Fire From the Sky: Trial by Fire

by N. C. Reed

  “I 'll make sure they're fed properly,” Angela assured her. “And Ally should have some clothes in storage that will fit the girls. Olivia you're about Abigail's height but...”

  “But she's a lot more woman than me,” Olivia nodded sadly.

  “Don't be ridiculous,” Angela said at once.

  “Boobs don't make the woman, Olivia,” Patricia smiled a bit. “And we 'll round her up more clothing tomorrow. We've got them all a change of clothes and we 'll be washing their dirty clothing probably tonight so we 'll see what tomorrow brings. Now you girls get changed and then I guess you can go home with Mother Hubbard here,” she jabbed a thumb at her mother-in-law.

  “Yes ma'am,” Olivia nodded. “Come on girls, let’s get changed.” The two followed her out and left Angela and Patricia a chance to talk.

  “Beverly will need to talk to Olivia tomorrow or the next day,” Patricia told Angela. “She's almost certainly going to have some PTSD to work through, and it will take her a few days to realize that she's not alone anymore, and not the only adult capable of taking care of her sisters. And it will be a while before those two are willing to let go of her much, too.”

  “We 'll take care of them,” Angela promised. “Their mother was a member of the church. We take care of all men, but especially those of the church,” she paraphrased a bible verse that Patricia knew well.

  “They need it.”'

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  -

  “I can't go any further,” Ronny admitted as Clay pulled up beside him. “I've had it.”

  “I was going to tell you that when I pulled up here,” Clay nodded. “I've gone to sleep twice on this return trip.”

  “Let’s get Abby and head back,” Ronny suggested. “I know she's supposed to be in charge and she's the expert, but seriously; I can't see that fire jumping even this much cleared ground, and we 'll be back working at sun up.”

  “I hear ya.”

  Abby wasn't surprised to see her uncles waiting on her when she reached her turn around. She raised her plow and moved their way, then followed as they all headed home. Since they were across the creek they had to travel more than two miles before they could cross back over to their own side of the creek, which meant even then they were over two miles from home. Twenty minutes later they were sitting in a line behind the Sanders' homes, engines creaking in the night air as they began to cool.

  “Man, if I didn't have to get back on that tractor for a week it would be too soon!” Clay exclaimed as he climbed down.

  “Same here,” Ronny agreed. His much older frame creaked more than Clay's did as he lowered himself to the ground. His spine clicked and popped as it straightened.

  “Wow,” Abby was coming around to meet them when she heard all of that. “You old guys have it bad, don't you!”

  “You know, one day you 'll be old and then you 'll rue the day you made fun of your elders and betters,” Ronny told her and Abby tried to laugh but all that came out was a tired chuckle.

  “I'm headed over to get a shower and some rack time,” she admitted. “I'm bushed and I know you guys have to be as well. I 'll see you in the morning.”

  “We 'll be here.”

  “You may want to wait,” the twins said in unison, coming to them out of the dark.

  “Stop doing that!” Clay said at once as all three started in surprise.

  “Yeah, sorry, but you really do want to see this,” Leon told them, holding out the screen in his hand. The three adults gathered round and looked at the few minutes of video he had managed to capture before sundown.

  “Is this now?” Abby asked softly once it was over.

  “Afraid so,” Leanne nodded, spreading the map out. “This is about forty-five minutes old, max. We estimate the front line of the fire is no more than twelve miles distant. At best it's fourteen.” Neither twin knew a good way to relay bad news like this.

  “The fire has also increased in size again,” Leon added, showing them the fire lines. “Using Abby's estimates from before we're guessing about nine thousand acres.”

  “Less than expected,” their father tried to make it look better.

  “And all in our direction,” Leon killed that idea with one sentence. “The wind-”

  “-is driving it right at us,” Abby didn't seem surprised.

  “You knew about this?” Clay asked.

