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I took one last look, making sure I was seeing right. One patch of fire heading straight for Salmon Creek. That didn't seem natural.
Rafe yanked again, but I was already coming down, calling for Annie as I did. There was no sign of her. Gone to safe ground. Or so I hoped.
Once my shoe was back on, we ran. Within minutes, the ash began to rain down again. We kept calling for Annie, staying close together now, running full out toward town.
Rafe heard the sound of an engine first and shouted, "Someone's coming. Where's the road?"
I waved to the north, but Daniel shook his head.
"We're too far from it," he said. "We should be almost in town now."
In other words, no time--or need--to detour. A few strides later, though, we hit a strip of empty land.
"Road!" Rafe yelled. "It'll be quicker than running through the forest."
It used to be a road, back when our town was just an empty space for logging camps. Then the St. Clouds came and the loggers left, and this road no longer led anywhere. The forest had crept in on either side, weeds stubbornly poking through the packed earth. But the diesel fumes I was smelling weren't fifteen years old.
As we stepped onto the winding road, I noticed a truck going the other way, barely visible through the trees.
Daniel followed my gaze. "We'd never catch it. It's heading away from town, anyway."
"But why? There's nothing over there."
"Doesn't matter. Just keep moving."
We'd just rounded the next curve when I heard the rumble of an engine behind us. I turned to see the truck heading back our way.
"They must have spotted us." Rafe started to lift his hand.
Daniel stopped him. "Let's be sure first."
We moved into the alder bushes at the side of the road. When I looked over at Daniel, he was focused on the truck like a hawk watching an approaching cougar. I'd seen that look before. When I touched his arm, he didn't respond. I knew he wouldn't.
"What are we--?" Rafe began.
"Shhh!" Daniel hissed, still staring down the road.
"Um, okay," Rafe said. "Maya, what are we doing? We've got a fire bearing down on us, and a rescue truck coming--"
Daniel hit my back so hard he knocked the wind out of me. "Down!"
I dropped. When Rafe didn't, Daniel pushed him to the ground, too.
"What the hell?" Rafe said, rolling out of his reach.
"Shhh!" Daniel met Rafe's glare with one of his own. "Something's wrong. I can tell."
"You can tell?"
"Cool it," I whispered. "Both of you."
I lay there, under the alder bushes, the branches poking into my back. Ash drifted down like snow now. Tendrils of smoke wafted over on the breeze. When I closed my eyes, I could hear the steady crackle and the occasional rumble and roar as fire consumed the forest.
I imagined the devastation, and my chest seized, tears springing to my eyes. My forest. My beautiful forest.
"It's getting closer," I whispered. "We need to go."
"Just hold on," Daniel said. "Let me figure this out."
