Firestorm

by Ronnie Dauber

  “I’m a good swimmer, you know, James. I’m just a little tired right now but I’ll try to swim as much as I can.”

  “That’s great. Okay, here we go.”

  I fell back into the water and swam out slowly, and soon the rope was tight and I could feel the pull on the line as I led the way. The shore seemed further away than I remembered but I kept going. Brad had the greater task because he was practically carrying Don, but I knew that as soon as I got to the bank I would be able to help pull them in which would at least give him that much relief. And besides that, Brad was not only a great swimmer but he’d had lots of water rescue training.

  I kept turning around in the water to look back and see that they were still doing okay, and it didn’t take as long as I’d thought it would to get to the shore. Once I climbed out of the water I was able to pull the rope a bit at a time and a few minutes later Brad and Don were at the edge. We lifted Don out of the water and onto the bank where we all collapsed for just a few seconds. Brad was really exhausted from carrying Don through the water and he lay on the ground like a snow angel facing the sky.

  “Hey, Pete, we made it.”

  I could hear the sarcasm in his voice and I knew that he was enjoying this little game, and I also knew that I was probably going to keep on hearing about it long after we got back home.

  “Yes, James, we made it.”

  Don began to move around and I opened my eyes to see what he was doing.

  “Where’s the boat? I don’t see the boat. James, where is it?”

  Brad sat up and was lost for words as he looked around and then stared at me.

  “Yeah, the boat. Where’s the boat, Pete?”

  Before I could respond, Don tapped my leg and his voice was excited.

  “Pete, we made it this time. We’re together. We both made it.”

  Don really thought I was his brother and he looked so happy. He was smiling from ear to ear and his face was radiant with joy. What could I say that wouldn’t ruin this moment for him? What could I say that would keep him happy and co-operative?

  “The boat? Oh yes, the boat is uh, it’s over there. We have to go up through that path to get to it. The water here was too shallow so we had to park it in the deeper water over there.”

  I was shaking inside and it all felt so foolish to talk this way but Don believed me and we needed that right now to keep him moving. He had such a trusting look on his face that it made my insides melt with passion towards him. He had suffered for so long over his brother’s death and for these few minutes he was relieved of that burden, and whether it was right or wrong of us to do it, for these few minutes he was happy.

  Meanwhile, Brad was hanging on my every word.

  “You parked the boat, eh Pete? Have any problem finding a parking spot over there that says, ‘Parking for boats only’?”

  “Very funny.”

  “How much time did you put on the parking meter, Pete? I don’t want a parking ticket put on my boat.”

  “Just get your boots on, James. And don’t forget your shades because soon you’ll be the Bradster again and I want to remember this moment.”

  Don just sat there with a very peaceful and happy look on his face, and as he kept looking over at me he sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. I felt so sorry for him.

  “I really thought you were a goner, Pete. Hurry up and get those boots on. I want to get back on the boat.”

  I stood up and wrung the water out of as much of my shirt as I could without taking it off, and then I did the same with my shorts. It was actually refreshing to be wet since the air was so hot and dry. Brad pulled his shirt off and wrung it out as he continued to crack little jokes under his breath, and then we both sat back down and pulled on our socks and boots. After he’d rolled the rope back into a coil we gently lifted Don to his feet. Brad squeezed the water out from Don’s clothes and then patted his shoulder.

  “Okay, Don. Pete and I are going to take you back to the boat now so we can get on with our little mission and get you to safety.”

  But Don shrugged Brad’s hand off and took a couple of steps towards the water. He gazed up into the sky and then looked back at us with a solemn look on his face.

  “Better hurry, James. It’s Pearl Harbour over there. They just dropped another bomb and everything’s burning.”

  Chapter 8

  Zephyr

  I stood beside Don and gasped as I covered my mouth. I would never have guessed that the fire could have spread that fast.

  “Oh my god, Brad, look at it! It’s so close. How could it spread that fast?”

  Brad’s face flushed red and I knew that he was thinking the same thing I was.

  “Okay, Sarah. Let’s grab Don and get out of here.”

  “How far away do you think it is?”

  “Couple miles, maybe. Can’t really tell from this angle, but it’s dry out here and it won’t take long for it to spread. Let’s go.”

  We each took one of Don’s arms and led him up the rocky path to the main trail and he was eager in his own world to move fast, so that was good for us. We knew it would take at least thirty minutes to get back to the others since Don had become a bit flaccid from the fear of running from the enemy that was in his mind.

  Suddenly the dream began to flood my own mind and a couple of times I was so taken up with the fear of it that I tripped on the path. I couldn’t get the notion of smothering out of my thoughts, and now it seemed as if that dream just might happen.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, Brad, just a little nervous, that’s all.”

  “Yeah, me too. We just need to get to the bridge so that we can beat it back to the house and get away from this.”

  Just then Don tripped and said he wanted to take a break. He was panting and looking quite red in the face, and we were both concerned about him. After all he was in his early seventies and the pace was a bit much for a man his age. Brad helped him to sit on a tree stump to rest.

  “Hey, you don’t go and have a heart attack or something on us now, okay man?”

