Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (165 page)

CHAPTER 27

I flew down the trail, slowing only at the switchbacks. At one point I was able to see the second body and ran faster.

Far behind Jesse kept calling for me to wait, but I didn’t listen.

A few minutes later I was at the bottom, racing toward the spot where I had seen the men. For a moment I was filled with panic when I lost them in the grass. But then I looked up and lined up the spot where I had been standing. They had to be close by.

I found the first body a minute later.

 As I got closer it became obvious that he was dead. I began to walk away but then stopped. There was something vaguely familiar about him. I studied his face for a moment, and then it hit me. I had seen that jaw before. I pulled myself away.

The other man had to be nearby. I scanned the area and soon spotted him.

“He’s got a pulse,” I yelled to Jesse, my own heartbeat quickening. “It’s weak, but he’s still alive.”

The man looked in bad shape, holding on to life by the narrowest of threads. He was unconscious and his face was bloodied, bruised, and swollen. As I looked closer I could see that a piece of his skull was missing.

I pulled out my phone.

No signal.

“Damn it,” I said. “I should have tried it up top.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Jesse said.

I took off across the meadow, back in the direction I had come from.

I checked the phone as I climbed.

“C’mon. C’mon.”

Still nothing.

I kept climbing, cutting switchbacks to save time.

I could see Jesse down by the dead hiker. A feeling of hopelessness began to take hold of me and I tried to fight it, but it was too strong.

I started thinking how wrong it would be for it to end like this. Against all odds, I had found him. And now, being so close, for it to end like this was wrong.

I could feel myself slowing down. With each useless step, thoughts of stopping and turning around grew stronger.

I was more than halfway back up, still shuffling along, when I spotted Broken Top just before it disappeared behind the smoke.

I tried the phone again.

“C’mon,” I whispered. “C’mon.”

This time instead of No Network, it read “Emergency Calls Only.”

My finger shaking, I punched in the number, nearly crying when I heard the voice on the other end.

CHAPTER 28

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

I tried to get the words out, but my breathing kept drowning them out. I took a moment and tried again as the woman repeated her question.

“I’m in the forest, near the fire, Three Sisters,” I finally sputtered. “I need help. Someone’s hurt!”

She took me through a series of questions, trying to pinpoint my location and the nature and extent of the injuries. I heard other voices behind hers and there were a lot of pauses in the conversation. I started getting frustrated at how long it was all taking.

“We’re going to get some help out to you,” she finally said. “I need you to go back down to the meadow. A helicopter is on its way. Please stay on the line.”

“Do you know how long it will be?” I asked.

“They should be on the ground in fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, do not move the man’s head. I repeat, do not move his head.”

I began the descent again and gave Jesse a thumbs up when I thought I was close enough, but he didn’t see me. He was looking up at the sky.

Tiny white flakes began falling like fresh snow, blanketing everything.

CHAPTER 29

I went back over to the dying man and held his hand.

“Hold on,” I whispered. “They’re almost here.”

But the minutes stretched out like someone had pressed the slow motion button. The ash continued to fall, leaving a thin white layer on the ground over everything, including the bodies.

“Hold on.”

I heard the sound of the rotors before I saw it. Finally. There it was, circling high above. The helicopter.

“I see them!” I shouted into the phone. “I can see them!”

I waved my arms in the air and started yelling.

“They see you, too,” the 911 operator said a moment later. “The pilot says to wait until they come to you. Stay where you are.”

I dropped back down beside the man on the ground.

“They’re here,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. “They’re here.”

The helicopter made a sharp turn in our direction and began descending, the twirling blades kicking up a fierce wind that blew the ash into a large white cloud. A few moments later it was on the ground.

The door opened and two men jumped out, running toward me.

“We’ll take it from here,” one of them said. “You best go over to the chopper, but watch your head.”

“The other one’s over there,” I said, pointing toward the dead man.

“Got it. We’ll take care of ’em.”

The pilot nodded at me behind his aviator glasses. He pointed to the seatbelt and I strapped in.

“Ever been up in one of these birds?” he shouted above the sound of the spinning rotor.

I shook my head.

“Vomit bag is in the pocket to your left.”

For the next several minutes I watched as the paramedics worked on the men, carefully immobilizing the injured one and placing the other in a body bag. When they were loaded on board, the pilot said, “Hang on.”

As we lifted off, I looked for Jesse in the swirling dust and ash of the meadow but he was gone.

CHAPTER 30

Kate drove up to the curb and jumped out of her Subaru and walked toward me.

“You okay?” she said, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head and revealing the concern in her eyes.

“I’ll live,” I said, grimacing.

I lifted myself off the bench, but stopped when my calves tightened up.

“You sure? Did anyone check you? Did you see a doctor?”

I held out my arm and showed her the three Band-Aids and the icepack around my wrist.

“Yeah, they tended to my wounds. And my blood oxygen level’s good. It looks worse than it is.”

“I would hope so,” she said, looping her arm through mine and guiding me into the passenger’s seat. “A hot shower, some tea, and a movie?”

“That sounds really good. Maybe a bath.”

“You got it.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I still couldn’t believe it. It was only the middle of the afternoon but it already felt like the longest day of my life. I was happy to be going home.

The helicopter had landed on the rooftop of the hospital two hours earlier. And for most of that time, I was skewered and grilled by various people from various agencies about the reason I had chosen to go hiking in the middle of a forest fire. At least my charbroiled lungs didn’t feel singled out.

Bob Willis was especially livid, asking over and over again why I had decided to go “rogue.”

I stared out through dead eyes as Kate drove.

“Thanks for getting me,” I said. “The Jeep’s still up there. I don’t know if it’s going to make it.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” she said.

