Firestorm

by Ronnie Dauber

  “Grandpa, it’s really infected. We need to pour more alcohol on it.”

  But Grandpa was stubborn and he got a bit snippy as he pushed my arm away.

  “I’m fine, just leave it. Let’s just get home.”

  “Well, at least let me wrap it back up.”

  The pain from his injured leg that he tried so hard to hide was evident in his face, and yet through that torment I could still see the twinkle in his hazel eyes. I loved him so much and it made me just want to cry to see him hurting like this. But as usual, Grandpa could always sense my emotions.

  “Sorry, Honey. I’m just old and cranky. Do what you think is best and then we better get going. I’m starving and Nana will be a nervous wreck by now.”

  I poured some more alcohol over his wound and he stiffened his whole body as the pain ripped through his leg even more. I stopped for a second and waited for him to relax and then I gently wrapped the bandages back around it. But our talking disturbed Don and he growled at us to be quiet. I saw the cut on his arm and his scraped hands and offered to wrap them but he just growled more and told me to leave him alone.

  Meagan and I stepped outside the cave a few minutes later to join the guys who’d been out there discussing the best route to get home. The morning air was cool and damp and nostalgic of a dead campfire.

  Ali looked at Meagan and then back to Grandpa.

  “Okay, we’re going to need to really help these guys along. Meg, maybe you and I can each support your grandfather and Brad and Sarah can walk with Don. We can change positions along the way so that no one gets burned out with carrying your grandfather because we’re going to have to almost carry him and he looks a bit heavy. He sure can’t walk on that leg.”

  Don was as old as Grandpa, but he had a loud voice and great hearing.

  “What are you pointing that way for? We’re not going that way. We’re going this way.”

  Ali took a deep breath and crept back towards the cave where Don was standing.

  “With all due respect, Sir, both you and Grandpa are badly hurt and we have to get you home and to a doctor as soon as possible. Now, we’re familiar with that route and once we get to the other side of the river, Brad is going to run ahead to the house where he can call for help.”

  “No! We’re not going back that way. I know what way you’re planning on going, along that swing bridge, that’s where. Well, I don’t like swing bridges, and besides that, there’s a better way by boat.”

  By boat? Meagan and I looked at each other in surprise. I wondered if Don had forgotten that the boat is gone.

  “Don, the boat is gone, and besides that, we know this route. It’ll be easy and we can have you home in a couple of hours.”

  Grandpa waved for Brad to help him up and then he hobbled outside and faced the cave.

  “Don has a friend over that way who keeps a boat tied up at a little dock down in the water. I think what he wants to do is to borrow it so we can scoot right across the water and be home in less than an hour.”

  We all looked to where he was pointing and I could see that there was a lot of climbing over rocks and along brush land just to get passed this cave and back onto the trail. I knew that a trek like that would be hard on all of us, let alone on two old and injured men.

  “Grandpa, where is this boat?”

  Don pushed his way past us and pointed behind the cave.

  “It’s over there a little ways and it’s tied to this little dock. I know the guy who owns it so he won’t mind.”

  Meagan brushed her hair back up into her clip as she moved in close to us.

  “And what if your friend is using it and it’s not there? That’s a long way for you two to go for nothing. What if two of us run on ahead to check it out first? You can rest here and we’ll get the boat and bring it here?”

  But before Meagan could finish, Don ambled over to Grandpa and yelled loudly at Meagan.

  “No! Typical city kids. You visit here once a year and all of a sudden you know more than we do. And you two fellas have never even been here before and suddenly you’re experts. I’m not gonna sit here and wait for that wolf to come back. We’re all going down there together and that’s that.”

  Everything went very quiet. Ali rolled his eyes and looked at Grandpa who had moved over to rest against a large rock. Meagan became persistent as she spoke loudly.

  “Yeah, well Don, Grandpa can’t walk that far on his leg. I think it’s best if two of us just run ahead to see if the boat’s even there and if it is, we’ll bring it back here.”

