Firestorm (14 page)

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.

“They’re gonna
be following us soon, you know. The bombers will cross at the
bridge and they won’t take long to get on this path and get us.
There’s no way of escaping unless we get on the boat.”

That brought
the old shivers of fear spiking up my back again. Was Don really
talking through his mind’s eye or was he telling us that the fire
would soon be trailing us? And even though I was hoping that the
rescue team would soon be here, what if the smoke got to us
first…just like in my dream?

“Brad, do you
think there’s anything to what he’s saying? He keeps talking about
the bombers being behind us. You know, that there’s something back
there?”

Brad was
panting slightly as he held onto the stretcher with his one hand
while holding his other arm around Don to keep him on the same path
as the rest of us.

“I don’t know,
Sarah. Could be but I don’t really want to stop and find out.”

We kept
trekking forward but Brad was constantly turning his head as if he
was listening for something behind us. I looked back a couple of
times too, but I couldn’t hear or see anything. Then it got so that
every few steps we took, Brad turned his ear to listen to the
forest behind us, and every time he did, it sent waves of shivers
across my neck.

“You keep
looking back. You’re worried that there’s something back there,
aren’t you Brad?”

“Yeah.”

Finally, he
yelled out to Ali.

“Hey, can we
stop a second?”

“One second,
that’s about it. What’s up?”

We stopped and
rested Grandpa on a grassy part of the trail. Brad and Don both
immediately turned towards the path behind us and Ali moved in
beside them.

“What’s up,
man?”

“I don’t know,
but I hear something. Listen.”

I held my
breath because all I could hear was the echo of my panting that
rang in my ears. Meagan jumped forward and grabbed my arm just as
Brad put his hand up to tell us to be quiet.

“Shhh, I hear
something. It’s like a crackling sound coming from way down there.
Or maybe it’s just my mind playing games with me.”

Ali shook his
head and then turned his ear to the path.

“Nah, I hear
something, too. Yeah, there’s something back there. I don’t know
what it is but I hope it’s not what I think it is.”

Brad stuffed
the rope into my hands and then dropped his backpack onto the
ground.

“Wait here, I’m
going to check it out.”

He ran back
down the path that we’d just trekked along and within seconds he
disappeared into the dense forest behind us. We all looked at each
other and Meagan moved in close and put her arm through mine. Ali
squinted and stared down the path as he shook his head.

“I hope it’s
not what I think it is. Gees, the smell of smoke is really strong
but that may be just coming off the water.”

I swallowed
hard as my mind began to imagine smoke surrounding Brad and choking
him. I was aching inside with the fear that the fire just might be
right behind us.

“Why, what do
you mean? If it’s smoke he’s not going to run into it. He’ll stop
before he gets to it.”

Ali
shrugged.

“Well, for
sure. But if it’s smoke then it’s coming at us a lot faster than we
we’re ready for. We’ve got a ways to go and there’s no way we’re
going to get through this if we have to fight smoke. These guys,
especially your grandfather, won’t handle this well.”

Meagan was
getting edgy and her voice was trembling.

“Yeah, well
let’s wait and see what Brad finds before we give up. I mean, it
could just be an echo from across the water that sounds like it’s
behind us.”

We stood in
silence waiting and watching anxiously as beads of sweat started
dripping slowly drip down my face. I held on to Meagan and I
couldn’t tell who was shaking more, her or me. My heart was racing
so fast that I felt as if I would almost pass out. I held my breath
and waited.

Several minutes
passed by and Don began to repeat over and over in a monotone voice
as he moved quickly from one footing to another.

“They’re after
him, Pete. The bombers are after James.”

I turned to Don
and growled at him.

“No, they’re
not. He’ll be back, just watch. We’re going to get out of
this.”

Meagan and I
stared at the forest as Ali surveyed the surrounding areas over and
over. We watched and waited and the minutes seemed like hours as my
insides churned with anxiety. Then we saw Brad come bursting along
the trail with the energy of a marathon runner. The fear of death
was all over his face.

When he got to
us, he panted loudly as he collapsed forward and rested his hands
on his knees. He tried to catch his breath so he could speak but it
took a few seconds and so we waited nervously for him. Then finally
he spoke in a choppy sentence. I listened as my chest pounded in
fear.

“Shooting…..ambers….. fire behind us…….coming fast this way.”

Brad’s words
brought my dream into the real world and it scared me so much that
all I could do was hold my breath and bite my bottom lip. For the
next few seconds we all just gaped at the forest behind us. No one
said a word. Brad’s panting was the only sound that penetrated
through the pounding in my ears. He stood up slowly and pointed to
the trees behind us.

“The wind seems
to be shifting. Sometimes it’s sideways from our right side to our
left and that’s spreading the fire like crazy behind us, and then
it shifts so it’s coming right at us. And everything is so dry,
it’s coming at us faster than we thought. I couldn’t get back too
far because everything is filled with smoke.”

Ali scratched
his head and huffed.

“How far back
is it?”

“About half a
mile or so the other side of the bridge from what I could see. It
was hard to get a clear view, but the smoke is a heck of a lot
closer.”

The impression
of my dream began to weigh even heavier on me and I couldn’t stop
shaking. Meagan put her arm around me and rubbed my shoulder.

“We’re going to
make it, remember?”

Brad and Ali
talked quietly together for a second and then Ali broke the
silence.

“Okay, no more
breaks. We have to huff it as fast as we can and not stop until we
get out of here. So, here’s the plan. Brad and Sarah, you guys take
the front of the stretcher and Meg and I will take the end and I’ll
carry Don on my back until he gets too heavy, and then Brad and
I’ll switch. He needs a break right now so I’m going to take Don
first. This way we can move it and not have to slow down for him.
Agreed?”

We all agreed
and then Brad helped Don onto Ali’s back. Don was a very thin man
and probably didn’t weigh any more than 120 pounds and since Ali
was in top physical shape he had no problem carrying him. The only
struggle was that Don wanted to walk.

“Put me down.
You can’t do this. You don’t know where the grenades are.”

Don began to
hit Ali in the head as he shouted for Ali to put him down. Brad
reached over and grabbed both of Don’s wrists and pushed his face
right against Don’s.

“Do you want us
to throw you into that field where the grenades are?”

Don’s eyes
opened wide and then he jerked back and I could see the fear in his
eyes.

“You wouldn’t
do that to me, James? If you do I’ll tell Lucas and you’ll be in
real trouble. They’ll throw you in the stockade for it.”

“I won’t do it
if you will just shut up, not move and let us carry you. You got
that?”

Don lowered his
thin grey eyebrows and scowled.

“You wouldn’t
do that?”

Brad glared
back and nodded.

“In a second.
Now, you hit him again and we’ll…….”

“All right. All
right. But he better know where those bombs or we’re all dead.”

We got in
position and lifted Grandpa off the ground and then headed out of
the forest as fast as we could. We were able to trek a lot easier
now because we didn’t have to wait for Don, but even then, we
weren’t moving at record speed.

The trail was
shaded and that was a blessing because the heat had already given
me a pounding headache that was gnawing at my forehead. We had
agreed that we wouldn’t look behind us so that we wouldn’t lose any
time and that really did help. But it didn’t stop Don from warning
us about the grenades and I couldn’t help but wonder why this was
an issue with him.