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When we finally reached the bird, it was covered in thick smoke and hot to the touch. Sweat poured down my back under my clothes and the glow from the flames lit up the early morning sky in an eerie and unexpected way.
Lucky looked over at me with wide eyes. “I thought we were thousands of feet from the perimeter of the fire. How the hell did it get here so fast? We were downwind of it!”
“The winds changed,” I yelled over the roar and crackle of the incoming flames. “I shouldn’t have let us take so much time to eat. Fuck!” I covered my hand with the edge of my jacket and reached for the door to pull myself in. The heat and smoke were heavier than I could have imagined and I cursed myself for putting Lucky, of all people, in jeopardy.
As soon as I landed in the pilot’s seat, I reached for the power switch to turn on the instruments. “Lucky, I need you to grab your emergency pack and anything else you can think of in case we need to bail,” I said while flipping on the mains and fuel pump, preparing to prime the engine.
“Got it,” he said. The tone of his voice was steady and firm. The man knew how to handle an emergency.
I blew out a breath. “Give me a status on the location of the fire.”
While he moved through the main cabin to look out the window, I tried calling in on the radio. There was nothing but static so I changed channels, looking for any open channel to inform anyone of our precarious situation.
“Nearest flames are ten feet to the north-northwest,” Lucky said before moving behind me. “I can get the on-board extinguisher.”
I almost laughed picturing Lucky trying to fight a goddamned wildfire with a tiny helicopter fire extinguisher. “No, buckle in. We’re out of here.”
While he climbed into the co-pilot’s seat, I tried cranking the engine, but nothing happened.
Lucky leaned over at an awkward angle to keep an eye out the window on his side where the flames were getting closer. I tried cranking the engine again and again, but it wouldn’t turn over.
“Fuck,” I shouted, banging my fist on the door. “The smoke’s too thick for the oxygen intake anyway. We have to go.”
Within seconds, Lucky was out of the helicopter, never once arguing with me or second-guessing my commands. I raced around the side of the chopper and grabbed his free hand to lead him away from the fire. He clutched the handheld radio in his other hand and had his emergency pack clipped around his waist and resting on his lower back.
Lucky made a frantic yelping sound as a lone tree near the chopper went up in flames in an instant. Flames hissed behind us as the dry grasses where we’d been taking off and landing all night ignited.
“Jesus,” I shouted. “Go, go!!” I practically dragged Lucky behind me as we raced to clear the aircraft. All I could think about was the nearly full fuel tank from the refill we’d gone back for only a few hours before.
“Run,” I yelled, tripping over loose rock and trying desperately to figure out the safest direction to go in that wouldn't put us in more danger. The fire was above us, the frigid lake was below us, and the only option was to try and flee across the loose rock near the water’s edge. “Over there,” I said, throwing our joined hands in the direction of the pass on the north end of the lake. It was less forested and a little higher than the south end, which meant less likely to burn. Either way, we’d be trapped by the flames if we couldn't get away from the water.
The roar of the fire resounded in my ears as we bolted toward the top end of the lake. My knee screamed in pain every time the loose rock under our feet shifted. I tried to mentally time out how many minutes we had before the flames reached the helicopter's gas tank but between trying to hang on to Lucky and dodge the terrain, it was useless.
Lucky’s palm slipped in mine from the sweat between us and it was almost impossible not to feel the burn of the smoke rushing into our lungs with each gasping breath. I chanced a glance over my shoulder and saw the entire back half of the helicopter completely engulfed in flames. “We need to get to the pass!” I shouted to Lucky. “The boulders!” I added even as my lungs protested the extra use of oxygen. I wasn’t sure if Lucky heard me or not, but his grip on my hand remained tight, and that was all I needed.
That and more time to get clear of the bird as the fire above us consumed it.
