Firefighter

by Jennifer Li Shotz

  And then his dad’s face broke into a huge grin. “I am so incredibly glad you’re all okay.”

  “You too, Mr. Tackett,” Amaiya said.

  “Thank you for coming to rescue us,” Curtis said.

  But Matt’s dad didn’t hear them. His attention had been drawn away, and he was focusing intently on something. Matt followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at Dev.

  “Dev?” Matt’s dad asked, a note of worry in his voice.

  Dev’s breathing had gotten worse. Matt heard that sound again—a ragged, rapid sucking in of air that made Matt’s chest hurt just to listen to it.

  “You’re wheezing, Dev,” Matt’s dad said.

  Dev nodded. “Yeah,” he managed to squeak out.

  “When we can calm him down, he can breathe better,” Matt told his dad. “And his cough sounds really dry—like he needs steam or something.”

  “He does,” Matt’s dad said. “He needs humidity.”

  Matt eyed the water nearby. “Sit down,” he said to Dev.

  “Yessir.” Dev raised two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute.

  “Isn’t he hilarious?” Matt said to his dad.

  Dev sat, and Scout plopped down next to him. Matt grabbed a scrap of fabric off the ground left over from a T-shirt his dad had ripped up to make a splint. Matt ran to the stream, then dipped the fabric in the water, squeezed it out, and ran back over to Dev.

  Matt gave Dev the wet cloth. “Hold this over your mouth,” Matt instructed him. “It’ll humidify the air you’re breathing in.”

  “Good thinking, Matt-o,” his dad said. He turned to Dev. “Dev, I want you to lean back. That’s right—sit up as straight as you can. That’ll open up your airways. Breathe in through your nose—count to four. Good. And purse your lips when you exhale, like this.” Matt’s dad made an O with his lips and blew through them slowly.

  Dev nodded and did as he was told.

  “Inhale, exhale,” Matt said. “That’s all you need to think about right now. We’re going to take care of the rest. Inhale, exhale.”

  “No fear, Dev,” Matt’s dad said. “No fear.”

  Scout crawled halfway onto Dev’s lap, and Dev put his hand on Scout’s back. His arm rose and fell with Scout’s breathing.

  They all watched as Dev began to visibly relax. Dev’s chest slowed its frenzied rise and fall, and soon he was breathing in sync with Scout.

  “Nice, Dev,” Matt exhaled.

  Matt’s dad clapped him on the shoulder. “We make a pretty good team, Matt-o.”

  Matt couldn’t fight a smile. “We do.”

  He had pictured his dad doing his job a million times over the years. He had imagined his dad making split-second decisions in pretty rough situations, and now he’d gotten to see him in action. Instead of being paralyzed with fear or scared about his injuries, his dad was so calm, so certain of what to do.

  And Matt had been right by his side.

  “I know you don’t like to take a compliment, Matt-o,” his dad said, “but I’m proud of you. You’ve been very brave up here.”

  “Yeah, you’re really calm under pressure, Matt,” Amaiya said.

  “Me?” Matt felt his cheeks get hot.

  “Yeah, you.”

  “Don’t let it go to your head,” Dev called from his spot on the ground.

  “It’s true,” Curtis added. “You always seem to know what to do.”

  “Oh—uh—I—I don’t.” He looked at his dad. “But I guess I learned from my parents that you just have to figure it out.” Matt’s dad beamed at him.

  In that moment, more than ever, Matt was proud to be his father’s son.

  But now everyone was staring at him, and Matt squirmed.

  “By the way,” his dad said, “you guys really stink. You smell like a barbecue.”

  18

  WITH A FLASH OF SUDDEN MOVEMENT, Scout scrambled to his feet and ran over to Matt. He jumped up and put his front paws smack in the middle of Matt’s chest. But he wasn’t there to play.

  Scout dropped back to the ground and, with his eyes still on Matt, skittered sideways, barking frantically, wildly. He sounded desperate—even scared.

  Scout was warning them about something.

  His ears were back and his tail pointed straight out behind him. He looked up into the sky. Matt’s stomach churned as he turned to look too. He knew what was there before he saw it: the fire.

  It had reached them.