  Grandpa waved at us and then hobbled over to where we were standing a few feet away.

  “Look, I’m okay. It hurts like heck but I’ve climbed bigger hills than this and in a lot worse conditions.”

  Then he leaned in and whispered as he pointed back with this thumb.

  “Him, on the other hand, he’s as stubborn as a mule and we’ll be out here for days arguing if we don’t go along with him.”

  Meagan and I looked at each other and then at the guys and I knew she felt as uncomfortable as I did. They didn’t think twice about coming out here to rescue Grandpa and Don, yet Don didn’t care what he said or how he offended them. Instead, he just kept talking.

  “You boys haven’t been here before and I live here. I know there is a boat that will get us home fast so why are we standing here wasting time? Luke, they’re your kids. Tell them to move their butts and so we can get to the boat.”

  Grandpa hobbled a few feet onto the open grass and then looked back at us.

  “What do you think? I’m game for walking and Don will be grouchy no matter which way we go.”

  My stomach was screaming for food and I was sweaty and dirty and I just wanted to go home and take a shower and eat something. I knew that arguing with them was getting us nowhere and I looked at Meagan to say something, but she beat me to the punch.

  “You know what? If that’s what you want and you two are obviously not going to let us spare you the pain, then I say we just get going. I’m hungry and I want a shower and I’d just like us to get back to the house.”

  Ali shook his head and Brad smirked as he stuffed the blankets back into his backpack. We knew that the sooner we headed back, the sooner we’d get there, so Brad and I threw the packs on our back and walked with Don as Meagan and Ali propped Grandpa up between them. We headed slowly and painfully up the slope as Don yelled out the instructions.

  “We’re just going along this path a little ways until we see a big tree that looks like a question mark and then we head back down to the water. That’s where we’ll find the boat.”

  It sounded a lot easier than it was and we almost lost it with Don as he had a stubborn tendency to just wonder off when he wasn’t whining. One minute he was angry and yelling at us because his hands hurt, and the next minute he was stopping to admire a branch on the ground while trying to find the bug that disappeared under it.

  We stopped about ten minutes later so that Ali and Meagan could let Grandpa rest for a minute. That was Don’s cue to start complaining about his hands again, and then finally Meagan lost it. She opened Ali’s backpack and pulled out the long bandage wrap.

  “Look, I’m going to wrap your hands in this whether you like it or not. No, no, don’t fight me on this because I’m going to do it anyway. As long as your hands are not covered, you’re going to get more and more dirt in them and they’re going to hurt more so I’m wrapping them up.”

  Don watched her wrap each of his hands and growled at her the entire time. She zipped up the backpack and pulled it onto her back.

  “There, now maybe we can move along a little faster towards the boat, now that you aren’t looking at your sore hands.”

  Suddenly, there was a loud crunching sound that caught our attention as we all gasped in amazement. About fifty feet to the left of us there a mixture of every forest animal imaginable bursting out of the forest and running aimlessly across the far side of the terrain that ran beside us. I’
d never seen deer run with the foxes and skunks, only away from them. Brad turned in surprise as he watched them.

  “Wow, something sure scared them. Look, there’s hundreds of animals - and deer, there’s got to be a hundred or more. Where are they headed in such a hurry?”

  Grandpa rubbed his chest and shook his head.

  “Well, usually it means there’s a hunter up ahead scaring them. Sometimes visitors will come back in here and use this forest as a hunting ground and it scares the critters half to death - so they run.”

  I watched inquisitively as the animals passed by without even caring about us.

  “Together like that? I mean, there’s a fox mixed right in the middle of the deer.”

  We watched in amazement and then as usual, I began to worry.

  “Grandpa, are we going to be okay going this way when there may be hunters up ahead? Does Don’s friend have a gun?”

