by Erin Wright
Which really just left up the hill. She wasn’t going to be able to outrun a forest fire, though, especially because the undergrowth was thick and she’d have to stick to the path. The fire wouldn’t be forced to follow a switchback path up the hillside, though. Damn cheater…
And anyway, further up the trail were just more pine trees and underbrush and rocks – there wasn’t exactly a fire-free zone she could go hide in—
Hold on – rocks! Eagle’s Nest, of course!
It was a huge rocky cliff at the top of the hill with no vegetation around it. Ergo, nothing to burn. Ergo, the flames would pass on by.
Right?
That totally seemed like a valid plan to her, not in the least because she had literally no other choice.
She ran back down to the curve of the trail, and to the Dalmatian that was still cowering behind a boulder. Right where she’d left him.
“Come here, boy, we gotta go,” she whispered urgently as she held out the now slightly slick piece of jerky, moist from the sweat on the palms of her hands, the smell of smoke growing stronger. Or maybe it just seemed like it was growing stronger. For all she knew, it had turned back the other direction.
Or, it was still heading straight towards her.
It was a 50/50 chance at this point, and honestly, she wasn’t too enthralled with those odds. They were great odds when it came to winning a lottery; not such great odds when it came to surviving.
The dog crept forward slowly, its nose going a million miles an hour as it smelled the jerky. Come on, come on, come on…Finally, it snatched the jerky from her hand and started to retreat behind the boulder again.
“We gotta go!” Georgia hissed as she grabbed the dog’s collar, stopping it in its tracks. It whined, panicking, as she began pulling it up the trail behind her, the dog fighting her every step of the way.
Yeah, this was fun.
She worked her way up the trail, the smoke and smell from the fire growing stronger by the moment, and she realized her 50/50 shot at the flames going a different direction was rapidly dwindling before her eyes. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute, and she couldn’t seem to catch a full breath, but dammit all, she was almost there and she’d be safe – maybe – if she just hung on a little longer…
She burst out of the trees and shrubs, her heart pounding as she stared up at Eagle’s Nest. Years before, a pair of golden eagles had nested in the cliffs here, and the name stuck. There weren’t any eagles around anymore, but that was no reason to change the name.
She headed for the dead center of the rock face, figuring that this would get her the farthest away from any brush or anything burnable at all. The dog’s feet scrabbled on the rock underneath them as she pulled him along but she ignored his whimpers of protest. “It’s for your own good,” she informed him as she forced him forward.
That’s when she heard…a plane? A helicopter? What the hell?! She stopped for a moment, her hand firmly gripping the dog’s collar, as she squinted up into the sky. Sure enough, there was a helicopter flying overhead.
That was it, she’d officially seen it all. Even as her mind was trying to figure out why a helicopter was flying around, she was waving her free arm in the air, trying to catch its attention. They could swoop in and pick her up.
Okay, so maybe she’d watched too many movies, and that wasn’t actually possible, but dammit all, they had to help her somehow!
The blades of the helicopter only whipped the flames up higher, though, and then it peeled off and headed back out, its path lost in the haze of the smoke. Georgia’s shoulders slumped. She was by herself again. Well, her and a dog that was scared spitless of her.
So yeah, by herself.
She dragged the dog over to the rock face where she laid down, squishing herself up against its cool expanse, and pulled the dog up next to her, her arm slung over it, holding it tight against her.
Water!
Like an overturned turtle, she fought to get her backpack off, but finally, she pulled it up over her head, yanked on the zipper, and grabbed the bottle of water that she’d brought along as backup to the CamelBak water. She ripped the top off and began dousing herself and the dog liberally with it. Anything to keep sparks from catching fire on their hair or her clothing.
Sparks…Sparky…
“It’ll be okay,” she told Sparky as he shivered and spasmed next to her. She wasn’t sure if it was from fear of the fire or fear of being next to her, but it hurt her heart either way. “We’re gonna be all right,” she told him firmly. “No need to panic.”
She didn’t have time to pull the backpack apart and get the water pouch out so she could douse them with it also, so she just pulled it back over her head, trying to shield her face from the heat and flames that were roaring up the mountainside. It sounded like a train, barreling down the tracks towards her, and just like in a nightmare, she was trapped against this rock face, unable to escape, unable to move.
The next time the credit union insisted on her taking a vacation day, she was going to spend it in bed with a book. At least then she had a fairly good chance of living through the “vacation.”
That was, if she lived through this one.
Chapter 7
Moose
Moose wiped his hands on a grease rag as he stood back from the 4440 in front of him. A quick re-priming of the fuel system and it should be good to go back out to the Nash place—
Three long beeps came out of the radio clipped to his belt, causing Moose to jump a little in surprise. Then, the voice of Mr. Behrend came out, the city’s very old and very grumpy dispatcher.
“Attention, all Sawyer City firefighters, there is a wildfire out east of town, up in the hills. The county fire department has asked for assistance in fighting this fire. I repeat, all Sawyer City firefighters…”
Moose tuned out his emergency radio for a moment as he looked around the shop, frantically trying to find the shop manager, Sam. He spotted him in the corner, sifting through their parts pile. “Sam, fire! I gotta go!” he hollered, even as he began sprinting for the door. His boss called something back, but it was lost beneath the radio chatter breaking out.
“Base, this is Levi Scranton. I am in the Horseshoe Bend area, but I am on my way back now. I’m at least an hour out. Over.”
A crackle and then, “Base, this is Chief Anderson. I am heading to the station now. Over.”
