Chaotic Arsonist: A Short Story

As they had previously planned, Roy met up with Captain Stanley at a diner not usually frequented by firefighters. Both were more concerned than before as when the other crew members were asked how they thought Johnny did on his first day back, they all felt something was off. No one could really pinpoint what was different – just that Johnny seemed to distance himself from everyone and wasn’t quite the same person he was before going on disability leave. All wondered if it was due to being a victim of Chaotic Arsonist, as the media had dubbed the fire starter or something else. However, it almost seemed more than that, as if Johnny held some sort of secret.
Whatever it was, Marco, Chet, and Mike, all agreed to keep a closer eye on Johnny and
“We already knew how bad things were for her and her diabetes seems to be tricky, but she is going downhill faster than anyone thought.”
Sighing, Hank shook his head, “This can’t be helping.”
“Actually,” Roy put in. “Johnny was dealing well with everything. He felt guilty at first about being grateful about the stroke, but since the stroke caused memory loss, his aunt really isn’t aware of what is happening now. I told him it was reasonable to see it as a blessing.”
“It’s still got to be tough,” Hank shook his head again.
“But the point is, he was dealing,” pointed out Roy. “At least for the most part. So, we can reasonably assume that the issues Johnny has been having started right about four months ago, soon after Johnny was injured.”
“But how are we supposed to help him, if he won’t let us?” Hank huffed, frustrated.
“That, I don’t know.”
“And why then? Why not sooner? The arsonist had been around for four months prior?” Hank wondered out loud.
“Again, I don’t know,” Roy repeated, feeling frustrated himself. “All I know is something is going on with Johnny and he won’t let us in. Until he does or we see something we can take to Doctor Brackett, our hands are