Emily decided to go back to the cockpit and lean on the horn, but Buttons acted first. He’d seen or heard the firefighters and started barking furiously. The firefighters heard him, looked up, and saw Emily standing in the doorway of an RV that was covered in fire retardant and parked in the middle of the highway. They immediately dropped their tools and ran toward her. They were young and fit and reached the motorhome quickly.
“Are you okay?” asked the first to arrive. He had a slight French accent.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said. Then she fainted and toppled out of the door, face first, toward the pavement. The firefighters caught her before she hit the ground. They carried her inside the motorhome and put her down on the bed. When she came to, a different firefighter was splashing water on her face and Buttons was licking her hand.
The newcomer was middle-aged and had an air of authority. His face was black from soot and smoke. Bright blue eyes looked at her with concern.
All the rest of the crew crowded into the motorhome. Emily noticed that one was a woman. She was as filthy as all the rest.
“Is your name Emily?”
“Yes.”
The crew cheered.
“I’m Jacob,” said the older man. “Everybody has been worried sick about you.”
“A fire service first aid attendant will be here shortly,” said the woman. “I’m going to call for an ambulance. We need to get paramedics here right away.”
“You’ve got some nasty burns and bruises,” said Jacob.
“There’s a man who needs help more than I do,” said Emily, struggling to sit up. “His name is Matt Kaloti. He’s got a broken leg and can hardly breathe. I think his life is in danger.”
“Where is he?” asked Jacob, his tone urgent.
“He’s lying on a picnic table at the Hawkeye Lake boat launch.”
“I know exactly where she’s talking about,” said one of the firefighters. He started talking into a radio, giving instructions.
“Matt is on our list of missing people,” said Jacob. “So is his father.”
“Sam Kaloti is dead,” replied Emily. She started to cry. “He died in the fire. He’s lying in the middle of the access road, near an aluminum boat and burned-out vehicle.”
More information and instructions were relayed by radio.
A vehicle door slammed. Someone else had arrived. It was the fire crew’s first aid attendant. He shooed all the other firefighters, with the exception of Jacob, out of the motorhome.
The new arrival was one of the tallest and skinniest men Emily had ever seen. He looked like an ungainly bird, but he was gentle and seemed to know what he was doing. After a fast but thorough examination he said, “You’re going to be okay, although I’m sure those burns are painful. You’ll definitely want to have that eye checked out by a doctor. Provincial paramedics are on their way. They’ll take you to hospital in an ambulance.”
In the background a voice said, “First responders are on their way to the boat launch.”
“What happened?” asked Jacob. “How did you get separated from everyone else when the campground was being evacuated?”
Emily reached over and gave the poodle a pat. “This stupid mutt ran off in a panic. His owners were frantic. I thought I could catch him and bring him back. I was wrong. I had no idea a forest fire could spread that quickly.” The dog panted gently, looking pleased with himself. Emily squinted and smiled. “I can’t believe that pink ribbon is still holding on.”
“So you risked your life to save a dog,” said the first aid attendant, who was doing something to one of the burns on her calf.
“Yeah, but he paid me back with interest. He woke me up and warned me the fire had jumped the lake. Then he chased off a bear that was trying to get at me. And it was Buttons who found Matt when he was barely alive and clinging to a mud bank.” She winced as the first aid attendant touched a particularly sensitive area. “I have to say that my opinion of miniature poodles has gone up considerably.”
“How did you escape the fire?” asked Jacob.
“We swam across the lake. There weren’t a lot of other choices. We found an unlocked cabin on the other side, so we went into it. When the fire jumped the lake I got away in a leaky canoe, but it was too hard to paddle in the windstorm. Then we were nearly hit by a falling tree.”
“We call those widow makers,” said Jacob.
“Anyway, the canoe flipped over. That actually worked out okay because I discovered you could hide underneath it and still breathe. We spent the night in a swamp, which is where Buttons bit the bear, and this morning we crossed the lake again. The canoe sank, so we had to swim to shore. That’s when we found Matt.” She frowned and leaned back. “I’m sure there’s more to the story, but my head is pretty fuzzy right now.”
