of them are still standing.”
    Billy stood beside his mother as the paramedics carried the stretcher with the black, plastic bag on it out the door. The smell of burned flesh pervaded the room. Suddenly his mother covered her mouth with her hand and sprinted for the bathroom.
    The detective shifted nervously from one foot to the other as sounds of her retching echoed. “Uh ... sorry about your mother, Son. Do you want me to call a doctor or something?”
    “No. I’ll take care of her, Sir.”
    “You’re awfully young to have to handle this, Boy. How old are you? About nine or ten? Sure you don’t want some help?”
    “No. Mama will be okay. We’ve been alone before.”
    The detective nodded and said, “Yeah. I guess you probably have. Where’s your dad, Son?”
    “He died about two years ago.”
    “Oh. Sorry. This guy ... he was her boyfriend?”
    “Sort of. He hung around a lot.”  
    “Yeah. Well, if you need anything, here’s my card. Just call the precinct and ask for me.”
    Billy took the card. “Thank you, Sir. I’d better see about my Mama now.”
    “Sure.” The detective turned and followed the paramedics out.
    Billy closed the door, looked at the card in his hand and dropped it in the waste basket on his way to the bathroom.
    His mother opened the door at his