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“Well, I believe in you and Hellfire. You’ll bring Dakota home.”
“Bunny, you ever gonna call him Pyro?” Chance urged.
“No, he’ll always be Dakota to me. Should I call him Pyro? Am I breaking a club rule?” I asked, worried.
“Nope, because he’s Pyro to Hellfire as much as he remains Dakota to you. He should be himself with you and the man he wants to be with us. It’s something I encourage.”
“A duel personality, Chance?” I demanded, confused.
“No, although it must sound like that. Pyro will be crass with us. He’ll ride free and live well. With you, he’ll be sweet as molasses and treat you like a princess. Pyro thinks he wears the pants while we all know you do. Same as Clio with Bear and me with Thalia. Both get a different, but no less true, version of us. Chey just believes Celt is an asshole, and that’s that, but Chey loves him, and Celt gives Chey his form of sugar, too.” I laughed at Chance’s words and felt a weight lift from my shoulders.
“Surprised Chey isn’t here,” I probed.
“No, this commotion would have been too much for Chey. Chey’s nailing the fuck out of physiotherapy, which she needs.”
“Chey’s walking?” I gasped. That had been kept quiet.
“Chey has feeling back in her legs and is working hard to make that permanent. But Bunny, that’s not common knowledge, and I wouldn’t enjoy reading about it next week in a magazine,” Chance warned.
“Oh, that secret is safe with me. I’m just pleased for them. Dakota told me about their past and that awful man, Zeus. I’m glad he’s dead.”
“Bunny, you do not know how happy I am Zeus is dead.” Chance glanced up as a shout erupted from Bear.
“Fire’s moved away, and they’ve got it under control. We have the green light to head out for Pyro. They want us to put down any small fires we come across,” Bear hollered.
“On my way, can you grab us food packs, Bunny? And water bottles? Will save us some time, and we can get moving,” Chance asked, and I nodded before scurrying away.
???
Chance
Anyone would think the forest would be eerily quiet after a fire had blazed through. It couldn’t be more different. Burned trees crackled, branches snapped, and fire sizzled where it met water. Chance kept his gaze firmly ahead, searching for a silver shelter or a flash of yellow, and saw nothing. Hellfire put out several fires as they approached the spot where they’d last seen their missing member, and their calls were unanswered. Chance radioed in to inform control they were on the coordinates, and he split them into teams of two.
They searched in silence for half an hour, each of them feeling grimmer as time ticked past. Levi was the first to call out. He found a mangled water bottle, and Diesel identified it as Pyro’s. Chance’s gut sank as he and Diesel exchanged a dark stare before moving in the direction the bottle had been dropped.
“Got an opened shelter!” Shee yelled, and everyone headed towards him. They saw the silver of the shelter hidden behind a rock and raced over. Shee was already yanking it open, and dismay covered his face.
“Fuck, it’s empty! Where the fuck’s Pyro?” Shee growled as hope failed him.
“If it was deployed, Pyro had to be inside, right?” Tiny grunted as Chance shrugged. He’d no answers for his brothers. Celt and Shotgun both shook their heads.
“Pyro used it, and it’s empty; he had to have survived and crawled out,” Celt finally answered Tiny.
“No, unless Pyro didn’t make it in time to shelter,” Levi pointed out the obvious and paled as the men turned dire gazes on him. “Someone’s got to fuckin’ say it. Pyro might not have made it.”
“There’s no body. We need hope, Levi,” Chance replied.
“Got faith, man, got a fuck load, but I ain’t gonna blinker myself to the facts. The shelter was deployed, but there’s no sign of Pyro. Damn, I’m going to keep searching, but I’m not holding onto useless emotion. I’ve seen what false hope does to a guy,” Levi shot back. That silenced everyone, and they glanced away, feeling awkward.
“Levi…” Chance spoke, and Levi shook his head.
“Nah, I’m praying Pyro’s alive, but I ain’t hoping. Hope destroys a soul. So, I’m going to search my ass off and find Pyro. And while I’ll be praying that Pyro’s okay, I’m resolving myself to him not being okay. Do as you wish,” Levi snapped and walked away. “Shee you with me or not?”
“Chance, I’ll keep him balanced,” Shee muttered and chased after Levi. Everyone else glanced at each other and paired off again. Half an hour later, Chance blew his whistle three times and waited for his brothers to find him.
“We’re wandering like fools. Possibly even in the wrong direction.”
“Chance, we can’t stop if we go back without that annoying asshole, Bunny…” Diesel broke off, unable to continue.
