“Just leave me,” Axe threw out, his voice full of desperation. “Take the puppy and go. Just go.”
“Fuck, no. My mama didn’t raise a quitter.” With the pack off my back, I stumbled forward, fighting for every breath. But I would not leave him here. Crouching beside him, I assessed the tree just as another shower of bright orange embers fell from the sky in a demonic dance.
The bottom of the fallen tree caught on fire.
Axe’s disgruntled cry kept me from falling into a spell. Even the puppy was whining, screaming with the same terror we both felt.
“Hold on. Get ready to crawl.” My voice was loud and clear. Or so I prayed. The first attempt to move the tree failed, the eight-inch diameter not the problem. The tree being trapped in other foliage was.
The flames licking at the bark, fuel for the beast.
I tried again as Axe clawed the muck in front of him.
The third time was the charm. With my eyes closed, I took a single deep breath.
And pulled.
As soon as the tree began to budge, I could feel my feet slipping on the debris. But I stomped my foot, struggling.
The puppy was crying.
Axe groaning.
Movement.
“Fuck,” Axe hissed. He was almost out. Almost.
As the flames rushed toward my gloved hands, I gave him all the time possible before swinging the tree to the right and dropping as I scuttled backward.
Leaning over, I took a deep breath. Now I was afraid.
“Thank you, man.” Axe clapped me on the back.
“Let’s get out of here.”
We pushed and tore through foliage, fighting every step of the way to get to what we hoped might provide us with some safety until the fire moved around us.
Just a few more steps. A few more.
We broke through a line of trees and…
The area was lush and untouched.
Grace. All I could think about was Grace.
“We’re fucked, man, and the fire is rolling this way.” Axe took several labored breaths.
We’d bought a few minutes, five maybe before the fire ravaged the area. We could keep going, but our burst of energy was likely the last. Looking up, I tried to gauge the windspeed and direction.
The flames would roll right over us.
“We have no choice but to hunker down.” My statement was emotionless although I felt plenty deep inside.
In the glow of the flashlight, I could see fear in his eyes, but he nodded only once. There was no other choice.
We had to rely on technology, the fire shelters our only possibility of staying alive.
I’d never believed in them. I’d heard horrible stories about an entire team dying fifteen years before. But they altered the technology. Or so they’d said.
