“Yeah, well the water’s down there. What are we going up here for?”
Meagan was walking slightly ahead of us as she pulled Don up the slanted path.
“The dock is over here, just on the other side of this hill. Come on, we have to hurry up and get there.”
The uphill trek was slow and painful and my legs were aching from climbing the uneven path while trying to dodge the potholes. We were practically dragging Don along the trail because he was taking short and uneasy steps, and he was constantly stopping to see what was in the grass.
“There’s grenades hidden in the grass. We have to be careful. They’ll blow us to pieces, you know.”
We had to coach him constantly to keep walking as we took turns assuring him that there weren’t any grenades in the grass. And even though the guys were carrying Grandpa, they were already yards ahead of us.
I found myself looking back quite often in spite of what Ali had said just to make sure the wolves weren’t following us. That provoked my stomach into churning even more as it fought off the jitters of fear, while at the same time warding off the continuing hunger pangs that reminded me we hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
Meagan was trying to maintain her ‘nothing-bothers-me’ attitude but I knew her only too well and she was as scared as I was. I caught her looking back a few times and I couldn’t blame her for being nervous. But after several minutes I began to think that Ali was right, and that the wolves were long gone.
We walked a bit further and then out of reflex I looked over towards the river. And that’s when I saw an even greater reason to be afraid. I handed Meagan the rope as I stared at the distant sky.
“Here, hold on to him. I just want to check something.”
I pushed through some broken trees and headed about twenty feet down towards the edge of the river. The smoke was thick and it was rolling in like massive brown clouds across the water. I couldn’t see much of anything else except for the bright flames that pierced through it as it carried the ominous sounds of wood that crackled and snapped on the other side of the water.
I stretched over the edge as much as I could to see where we had just come from. It was visible in the distance through the layers of smoke and when I saw the bridge, my chest pounded and I ran up through the briar to get back to Meagan.
“Meg, you know where we just came from on the other side of the bridge? It’s totally covered in smoke – not really thick but the smoke is all over the place. And I saw the flashes of the flare on the bridge that’s still going. We have to get out of here.”
That was all the incentive we needed and so we each grabbed one of Don’s arms and hustled him along the path. Meagan’s voice trembled as we walked.
“Well, at least we know that the wolves aren’t behind us. One less evil we have to worry about, right? Mind you, this is more challenging than I’d bargained for and I sure wish we were at home already – and I mean home in Bearsfield.”
I knew what she meant and I felt exactly the same way. But as we ran along the rugged path I knew that it was likely going to be our greatest challenge just to get out of here alive. I couldn’t believe how fast the fire was moving and I was so thankful that we left the bridge when we did or we’d be trapped there.
I was going to make another comment when Brad shouted at us.
“Everything okay with Don?”
I looked up and waved to him.
“Yeah, we’re coming.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, we’re okay. We’re coming.”
We held Don’s arms even tighter and practically pulled him along the stony path, and several minutes later we were all at the plateau at the top of the one hill. I told the guys what I had seen and Ali told us to wait there while he checked something out. Brad ran after him and left Meagan and I squatted beside Grandpa and Don. Grandpa didn’t say anything but he groaned and whined loudly, and his leg looked even worse than before.
“Meg, look at his leg. That red line there, the one Brad told us about, see it?”
“Oh my god, it’s wider and longer. That means the infection’s spreading.”
We tried to comfort Grandpa but nothing worked. He was groaning loudly and tears were streaming down his dirty face. Don was frantic and began yelling that we had to hide. Meagan’s cut was still bleeding and she tried dabbing it with her shirt to clean it. We were both rubbing our legs that were red and stinging from top to bottom from the scratches and the dirt and sweat that coated them.
A minute later the guys returned and Ali scratched his head as he looked around nervously. Meagan looked up at him and then stood at his side.
“Ali, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“The fire is getting closer, Meg. It’s spreading faster than we can run.”
“Yeah, but it’s on the other side, so we’re okay, right?”
Ali didn’t answer. Instead he looked up the trail and then back across the river.
“We have to run like crazy and hope that we can get around that bend up there as soon as possible. That’s the point that the river gets really wide and we should be clear of direct shooting ambers at that point.”
I pushed myself off the ground and stood in front of Ali.
“What are shooting ambers? What do you mean?”
Ali took a deep breath and ran his hand through his short, dark hair.
“As the fire grows, the heat builds up and gets so hot that it produces gases that become even more fuel for it. Then as the fire spreads onto the trees, the heat gets so fierce that it literally explodes parts of the burning branches or stumps and shoots them into the air.”
Brad moved in beside me and gently rubbed my back, and that’s the only thing that kept me from falling over with fear. I swallowed several times to stop myself from crying as I looked towards the fire. We still had at least two hours of trekking ahead of us just to get back to the house. Ali’s words put the fear of death in me and everything inside me trembled.
Meagan turned to me slowly and nodded.
“That’s true. They said that on that special I watched on TV about forest fires. The guy said they can shoot hundreds of feet in any direction. He said that’s how forest fires spread so quickly, because they shoot these things and wherever they land it just begins to burn.”