  Flames licked the cliff at the top of the waterfall, where they had just been. A swirling mass of black smoke unfurled in the sky.

  It was only a matter of seconds before the fire jumped the cliff and ignited the land around them.

  There was no time to run.

  “In the water—now!” Matt’s dad shouted. “Everyone—go, go, go!” Matt and Amaiya yanked Dev to his feet, while Curtis steadied Matt’s dad. The unwieldy entourage half ran, half stumbled to the pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall. Matt saw that his dad’s face was screwed up tightly, his teeth gritted against the pain. He sucked in his breath with every step, but he was focused and determined. Matt forced himself not to think about the serious damage his dad was probably doing to his injured ankle.

  They threw themselves into the neck-deep water. Scout landed with a loud splash right next to Matt and started dogpaddling quickly. He tilted his head back to hold his snout above the waterline. His front paws cut through the surface, then disappeared again, over and over.

  Nearby, Matt’s dad hopped through the water on one foot. Matt’s whole body hurt from the shock of the temperature, but he knew it was nowhere near the level of pain his dad had to be feeling—or the anxiety Dev had been fighting off as he tried to breathe.

  Matt saw the others glancing up at the sky. He looked up too and watched the air darken into a deep, dull gray. Within seconds it felt dark as night—the very air around them seemed opaque and solid.

  Dev began to cough, and then they all did, choking on the smoke. They pulled their wet shirts up over their mouths and noses in a desperate attempt to filter the toxic air. Matt’s eyes burned so badly he could barely keep them open.

  Off to their right, Matt spotted a horizontal rock jutting out over the water, creating an overhang about six feet wide. There was a foot or so of space between the surface of the water and the rock—just enough for them to keep their heads above water while being protected from above.

  “There!” He pointed to the rock, and they all swam toward it. The group huddled together underneath, waiting. Dev struggled to catch his breath, but being in the water seemed to have helped. At least he wasn’t gasping for oxygen like before.

  No sooner did they take shelter under the rock than a barrage of fireballs fell from the sky. But it wasn’t just embers anymore—now it was fiery pieces of tree bark and blazing clusters of leaves. The smoke grew so thick that Matt couldn’t see more than a couple of feet in front of him.

  He feared the worst. He looked around and saw that they all did. Even his dad.

  After everything they had been through on Mount Kit, was this it? Was this as far as they could go? As close as they were going to get to safety?

  With every passing second, the air grew hotter, but Matt was shivering from the cold water and the shock of their situation. No one spoke—no one could speak.

  Matt felt like they would run out of air at any second. But he also knew that when the fire dropped over the cliff toward them, they’d have to dive under the water to protect themselves from the flames. Either way, he wasn’t sure how they would breathe.

  It was bad. Very, very bad.

  Matt reached out a hand to his dad. His dad grabbed it and gave it a squeeze.

  “When the fire gets here,” Matt said to the group, “go under.”

  “Okay,” Curtis replied, his voice tense.

  “Got it.” Amaiya was resolute.

  “Dev, you got this?” Matt asked.

  “Definitely,” Dev rasped.

 
Matt peeked out from under the rock. The dark sky was infused with an orange glow, which spread all around them and lit up the gray dome of smoke. Matt’s face grew hot as a deafening roar blasted his ears—it was as loud as a military jet landing.

  The fire was there.

  “Underwater!” Matt shouted. “Now!”

  Five people ducked their heads below the surface. Matt pulled Scout down with him.

  Matt clamped his mouth shut and held on to his dog for dear life.

  19

  MATT THOUGHT HIS LUNGS WOULD BURST. His head exploded with a thousand tiny pinpoints of light and sound. Scout struggled in his arms.

  Finally Matt couldn’t bear the pressure in his chest for another second. He thrust his head above the surface of the water, pulling Scout up with him. A wall of heat slammed into them.

  It wasn’t safe to stay above the water.

  Scout and Matt sucked in huge mouthfuls of smoky air. As soon as Matt’s vision cleared, he took in the terrifying sight that surrounded them on all sides.

  Everything was on fire.

  Underbrush and trees, shrubs and grasses. Twigs and fallen tree limbs. Everything burned hot and red and angry.