  “Oh sure, we all have guns here. We’re all hunters but we know when to hunt and how to hunt so that the whole forest doesn’t go bonkers. But oddly I haven’t heard any gunshots and with the animals this close, the shooter would be close enough to hear the shots. Kind of strange.”

  Meagan stepped beside Ali and watched as more animals came out of the dense forest beside us and ran across the terrain to the adjoining forest.

  “Well, Grandpa, I hope we’re going to be safe going to the boat without having someone shooting at us.”

  But before Grandpa could answer, Don stood up and huffed.

  “Can we just get going instead of wasting time like this? I can smell campfire so the hunters aren’t too far away, and it’s probably just Joe, anyway. So, let’s forget those stupid animals and get to the boat before he decides to use it himself.”

  Don didn’t care, but I was worried that there could be someone with a gun up ahead who just might accidentally shoot at us. I couldn’t smell any campfire so I figured that Don was just being impatient again, but Grandpa seemed sure that we were safe so we decided to keep going.

  The sun beat down on us in hot waves and at this point I didn’t really care which way we went just as long as we were going home. Brad and I took hold of Grandpa and we continued along the grassy path towards his friend’s boat. After ten or fifteen minutes, we stopped for another break and Ali took his cap off and rubbed his head.

  “So, where exactly is this tree that looks like a question mark?”

  Grandpa took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he rested on a nearby rock.

  “Can’t remember where it is from this path but I don’t think it’s too far from here.”

  About an hour and a half later, we still hadn’t found the tree and we were exhausted and collapsed under the shade of a big oak tree. My legs were stinging from the sweat that dripped into scratches from the dried bushes and branches along the way. Brad got up a minute later and ran ahead and then disappeared into a group of trees while the rest of us tried to catch our breath. Grandpa’s face was pale as he rubbed his leg and told us that it was really hurting.

  “We’re close to the boat now, though. Won’t be long and we’ll be home.”

  Several minutes later Brad returned and dropped onto the ground in the shade to rest and catch his breath.

  “Found the tree. It’s up there about a city block.”

  I sat down beside him and he was restless, almost as if he knew something that we didn’t.

  “Brad? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m just beat. Anybody else notice that there are no birds around? I mean, usually they’re everywhere and they’re noisily chirping away, but I don’t hear any.”

  We stopped to listen and Brad was right. We were practically the only noise in the forest. Don coughed as he pointed to the sky.

  “That’s because there’s no wind, and when there’s no wind you don’t hear much. When there’s a wind it carries the sounds from all over the forest.”

  That didn’t make a lot of sense but he was quiet after so we didn’t argue with him. Instead, we opened our water bottles and took a few swigs. Meagan sighed as she wiped her forehead with her hand.

  “You’re right, there isn’t a breeze. No wonder I’m sweating so much. What time is it anyway?”

  Ali looked at his watch and commented that it was only about ten o’clock.

  “So early and yet it’s so hot - and so dry. When’s the last time it rained here?”

  Grandpa snickered as he looked up at the sky.

  “It’s been a few months, in fact, nothing so far this year. This is the driest summer I can remember since we moved here. Anyway, let’s get going. I’m getting too hot out here.”

  We continued slowly along the dry path and reached the tree shaped like a question mark about half an hour later, and by then I was ready to collapse again. Meagan pulled out the water bottles and being only three left, we had to share them sparingly except that Don grabbed one and drank the whole thing down.

  “What’s your problem? I was thirsty.”

  He tossed the bottle onto the ground and got ready to head out. Meagan and I looked at each other and I could see the same anger on her face that was rising up in me. She bent down and picked the bottle up and stuffed it in the backpack.

  “Let’s not just throw our garbage around. Let’s at least try to show some respect for this forest and the animals that live in it.”

  Don growled and pushed me off of his arm as he began walking along the path. The rest of us joined him and minutes later we were heading down to the boat. Although it had been a long and disparaging haul, I was glad we were almost there because it meant we were almost home.