  “Of course, I did,” she shrugged. “I do this for a living, Uncle Clay, or did. The wind has blown right down our throat all day. There was no way the fire wasn't marching right at us. Another reason I wanted everyone out of the woods by dark. It's too risky. If the wind stays up like it did last night then we might well be able to see flames by lunch, if not sooner. With the low humidity and so much fuel, there's literally nothing to slow it down.”

  “Why didn't you tell us?”

  “What good would it do?” Abby replied calmly. “The fire's going to come regardless. It's bad enough I have to worry about it. No sense in everyone else sweating over it. Everyone is working as hard as they possibly can and nothing will change that. Everyone also needs rest and nothing changes that, either. The best time to get it is while there's no light. We clean up, eat, and rest while it's dark, and we're hitting it again at first light. We've already got a good break line. If not for the wind I'd say it's enough and it still may be, but better safe than sorry. If we beat the fire tomorrow then the day after we can all take a well-deserved rest. If we don't then we 'll be evacuating. Either way, all we can do is all we can do and having so many untrained people in the woods at night is a recipe for disaster. So, we bring them out, get them fed and rested, and attack it again at first light.”

  Clay was nodding by the time she finished. He was finding a grudging respect for his niece in all this, and that surprised him. He hadn't thought it possible.

  “Anyway, that's what we found,” Leon said as Leanne folded the map. “We 'll check again once it's light. That will give you an idea of how fast it's moving.”

  “Thanks guys,” Abigail smiled. “I appreciate it. And now I'm going to get that bath and something to eat. I've had one piece of buttered bread and a ham sandwich to eat today.”

  “Same here,” the others chorused.

  -

  “You look like you're exhausted,” Alicia said as her husband walked in their back door.

  “No, I'm past that,” he chuckled tiredly.

  “I've got some beef roast, potatoes and bread ready,” she pointed to a large cover over his place setting at the table. “Warm and waiting.”

  “Thank you,” he smiled tiredly and sat down.

  “I started the hot water heater when I saw you coming,” she added. “By the time you're finished you should be able to take a hot bath.”

  “That would be wonderful,” Ronny nodded even as he began shoveling food into his mouth.

  “Are we going to be able to beat the fire, Ronny?” she asked gently.

  “Looks like it,” he nodded, exaggerating only a bit. “It's going to be close to us, but I think we can protect the farm well enough. We may lose a little here and there, but it really does look like we can make it.”

  “Good,” Alicia sounded relieved. “I…I don't want to lose all this just as I'm. . .well, you know,” she waved a hand before her.

  “You're pregnant, Ally,” Ronny finished for her. “Not saying it won't make it less true. It's going to be okay, regardless. Even if the worst happens we've made contingencies for that. We're going to survive. Believe it.”

  “I do,” she tried to sound confident. “I do.”

  -

  “You look beat, Cowboy,” Lainie said when she saw Clay.

  “Pretty much,” he nodded in agreement. “I don't suppose…”

  “Steak and potatoes,” she pointed to the kitchen. “Toast, and tea. Nice and cold.”

  “Oh, thank you,” he almost sighed rather than spoke. “I am so thirsty.”

  “I heated the water, too,” she added. “Figured you'd w
ant a good hot bath when you got home.”

  “Good figuring,” he nodded. She sat down with him and uncovered her own plate.

  “You haven't eaten?” he asked in surprise.

  “Not without you,” she shook her head as she served up supper.

  “You didn't have to do that, Lainie,” Clay objected mildly.

  “But I wanted to,” she replied. “Now eat, and then I 'll help you get cleaned up. A hot bath will help you rest, and you need it.”

  “All I need is a little sleep,” he told her.

  “You 'll get it, then.”

  -

  “Man, this is worse than that dozer,” Jake resisted the urge to curse.

  “At least the electronics aren't fried,” Greg shrugged. “That's something.”

  “At this point we'd have been better off just to move all this to a running vehicle,” Jake didn't agree.

  “Well, maybe not. . .” Greg trailed off as he used a screwdriver to jump across the solenoid and battery and-

  “Ha ha!” he laughed as the Dodge sputtered to life, coughing roughly but running as he feathered the accelerator cable from beneath the hood.

