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	THE REAL (LIFE) ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

	"Inferno"

	Part I

	dedicated to my cat Eloise

	Jessie grumbled as she flopped down on the couch downstairs.  "Why do I
have to *sleep* down here?!" she whined to herself.  "Stupid Hadji and
Jonny get their own beds, but noooooo.  I'm stuck down here because of
Dad!" 
	Race and Benton were out of town for the weekend.  So Jonny, Jessie,
and Hadji were to babysit themselves for the duration of their trip. 
Jonny and Hadji were snoozing soundly in their own beds; Jessie was
squirming uncomfortably on the sectional in the living room.  Race had
insisted that she sleep downstairs, well away from the boys.  "What does
he think I'm gonna do?!" she whispered, exasperated.
	Jessie sat up, rubbing her eyes.  She padded into the kitchen, her
furry slippers flapping against her heels.  With a sigh, Jessie took out
a candle and some matches.  She brought them back to the living room. 
Setting the candle into its wobbly candle holder, she struck a match and
lit the candle.  It illuminated the room with a soft glow, glinting off
of the gleaming menorah on the mantle and the shining ornaments on the
Christmas tree in the corner.
	As she snuggled into the plush velour cushions, which strangely had
grown more comfortable, covering herself in several heavy blankets to
stay warm, Jessie decided that she was very glad her �family' (which
included the Quests) had several different religions. {{AUTHOR'S NOTE: I
completely forgot what religion Hadji was, and what he would celebrate
in December, so let's just say he's Christian since we DID see him in
prayer in one 60's ep.  Also, I'm just assigning religions here.  No
maliciousness is intended.}} Shortly after the team celebrated Hanukkah,
they would all celebrate Christmas together.  Her mom usually flew up
from South America to join the festivities, and it was a warm, cozy time
of year filled with shining light and family and friends.
	The flame wavered, causing gentle dancing shadows on the walls.  The
harsh blackness was softened by the docile glitter of the candle, making
the room seem sleepy and sweet.
	Jessie burrowed still further into her mountain of blankets, feeling
happy and anticipatory of the holidays and family gatherings to come
over the next week.  She forgot all about her earlier complaining, and
with a sigh and a smile on her face, she closed her eyes and fell into a
deep, tranquil slumber.

	The Quest compound was silent.  Jessie was fast asleep on the couch,
Jonny was snoring in his room with Bandit at the foot of his bed, and
Hadji was dozing soundly in his twin bed on the first floor.  All was
peaceful.  Drowsy snowflakes wafted downward outside, encompassing the
compound in their cool friendliness.  Inside nothing could be heard but
the ticking of a stately grandfather clock.
	Downstairs, the flame danced and quaked from the small draft coming
from a badly-insulated window.  The candle, which had been leaning
slightly in its ill-fitted candle holder, now inclined more towards the
carpet, and at last fell out of its holder onto the floor.  Jessie slept
on soundly, and was completely unaware of the flame now coming in
contact with the rug.  A small fire was ignited, and as the smoke lazily
curled towards the smoke detector, it was plain to see that the
batteries inside it had not been replaced.  No blinking light could be
noticed, and as the fire down below grew, it blackened the ceiling with
ever-increasing smoke.

	Upstairs, in Jonny's room, Bandit awoke, his eyes flying open.  He
stood up and suspiciously snuffed the air, growling low in his throat. 
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his tail went stiff. 
He walked up to the door and sniffed the bottom of it.  At last he
started pawing at it viciously and barking.
	"Ugh, Bandit..." Jonny murmured sleepily.  He rolled over onto his side
and fell asleep again.  Bandit insistently scratched the door until a
small pile of sawdust began to form.  Jonny put his pillow over his
head.  Bandit marched over to Jonny's bed, beginning to sense a need for
urgency, and pulled the blanket off of Jonny.  Jonny sat up grumpily and
glared at the little white dog, who was now running in circles barking
and pawing at the door.  "Fine, you wanna go to the bathroom?" he asked,
exasperated.
	Bandit whined.
	It was then that Jonny became cognizant of a faint crackling sound. 
"What's that?" he wondered, now fully awake.  Bandit knew that Jonny was
now aware that something was up, so he pawed at the door again.  
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