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HER SHADOW

Chapter 1

Dalton Callahan felt the tiny hair on the back of his neck stand up and knew something was terribly wrong.

Throwing his damp dishrag onto the handmade, red oak bar, he was grateful it was just past closing time and he didn’t have to force any customers to leave. After hurriedly turning off the lights in the pub that had been in his family for half a century, he scanned the room one last time, set the alarm, and slammed the door shut.

The instant he stepped outside and saw the orange glow of the night sky, Dalton’s heart fell into the pit of his stomach. The overpowering stench of burning wood that assaulted his nostrils switched his mind into survival mode, causing him to sprint to his pickup truck. By the time he reached the vehicle parked at the opposite end of the parking lot, his eyes were tearing from the massive amount of smoke in the air.

Dalton had learned everything he knew about fires from his father, a volunteer fireman until the day he died, and could tell by the smell and amount of smoke in the air that the fire was close.

His hands began to shake.

Dalton’s mother, Marie, was home alone most nights while he was working, and even though his gut told him she was fine, the vow he made to his father as he lay dying kept replaying in his mind. I’ll take care of Mom for you, Dad, I swear.

Although he was only nine years old at the time, he’d had every intention of fulfilling that promise. But things hadn’t gone as planned; Dalton strayed, and it had taken him a long time to find his way back home. Now, at the age of twenty-six, the promise he’d made all those years ago was something he took seriously.

Dalton clenched his hands into fists in an effort to calm down; knowing panic would only cause him to make a mistake. After starting his truck and slamming it into gear, he pulled out onto the dirt road and pressed the gas pedal to the floor, intending to cover the four miles between Callahan’s Pub and his mother’s house in record time.

Three miles down the road, Dalton slammed on his brakes and skidded to a halt when he noticed the burning house belonged to the Bennett’s, his mother’s nearest neighbor.

The relief he felt knowing his mother was safe was quickly replaced by disbelief when he realized he’d beaten everyone, including the fire department, to the scene. After radioing for help on his CB, Dalton stepped out of his truck and scanned the yard, hoping to find that Russell Bennett, his wife, Carmen, and their eighteen year old daughter, Scarlet, had escaped the fire unharmed.

But there was no one in sight.

Although he was sweating from the intense heat, Dalton’s blood ran cold at the realization that the family was probably still inside the small, two-bedroom house. All but one corner of the structure was fully engulfed in hot, bright red-orange flames.

Was it possible for anyone trapped inside to still be alive?

Dalton quickly regained his composure and ran farther into the yard. “Carmen!” He yelled frantically at the top of his lungs for his mother’s best friend, but she didn’t answer. “Russell!” he shouted, “Russell! Dammit, where the hell are you?”

When he finally reached the lone window that flames weren’t shooting from, Dalton realized it was Scarlet’s bedroom. “Scarlet!” he shouted over and over, knowing it was probably impossible for her to hear him over the roar of the fire.

It was too smoky inside to see through the glass, so Dalton looked down and scoured the edge of the woods, searching for something to break the window. As he bent down to pick up the biggest rock he could find, a shrill scream stopped him cold.

Scarlet's alive! But how long could she hold on inside that raging inferno?

The sounds of sirens in the distance did nothing to ease Dalton’s mind. The fire engines were still a good few minutes away, but Scarlet didn’t have that much time. The faint glow of orange through the window showed the fire had already entered her bedroom.

Knowing the girl would die if he didn’t get her out immediately, Dalton lifted the rock with the intention of breaking the glass and going in after her. But just as he drew his arm back, the window shattered on its own, covering him in shards of glass, sending smoke and heat billowing through the small opening.

Dalton coughed the smoke out of his lungs, shook the glass from his body, and moved in front of the window again. Doing his best to ignore the fierce heat, he stuck his head through the opening. Unable to see Scarlet through the thick smoke burning his eyes, he prayed she’d still be alive when he reached her.

If he reached her. . .

Her Shadow is a short story in the HATE Anthology (Whiskey Creek Press, August 2006)