“I understand you were on a survival course,” said Jacob. “What sort of gear did you have?”
Emily closed her eyes and was quiet for a moment. “The clothes I was wearing.” She reached into the fanny pack and took out the rope. “And this.”
“That’s all! Just some rope?”
“The rope was very useful,” she said. “I probably wouldn’t be alive without it.” To the surprise of the two men she burst into laughter. She now knew, beyond any doubt, that she didn’t want to die.
Jacob, a man who appeared to be used to working with rope, neatly coiled Emily’s cord together. “You did remarkably well.”
“I’ll say,” said the first aid attendant. “I can’t imagine how anyone could have done better.”
“You actually survived a Rank 6 fire,” said Jacob, shaking his head in astonishment. “That means you can survive anything life throws at you.”
A voice outside yelled, “They found the guy at the boat launch. He’s still alive. The smoke has cleared enough to get him out by helicopter.”
Emily smiled. “I kept my promise to you Matt,” she whispered so softly the two men could barely hear her.
“Would you like something to drink?” asked Jacob.
Emily licked her cracked and bleeding lips. “Yes, please.”
“We’ve got some ice-cold water in the truck.”
“That would be great.”
Jacob went outside where the rest of the crew was waiting. They’d obviously decided fire mop-up could wait for at least a few more minutes.
Emily heard the man with a French accent ask, “How is she doing?”
“She’s going to be okay. You won’t believe everything that’s happened to her. That girl is one tough cookie.”
“Did she have any survival gear?”
“Just this rope. She gave it to me. Says she doesn’t want to use it any more. I’m not sure what she meant by that.”
There was the sound of running footsteps. The female firefighter came barging through the doorway and handed Emily a cell phone. “Your mother is on the line.” Emily took the phone. She could hear her mother sobbing.
“Hi, mom.”
“Emily! Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Emily was surprised at how weak her voice was.
“You don’t sound like you’re fine.”
“My brain is pretty fuzzy, especially when I try to stand up. And I’ve got a few burns. Nothing serious, but they really hurt. I might end up with a couple of interesting scars.”
Her mother took a deep breath. Emily knew she was trying to compose herself. “Is it true you ran into the fire to save a dog?”
Emily sighed. She was in no mood for a lecture. “I know it was a stupid thing to do. All I can say is that we made a good team, and I wouldn’t have made it without him.” She suddenly felt nauseous and nearly threw up.
Her mother could hear that something was wrong. “Emily?”
“Sorry. I’m having trouble keeping things down. Listen, about the dog. His name is Buttons. This morning he led me to a man who was hurt during the fire and couldn’t move. If we hadn’t found that man he might be dead by now.”
“I’m gl
ad you found him.”
“And I think I found myself.”
There was a long silence. “What do you mean?”
“We’ll talk about it when I get home. Okay?”
“Okay.” Her mother broke into a fresh spasm of sobs. Emily knew from experience that this could go on for some time unless her mother had something else to think about. “Mom, I want you to promise that you’ll never try to make me go camping again.”
“I promise.”
Something was happening outside. It sounded like another vehicle had arrived. Emily heard a woman’s voice say, “Is she in the RV? Good. Can she walk or do we need a stretcher?”
“I can hear something in the background. What’s going on, Emily?”
“I think they are going to put me in an ambulance and take me to hospital.” Emily took a deep breath. It was best to strike while her mother was still emotionally fragile. “Do you think we could get a dog?”
BARRY MCDIVITT worked as a journalist in radio and television for more than thirty years. His previous publications include the Thistledown titles, Redcoats and Renegades and The Youngest Spy. His stories have appeared regularly on the Global TV network and the CBC radio and TV networks, as well as in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. He presently writes Young Adult novels and works as a communications director in high-tech. He lives in Kelowna, British Columbia.
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