  Don looked up at Brad and shook his head.

  “I’m just tired. I want to get out of here but the legs won’t move fast enough.”

  After a minute or so, Brad became very fidgety and said we should continue on, so we both grabbed Don’s arms again and headed back onto the path. It was a bumpy trek with an uneven trail, stones of every size and lots of hidden potholes. And while that had become a significant challenge, so did the fear of smothering that was constantly flickering in my head.

  We had to stop two other times before we got to the plateau which was just before the spot where we left the others. But when we got there, Don turned around in a panic and began to shout.

  “They’re coming. I can feel it. We can’t stop them now. They’ll keep dropping bombs until they’ve got us all.”

  Don’s face was distorted with fear and his eyes welled up with tears. He held onto my arm with both of his hands and I could feel him shaking. I wasn’t sure what to do. He was living in a real world to him that he’d once experienced and that had ended badly, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with him besides feel sorry for him.

  The air was so still that I couldn’t hear a sound outside of the noises we were making. From the place we were standing, there was no sign of a fire and for that few seconds I was able to get my thoughts together and break myself from the fear that was slowly overtaking me. My lips trembled almost as much as my hands, but I put my right hand on Don’s shoulder to try and calm him anyway.

  “Don, the fire is way behind us and we’re heading to safety, so just….”

  But before I could finish, Don pushed my hand away and stood up to stare me right in the eyes. His voice grew loud and aggressive.

  “Where’s the boat, Pete? The bombs are coming. Where’s the boat?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer Don, and so I looked at his eager face and then to Brad. After another few seconds of silence, Brad looked
at the trees around us and then turned back to Don.

  “Don, Pete and I left the boat over there a ways. We didn’t want to leave it out here for the bombers to find it.”

  Don’s face relaxed and he sighed heavily as he nodded to Brad.

  “Good thinking, boy, ‘cause those guys are real smart, you know. Well, let’s get going then.”

  I was relieved that Don wanted to keep going even if it was for different reasons. We took him by the arms again and continued along the path to the terrain where we’d left the others. But when we got there, my voice must have been more nervous than I wanted to let on.

  “Where are they? They’re gone? Brad?”

  Brad tapped my shoulder as he spoke calmly.

  “It’s okay, Sarah, calm down. We’re okay. Remember Ali said that they might move into the shade over there more if it got too uncomfortable to wait here in the open? And that’s likely what they’ve done, so we just need to head over that way and meet up with them there.”

  I felt so foolish. Ever since I began to really like Brad I’ve tried to impress him with the typical girl attributes that guys like, such as being beautiful and smart, and not crying over everything. And yet once again he’s looking at a girl whose hair is still wet and tangled from the water, whose fragrance is a blend of sweat and dirt and whose makeup is washed off. And to top it off, she can’t even say anything intelligent without stuttering.

  I wanted to be his partner and not this useless tag-along who was more annoying than helpful. But it was getting difficult because the fire was real and it was threatening and getting closer, and it was making my dream of smothering a reality that was really beginning to scare me.

  Don broke the silence when he pointed to some sticks that were set in a pattern on the log where he was sitting.

  “What’s this? A bunch of arrows, it looks like. What do you think, Pete?”

  Brad and I looked at the sticks at the same time and he snickered as he spoke.

  “These are arrows that are pointing this way. I guess if we follow them we’ll find the others.”

  The broken twigs were set out into three small arrows and I could see Meagan’s handiwork in them.

  “That’s Meg. It’s her way of saying, ‘we’re over here’. Well, I’m ready to go.”

  Brad threw the rope around his shoulder again as he glanced behind us.

  “Me too. Let’s go.”

  We followed the path in the direction of the arrows and to where Ali said they’d go, and we didn’t get far before we noticed drops of blood on the ground. Don began to complain again that he was tired and so we stopped for a minute to let him rest on another broken tree limb. Brad and I scouted the area for more blood drops and I found several.

  “Look, Brad. The trail of blood leads up the path so they’ve headed to the shaded area like they said. Gees, I hope Grandpa is okay.”

  Brad turned to the side and then back at me with one of his reassuring smiles.

  “I’m sure he’s okay, Sarah. Ali and Meg are with him so he’s in good hands, and he’s in the shade. They’re probably just up there a short ways so we should get going. Ready, Don?”

  We trekked along the path as quickly as we could and a few minutes later I saw the purple from Meagan’s shirt.

  “There they are!”

  We hustled over to where they were resting on some rocks and Meagan’s eyes almost popped out when she saw us. We crashed on the ground beside them as she squeezed my pony tail that still dripped water down my back.

  “What happened to you guys? You look awful.”

  We took another two-minute break to explain what we’d been through, but the whole time I couldn’t take my eyes off of Grandpa.

  “Are you okay, Grandpa?”

  He forced a smile but his face was obviously distorted with pain as he closed his eyes and cringed.

  “Been better. How’s Don?”

  Don was sitting on a log across from me and was staring at the sky behind us.

  “He’s lost in the past, Grandpa. He thinks I’m his brother, Pete, and that Brad is your helper you sent to rescue him.”

  “Yeah, he does that sometimes. That’s Don.”

