Ember's Rising

By Darcy N. Carmichael

Ashley likes to think of herself as an average teen but there is nothing average about her. Being born with the ability to control fire is not easy to live with. Some days she just wants to scream it from the roof top for all to hear, but instead hides it from the world. One day she hopes to be a fire fighter like her adopted father John Smother

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Mar 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948654579

Book preview

Contents

The Fire

The Morning After

A New Life

The Truth

The Past Comes Calling

A New Life

My Great Escape

The Race Home

Saving Dad

Firefight

The New Truth

The Beginning

To my loving wife, Hawley.

Her love and support made this book possible.

The Fire

It was a cold, cold night. The blaring sirens overpowered all the usual street noise as the fire engines roared down the dimly lit streets of Lawsin City. This was a bad part of town. This was a place where sirens were a normal occurrence, and no one seemed to notice or care. This was a place where a person would go if he, or she, wanted to disappear.

The fire engines halted at the entrance to an old eyesore of a hotel. The brick exterior had been painted so many times, you would think the paint was the only thing holding it together. The name had been forgotten years ago, much like the people living in it. If it were not for the flames engulfing the building, you would not even see the unlit hotel sign hanging off the side of the building.

The police had already arrived and had set up a perimeter to keep the onlookers at bay. The firefighters got right to work unloading their gear, although there really was no rush. The building had been reported as empty, so it would be a simple hose down. It really would be no loss to the neighborhood if the hotel burned to the ground, but they still had a job to do.

Suddenly, a baby’s cry broke through the roar of the fire. The building was not as empty as they had thought.

John Smothers, as usual, was the first to get his gear on. He was twenty-five and built like an ox. His appearance fit the basic firefighter stereotype: tall, dark, and handsome. He had an air of confidence about him as he pulled on and fastened his helmet.

Get the lead out, boys, he said. This fire won’t fight itself.

Slapping his face shield down, he started off toward the flaming entrance. As he reached the door of the building, John looked over his shoulder and yelled back, Just another day on the job, eh, boys? See you in there! And he kicked in the door, the first one to enter the fast-burning building.

Little did he know that this day would not be like any other day. It would be the kind of day when everything changed, when everything he knew to be true and constant would waver. No, today would not be a day like any other. Today would be the one day he would never forget.

John had been with the fire department for only five years, but already most of the other firefighters respected him. He had proven his courage and bravery time and time again. Everyone said that with his family background, he was on the fast track to being chief. All John cared about was saving lives, like the crying baby inside this blazing inferno.

The baby’s frightened wailing beckoned him onward as he made his way through the burning building. He followed it like it was a siren song, working his way to the third floor. The fire grew more intense the deeper he moved into the building, as if a wall of hot air blocked his path.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what looked like a woman standing in the center of a flame-filled hallway. Her long black hair swayed in the hot air around her. She seemed untouched by the fire, as if for her, it wasn’t there. With the brilliant light of the fire raging behind her, she seemed more like a shadow of a person than a real one. John figured it must be the smoke and heat getting to him, playing tricks with his mind. He didn’t have time to think about insanity, so he yelled to her, It’s not safe here. You have to get out!

The woman turned and looked straight at him. The light from the fire illuminated her face. She looked at him blankly, and then her expression became confused, as if she didn’t understand what he was doing there. A smile spread over her face as she continued to stare at him, a smile that said, This guy could be the answer I’ve been waiting for.

Flames quickly rose around her, reaching all the way to the roof in a flash. The blinding light forced John to turn away. When he looked back, the wall of flames had calmed down, and the mysterious woman had disappeared.

Had she even been there? he wondered. John moved quickly toward the hallway where she had just been standing to check it out. The fire rose again, as if trying to block his way. Then suddenly, as if on cue, the baby started crying again, beckoning him back to his reason for being there.

As he entered the fourth floor, the sound of crying got much closer. The hallway seemed to have less fire than the other floors. He walked slowly down the hall, not knowing what he would find. The cries were coming from just beyond that door, only a few feet away. As he stood beside the door, he could see the fire rolling out from under it.

John had seen this countless times before. He could tell it was a steel fire door, and it was glowing red from the heat. Some of the older buildings had them installed to help prevent fires from spreading, which was good. Steel doors also had a tendency to turn a room into an oven. Not so good if you were trapped inside. This room was obviously the main source of the fire. John would have to think fast if he was going to get the baby out in time.

Grabbing his ax, he swung it at the door. He knew it would have little to no effect on the steel door, but that was not what he was aiming for. It only took one hit, and the doorknob broke off. He braced himself securely against the wall, just to the left of the doorframe, on the side where the doorknob used to be.

John took a deep breath and, with all the power he could muster, mule-kicked the door. He threw himself to the floor as the door swung open into the flame-filled room. The sudden rush of air caused a ball of flames to fill the hallway. If he had not been on the floor, he would have been consumed by the fire.

Standing slowly, John entered the room. He could still hear the baby crying, but from where? He looked around for the source of the crying, but was distracted by the sight of a body being consumed by fire. It was already burnt to a crisp, but the fire continued to flame around what looked like a mummified body. What was even more amazing, it seemed to be floating in midair.

The body was surrounded by rings of fire, which held it captured in a vortex of light and heat. It just hung there, flat on its back, as if it were sleeping on a bed of air. Based on the size of the body, John assumed it was an adult male, but it was hard to tell. He tried to get closer so he could pull the body out, but to no avail. The fire seemed determined to keep this body as its prize. John tried again, but a blast of heat energy pushed him to the floor.

Helplessly he watched the rings of fire gain momentum and burn even brighter, until he could barely see the body. The flames had turned a light blue that completely encased the remains. John watched transfixed as the fire started to subside, releasing its grip. The body just fell to pieces in front of him. All that remained was a pile of ashes. John could not believe he had just witnessed a cremation! He had never heard of anything like this happening at a fire before.

Though he was still in shock, John forced his attention back to the job at hand. That baby had to be around here somewhere. Then he heard the cry again. It was coming from the next room. He approached the door, which was slightly ajar, and pushed it wide-open. Stepping into the room, he stopped in his tracks, stunned yet again by another unbelievable sight.

This just could not be happening! Standing before him was the baby’s crib, completely untouched by the fire that engulfed the entire room. John blinked several times, hoping that it was all a dream. Yet when he opened his eyes again, the crib was still there and still untouched. Nothing for about three feet around the crib had been so much as warmed by the fire. It was as if a force field was keeping the fire at bay, not allowing the flames to touch the crying toddler within the crib. The crib itself was brand-new and expensive looking. It was completely out of place in this broken-down hotel, surrounded by old furniture that was burning and quickly turning to ash.

John could