Firestorm (22 page)

“I’m on my way
back and should be there in about five minutes if the tire doesn’t
blow first.”

“What do you
mean? What’s wrong with the tire?”

“Well it has
almost no tread on it and it’s low in air, and when I asked in town
no one seemed to know which gas station had an air pump. So, I’m
driving on a partially flat tire – just hope it makes it with what
it has.”

I explained to
Ali what had happened and he said he’d be looking for us. I hung up
and told the others what he’d said and Brad groaned. He was already
huffing and puffing from wheeling Nana whose weight was challenging
his arms.

“So, what
you’re saying is, as soon as he gets here we’ll be changing the
tire?”

“I don’t know,
I guess so. I’m sorry, Brad. This has been a nightmare for
you.”

Brad was never
lost for a come-back remark, and he turned to me with a big
smirk.

“Yup, dating
you is becoming hazardous to my health.”

I was tired and
scared and I’m not sure if Brad was kidding or if there was
actually a bit of truth behind his words. He was very special and I
admired and respected him more than anyone I’d ever met in my life
outside of my dad. Sometimes it was hard to know if he was kidding
or not, though, and this was one time that I really hoped he was. I
just wanted to have a normal date with him where I could dress up,
maybe go to a movie and a treat afterwards, and laugh.

I kept up the
pace with him and Meagan even though my ankle hurt a lot, but it
was the least of my worries. We seemed to be doing good time on the
road but the fire behind us was doing just as well. I looked back
through the smoke and the fire and I knew that Nana’s and Grandpa’s
home was gone forever. Meagan looked over at me and her eyes welled
up.

“We made it,
Sarah. Ali will be here in a second and it’s over. What a trip this
has been.”

We continued
along the road for a few more minutes until Brad yelled out that he
could see Ali coming and that’s when we cheered. Seconds later, Ali
came at us and turned the truck around so it was heading back into
town. He and Brad lifted Nana out of the wheel barrel and into the
passenger seat of the truck.

Meagan slipped
into the cab through the driver’s door and Ali climbed in beside
her as Brad and I climbed into the back.

“You two going
to be okay back there?”

Brad yelled out
that we were fine and then we crawled to the front and leaned
against the front wall. Part of me was so relieved that we were
leaving but the other part of me began to panic. The window of the
cab was opened and I yelled through it.

“Ali, can you
beat this? The fire is all on the one side and behind us. I can’t
believe this. It’s spreading so fast.”

“Just hold on
tight. This baby is going to burn rubber.”

Ali shifted the
truck into high gear which was probably low gear compared to trucks
that were made after the 1900’s. The ride was bumpy and hard and
yet was a welcome relief because it was our escape. Brad was in the
one corner and I was in the other and he yelled to me as he pointed
to the inferno that we were leaving behind.

“Amazing how
fast this thing is going. We’re clearing it now but if we had to
stop for five minutes it would over take us. I’m just glad you’re
okay, Sarah.”

For one second
I felt as if we had made it and I could tell by the way he spoke
that Brad was as stressed out as I was. I closed my eyes and
pictured us back at home, safe and sound.

And that’s when
there was a loud bang and the truck jerked forward and Ali slammed
on the brakes. My heart raced ahead in fear just as my head slammed
against the back of the truck, and that’s when my thoughts went all
cloudy. What had just happened?

Ali jumped out
of the truck the same time Brad did. He wiped his sweaty forehead
with his hand and then looked back at the fire that was now coming
towards us with a vengeance. Ali growled furiously as he kicked the
front of the truck with all his might.

“I don’t
believe this! The tire blew!”

The taunting
drone of the fire burning up everything in its path just a mile or
so behind us was making my skin crawl. The air was hot and dry and
difficult to breathe, and as I stared at the dry brush beside us, I
knew that it would soon become the fuel for the fire’s unquenchable
appetite.

Meagan stuck
her head out of the driver’s window and yelled out that Nana said
he keeps the spare tire in the back under a wooden board. Brad
hopped into the back of the truck even before she finished talking,
and pulled off the board and then yelled out that there was a
rusted well with a tire in it. It took him a minute to wiggle it
loose from the box that it was attached to and then he yanked it
out and rolled it to Ali who caught it and dropped it on the ground
by the blown tire.