  “Try and keep it going!” Jake encouraged as he rushed to unlock the steering wheel. With no key he would be forced to 'pop' the ignition. If the truck had been newer that might have been a problem, but with an older truck…

  “Got it!” he yelled in triumph as he managed to release the steering, which in turn released the transmission. He moved the truck into reverse and then drive, listening as the engine pulled down in response. “It's going into gear at least!” he called, returning the shifter to park. With the engine still running he could now check on the transmission.

  “We just might make this thing run,” Greg smiled.

  “Oil and an air filter that should work, right here,” Ellen Kargay said as she returned from scavenging parts. “No joy on plugs though,” she shook her head. “We can probably use something else, but nothing around here uses these. Once you're finished I can clean the old ones and file them down, then re-gap them. That will work for a little while.”

  “What do you use to clean them?” Jake asked, testing her a little.

  “I use gas,” she shrugged. “Some use carb cleaner, but it leaves a buildup no matter how careful you are. Gas doesn't. And gas doesn't hurt a plug. While they dry I can check the wires for breaks or tears. We can patch them enough to make it work for a bit anyway.”

  “We 'll get it running well enough to use it, one way or another.”

  -

  “Well, are we gonna survive?” Leon asked as Brick came into the living room, hair still wet from his shower, and sat down at the dining table to the plate Marla had fixed for him.

  “Of course,” he nodded, tucking into the bacon, beans and cornbread piled on the plate. “That was never in doubt.”

  “I mean is the farm gonna survive, you jackass,” Leon growled.

  “I think so,” Brick chuckled. He always enjoyed riling the older man for some reason. “The break is already a good forty feet wide, give or take. While I doubt we can reach the one hundred fifty feet Abigail wants, it should be enough, especially if they manage to get the fire truck running. The main thing is the wind. If it keeps blowing the way it has the last two days then it's entirely possible that embers from the fire may land here. We will have to be alert to that possibility and be prepared to extinguish the fires as soon as they start.”

  “Where did you go to college?” Marla asked casually. So casually that it caught him off guard.

  “Geo-” Brick stopped short of answering and looked at her. “What made you ask that?”

  “Listening to you speak,” she shrugged. “You talk like someone with an education, that's all.”

  “Part of one,” he shrugged easily. “I didn't finish.”

  “Why not?”

  “Stop badgering the man, Marla,” Leon demanded. “That's my job.”

  “And he's very good at it,” Brick nodded.

  “Just like it's his job to be a smart ass,” Leon didn't hesitate. “Is Abigail doing a good job?” he got back on point.

  “I think so,” Brick answered. “But understand I don't know much about this kind of thing. It seems to me that the orders she gives make sense, though. And we've got a lot more work done than I would have thought possible. She, Clay and Ronny are the driving force behind that. Without their work I doubt we'd make it, to be honest.”

  “I'm glad she's managed to get her head out,” Leon sighed. “She's usually a lot smarter and more level headed than she's shown the last six months or so.”

  “Stress can do that,” Brick shrugged. “But when she was needed she has risen to the occasion. Nicely I think, though again I'm not the one to judge such matters as these.” He finished his meal and stood.

  “I'm going to get some sleep,” he told them. “We have to be back at is as soon as it's light enough to see. Abigail apparently doesn't want anyone in the woods with no light.”

  “Smart move,” Leon agreed from behind his mask. “We 'll wake you.”

  “Unnecessary, but thank you just the same,” Brick said over his shoulder, already on his way to his room. “Good night.”

  Leon nodded, eyes closing. “I'm going to try and sleep myself. I'm tired, all of a sudden.”

  “Sleep well,” was all Marla said, moving to pull the blanket up higher on an already sleeping Leon. She adjusted his pillows and made sure he was as comfortable as possible, then set down on the sofa, her own blanket and pillow to comfort her.

