get dressed.




"Could be as far away as the mountains, but I don't think so . . . the


light's too close. Could be down the street . . . Ah, God, the


boardinghouse . . . You don't think . . . " Cole shouted as he raced


down the stairs.




Daniel was right behind him. The night manager was sound asleep in his


chair behind the front desk, with his head and arms resting on the


countertop, when Daniel leapt over the railing and shouted to him to


ring the fire bell. Startled by the abrupt noise, the manager struck


his head on a lamp and overturned his chair when he jumped to his


feet.




"What . . . What did you say? " he cried out.




"The fire bell, " Daniel roared as he crossed the lobby and burst


through the door in Cole's wake. "Ring the fire bell." He caught up


with Cole at the corner. Side-by-side the two men ran, the only sounds


the pounding of their boots against the ground and their harsh


breathing as each pushed himself to his limit. They were halfway down


the block when they smelled smoke. Running as though the fire were


licking at their heels, they sprinted around the curve in the road and


saw the flames. The first floor of the house was a blazing inferno.




Glowing red embers, like demon eyes, spewed out the open windows and


floated up into the night sky. Tattered remnants of lace curtains,


blackened with soot, billowed outward with each burst of dense smoke,


and the freshly painted white wood blistered and boiled from the


intensity of the heat.




No one was outside.




Cole and Daniel leapt over the fence at the same time and raced across


the lawn. Daniel headed for the back of the house, hoping he could


find a way inside through the flames, while Cole circled around the


opposite side.




The front door crashed open, and they saw Jessica slowly backing out.




she was bent at the waist, dragging Grace to safety.




Her friend wasn't moving. Daniel reached the porch before Cole did and


lifted the unconscious woman into his arms. In the firelight, he could


see the blood trickling down her left temple. Something had struck her


hard, and considering the amount of swelling, he thought she was damned


lucky to be alive. He held her close against his chest and ran down


the steps and out into the yard, where he gently laid her in the


grass.




Jessica followed him down the steps, then stopped. Screaming Caleb's


name, she was turning in a circle, frantically searching for the baby


and for Tilly, when Cole dove from the porch railing and tackled her to


the ground.




He landed hard and knocked the breath out of her. She was thrown


backward in the grass. She couldn't catch her breath and didn't


understand what was happening, or why. All she could think about was


Caleb and getting to him in time. Where was he?




Jessica tried to roll to her side so she could get up and search for


her baby, but Cole was suddenly pinning her down. Then he started


pounding at her legs with the palms of his hands, shouting to Daniel to


help him. She cried out and renewed her struggles to push him off


her.




Flames were greedily eating the hem of her robe. Cole was trying to


put the fire out and get the robe off her before she was burned. By


the time he had rolled her onto her stomach, Daniel was at his side,


helping. The two men were tearing at her clothes. Screaming Caleb's


name over and over again she struggled to get up, but they wouldn't let


her move until Cole had ripped her robe off her shoulders and Daniel


had pulled it free.




Cole lifted her up. She grabbed hold of his shirt and screamed, "I


can't find Caleb. You have to help me find him. He's with Tilly. .




.




She was taking him outside while I searched for Grace. They were


beside me upstairs. Where are they? I have to find them." She jerked


away from him and tried to run back to the house, but Cole grabbed her


from behind. She fought like a wildcat to get free, clawing at his


arms and kicking at his legs.




"I'll find him, " he promised. "Do you hear me, Jessie? I'll find


him.




You stay with Grace. Can you do that? " His calm voice cut through


her hysteria. "Yes, yes, I'll stay with Grace. Please hurry."




"The old lady and the baby are still inside, " Cole shouted to


Daniel.




He jerked Jessica around to face him. "Where are their rooms? " She


pointed to the center window above the porch. "Tilly's room is in the


middle. Caleb and I are next to her . . . on the left side . . . by


the tree." Daniel was already on the roof. He'd swung himself up from


the overhang above the porch. He used the heel of his boot to break


the glass in the center window and jumped back to avoid the flames and


smoke that billowed out. Then he dove, headfirst, inside.