  One by one, the others came up for air too.

  “Everyone okay?” Matt’s dad gasped. Amaiya and Curtis nodded, their chests heaving. “Good. Get back under.” The three of them submerged themselves again.

  But Dev just stood there, looking dazed. Even from a few feet away, Matt could see his nostrils flaring. He exhaled in ragged spurts. “Dev?” Matt cried.

  Dev didn’t respond. It was as if he were in a faraway place, unable to even hear the sound of Matt’s voice. “Dev!” Matt shouted.

  Dev just stared into the distance.

  Matt desperately needed to shake his friend back to reality. But before Matt could reach him, Dev’s eyes began to droop, then slowly close. He watched in horror as Dev passed out and slipped down into the water.

  The top of Dev’s head disappeared with a soft plink.

  “No!” Matt screamed, releasing Scout. “No, no, no, no, no—Dev!” Matt kicked off the ground with one foot and started to swim toward Dev. But Scout pushed past him, leaving Matt in his wake. Scout paddled hard and fast, and before Matt could even call Scout’s name, the dog was underwater, diving toward the spot where Dev had disappeared.

  Matt couldn’t bear the sensation that overcame him. It wasn’t fear, and it wasn’t despair. It wasn’t panic, and it wasn’t a frustrated desire to turn back time, even by a few seconds. It was all of these emotions combined—and then some.

  Now his best friend and Scout were both gone.

  Matt swam toward them just as the others rose to the surface to take another gulp of air.

  “Matt!” his dad said, alarmed. “What are you doing?! Get back under—” But when his dad saw the look on Matt’s face, he instantly understood.

  Matt and his dad reached the spot where Dev and Scout had gone under. They both took huge swallows of air and dove below the debris-covered surface. It was impossible to see in the dark water. Diving toward the bottom of the pond, Matt waved his arms around wildly, desperate to make contact.

  Nothing.

  Matt needed air badly. He broke the surface and saw his dad standing, holding Dev under the armpits while Dev coughed up water.

  “I’m okay,” Dev said weakly.

  Matt spun around in a circle, frantically searching for Scout. But he wasn’t there. “Scout?” Matt called. “Scout! Buddy! Where are you?” Matt’s movements sent ripples out across the surface of the water. “Scout!”

  “There!” his dad shouted.

  Matt turned, and there, about five feet away, floating out from under the protection of the rock, was Scout. His head bobbed on the water. His eyes were open, but he was listless and only semiconscious. Scout paddled feebly a couple of times, trying his best to stay afloat.

  Matt’s heart stopped in his chest. The air was searing hot, but he didn’t care. He swam to Scout and, in an instant, scooped him up and dragged him back toward the overhang, paddling with one arm. Scout hung like a ragdoll, not moving or responding to Matt’s touch.

  The other kids looked on in horror, their eyes wide and brimming with tears. Curtis held a hand over his mouth, and Amaiya looked away, blinking.

  “Dad!” Matt cried. “Dad, is he okay? What’s wrong with him?”

  “I—I don’t know, Matt,” his dad said softly. “But we’re going to take care of him.”

  As if from a great distance, Matt heard a steady churning sound echoing off the rocks. He was too focused on Scout to care that the sound drew closer, growing so loud it thunked like a drum in his chest. He barely noticed when a deluge of water rained down from the sky, dumped from two large aircraft passing overhead.

  Helicopters.

  Water helicopters.

  They had come to put out the wildfire.

  The aircraft flew on, leaving a doused, steaming landscape behind them. Matt lugged his limp, wet dog up onto the bank and laid Scout down on the rocks. All around them, charred trees and brush smoldered. The others climbed out of the water too. Matt’s dad helped Dev out and eased him to the ground.

  Scout was on his side, his eyes still open but not focusing on anything. Matt leaned over him, smoothing the fur on his head. Scout didn’t even seem to register that Matt was there. He just stared into the distance. Matt couldn’t tell if he was breathing.

  “Scout!” Matt said desperately. “Please, Scout, it’s me. It’s me, Matt.”

  Nothing.

  “Scout, please!” Matt choked back a sob. “Can you hear me?”

