Derrick Buffalo lifted his helmeted head high enough out of his hiding place to see through the thin haze, scanning the horizon in all directions. The land was naked, like a desert, save the few giant ponderosa snags still standing like oversized grave posts, and the piles of downed, bare tree trunks which lay scattered randomly, as if a giant’s child hadn’t picked up after playing. In the distance, beyond the ridge to the east, a voluminous smoke column rose thousands of feet into the sky.
Derrick sniffed the air. It was that morning air in a burn that brought back so many memories, distant memories as if from another life. He hoisted himself out of the hole and stretched. He was still wearing his backpack like a schoolchild who hadn’t thought to take it off. He had even slept with it on after the air had finally cooled inside his cramped little hole under the rocks.
His eye caught the distant flash of metal from what he discerned was a motionless helicopter resting on the ground. He walked slowly towards the machine and noticed the large red cross painted on the its side. He sat, unobserved, to watch the men work, like he used to do at construction sites as a boy. The four took pictures of the ground and the objects lying on it, and then of the surrounding area. Two men then picked up a stiff form wrapped in a green blanket, lying near the bottom of the hillside. They loaded it carefully into the gaping side doors of the large machine. The other two then lifted a large, blackened tree branch off of what looked like a small silver blanket. They left the silver covering over the stiff form and loaded it into the helicopter next to the first. The next object, also wrapped in shiny silver, required the muscles of all four men. They grunted and swore as they dropped the form, more carelessly than they had dropped the first two, being eager to unburden themselves.
The men then talked and laughed loudly as they rested, before standing up again to haul their next loads. They all shook their heads almost mournfully as two of them lifted another, smaller, silver-covered form and carried it to the waiting ship. Then all four took their positions beside the last two shapes, which lay as if connected, each only partially covered, sharing the same silver blanket. Both forms were picked up simultaneously, and the men shuffled over to lay them with the rest before taking another break. With lit cigarettes, the men lay on their backs and faced a grayblue sky.
Derrick rose unseen and ambled away from the resting men. He enjoyed the open feel of the land and the coolness of the morning breeze against his face. The ashy ground was soft and easy to walk on. He imagined for a moment that he was on the moon.
Another metal flash caught his eye, like the first. He walked closer and viewed a second helicopter. There too he saw four men taking pictures, this time of some yellowish brown forms lying like lumpy bundles on the ground.
A drop fell to the ground next to his feet, startling him slightly. He looked up to view a pair of boots, hanging in the air far above him. He watched them sway slightly in the breeze, bumping with a soft thud against the trunk of the tall, bare tree. He stepped back for a better look. The boots were connected to a charred form that hung from a leather strap. He looked closely and discovered that the body was covered with a mixture of molten yellow and brown, a glistening wetness, and a swarm of flies. He vomited.
After spitting enough times to satisfy himself, he heard the sound of crying. The noise led him to a familiar youth hidden amongst some downed trees; the young man’s head was down between knees; he was pulling on his legs to become as compact as possible. Derrick walked over and stood above him. The young man looked up and met Derrick’s eyes before allowing himself to be helped to his feet. Nether spoke as they traveled in the direction Derrick had been traveling previously.
They arrived at the creek, at the place where the Willamette crew had crossed the day before. The young man did as Derrick did, and solemnly removed his clothes. Once naked, both stepped carefully into the cool water, side by side. Together they moved forward, almost effortlessly, welcoming the water as it rose higher on their legs. They sat behind a boulder that blocked the frenzied flow, water lapping at their chests.
In the distance, a whirlwind twisted to life and revolved towards them. Both men studied it with distant interest, as if it held answers to questions not yet asked.
THE END
When a Fire Burns Hot Page 37