The roof above the porch collapsed a second later. Cole had run to the


other side of the house to try to get in through one of the windows on


the first floor, but he couldn't get close enough, for the heat pouring


out was too intense. His eyes burned and watered as he backtracked to


the gnarled tree closest to the house. Thick branches hung down over


the eaves and he hoped he could get close enough to jump onto the


roof.




He began to climb. Seconds later he swung out, hand over hand, and


then dropped down to the roof. Daniel appeared at the window with


Tilly wrapped in a blanket and draped over his shoulder. Before Cole


could help him, Daniel jumped through the opening and sprinted toward


the opposite side of the roof. The branches on that side of the house


were lower and easy to grasp hold of.




"Caleb wasn't with Tilly. Get out of here, " Daniel shouted. "The


roof's going to go." Ignoring the warning, Cole headed for the window


Jessica had pointed out. Tongues of fire were hissing and spitting at


him from the opening, but fear lent him strength. He was so damned


scared he wouldn't find the baby alive, he recklessly followed Daniel's


example and plunged headfirst inside.




He was surprised to find the floor was still there. He landed with a


thud on his left shoulder, rolled, and stood up. A thick wall of black


smoke knocked him backward to his knees. Ashes poured over his face


and matted his eyelashes. His eyes burned so badly he couldn't see


where he was, he couldn't breathe, and the heat inside the bedroom made


his skin feel as though it were melting. He dropped down to the floor


and took a deep breath of cool air. Then he began to crawl forward on


his belly.




There was almost a foot of clean air trapped between the floorboards


and the dense, deadly smoke. Taking another deep breath, he shouted


Caleb's name.




The sound of his voice was lost in the crackling inferno. He slowly


inched forward. He couldn't see anything, but he hoped he would bump


into a clothes closet. Every bedroom had one, and he knew that


whenever his little sister had become afraid, she'd hidden there. He


hoped to God, Caleb had done the same thing.




The bed was his second choice, but he found it first. He hit the side


of the headboard, squeezed himself along the length, and reached


underneath, sweeping his arm back and forth in a wide arc.




There wasn't anything there.




Every second that passed was another second closer to the babyws


death.




Cole was silently praying and begging for God's help as he made one


final sweep under the bed. He was just pulling back when Caleb grabbed


hold of his hand. The baby let go just as quickly. Cole rolled his


shoulder under the frame, lifted up, and reached for him. Caleb had


squeezed himself up against the headboard. Cole found a leg and gently


pulled.




He could hear him whimpering and making loud, sucking sounds with his


thumb in his mouth, and Cole thought those were the most beautiful


noises he'd ever heard, for it meant that Caleb was unharmed.




He lifted the baby into his arms and rolled to his knees. Caleb threw


himself backward and grabbed his baby doll off the floor. A forked


flame of fire leapt up from between the floorboards as Cole pulled


Caleb back.




"Let's get out of here, " he whispered to the baby, his voice hoarse


and raw from smoke.




He wanted to wrap Caleb in a blanket from the bed, but when he reached


for it, he saw the embers raining down from the ceiling on top of it.




The blanket ignited and rapidly burned. In desperation, Cole tucked


Caleb's head under his chin, wrapped his arms around him, and doubled


over, his hope that his own body would shield the baby's.




He figured he had only a couple of seconds left to get out. The


bedroom was closing in on him. Flames where shooting up from the


cracks in the floor and dropping down from the ceiling above.




And then the walls began to move as though they had suddenly come


alive. They bulged forward, hovered, then, with an eerie swooshing


sound, they slowly receded before throbbing forward once again. It was


the spookiest damned thing he had ever seen. He could hear the heart


of the fire beating behind those walls. It pulsated and throbbed as it


sucked every breath of air it could find.




Cole knelt near the floor, took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and


raced for the window. The monster chased him. He heard a snapping


sound behind him, felt the floor shift under his feet, and leapt