by Sean Callery
“No way am I risking that,” said Kyle, “do you know how much these cost?” He pointed at the logo on his own trousers. “I reckon this way is quicker, anyway,” he pointed along the path his side of the fence. “Chuck my rucksack back.” Jaz picked it up and threw it high in the air.
“Cheers, losers,” Kyle said as he caught it. “We are going to be at the campsite way before you – come on Sol.”
Sol’s mouth dropped open. Kyle had never used his proper name before. What should he do?
Jaz might be right about where they should be heading, but Sol didn’t think he could climb the fence, and Miss Belper had told them that one of the golden rules of the trip was not to leave anyone on their own.
“We will be waiting for you. See you later, much later,” laughed Jaz as he led the others down the hill.
Sol thought of the meerkats again as he fell into step next to Kyle. But Kyle took longer strides to keep himself ahead. “Stay behind me,” he muttered, “I’m in charge.”
Chapter Seven
The Fall
“You are going too fast,” panted Sol.
“We need to get to that campsite before Jaz,” muttered Kyle. “We need to get there first.”
Sol wondered if Kyle was talking to himself or to him.
It was cooler in the shade of the tall, green trees. Kyle began taking even longer steps. Sol stumbled to a stop and reached for his water bottle. A gust of wind cooled his hot cheeks.
Could he smell smoke? He heard a faint shout. Tiny in the distance, Kyle pointed and shouted, “This way. Follow me.”
Sol raised a thumb to show he had heard, even though Kyle had already raced off. When he reached the turning, Sol found a path leading down to the valley. Where was the campsite? He strained his eyes to look for the colourful tents. He saw a flash of orange a long way down behind the trees.
It was harder walking downhill and Sol’s knees hurt. His heavy boots dragged on the ground and the sweat dripping into his eyes made everything seem blurred like a bad picture. In the sudden bright light of a clearing he saw a thick tree root across the path just in time to lift his heavy feet over it. Then he almost stumbled into a log.
A strange log. It was blue. Sol blinked the sweat away and looked again. Kyle lay across the path and his foot was twisted at a funny angle.
“Kyle, are you OK?” he asked.
Kyle’s face was pale and his eyes were closed.
Chapter Eight
Fire
Sol tried to remember the checks from the first aid lesson. He looked around – there was no sign of danger nearby, like broken glass or a snake. Kyle must have tripped on the tree root that had nearly caught out Sol.
He pushed Kyle’s mouth open. Nothing there to choke Kyle and he could hear the faint sounds of the boy breathing in and out. When he rested his hand on Kyle’s neck to feel for the pulse, the boy’s eyes suddenly opened.
“Get off me!” yelled Kyle.
“OK. OK. Take it easy, Kyle,” said Sol.
“Got to get there first,” said Kyle. He tried to stand up but fell back. “Ow! My ankle!”
Sol looked at how Kyle’s foot lay at an odd angle and said, “I think it might be broken.”
“It hurts.” Kyle hardly moved his mouth as he spoke. “I can’t get up.”
“We need to stop it moving,” said Sol, looking around for some straight sticks like the ones Miss Belper had used.
It felt good to have something to do. Ten minutes later, a tight bandage covered sticks that held Kyle’s floppy ankle in place.
“You still can’t walk on it,” warned Sol.
“I know,” said Kyle. “I feel dizzy and I can smell smoke. It must be the pain.”
“Have a drink,” said Sol, reaching for his bottle. He sniffed. There it was again: the smell of smoke. Where was it coming from? Maybe it was the campsite. He looked down the valley to where he had seen the flash of the orange tent.
He saw orange all right, but it was moving. And above it there were wisps of smoke.
The orange wasn’t a tent. It was flames. The forest was on fire.
Kyle saw it too. “Wildfire!” he cried. “This is an emergency. Phone for help.”
“My phone is bust,” said Sol. “Where is yours?”
Kyle checked his bag and swore. “It was in the pocket. It must have fallen out when Jaz threw it over the fence,” he said. “But that fire won’t get to us before they send help, will it?”
Sol thought about the TV programme he had seen. “Fire travels up hills faster than down them,” the reporter had said. “And evergreen trees burn much faster than trees that lose their leaves.”
He looked at the layer of pine needles in the clearing. The trees all around them were evergreens. The fire would burn them fast. He took a deep breath. What had the TV guy said to do in an emergency?
Stop. Well, they had no choice about that.
Think. He was trying!
Observe. He could do more than see the fire. Now he could hear it crackling.
Plan. That was where he got stuck. Kyle could not move. Even if Sol left him and ran off, the fire would catch him up.
