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CHAPTER 1
The only fire he can’t put out is the one inside my heart.
-Adeline’s future self
ADELINE
“What is that smell?” I sniffed.
Getting up, I followed the smell with my nose until I wound up in my bathroom.
“What the hell is that?” I gasped as I saw smoke seeping through the floor of my bathroom.
“Oh, my God!” I wheezed.
Running to my room, I made a mad dash for my cell phone and started dialing 911 immediately.
“911, what’s your emergency?” The thick Cajun sounding woman’s voice asked.
“Um, yes. This is Adeline Sheffield. I live in the apartment complex of Hunter Hollows, apartment 1B. I can smell smoke, and something weird coming through the floor of my bathroom. I’m not really sure if anything is on fire, per say, but there is so much coming through my floor that it’s leaving a hazy film in the air.”
“Alright, we’ll have the fire department and an officer alerted right now. Can you give me your physical address?” The woman asked.
I rattled off the address and hung up despite the woman’s concern for me to stay connected.
I didn’t have time for that.
If I had to evacuate, I needed to start collecting my pets. Pronto.
Running through my apartment, I started looking in Monty’s usual haunts, but couldn’t find him.
“Monty, you big bastard. Where are you?” I hissed when I didn’t find him under the couch, above the mantle, or in the kitchen sink.
I knew he couldn’t be in with the rest of my newly acquired friends, because I’d kept the door closed, and he was just too darn big to get in without me opening the door for him first.
After five minutes of no results, I started getting nervous.
Had he gotten out? Oh, shit.Please be inside here somewhere, Monty.I pleaded while going inside my spare bedroom and doing a quick inventory.
“BFD! Mrs. Sheffield?” A man’s deep baritone voice echoed from the living room.
“Damn. Piss. Monty, you asshole.” I growled before running back to the front door.
Disengaging the locks, I yanked the door open with barely concealed frustration and about fell on my ass when a fist the size of a phone book came inches away from slamming into my head.
“Jesus, I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Phone book hand asked.
I waved a dismissive hand. “I’m fine. You didn’t touch me. Is the apartment downstairs on fire?”
The firefighter, who was taller than my door jam, shook his head as if he was confused. “I’m sorry. We don’t know yet. You were the lady that called it in?”
At my nod, he continued. “Can I see the source of the smoke? We’re trying to get management to let us in, but since there’s no visible smoke from the outside, we’re not allowed to enter without permission.”
I turned and said, “Sure. Just close the door. I don’t want Monty getting out.”
That was if the slippery bastard wasn’t already out. He was prone to do that from time to time. Not that anyone in my complex knew that. He always came back. He’d get hungry, and he was a really lazy boy.
“It’s coming through the floor in my bathroom. There’s a really weird smell to it.” I said as I lead the large, intimidating man into my sanctuary.