“I love that car,” I said, not listening to her and wiping away the tears.

“I know you do.”

I pulled down the visor and looked in the mirror. Talk about a hot mess. Dirt and soot covered my face, my eyes had a weird sheen to them, and my lips were severely cracked. My hair was matted down in the back, but stood up like dry straws of hay on the sides. I looked worse than some of the ghosts I had seen over the years. But my exterior was just the tip of the iceberg. The real mess was on the inside. My mind had checked out and my emotions were all over the place.

“That’s too bad,” I said.

“What’s too bad?”

“I wanted to stop and get something to eat. But I’m not sure they’d serve me looking like this.”

“We can stop at Dandy’s,” Kate said. “That way you can stay in the car.”

“Umm, Dandy’s.”           

A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot. I looked out the windshield at the menu and made my choice. A girl glided up on roller skates and took our order. I went with a large Coke, a chocolate shake, and fries. Kate asked if she could bring out the Coke for me right away. I gulped it down.

“I can’t shake this thirst,” I said. “All I’ve been doing since we got to the hospital is drinking and peeing. Peeing and drinking.”

“That’s good,” she said. “Keep it up. You must have been dehydrated.”

The food came and I sucked down half the shake while Kate ate her burger. The shake was perfect. I felt a little guilty that Jesse wasn’t here to enjoy it. After all, he had been out there with me every step of the way. Then I pushed that aside and sucked down some more of the icy goodness.
So good.

“I wonder if that would work at Back Street,” I said.

“If what would work?”

“Roller skates. I can almost see Lyle now doing 360s behind the counter.”

I started to laugh and almost blew some of the chocolate shake out my nose.

“Hey, are you done answering their questions or do you have to go back in?” Kate said.

“I’m done for now I guess. They said they’re still considering whether to press charges, trespassing on national land, I think is what it would be. A five-hundred dollar fine and up to six months in jail.”

Another worried look crossed Kate’s face.

“Oh, don’t look so serious,” I said.

I could still see the veins bulging in Willis’ neck. I was glad Kate was here. I knew she shared some of his concerns regarding my judgment and safety. But she was bending over backwards not to pile on. All I felt was her love.

“Did you tell them about the visions?” Kate asked.

“Well, yeah. I don’t care how it sounds or what they think. It’s the truth.”

“And it’s the reason that guy is still alive.”

I sighed.

“I don’t know that I can take all the credit,” I said. “I think the spirit of the other man, the dead one, may have guided me out there. Still, it might have all been for nothing. They’re not sure he’ll make it.”

The injured man had not regained consciousness and was still in surgery to relieve the pressure in his brain. I could feel a new round of tears getting ready to let go.

“At least he has a chance,” Kate said. “Without you, he would have been in the morgue like his friend. You went out there and risked your life. There are a lot of psychics out there. Well, maybe not a lot. But how ever many there are, how many would have done what you did to save someone? Not many. I know that.”

I laughed.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No, I was just thinking of the helicopter ride. I thought the worst was over when, you know, when I found him. But that ride was a real doozy. We shot up out of that meadow and veered off at a crazy angle, barely missing the trees at the top. For a while there my stomach left my body.”

“Did you see any of the fire from the air?”

“Mostly we flew through miles and miles of smoke, but every once in a while I was able to see the flames and the forest, or what used to be the forest. All gray and gone.”

“C’mon, let’s get you home,” Kate said. “Oh, before I forget, Ty wanted me to let you know that he won’t be home until later.”

“Okay,” I said.

I checked my phone but didn’t have any new messages. I wondered why he didn’t call me and then realized he was probably mad. I had called him from the hospital and he didn’t sound too excited when I told him what had happened.

“He’s worried about you, Abby,” Kate said as if reading my mind. “He wanted me to make sure you were all right.”

“I know. I can imagine it’s hard, but there’s nothing I can really do about it. It’s just the way it is.”

“I know,” she said.

“I don’t really want to talk about this right now.”

I stared out the window and was quiet. I couldn’t blame the people I loved for worrying about me. But at the same time I couldn’t become a prisoner of their worry. It was a bad situation all around.

“You know, I always say a prayer for you,” she said as we stopped at a light. “Every single night.”

“I thought you gave up on all that.”

“It’s my only tie. It’s comforting to think that someone is watching over you.”

I closed my eyes for the rest of the ride home and thought about Jesse.

CHAPTER 31

I woke up with a terrible cramp in my calf.

“You got hurt out there,” Ty said.

It took a moment to remember where I was and what had happened. I had been dreaming, dreaming all night, of the forest and the fire, hearing those horrible groans coming closer and closer.

“I’m okay,” I said.

I sat up and leaned against the headboard.

“I’m just sore from all the running. Twelve miles at that pace is hard work. I had a pack and was going uphill most of the time, but still… It’s making me reconsider that half marathon.”

I smiled, but Ty kept his face serious as he rubbed a finger over one of the Band-Aids.

“You should have told me. You should have told me what you were planning to do and where you were going.”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

He picked up a pillow and put it behind my head.

“Can I get you anything?” he said.

I looked at my empty glass.

“Water. Maybe some Advil.”

He came back with it, along with a few crackers.

“Thanks.”

I looked over at the clock. It was after midnight.

“You just getting home now?”

“Yeah. The deliveries took longer than I thought and then I got stuck in traffic.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Tell me next time, Abby. Just tell me.”

I gazed into his tired eyes, full of love and pain, and wished I had told him. I didn’t want to hurt him like this anymore. Not ever.

I nodded in the dark and squeezed his hand. Ty leaned over and hugged me, holding me in his strong arms for a long, long time.