They were going to burn.
Chapter Nine
Plan
The TV guy had said: “And that is how to fight fire with fire!” Sol closed his eyes and tried to re-run the programme in his head.
“What are you doing?” asked Kyle, as Sol grabbed his rucksack and pulled out his blanket.
“You have to trust me. I have a plan,” said Sol, as he rolled Kyle onto the blanket and pulled it to the edge of the clearing.
“What plan?”
“I saw it on TV,” said Sol. He kicked piles of pine needles into the middle of the clearing and reached into his bag for the matches. There were only a few left. Strike. As the flames rose from the match he pushed it into the pile of needles. A wisp of smoke rose. Then it disappeared.
He fumbled for another match and tried again. A bigger wisp of smoke, then nothing.
Sol shook the box of matches.
There was only one left. He didn’t dare try the same method again – he only had one chance now.
The crackle of the flames coming towards them reminded him of his brother crunching crisps while they had watched the TV programme. If only Fin hadn’t done that – Sol probably missed a vital tip on how to start a fire.
Of course.
Crisps.
He remembered a science lesson where the whole class cheered as the teacher gave out crisps and told the class to set fire to them. The snacks had burned amazingly well.
He dug in his bag and pulled out the packet of crisps.
“Oh great! Time for a snack is it?” yelled Kyle.
Sol emptied the crisps into a small pile and struck the last match. As soon as it reached the crisps, little yellow flames flickered. He added a few pine needles, then more, waiting each time for them to flare up. After a few minutes, the flames started to sizzle and burn more pine needles and the fire spread across the clearing.
“You are going to kill us both!” said Kyle as Sol pulled the blanket from under him. Sol tipped the bottle of water over the blanket, then leapt across the flames and started to damp down the fire from the middle outwards.
He could feel the heat through the soles of his boots, and the smoke made him choke, but after a few minutes he was standing inside a large circle of charred ground.
“No!” cried Sol, as he saw Kyle trying to crawl towards the bushes. “Those will be on fire in a minute!”
Kyle groaned as Sol rolled him back into the middle of the clearing. Soot gathered like black snot stains under their noses.
Sol grabbed a fresh shirt from his bag, ripped off both sleeves and poured the last of the water over them.
“Hold this over your face,” he said. “It will help you breathe.”
“What happens now?” asked Kyle, his face suddenly yellow from the light of the flames in the trees around them.
“W
e wait,” said Sol.
“Wait to die?”
“We let the fire pass. It can’t set fire to the ground that is already burnt.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” Sol said. He crossed his fingers behind his back.
Chapter Ten
Blaze
The smoke felt like grit in Sol’s throat and made his nose itch and his eyes water. He heard Kyle coughing. Sol could see the fire reflected in Kyle’s eyes as he watched the blaze racing towards them.
“It is alright for you,” croaked Kyle. “You can run.”
“I can,” agreed Sol. “But I won’t.”
His face felt tight, as if someone was tugging at the skin. He pushed the wet cloth against his nose and tried not to cough.
The needles of the nearest tree fizzed like a million firecrackers and the long branches rattled as they clattered and snapped against each other. The sizzle and crackle of the fire became a roar like thunder. The tree’s blackened trunk exploded, sending up a fountain of sparks.
A shower of orange embers rained down on them. The boys flicked at them as if they were in a swarm of blazing flies.
Suddenly, Sol noticed a spark on Kyle’s arm. He pointed and shouted “YOUR SLEEVE IS BURNING!” but he could hardly hear his own voice over the roar of the fire.
He sprang across and bashed Kyle’s arm, feeling pin-pricks of heat from the sparks. When he lifted his hand, there was a small, black-rimmed hole in sleeve. Then there was a thud on his skull, and another. Through the clouds of smoke he saw Kyle’s hands flying towards his head again and again.
Was Kyle punching him as a punishment for bashing him? Didn’t he know Sol had stopped his clothes from catching fire? Kyle’s mouth was opening and closing and Sol made out some of the words “HAIR… FIRE… YOUR…”
Sol slid his hands over his head, feeling tiny bursts of heat from the sparks that had settled in his hair. Finally, Kyle gave him the thumbs up.
A few metres away, Sol’s rucksack sank slowly into the ground. It looked as if it was falling into a hole. Sol gasped when he saw the plastic cover change shape as it melted in the fierce heat. But he had heard his own gasp. That was good. That meant the roar of the fire was getting quieter. Slowly, it became a gentle sizzle and the crashing of falling branches became more distant. Sol twisted his neck to peer through the clouds of smoke. The whole clearing and the trees around it was charred black, and grey smoke rose in plumes around them.