I could feel my eyes welling up and my thoughts were all over the place.
“But it can’t shoot across the water. That’s too far, right?”
I looked at Brad waiting for him to say that it couldn’t possibly do that and that we were totally safe, but instead his answer startled me.
“Well, here maybe but not back there where the bridge is. It’s so narrow by the bridge and all around there that if the ambers shoot across they could easily light the trees behind us, and if the wind shifts then we’re like sitting ducks out here. We need to get out as fast as we can.”
Ali motioned for Meagan to pick up the right front end of the stretcher and Brad took the rope from me and grabbed the back, right end. We all get ready to pick Grandpa up but my legs were prickling as much as my insides were jittering, and for a few seconds I struggled to get myself moving.
Brad leaned over and rubbed my arm.
“You okay?”
I realized that I was the only one who hadn’t taken a corner of the stretcher and so I squatted to pick it up.
“Yeah, just a little nervous, you know.”
Brad shrugged as he adjusted the rope on his shoulder.
“We all are, but we’re going to have to talk about that later.”
I felt foolish. I knew that the others were as scared as I was, and I was angry at myself because I always seemed to be the only one who ever showed it. I’d never been caught in a forest fire before and it was really freaking me out, especially since in just the few seconds that we stopped, it had already gained more ground.
We lifted Grandpa and began trekking as fast as we could along the open path, which was basically only as fast as Don could
go. The large, prevailing clouds of smoke on the other side of the river were clearly visible above the trees that were planted between us and the river. The trail led away from the river and that gave me a bit of confidence in that we were heading away from any potential direct shooting amber.The next ten minutes were silent and no one said a word, not even Don. And that’s when the horrifying thought hit me and I gasped louder than I had planned to. We slowed our pace and everyone turned to look at me. Brad leaned over and asked me if I was okay.
I saw the concern in his eyes as we continued to step carefully over the rocky path.
“I was just thinking about what you guys said about the shooting ambers and it’s really bothering me, that’s all.”
Meagan turned her head slightly towards me as I talked.
“I know, I keep thinking about it, too.”
“I know, Meg, I guess we all are. It’s just that Ali said the fire gets hotter as it goes along and starts shooting burning debris because of the gases. Well, by the time it gets to the bridge it’s going to be really hot and what if it starts shooting them at that point? It’s so narrow all along there. Then the fire would be right behind us and it’s moving faster than we are. How do we run from that?”
My own words echoed in my ears and almost scared the life out of me.
Chapter 12
Shooting Ambers
For a few seconds it was as if we were in a Hitchcock movie, where we all turned in slow motion to stare at the forest behind us. I didn’t say anything that they hadn’t already thought of, but somehow hearing me say it made the possibility more real.
“I’m just saying, look how fast it spread on the other side of us. It’s really moving and like Ali said, it’s getting hotter as it goes.”
Meagan groaned as she stared into the forest.
“Hey, Sarah, it’s not you. I know you’re right and I’m worried about it, too.”
Ali shrugged his shoulders to adjust his backpack and his face was almost without expression as he looked at Meagan and then at the rest of us. Brad wiped his one hand on his shorts and then tightened the rope around his other hand. Ali turned forward again and motioned for us to move.
“I think at the rate it’s moving that it’s more than just possible. We have to high tail it out of here now. No more breaks.”
My ears throbbed as we trekked at a snail's pace up the sloped path and headed back into the density of the forest. Don was getting really restless and tired, and we couldn’t travel any faster than he could walk. Brad and I both tried to pull him along with our spare arms but between the challenge of carrying our corner of the stretcher and the piercing heat that was beating down on us, Don was becoming the issue that threatened our timely escape from the oncoming inferno.
Grandpa’s whimpers had become a steady and agonizing moan that grew louder with each step we took. The red mark on his leg was spreading, and the wound was more swollen now than it was a few minutes ago. Ali’s shirt that covered it was soaked in blood and infection. Grandpa’s face was coated in sweat and dirt, and there were thin streams of tears that flowed from his eyes and down his temples.
We were moving at a steady pace for about ten minutes with no interruptions until Don tripped and fell, and when Brad and I both instinctively tried to catch him we almost dropped the stretcher. We stopped and lowered it onto the ground so we could help Don get back on his feet. My arms were twitching in pain and part of me was really glad for the rest but part of me was angry that we were once again losing time.
Don had scraped his right hand when he tripped and although it was wrapped in a bandage already, he began to cry out and this just put more tension on to everyone.
“My hand hurts. I can’t walk any more. I want to go home.”
I rubbed his shoulder and he looked up at me as he sat crossed-legged on the ground. His face was worn and hard and his eyes seemed sad and lonely. There wasn’t any sparkle in them like there was in Grandpa’s eyes. Perhaps it was from carrying the burden all these years of losing his brother and blaming himself, or perhaps it was from being robbed of the ability to fit in peacefully with the people around him. He had been very harsh on us earlier and it wasn’t too difficult to dislike him initially. Yet now, his mind was lost in the past, and his face seemed to cry out for help. My heart melted just looking at him.