  Grandpa’s leg was covered in blood and infection that was leaking through the bandage. His face was white and I knew from the face expressions he was making that he was in a lot of pain. I leaned in to Meagan and whispered.

  “Meg, Grandpa doesn’t look well at all.”

  Meagan shook her head and sighed as she watched Grandpa.

  “I know. But what can we do? We’re doing everything we can to get him home. And it’s not him that’s slowing us down anyway, it’s Don.”

  Brad sat down beside Ali and told him about the fire that we’d seen back at the lake.

  “It’s really moving, man. Still a ways back but it’s huge and it’s headed this way.”

  A second later, Ali handed Brad a backpack and tossed the other one over his own shoulder.

  “Come on, let’s grab this stretcher and get moving. Us guys will carry the backpacks, and if you two are still okay with taking a corner to carry this stretcher, we’ll be able to trek faster and get out of here.”

  We all agreed and just as we were about to lift it, Brad looked at Don and motioned for us to wait while he unrolled his rope.

  “Just to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere again, I’m going to keep this as a harness on him.”

  But Don didn’t want the rope around him and began to slap at Brad’s hands.

  “Hey, what are doing? You can’t take me. I’m not your prisoner. We get rescued, we don’t get taken. Let go of me.”

  Brad gently rubbed Don’s arms.

  “Don, it’s okay. You’re not a prisoner. We just don’t want to lose you. We have to get to the boat and in case you fall in the water, I can pull you out. Okay?”

  Don sighed in relief and tapped Brad’s arm.

  “Oh, okay. Good thinking, James.”

  Meagan and Ali looked at each other and then he looked back and chuckled.

  “James? Let me guess, James Bond.”

  Brad squatted to pick up his end of the stretcher.

  “It’s a long story, man, and I’ll tell you about it later. Meanwhile, grab an end and let’s go.”

  We each took one end of the stretcher and lifted Grandpa up slowly. Ali and Meagan took the front end while Brad and I took the back end and Don walked in between us. Grandpa was every bit as heavy as he looked but we all agreed that carrying him was better for him than walking, and it would only be until we reached the bridge.

  It was a slow and meticulous walk because the path was anything but smooth. The air was very still and hot and although I’d been pleasantly cool for that short time in the water, I was back to sweating and my clothes sticking to me. The sharp dead grass that seemed to pop out from nowhere along the trail scraped against my legs and made them sting even more than before.

  Don carried on constantly about how the bombs were getting closer and how we had to hurry. The fear in his voice made me nervous and I had tried several times to see if the fire was in sight behind us but the overhanging trees wouldn’t allow me to see much beyond them. It was terrifying knowing that the forest was on fire behind us but not being able to see how close it was.

  After some time Ali began shouting with enthusiasm.

  “Hey, I see the bridge!”

  It was such a relief to know that we were almost at the bridge, and after a few seconds I saw it myself. I knew that once we got across the bridge, we could get on with our original plan to leave two of us with Grandpa and Don while the other two ran to the house for help.

  The bridge crossed the river in what seemed to be the only place where it bottlenecked. On the left where we’d just come from it was slightly narrow but only for a short distance and then the river opened wide so there was a great distance between the two sides. And on the right side going away from us the river opened wide and the forest turned to the right so you’d
need a canoe to get across. The only link between the sides was the metal bridge that won’t burn so it gave me a bit of comfort as I assumed that it would keep us safe from the fire.

  As we edged down towards the bridge I looked back down the river in the direction that we had just come from and I was almost paralyzed with fear. The flames were bursting through the density of smoke that covered the sky, and it seemed so much closer than before. I struggled to walk because I wasn’t paying attention and it caused everyone to stop and look, as well. Ali put his hand his eyes to block out the sun.

  “Wow, it really is getting close. Maybe we should rethink two of us running ahead and just keep going so we can all get right out of here. Anyway, let’s keep going and get across this.”

  I agreed with Ali because I knew that I didn’t want to be one of the two left behind to wait for a rescue team. I turned to say something to Meagan and that’s when I noticed her leg.

  “Meg, you’re limping. Are you going to be able to keep this up?”

  “Well yeah it hurts, but we have bigger things to worry about right now.”

  “Sorry, I know, it was a dumb question.”

  “It’s okay, Sarah, I know what you mean. It’s just that I really don’t have any choice.”

  Don slowed down as he walked between Brad and I, and he quickly became very fidgety. When he saw me looking at him he began to shout that we were all going to die. The distant smoke and threat of fire had made him panic and he tried to run away but Brad had hold of him by the rope. We had to lay Grandpa on the ground so that Brad could get control of Don again, but he kept yelling.

  “Let go of me. I have to get to the boat. The bombs are coming. The bombs are coming.”

  That just sparked the panic that was lingering inside me and it sent waves of fear spiking up and down my back. Don saw the distance fire as bombs but regardless of how he interpreted it, we were still in a dangerous position. Brad took hold of Don’s shoulders.

  “Hey, we’re going to be okay. You have to settle down.”

  “The boat, James, where’s the boat? They’re going to get us if we don’t get in the boat.”