  -

  For six hours the farm slept. At least some of it did. Greg, Jake and Ellen all labored on the fire truck well into the morning hours, while others maintained security. A small convoy had been assembled at the Troy farm on the pad in front of the large buildings that Clay had paid for before the Storm had hit. Motor homes, one Hummer and one Cougar, two trucks and one semi-trailer. No one wanted to leave, but should the worse happen then they were prepared for it.

  During the night, the wind continued to blow and the fire continued its march south, destroying everything in its path. Had the weather service still been in operation then meteorologists would have noted the perfect conditions for such a wild fire to grow and spread. High pressure dominating the area and bringing with it the wind that pushed the fire south. Weaker low-pressure system to the south being pushed east and taking its precious water vapor with it, creating rain further south where it would not be of any help to those in the path of the growing wildfire.

  The people on the Sanders ranch could not spare the time to think about others caught in the path of the fire. People who, having somehow survived the ravages of winter despite being unprepared for the technological downfall that had struck them just before winter had, would now be faced with yet another and more imminent form of disaster. People who would be reluctant to leave and abandon what little they had left but would be forced to do either that or lose even their lives. Men, women and children forced to run with only what they could carry. Some would be lucky enough to still have a horse that had not been eaten over the winter, and pile what they could on an undoubtedly hungry pack animal. A few would have working vehicles that were so old they had escaped the ravages of the CME, but fuel would be hard to come by. And scared people would demand the use of such things for their own needs, insisting that their need entitled them to it despite not being the owner.

  People who had survived the Storm, the winter, and the tender treatment of those around them would fall prey to the panic such a fire caused as even those who had helped one another through the worst of times during winter would kill one another now over such things as a working truck or live horse.

  Even as the fire swept south, threatening to kill everything in its path, others would save it the trouble as they killed each other over the few meager things they still possessed and clung to even in the face of complete destruction.

  -

  Dawn was cool but mostly clear
at the Sanders' ranch the next morning, save for the perpetual haze they had all become accustomed to as smoke from the now massive wildfire drifted over everything around them.

  Those headed for the fire line ate quickly, picking up water jugs already prepared for them by people who had risen hours before to prepare meals and then prepare to evacuate should the worse come to pass.

  Gordon had taken his truck out to fuel the machines used by Abigail, Ronny and Clay, starting each vehicle to allow it to idle once it was full. While unable to help with the actual firefighting at his age, he could certainly lend a hand with this and give his younger family members a few more minutes of precious sleep.

  The twins and their minions had met with Tandi Maseo, Gordy, Kade and Zach Willis to go and fly their drones as soon as it was light enough to see. Twenty-five minutes later Jonathon Jackson and Leanne Tillman had plotted the fire on the map. Stone faced, Leanne had trooped over to where her father, cousin and Uncle were preparing to carry their machines back to the fire line.

  “What's up squirt?” her father has asked, trying to be upbeat.

  “Here,” was all Leanne said as she thrust the map toward her cousin. Abby studied it for a minute, sighing as she compared the lines from the day before to the new markings.

  “Bad?” Clay asked.

  “Very,” Abigail told him, seeing no reason to mince words. “We 'll probably be seeing flames by afternoon if the wind keeps up like it has so far.”

  “That soon?” Ronny asked. He had been expecting at least one more full day.

  “Afraid so,” Abigail returned the map to Leanne. “It's the wind,” she told them. “We have to have a high-pressure system setting over us. I don't have a barometer but there's almost no humidity and the winds haven't slowed in at least three days. Barometer has to be over thirty. And just sitting there,” she added with disgust.

  “It is,” Leanne nodded. “We have a weather station that records stuff like that. We check it every day.”

  “Well, that's what's killing us,” Abigail told them all. “So, we do what we can and that's all we can do. Tell everyone to watch out for each other. At lunch I want everyone out of the woods and back here. Call it twelve noon. No exceptions and that includes us,” she motioned to her uncles. “You guys fly for us again about then and give me an update. If we can keep at it, we will. Otherwise we turn our attention to the flanking areas and start spreading help across the ranch to watch for hot spots. If the wind raises any then we may start seeing hot embers falling among us and that can lead to fires in a hurry. We can't let that happen.”