The two boys lay on their backs and stared at the widening patch of blue sky above them. Sparks danced across it like crazed butterflies. Kyle turned his ash-grey face to Sol and said “Fancy a barbecue, mate? I think this arm is cooked!”
They laughed, and then choked as the smoke crept into their hot, dry throats.
Chapter Eleven
Choice
Sol’s running feet pounded to the strong beat. The thumping music in his headphones blocked out the hum of his running machine. He smiled. He was going way faster than the tall figure on the machine next to him.
A big drop of sweat hung from the untidy hair over his eyes. He tapped the screen to slow the machine speed and reached for his towel. But his legs had turned to jelly and he grabbed thin air as his feet kicked out and he tumbled to the floor.
The boy on the next machine bashed the ‘stop’ button, jumped off the machine and leaned over Sol. “You twit!” laughed Kyle, throwing the towel in his face, “You look like you’re melting!”
While Sol wiped himself down, Kyle said, “Me and the lads are going to see a film tonight. Do you want to come?”
“Maybe,” said Sol. “I’ll text you. See you later,” he said, and headed for the door. When he reached the changing room, he had to step over the clothes scattered across the floor. But his were hanging from a peg, just as he had left them. Jaz and the gang ran out of the showers, flicking their towels at each other.
“You’ve made a mess,” said Sol.
“Nah, it wasn’t us,” said Jaz. “Are you coming to see the film tonight?”
“Maybe,” said Sol.
“We need you there, mate,” said Jaz, “in case the cinema burns down!”
Sol’s face burned in the blast of hot air as he walked outside. He squeezed his eyes shut against the bright sun, pushed the headphones into his ears and blasted up the music. Thump. Thump.
He felt as strong as the beat.
Fin sat on Sol’s bed, flicking through a comic.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked through a mouthful of crisps.
“The lads want me to go and see a film,” said Sol.
“Cool,” said Fin.
“But actually, little brother, I could do that another time.” Sol switched on the TV.
“There’s a show about how to survive at the North Pole. I thought we could take a look.”
“Maybe you will get to go on a trip there,” said Fin.
“Yeah, maybe I will,” said Sol. “But I’m not letting you help pack my bag this time. That way I will have enough matches.”
“OK,” said Fin, throwing his empty crisp packet and missing the bin. “You will know how to survive.”
“Yes,” grinned Sol. “I do.”
Bonus Bits!
Feelings and Emotions
This story makes us think about how people treat one another.
Why do you think Kyle and his friends targeted Sol in the way they did?
Do you think they were right to do this?
How do you think Sol felt when Kyle wiped his foot on his towel?
How do you think Sol felt when he saw his clothes all over the changing room floor?
Do you think Kyle’s gang are like a group of meerkats?
Do you think Sol is looking forward to the trip?
Why did Sol think Kyle was hitting him in the head? What made him think this as his first thought?
How do you think Sol felt at the end when he saw someone else’s clothes thrown around the floor?
Wildfires
Can you really fight fire with fire like Sol does in the story? Yes! In Australia they sometimes do this to control the huge wildfires they have when the weather is hot and dry.
By burning a strip of forest they can stop the fire spreading further. It can protect farm animals, people and buildings. The controlled fire uses up the things a fire needs to spread.
This is only ever done by people who know what they are doing as if the fire gets out of control, things could get even worse than they were to start with!
Who said what?
Read each quote below and decide which of these characters said it:
1. Fin
2. Mikey
3. Jas
4. Kyle
5. Sol
6. TV commentator
7. Miss Belper
Check back in the book too if you need to.
“Stay behind me, I’m in charge.”
“Tidy up loser. You’ve made a mess.”
“I look like an alien!”
“Just like a gang of meerkats.”
“And that is how to fight fire with fire.”
“Sol hasn’t been at our school long.”
“I feel dizzy.”
What next?
What might have happened if the boys had gone on their trip in the winter? Why not plan and write a story set in winter instead? Think about what the weather might be like and how they could stay warm.
Answers to “Who said what?”
A: 4 (Kyle)
B: 3 (Jas)
C: 1 (Fin)
D: 5 (Sol)
E: 6 (TV commentator)
F: 7 (Miss Belper)
G: 2 (Mikey)
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First published 2016
This electronic edition published in 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Copyright © Bloomsbury Education 2016
Text copyright © Sean Callery 2016
Illustrations © Chris Askham 2016
The moral rights of the author and illustrators have been asserted
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