Gosh golly have alot of e-mail addies!
Here is Part III of "Inferno".
--Dark Sentinel
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THE REAL (LIFE) ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST
"Inferno"
Part III
written by Dark Sentinel
Jessie tore off her bathrobe, revealing only a t-shirt and plaid
boxers. She was about to sprint into the house when Hadji gripped her
hand.
"No, Jessie! It's too dangerous!"
Jessie shook him away. "I have to! He was the one who saved me from
dying in the first place!" She sprinted into the kitchen and
immediately was halted by a wall of smoke. Dropping to her knees, she
used her hands and felt through the back foyer, the kitchen, the den,
and at last the front foyer which led to the living room...
The living room was charred and black, but the fire had already been
put out. Jessie pawed about through the debris, and at last saw a
stiff, black, furry lump in the corner. Picking him up, she felt about
at the little dog's chest. His heart was still beating.
With a relieved smile, Jessie held him close to her heart and hurried
out the front door. Another firefighter received her immediately.
"What were you still doing inside?!" he cried.
"I had to save my friend," Jessie said, still shaking. She promptly
tuned out the firefighter's worried lecturing about how she should NEVER
return to a burning house, but secretly she knew that risking her life
to save a friend had been the right thing for her to do.
She saw Hadji hurrying towards her, and was soon enduring another
worried lecture. But when Hadji saw her stroking a blackened Bandit
gently, he shut up and sat down in the snow beside her. Bandit's eyes
opened, glowing amidst his charcoal face. He had not been unconscious,
he had merely been paralyzed with fear and had curled himself up into a
ball to wait it out. Jessie held him close to her and he managed a
hoarse bark. "I could never forget you, Bandit," she told him quietly.
It took several hours to put the entire fire out, and by the time the
house was steaming from the intense heat and snow all at once, the
Dragonfly had already flown in.
Dr. Quest and Race came out, tripping all over each other in a hurry to
see their kids and the compound.
Hadji and Jessie were both engulfed in hugs, and Dr. Quest was relieved
to learn that Jonny's asthma medicine had been administered and that he
was going to be alright.
The four looked at the smoldering structure sadly. Dr. Quest sighed,
"I guess we'll have to move down to Palm Key...I was really beginning to
like Maine."
"Yeah, me too," Race said.
"Wonder if there's anything of ours left?" Hadji puzzled.
The fire chief strode up to them. "I'm sorry about your mansion," he
said sorrowfully. "Do you have another place to stay?"
Dr. Quest took a last look at the Quest Compound. He suddenly looked
very old. "Yes, and thank you Chief."
The fire chief nodded and walked away. Another firefighter emerged
from the ambulance, leading a staggering and very groggy Jonny. His
face, like Jessie's, was black. A heavy blanket was draped around his
shoulders and he crunched through the snow to be engulfed in a warm hug
from his father.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" the doctor cried.
"Me too, Dad."
* *
"Look everyone! My room is undamaged!" Hadji cried ecstatically as he
opened his door a few days later. He then saw the expressions on the
other's faces and wiped his smile away.
Jessie, Jonny, Dr. Quest, and Race's rooms all had been destroyed,
along with the rest of the house. Hadji's room was the only one that
had escaped the fire intact. The lighthouse and several other
structures were still unaltered as well.
Jessie found the menorah and held it to her chest. At least this, a
family heirloom that had been with the Bannons for generations, had
survived the blaze. She suddenly heard Jonny gasp. Looking over, she
saw he had found a ‘relic' of his own that had lasted.
Jonny clutched the thin metallic ball in his hands, yet so gently that
one might expect it to fracture at any given moment.
It was simple...a green sphere with gentle bows painted on it.
Inscribed were the words:
JONNY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS
DECEMBER 25, 1983
A hollow in one side held a picture of a smiling blonde woman holding a
bubbly one-year old. A tear glazed his cheek. This priceless
keepsake...he shook his head in wonder that it had survived. Well, he
sighed mentally. I know that Palm Key will hold many memories for me.
"Ready to leave kids?" Dr. Quest's falsely cheerful voice boomed
through the pines from the Dragonfly.
Jonny looked up from the ornament at Jessie. She nodded.
"Coming, Dad!"
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