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CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Danny
This isthe most scared I’ve been since I started with the fire department. There’s a roar all around. The fire blazes with alarming ferocity. Growing as quick as I’ve ever seen anything before. There’s a fear deep in my gut about what’s going to happen out here.
Every single condition we’ve always been told to watch out for is happening on this ridge.
“Start to dig a control line,” Cameron instructs. “That’s what our group needs to work on. Controlling it from spreading.”
Putting my respirator over my face, I get to work. Gauge and I stand next to each other, partners in this project.
“I’m moving down this way,” he shouts, pointing to a bit further down the line. “Then we move toward each other. It might work faster.”
I don’t think it will, but I’m not the senior member of the crew here and I’ve always been taught you listen to those members. Giving him a thumbs up, I bend over, working as fast as possible and doing my best to keep watch over what’s happening around us. There’s chatter on the radios, but we can’t hear it. Not above the roar of the dry tinder and brush going up.
This is the worst, my brain being able to think about all the things that could be going wrong. I know I’m supposed to be watching the conditions and anticipating what might happen, but my mind is wandering.
Has my mom heard about what’s happening? Is Hayden safe? Has my dad moved his crew in for the day?
This is the most isolated I’ve ever felt and I wish to God I had a chance to say one thing to my family.
Looking up at the orange flames, I realize more than any other fire I’ve ever been in, it could be the last thing I ever say to them.
* * *
“It looks like it’s shifting,”I say as loud as I can to Gauge.
He stops, looking up at the swirling smoke and orange flames. “I think you’re right,” he shouts. “It’s back burning onto itself.”
This is the best thing we’ve seen in the long hours we’ve been up on this ridge. My back aches and my arms are cramping, but I would do this for another five days if that’s what it took to save Bradford. Knowing my family and Hayden are down there changes things. Most of the time when I’m fighting a fire, it’s for people I don’t know.
This is personal.
That’s my town, those are my people.
Everyone and everything I care about is in the way of this fire.
“Gauge,” I yell, waving my arm and trying to get his attention.
He either can’t hear me or he’s just not paying attention. The original reason I was trying to get his attention changes as soon as I see the tree leaning. “Gauge!” I yell again. “Get out of the way, goddammit!”
He doesn’t hear me, and what happens in front of me is what nightmares are made of.
“Gauge!” I run for him, trying to push him out of the way. My arms and legs are pumping, but with all of the gear on I can’t run like I normally would. My speed is hindered and I know I’m not going to make it in time.
The feeling in the pit of my stomach is sick as I watch the tree lean even more. I don’t stop, though. I dig in deeper. Trying to pick up speed, but I know I won’t make it.
Again I scream.
This time he hears me.
“Move!”
I point up, hoping he’ll get what I’m trying to say. The recognition in his body language is palpable, but he’s not moving. Why the fuck isn’t he moving? “Go, go, go,” I urge him. “Get out of the way!”
My heart is in my throat as I scream at him, although I know he can’t hear me. Finally, I see him start to make a move, but it’s too late. The tree breaks in half, the sound sickening and loud, even amongst the roar of the fire.
At the same time, I trip over something, maybe my own two feet, I don’t know, but I go down hard.
