Spanners - The Fountain of Youth Read Free

can’t afford to gain attention. No one’s around here, but too much is at stake to take any chances now.”
    /***/
    They spent the night dredging, digging and kicking up mud, lit by the dim glow of their battery-powered work lights. Blur was still scared of the alligators, but Drayne didn’t seem to mind them and Cannon didn’t seem to care. The boy crashed into the water whenever the dredger needed adjustment, and if a creature dared attack him, Balthasar would feel sorry for it.
    So they dug and dug, and soon their machinery hit something solid. Cannon swam down into the muck to touch it, and came up smiling.
    “It’s metal,” he said, “and real big.”
    They sent down a claw to pull up the casket. They came up empty twice, but it held on the third time and Cannon guided it to just the right spot, and they brought up the box and let it dangle in the air for a moment. They had attached metal rods between the fanboats and placed the claw between them so that it would be stabilized, but the sheer weight of the casket caused both boats to angle inwards as it hung in the moonlight. The box was dull and corroded from years under the soil, but it was still solid and had maintained its shape after all this time.
    “We must cover the casket and get it to our van as soon as possible,” said Balthasar. “Four men carrying a body is too suspicious, even in this area.”
    /***/
    The next day they were driving up Interstate 75 when Blur came to the front cab to alert Balthasar.
    “Sir,” he said. “He’s moving within the coffin.”
    Moving, thought Balthasar. Five centuries later, and he still has energy to move. Our leader is truly extraordinary.
    “He won’t harm you,” said Balthasar, “though we should still be cautious. He might be disoriented when he arises.”
    Balthasar put the truck in park and went in the back to be sure. Cannon was listening nervously, and Balthasar wiped mud off a section of the coffin and placed his ear against it. There was no moving, but he heard a faint whisper.
    “ Ayúdame . …”
    He’s pleading for help, thought Balthasar, and he’s still conscious. Balthasar took a lock from his pocket and placed it on one of the coffin’s clasps, just to be sure that none of the kids would give their leader “help.” After securing the lock, he stood and once again addressed the crew.
    “I know you’re excited for this,” said Balthasar. “I am too. To you it’s an arrival, to me it’s a return, but for all of us it’s the first step of a new era; one that requires a tremendous amount of patience. So please resi st the urge to open this coffin, because he’s waited too long to arrive prematurely.
    /***/
    They arrived at their mansion at midnight, and after checking for snooping neighbors, Cannon brought the coffin into the building. Blur went to help, but Cannon had placed the casket on his shoulder as if it were a bag of dirt, nearly a foot above Blur’s head. Cannon walked into the mansion and brought the metal box downstairs, dropping it on the ground with a thud .
    Balthasar took the lock off and motioned for Cannon to get a sledgehammer from the side of the room, and the boy grabbed it and banged the side of the coffin until it opened. They took off the top slowly to reveal their leader, or at least what was left of him: his body had atrophied severely, and he looked like a corpse. But he was intact, and judging from his shallow breaths, quivering jaw and faint moans, he was alive.
    Balthasar smiled at the group and then kneeled down in front of their leader, whispering so that he could hear them.
    “You are saved,” said Balthasar, careful to use fifteenth-century Spanish. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but you are saved. I can’t imagine the horrors you experienced down there; punishment for immortal spanners is quite cruel, unfortunately.
    “It’s been some time since you disappeared at the hands of the devil Adam Parr, and I assure you that we’ve spent