“It’s just a
donut. How can you drive a truck like this and just have a
donut?”

I wanted to
answer and say it’s because Grandpa always only did what he had to
do unless it was something he really enjoyed. He didn’t travel far,
was never anxious about anything and so likely was never bothered
about the spare tire. But the frustration on Ali’s face was enough
to make me bite my lip and say nothing.

“Okay, well
it’ll have to do. Brad, is there a jack in there?”

Ali hung over
the side of the truck and stared at the inferno coming towards us
while Brad searched for the jack. I stood beside him and stared at
the wheel as my insides churned and made me feel nauseous. I wanted
to look back to see the fire too, but somehow it seemed less
threatening if I didn’t.

Brad yelled as
he jumped out of the truck.

“Ali, here’s
the jack. At least I think that’s what it is. This better
work.”

Ali took the
jack and put it in place as Brad tried to unscrew the wheel
nuts.

“These things
are rusted on here. We’re not going to get them off. Meg, can you
look in the glove box and see if there’s something in there that
might work. I need a wrench.”

“Yeah, hang
on.”

Meagan whipped
the glove box open and threw everything on the floor as she
searched hurriedly for a wrench.

“Nothing here,
just papers and stuff.”

My insides were
jumping and without thinking, I looked back at the fire. It had got
much closer just in the last couple of minutes and I could feel
myself panicking inside. We had to find something to get the wheel
nuts off. Brad was pounding them with a stone from the roadside but
they weren’t budging.

I jumped into
the back of the truck and searched for a tool to use, but there was
nothing out in the open except for an old rusted shovel. I stuck my
hand in the hole where the spare tire had been hidden and groped
around in the rust and dirt until I felt something.

“I think I
found a wrench.”

I pulled out an
old worn wrench and leaned over the side of the truck. Brad
snatched it from my hands and quickly adjusted it to fit the wheel
nuts but it wouldn’t stay locked in place. It slipped constantly so
that there wasn’t any grip on the wheel nuts, and his face turned
red with frustration.

“This thing is
so old and worn, it won’t stay shut. Crap, look at it, it just
falls open.”

Brad glanced
back at the fire and then tried it again.

“Okay, it’s
working. I just have to press it here with my thumb. It’s gonna
hold. Okay, I’ll get them loose and maybe you can unscrew
them.”

Ali squatted
beside Brad and the two of them grunted and groaned for the next
couple of minutes as they struggled to remove the wheel nuts. I
knew they were working as fast as they could but when my eyes
shifted back to the fire my insides began to churn even more. It
had gained considerable distance in just that couple of
minutes.

Finally, the
wheel nuts were off and the guys tugged and pulled at the wheel but
it wouldn’t move. Brad kicked it violently a couple of times to get
it loose and then finally the wheel came loose and they pulled it
off. Ali flung it into the ditch behind us as Brad put the donut in
place. Within a minute, the new wheel was on. Ali flung the jack
into the back and yelled for us all to get in.

Brad and I
jumped into the back and when Ali slammed the truck door we heard
the loudest “Crap” imaginable.

“The truck
turned off!”

He tried
starting it but it just sounded like it was dying and so Ali jumped
out of the truck and spun in circles as he held his cap in one hand
and brushed his short hair several times with the other. I was
totally paralyzed for a few seconds from my heart thumping so loud
inside my chest. I couldn’t believe that yet another thing could go
wrong. Brad jumped over the side of the truck and went to say
something to Ali but stared straight behind me instead.

“The smoke.
Look at the smoke. It’s rolling right at us. We have to get out of
here now.”

The two guys
whispered together and then Ali yelled out and motioned for us to
come to him.

“Okay, we have
to push it again to get it started. One of you girls can drive it
and the rest will push. We’re going to have to push it up to where
the road slopes down and then we’ll jump in the back. Hopefully
that slope will be enough to get it going.”

