It was around three in the afternoon and Samantha was walking home from school. She looked about eleven years old with deep brown hair that hung halfway down her back, and ebony eyes. She had a beautiful soul, and a smile could always be seen on her rosy lips. She’d had an ideal childhood with two loving parents, who were happily married. She was a spot of joy in her parent’s eyes, and her older brother Lucas loved her more than anything. She was his joy, because he often felt neglected by their parents. So even though it was strange for a fourteen year old boy to care so much for his little sister, he showed his affection for her constantly and unwaveringly.
  
As Samantha made her way down Windermere Lane, she decided to stop at the Conners' home. The Conners' were a very nice family and Samantha was friends with their oldest son, Matt. They had two younger sons besides Matt and a daughter two years older than Samantha whose name was Jennifer. Samantha and Jennifer were never really close, but often exchanged polite hellos.
Samantha gave a gentle knock on the Conners’ front door but there was no answer. She waited a minutebefore knocking again a little harder. Still no answer. It was very rare for the Conners' to be out of town, especially on a Tuesday, so a perplexed Samantha turned back to face the street.
Windermere Lane was lined with majestic oak trees and whimsical cherry trees weaving between the oaks’ trunks. The oak trees' leaves were different shades of yellow, red and brown while the cherry trees' were bare and hung depressed looking in the chilly November air.
Samantha made her way down the driveway and continued toward her own home, which was on Cotton Town Street, when suddenly, the smell of smoke filled the air. Samantha halted, breathing in the horrible stench, and cringing. Although fires were known for breaking out where Samantha lived, that was normally in the summer. It was rare for a fire to spark suddenly in the winter unless it is started manually.
Samantha speed walked the rest of the way down Windermere and turned right onto Cotton Town. That's when she saw it.
At the end of the street, where Samantha's family's big white house stood, there were flames; tall, menacing flames, engulfing her home. She gasped, and then began to sprint toward the house. As she got closer, she could see a small crowd of people gathered a safe distance away from the fire.
She ran to her mother, who was crying. Strands of her mother’s fair hair had come loose from her usually neat bun and were now sticking to her wet cheeks. Samantha’s father stood beside her, rubbing her back in a comforting manner. Samantha ran to them, embracing them but her mother didn't seem to notice that she was there as she stood in a trance, far away in a lonely world. Samantha looked up at her father, who smiled grimly at her with sad brown eyes that seemed to be floating in water.
They just stood in silence for a while, watching the house burn. Suddenly, there was a scream and Samantha jumped. One of the neighbors, Mrs. O'Brien, was screaming at the top of her lungs, pointing frantically at Samantha's house. It only took a moment for Samantha to figure out what she was pointing at, but when she followed Mrs. O’Brien’s pointed finger to one of the upstairs windows, her heart almost stopped. Lucas stood in the flames, behind the window. He looked surprisingly surreal, considering that he was trapped in a house where he was guaranteed to die at any moment.
Samantha felt tears escape from her eyes at a rapid pace. Her brother who she loved with all of her heart was going to die before her eyes. She could not let this happen. She had to save him!
She rushed toward the house, ignoring her mother's loud shriek and her father's frightened demands to stop, to come back. She did not stop. She ran to the O'Briens' yard and turned on their water hose. After drenching herself in water, she sprinted back and to the front porch. She threw the front door open, wincing when the doorknob burned a circle onto her palm.
She entered, covering her nose and mouth with her wet shirt sleeve. She was immediately surrounded by flames, but ran toward the stair case, taking the steps two at a time, one breaking under her and almost swallowing her whole. When she had reached the door to the room that Lucas was in, the soles of her shoes were melted and the stench of burnt rubber filled Samantha's nostrils. She was almost there; she was almost to Lucas.
She pushed the door open and her arm lit aflame. Samantha let out a cry of pain, waving her arm in the smoky air. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her arm and ripped the sleeve from her arm. Lucas stood before her, a look of horror overtaking his facial features.
"What are you doing in here?!" He whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace. When he pulled away, she realized his clothes were completely untouched, his skin was not ablaze. But how was that possible?
"Lucas, I came to save you," she stated. "I-"
"I'm not the one who needs saving!" He interrupted. "You are. I need to tell you something, but I have to make it quick." Samantha could feel the floor under them becoming hotter. The skin on her feet was beginning to burn, and she had to grit her teeth in order not to cry. Lucas looked around, as if making sure that they were alone. But of course they were. They were in a burning house, about to die.
"Lucas, what is it?" Samantha asked in a slightly bratty tone, as if she were a toddler again. Lucas ignored her tone of voice, and ran a hand through his brown hair.
   "I'm not who you think I am, Sammy." He blurted out. She shook her head.
   "What in the world are you talking about Lucas?"
   "I'm not human."
   "Wait, of course you-"
   "No!" He shouted. Samantha stepped back, startled. She had never seen her brother act this way. He had only gotten this upset when he had something important to say. She nodded, letting him know that he could explain. He inhaled sharply, speaking slowly, as if he were choosing his words carefully.
   "We're in danger," he said. "Someone lit the house on fire.. To get rid of us." Samantha gasped.
   "But why?!" She exclaimed.
   "Sammy, I'm different. All these years, mom and dad have acted like I didn't exist, because they knew I had a secret. And they shut me out." Samantha felt tears steaming on her cheeks. "I'm a Fire Catcher. And so are you. We have the ability to do incredible things, and they are doing everything they can to kill us off."
   "Wait- that doesn't make sense-"
   "It doesn't have to make sense, Sammy." He interrupted. "You have to believe. I am going to give you instructions, and no matter what, no matter how much it hurts, you will not give up. Got it?" Samantha was stricken. She had so many questions, but she nodded anyway.
   "Okay, I want you to stay where you are. You're going to light yourself on fire, and consume the flames-"
   "Are you INSANE?!" Samantha screamed. Lucas ignored her.
   "You have my blood. You are a Fire Catcher. I have always loved you because I knew you were special. So, when you are in the fire, you need to believe, Sammy. If you don't try hard to stay alive, you'll die. I know you can make it and transform. I know you can be the girl on fire."
   "But what about you?" She cried. Lucas wrapped his younger sister in another embrace.
   "Don't worry about me. Someday we'll find each other again, I promise." He pulled away, his face serious. "But here's what's most important. When you transform, you need to run as fast as you can out of this house, and make sure no one sees you. We're going to let everyone think we died." Samantha nodded, even though her head was spinning and she felt like she was going to be sick.
   "Just remember," Lucas hugged his sister again. "I love you, and they can never take that away." Then, he was gone.
Before Samantha could even realize this, the flames rose and surrounded her. And she transformed.