  “Matt—”

  Matt pressed his lips to Scout’s ear. “Buddy,” he pleaded in a distressed whisper. “I know you can hear me. You’re going to be okay. Just hang in there.”

  Matt’s whole body was shaking. He thought about all the times Scout had come back for him, or risked his own life, or slept on the floor by Matt’s bed and woken him up with a giant wet slurp across the face. A fat tear slid down Matt’s cheek.

  “Matt.”

  Matt looked up, as if he were hearing his dad for the first time.

  “I don’t know if Scout is going to make it, buddy,” his dad said, choking up as he spoke.

  Matt squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would stop his dad’s words from being true.

  “Matt . . .” Dev was right next to him.

  “It’s okay, Matt.” Amaiya was on his other side. Curtis stood right behind him.

  “Please,” Matt begged. “Please—we have to try to help him! We can’t just leave him here.”

  Matt’s dad studied his son’s tearstained face. With a grim nod, his dad gingerly lowered himself onto the rocks, flinching at the pain in his ankle. He positioned himself over Scout and placed both hands, one on top of the other, on the dog’s rib cage.

  Matt stayed close to Scout’s side. The other kids stepped back, giving them space. Curtis looked down at his hands, then at the rocks and trees. Dev was stone-faced. Amaiya buried her face in her hands.

  Holding his elbows straight, Matt’s dad pushed down hard on Scout’s chest in a series of fifteen quick compressions.

  “Hold his mouth shut,” Matt’s dad directed. “Breathe once into his nostrils—hard.”

  Matt wrapped both hands around Scout’s muzzle and placed his mouth over his nose. He blew with all the power he could muster from his aching lungs.

  “Good.” Matt’s dad performed another round of compressions, and Matt repeated the breathing maneuver.

  For a torturously long moment, there was nothing. They did it again. And again.

  Suddenly, after the fourth round of CPR, Scout grunted loudly and sucked in a huge gulp of air. He coughed and spit up a few mouthfuls of water.

  “Scout!” Matt cried. “You’re alive!”

  Scout raised his head and blinked at Matt. He dropped his head back onto the rocks and began to breathe in a fast, choppy rhythm.

  Mat
t let out a sob of relief. The others sniffled and wiped their eyes with the backs of their hands.

  “Matt,” his dad said gently, “Scout needs to get to a vet right away. And I need to get you kids home in one piece. Those helicopters didn’t see us, but they put out the fire on this side. It’s safe to head down the mountain on our own now. We need to move out.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Matt took a few steadying breaths.

  “Can you carry him?” Matt’s dad gestured at Scout. “I’m sorry I can’t do it, buddy, but my ankle—”

  “It’s okay, Dad,” Matt said. “I’ve got him.” Matt slid his arms under Scout. He gently lifted him and draped the dog over his shoulders.

  Matt felt Scout breathing against the back of his neck. Holding Scout’s legs in either hand and fighting tears, Matt looked around at the others.

  “Let’s go home.”

  20

  THEY TREKKED THROUGH A CHARRED WASTELAND.

  The ground was a blackened layer as far as the eye could see. Pine trees and sagebrush were bare and scorched—nothing but skeletons of dead wood. Even the rocks looked like charcoal. A heavy blanket of soot and ash covered the still-smoldering landscape. Smoke seemed to rise from deep inside a heartbroken Earth.

  They headed toward the trail that would lead them back to the bottom of the mountain. Dev leaned heavily on Amaiya as he walked. Matt’s dad had an arm over Curtis’s shoulders. He hopped and limped down the hill, with Curtis steadying him every time he swayed.

  The farther they traveled downhill, the farther they moved from the lingering mass of smoke that still blocked out the sun.

  The world around them was silent. No birds sang in the trees. No lizards skittered under rocks. No bears crunched through the bushes.

  Nobody spoke.

  After a few minutes, Matt’s ears popped with the change in elevation.

  Matt barely noticed. He couldn’t have cared less about their surroundings or how far they had traveled. All he cared about was Scout, who sagged heavily across his shoulders. Matt reached up and laid his hand on Scout’s chest. It was rising and falling, but it still hadn’t settled into an even rhythm. Matt didn’t like the way it felt—something wasn’t right.