We all looked
ahead where an even greater challenge was waiting for us. On the
other side of the down slope was a slight incline so if the truck
didn’t start on that slope then we were doomed because it would
never start on a hill. The tension was increasing and so was my
headache.

Meagan pushed
me towards the cab saying that I couldn’t push the truck with a
twisted ankle and I wasn’t going to argue with her because it was
hurting more now than it was before. I hobbled to the driver’s door
and looked back as the three of them got in position to push.

For a few
daunting seconds I stared beyond them and at the smoke that was
quickly coming at us. The perils of the dream came at me again and
I had to shake it off so I could get into the truck. The heavy dark
clouds were about a city block away from us all across the back but
they were even closer on the left side.

“Sarah, get
in!”

Meagan’s
frantic voice broke the trance and I jumped into the truck. I put
it in neutral and got ready to steer but when I adjusted the rear
view mirror all I could see was the enormous blanket of smoke and
it was so massive that it seemed almost as if it was resting on the
back of the truck. I knew we had to hurry.

The truck began
to roll very slowly and my insides were shaking. The threat of the
oncoming fire was intensified by the smoke that just kept gaining
on us. I couldn’t do anything until the truck got to the hill to
roll down and so I gripped the wheel and got ready, and that’s when
Nana began to slap my arm.

“Start it. Turn
the key, Sarah. Come on, start the truck.”

“Nana, I can’t
start the truck until they get it rolling. And the key is on so
please don’t touch it.”

“You have to
turn the key to start the engine, Sarah.”

Nana had never
driven a vehicle in her life but she’d been with Grandpa when he
had driven and she felt as if she knew how to drive better than I
did, and I’d been driving for a couple of years.

“Nana, please
let go of my arm. I know what I’m doing.”

But she kept
shaking my arm and yelling at me to start the engine.

“Honey, the
fire is right behind us. You have to start this thing now. Even I
know you have to turn the key.”

“Nana, the key
is turned on, okay? Just give us a second. We have to get the thing
rolling so it’ll start.”

“You have to
have it in gear like Grandpa does.”

I never
suspected that Nana could be aggressive, but to my surprise she
leaned over and slammed the stick shift into first gear and the
truck came to a screeching halt. I jerked forward and banged my
head on the steering wheel at the same time that I felt the thumps
against the tail of the truck. I held my breath and sure enough,
they all began to yell at me.

Brad was at the
driver’s door in a second and his face was red as he yelled.

“What’s wrong?
Why did you put it into gear? We’re not even at the hill yet.”

“I didn’t. Nana
grabbed the ….”

But Nana
reached out her arm and pushed me back in the seat as she spoke
loudly to Brad.

“You need to
put the truck in gear, that’s what my husband always says and I’m
not sure that Sarah here knows how to drive this kind of truck.
Maybe one of you boys should get in here and drive it.”

“Look, Mrs.
Davies, Sarah knows how to drive, okay? You have to let her drive
this and you need to sit quiet, okay?”

Nana huffed as
she moved back into the passenger seat and stared straight
ahead.

“I was just
trying to help. There’s a fire behind us you know, and we have to
get going.”

“We know, Mrs.
Davies. We know that.”

Brad huffed and
waved his hand to Ali and Meagan as if to say, ‘hold on’.

“So, you’re
okay, Sarah? Your cheek is really red.”

“I just hit the
steering wheel when we stopped. I’m okay.”

“All right,
let’s get ready to try it again, and please, Mrs. Davies, don’t do
anything.”

I knew that
Brad was trying to keep peace but the stress on his face told me
that he was panicking over the encroaching fire and inability to
get away from it as much as the rest of us were. He tapped the side
of the truck and ran to the back with the others.

“It’s okay.
Your Nana switched gears on Sarah but it’s okay now. Let’s try this
again.”

I stuck my head
out of the window to see if they were okay and I could hear Ali
complaining that we’d now lost several feet of the runway and about
ten minutes to the fire. A few seconds later the truck began to
roll again as my eyes bounced from the road ahead to the rear view
mirror.