  We edged slowly down the rocky terrain and it took us about fifteen or twenty minutes to get to the water but when we got there, Don began to shout.

  “Well, that son of a – I can’t believe he took the boat. You, Alex, go down there and see if he’s tied it down there.”

  Ali puckered his mouth and then nodded to Don as he climbed down the bank with Brad right on his tail. They both returned a few minutes later and Ali stared at Grandpa.

  “What made you think the boat was there? It’s not there. It’s not anywhere around here.”

  Grandpa tried to stand up and then fell back onto the rock as Don rose up and began to yell at the guys.

  “That’s impossible. He always keeps it here. Go look again.”

  I squatted beside Grandpa and gently rubbed his good leg.

  “It’s not here, Grandpa. There is no boat and now we’re going to have to head back the way we came after all.”

  Just the thought of having to drag Grandpa and Don back through the dry grass in this heat on an empty stomach made we want to cry. Don broke my train of thought as he stood up and began to yell again.

  “My hands hurt so much I can’t stand it.”

  I knew that he was in pain, but when I looked at Grandpa my insides really ached. Blood and infection was seeping through the bandage and I knew that his leg needed immediate attention.

  “We’re going to have to head back right away. Look at his leg. It’s going to take us the rest of the day. Brad, I’m really sorry that Meg and I are putting you and Ali through this.”

  Ali put his arm around Meagan and said that the important issue was to get the older men home and to a doctor, and we agreed. I was fighting the tears and Brad must have noticed because he came and put his arm around me and whispered.

  “It’s okay. We’ll get your grandfather home as fast as we can. I promise.”

  There was a reassurance in his voice and I was really glad that he was with us. I don’t know what Meagan and I would have done without them so far and I knew we needed them even more now.

  We got ready to head back onto the trail when icy chills shot up my back and I couldn’t move. Meagan leaned in and whispered to me.

  “Sarah, you okay?”

  “I don’t know. Something is wrong. Something isn’t right, Meg, and we should have gone back the way we wanted to go and not come this w
ay.”

  I looked back down the path in agony as I imagined how difficult it was going to be leading two injured and elderly men in this heat wave. My eyes caught a glimpse of the sky, and that’s when my heart thumped against my ribcage as a hovering fear fell over me.

  We stood gaping at the sky that was partially covered with dark grey clouds and as my legs turned to rubber as chills of fear shot up and down my spine.

  Smoke!

  Chapter 5

  One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

  Brad and Ali darted back down towards the water to see if they could get a better view of the smoke that was hovering in the distant sky. Meanwhile, Meagan and I tried to search through the umbrella of tall trees that was spread out all around us but it was almost impossible to see anything. At least the smoke wasn’t right over us.

  “I don’t smell smoke or anything, do you, Meg?”

  “No, it’s not close enough to smell. It’s way over there somewhere. I just hope it’s not someone’s home that’s on fire.”

  “Yeah, me too. And I’m glad it’s not in the part of the forest where we’re going, either.”

  Grandpa had been sitting on the rock staring down at his wounded leg. He took a deep breath as he propped himself up so he could hobble towards the bank of the inlet. The sun was blazing down so he put his hand over his eyes and gazed into the sky and then across the water.

  “There aren’t any homes in that direction, girls, just forest. Any homes around here are on the far side of the lake over where we live.”

  Meagan and I both sighed in relief when he said that. I knew that the smoke cloud was too big to be from a normal campfire but my insides began to shake when I thought about it.

  “So it’s a forest fire, isn’t it? This forest is on fire, is that what you’re saying, Grandpa?”

  “That’s what it looks like. It might be way over there now, but if the wind shifts, I don’t know….”

  Hearing Grandpa confirm that the forest was on fire made my insides shake even more, and within seconds I was coated in a sweat just from fear of the unknown. He rubbed his beard and shook his head. His countenance was rent with worry that was outlined in fear.