Smoke curls underneath the door like a phantom stealing into the room. The crackling and popping of its flames mingle with the screams of her parents down the hall. Trembling beneath her bed, seven-year-old Evangeline Waters waits in terror while the fiery evil creeps ever closer. Within moments, the black, acrid smoke finds her hiding place and swoops in to begin its slow torture. Its wispy tendrils reach out and cloud her eyes, making them burn and water in irritation. With rising panic, the girl's breathing becomes frenzied gasps, inadvertently sucking the deadly pollutant into her lungs. Her body shakes with violent coughs in an attempt to rid itself of the suffocating air, but her vision quickly narrows and darkness beckons her. 

     "No!" Evangeline screams as she jerks upright in bed. Soaked in sweat, she glances around frantically as confusion swiftly replaces fear. Examining her surroundings, her eyes fall on a silver jewelry box that had belonged to her mother. "It was just a dream," she sighs in relief. "I thought I was past the nightmares, though. It's been years since my last one."

     Reaching up to her throat, she clutches the heart-shaped pendant there. She closes her eyes and a tear streaks down her face as she fingers the elegant engraving on the back: "To my Angel, you will always be my little piece of Heaven. Love, Father." A sad smile pulls at the corner of Evangeline's mouth when she remembers he was the only person to ever call her by that nickname, Angel. 

     Clutching it tightly, she tries to recall her parents' faces on the day they gave her the beautiful locket. It had been a Christmas present from them the year before they died. She had always wanted pretty jewelry like her mother, and that year they managed to scrape together enough money to buy her the silver necklace. Fortunately, she had been wearing it the night of the fire and it had managed to survive the flames with her. To this day, she has no idea how she got out of the house. Even now, she furrows her brow in concentration to try and remember who pulled her from her second-story bedroom, but the only image that surfaces is of hazel eyes reflecting amber flames. None of the townsfolk saw the person who saved her, and no one has admitted to having rescued her in the ten years since.

     Just as her thoughts begin to drift back to her disturbing dream, she is pulled out of her quiet musings by shouts from outside her window. Tossing aside her tangled sheets, Evangeline rushes over to see what's happening. In the dusty street below, men scurry about with buckets of water and women stand nearby with their hands to their mouths in stunned fear while their children hide behind their full skirts. A strange, flickering glow reflects off them in the early morning light, casting ghastly shadows across their taut faces. After several rapid heartbeats pass, understanding finally rises in her mind. Fire!

     As the recognition dawns, someone begins banging frantically on the front door. The fear from her dreams begins to creep into her heart once more as the sound of her adoptive father's hurried footsteps and irritated grumbling reaches her ears. She rushes out of her room to peer over the balcony and see him exchange quick, stiff words with the visitor before slamming the door and shouting up the stairs to her and her adoptive mother.

     "Claire! Evangeline! Grab anything valuable you can carry and get out now! The neighbor's house is burning to the ground and the flames have jumped to our roof. Move quickly!"

     His words shake Evangeline to her core. She hastily retreats to her bedroom, throws a robe around herself, and begins stuffing a pillowcase with her treasures. She gathers up her books and hair combs from beside her bed before rolling up and shoving in her favorite dress. Claire can be heard thumping and slamming drawers as she gathers her own things in the next room.

     "Hurry!" Abe, her father, calls to them both while grabbing all his important documents. "The flames are breaking through."

     Taking one last look around the room, Evangeline's eyes fall on her late mother's silver jewelry box. Without hesitation, she snatches it up and wraps it in a shawl before adding it to her overstuffed, makeshift bag. As she turns for the door, she hears the crackling and popping of the fire blazing through the dry timber of their attic. Her mind swims with memories awakened from her vivid dream as the panic she felt all those years ago claws at her once again.

     Struggling to quell the crippling fear, she reaches for the door latch and yanks it open. Just as she steps out into the hallway, a piece of the ceiling breaks loose and crashes to the ground floor amidst sparks and flames. Claire, already on the stairs, screams in fright while gripping the banister until her knuckles are white. Abe rushes up to her and drags her the rest of the way down the steps. 

     "Evangeline, come quickly!" he yells over his shoulder. Pausing at the door, he waits just long enough to see her heading for the stairs before jerking it open and pulling his wife through.

     As Evangeline reaches the top of the stairs, her eyes are drawn to the inferno above her, and terror sweeps through her body, driving her back until she is pressed up against the wall. Her knees give out and she sinks to the ground in a trembling heap. Unable to tear her eyes away, she clutches her sack of valuables to her chest and watches wide-eyed as the hungry flames devour everything in their path. 

     With a loud crash, another section of the roof caves in just a few feet away from her. Evangeline screams in fright as the same feeling of hopelessness she had felt as a child settles in the pit of her stomach, causing a sob to catch in her throat. Suddenly, a shadow falls across her huddled form and she looks up to see a broad, muscular silhouette before her. The figure stoops beside her and deftly lifts her in his sinewy arms before turning and sprinting down the stairs, ducking underneath a fallen crossbeam when he reaches the bottom. As they near the door, Evangeline manages to lift her head enough to catch a glimpse of his face. What she finds there steals the ragged breaths from her burning lungs, for through the smoke and falling debris, she sees a pair of familiar hazel eyes.

     Evangeline gasps in surprise, resulting in a fit of viscous coughing. She barely notices them exit her home until a cool breeze brushes against her face, giving her a much-needed reprieve from the suffocating smoke and offering the sweet taste of fresh, clean air. The exhausted young woman sags with relief as the heat from the blaze recedes and is replaced by the chill of early morning. Many voices talking at once drown out the sounds of the fire and overwhelm her already muddled mind. She grips the front of her savior's shirt tightly as the world seems to tilt first one way then another. 

     Through the haze, Evangeline recognizes the voices of Abe and Claire drawing near. The man holding her starts to pass her off to them, but she clings even tighter as her eyes lose focus and dim. "Please, don't leave me," she whispers before fainting.