“Don, we’re going to be home soon and the doctor will take care of your hands. But we can’t stay here. We have to keep walking so we can get….”
“…so we can get to the boat. I know, Pete. I know. But I’m so tired and look over there. They’re bombing all over the place and they’ll be here soon. You watch. They’ll come up from behind and get us. We can’t escape them unless we can get to the boat.”
Brad handed me the loose end of the rope so that Don couldn’t run away and then he crept down the nearby slope to get closer to the water. Meagan and Ali joined him and then I uncoiled the rope and moved towards Ali, as well. We edged our way about twelve or so feet closer to get out of the way of the tree branches that blocked the view, and when I looked straight ahead I almost screamed out.
The forest on the far side was completely engulfed in smoke and the fire covered everything for as far as we could see. The flames darted out sporadically through the smoke and for a few seconds we all stared at the fire in amazement. As I watched, I wondered where the next flame would go and where the loud crackles had come from.
For those few seconds we gazed at this firestorm that was only about 500 feet away and we watched in shock as the heavy clouds rolled upon the water. I swallowed hard as I tried to maintain my composure but it was almost impossible to do. The recurring dream of being smothered was all I could think about and I was terrified.
“The smoke is coming across the water and it’s just like my dream, Meg. There was smoke all around and we couldn’t escape.”
Meagan slapped my arm and spoke abruptly.
“Don’t think like that. We’re going to make it.”
Ali shook his head as he studied the smoke on the water.
“The oxygen from the water is feeding the fire to help make it stronger. But what’s worse is the wind has shifted and it’s coming right at us from behind. It won’t take that long for the fire to catch up to us now. We have to get out of here.”
Don stood up and yelled from behind us as he sheltered his eyes with his hand and surveyed the sky.
“Pete, hurry up, they’re coming. They’ll keep bombing over there until there’s nothing left and then they’ll come up from behind us. Mark my words, Pete, they’ll come up from back there and be here before we know it. Our only escape is to get on that boat.”
I knew that Don’s mind was still lost in the war but his words began to scare me, and by the worried look that shot across Meagan’s face, I could tell that it was getting to her, too. I knew I had to speak positive from now on, even if I didn’t believe my own words.
“Meg, you’re right. We’re going to make it. Don’s just talking from what happened before, not from what’s going to happen now. And we’re going in the direction away from the water now so we’re going to be okay.”
Brad turned towards us and then looked down at Grandpa.
“Yeah, well his mind may be lost in the past but there’s a lot to what he’s saying and he could very well be right.”
What? Brad is agreeing with Don?
“Whether it’s in the next few minutes or in the next few hours, I think the fire will get to this side of the river. And we need to move as fast as we can and get the heck out of here before it does.”
Ali adjusted his cap and motioned for us to turn back.
“I think so, too. It’s so dry out here and this grass and the dry trees are just feeding this inferno. Come on, let’s go.”
We climbed back up the shallow slope and Ali put his arm onto Don’s shoulder.
“You’re right, old man, and we need to move fast. So, we’re all going to have to put aside our aches and pains right
now and get out of here. Do you understand, Don? If we keep going we can get to safety but that means that we really do have to move fast. Can you do that?”
Don nodded at Ali and said that he would go as fast as he could so that Grandpa could get to the boat and get help. That was our cue to move on so we each grabbed our corner of the stretcher and Brad held the end of the rope that was tied to Don. We continued our slow but steady walk along the path.
We talked about how long we thought it would take us to get back to the house and we all agreed that at the pace we were moving it would take at least two hours just to get out of the forest. It wasn’t until we mentioned the house that I began to worry about Nana. She hadn’t heard from us since we left yesterday, and I was sure that by now she would have to be aware that the forest was on fire.
“Meg, I hope Nana will be okay. She must be nuts by now with worry especially if she sees the smoke in here.”
“Yeah, I was just thinking about her, too. She has no idea what’s going on with us here. Gees, I really feel sorry for her. Sure wish these guys hadn’t lost their walkie-talkie in the water.”
Ali’s face began to light up and he turned his head towards us slightly.
“Hey, on the other hand this could be a good thing. If your Nana knows about the fire, then it’s likely that the town is aware of it, too. And maybe they’ll send out a rescue team for us.”
His words were the very thing that I needed to feel the hope again because I was beginning to worry about ever getting out of this alive. In fact, I got giddy inside just thinking that a rescue team could be on the trail just ahead of us.
“That’s right. And if we stay on this path all the way and Nana shows them where we entered the forest, they’ll get to us in no time. Oh, I feel like we have hope again.”
Brad winked at me and smiled.
“See, that’s the way to think.”
Somehow the walk seemed easier now and the fear of not getting out alive began to fall away. I was ecstatic inside as I walked along, and with each step I took, I expected to meet up with the rescue team. Unfortunately, Don didn’t have the same hope.
Firestorm Page 10