Moose slid into his truck, jamming his keys into the ignition. He’d wait for the chatter to die down and then call himself in. He’d beat Levi to the station, but not by much. The dealership was on the opposite side of the valley from Horseshoe Bend, and was also quite a bit out of town. By the time he got to the fire station and suited up, he’d be on the second fire truck to leave, for sure.
“Who spotted the fire? Over,” someone asked. It sounded like Dylan, Luke Nash’s employee. He hadn’t been with the volunteer fire department for very long, and even over the radio, Moose could hear the excitement in his voice. Moose laughed a little to himself, the adrenaline pumping. There was always a thrill that came with being called out, that was for sure – a thrill even he couldn’t deny. Fighting fires would never grow old.
The radio crackled and then, “Wildlife biologists were in a helicopter, doing a count of deer and elk, when they spotted the smoke column. Hold.” The radio fell silent. Moose was on a tear towards town, cursing how far out the dealership was from the fire department, the city, and life in general, when the radio came to life again. “They are reporting that there is a person and a dog on scene, up at Eagle’s Nest. I repeat, there is someone up there, at Eagle’s Nest, and it appears that there is a dog with them.”
Oh shit, shit, shit!
Moose took a hard left up a country road, not taking the time to slow down, his tires squealing on the pavement as he headed out towards Eagle’s Nest. Sure enough, as he leaned forward and peered through the windshield, he could detect a faint column of smoke rising up in the sky ahead of him, from the f
oothills.
Forget his gear. He didn’t have time for that shit. Moose was closer to Eagle’s Nest than anyone else on the fire crew because it was on the dealership side of the valley. By the time he got to the firehouse, threw on his suit, and rode back out with the rest of the crew, this guy and his dog would be long dead. Moose couldn’t follow protocol, knowing that he had the chance to save someone if he didn’t.
Dammit, why was some dude out hiking in the foothills today? It was nice enough weather for spring, sure, but didn’t he have a job to be at or something? It was too early for it to be a tourist – they almost never showed up until after Memorial Day.
Whatever. He needed to call Jaxson before he lost all signal. Leaving the chattering radio beside him on the passenger seat, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Jaxson answered, sounding out of breath. “You on your way?” he asked, not even bothering with a greeting.
Moose didn’t either. This was no time for pleasantries.
“I’m on my way to the fire,” he said bluntly. “I’m not coming to the station beforehand.”
“What?!” Jaxson roared. “You can’t go fight a fire single-handedly! And without equipment!”
“I know,” Moose broke in, before Jaxson could get a full head of steam on him, “but I’m not going to. I know Eagle’s Nest – I can get up to it from the backside. No fire truck is going to be able to reach this area, which means we’re going to be fighting this with Pulaskis and chainsaws. By the time you guys get the fire under control, this tourist is gonna be dead. I’ll go up the backside of the foothills and over the top, down to Eagle’s Nest, and get the guy and his dog out.”
Jaxson started to protest again, but this time, Moose just bluntly cut him off. “Jaxson, I’m gonna pull local boy card here. I know this place like the back of my hand. I’m already a lot closer to it than y’all are, because I was at the dealership when the call came in. I can make a difference. You gotta trust me.”
And then the phone was beeping in his hand and Moose pulled it away from his ear to see “No Signal” flashing on the screen. “Dammit!” he growled, putting the phone into airplane mode before dropping the worthless hunk of electronics into an empty cup holder. He didn’t know how much of that Jaxson had caught.
His radio had gone silent also, which Moose did not take as a good sign, but he snagged it from the passenger seat and tried to radio in anyway.
“Moose Garrett to base,” he said.
Nothing.
He let out a curse that’d set his grandmother’s hair on fire if she’d heard him, and tossed the worthless radio into the backseat. After 9/11, the federal government had made a concerted effort to get radios into the hands of all first responders that should work anytime, any place, anywhere, and most fire departments had taken advantage of that grant money to get a top-notch radio system for their crew.
Every fire department, that was, except for the Sawyer Fire Department.
He cursed former Chief Horvath as he slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. The man had been in that position for far too long, and had just gotten damn lazy. Anything that smacked of paperwork, he’d done his best to duck. He’d bought that overpriced, brand-spanking-new fire truck a couple years back, and ever since then, he hadn’t even bothered trying to pretend that he was interested in doing more. He’d done his part, he’d stayed the course, and from there forward, he was just biding his time until he could retire.
Well, with any luck at all, Jaxson would’ve heard most of what Moose had said, and wouldn’t panic too much. He needed to focus on getting the rest of the guys out to fight the fire. Moose could take care of himself.
The road shrunk down to one lane, and then pavement disappeared completely and Moose was bouncing along on a rutted dirt road an elk would be horrified to walk down. He grunted in pain when he was bounced up high enough that his seatbelt locked, slamming him back down into the seat.
The good news was, his truck was as tough as shoe leather, and a 4x4 to boot, so it’d climb a greased pole if need be. He could get pretty far up the backside of the hill that dropped off into Eagle’s Nest before he’d be forced to get out and climb. Any mile he could drive, he would. It would shave precious minutes off his arrival time, and right now, every minute counted.
Finally, he reached the row of boulders that he couldn’t wind his way past. This was where the truck ride ended and the hiking began. He shifted into park, and jumped out to begin his search through the backseat for supplies. The first thing he reached for was his emergency backpack. Part of his first responder training had been to always carry a backpack with water, snacks, and extras like matches and a couple of space blankets, just in case he was ever trapped out in the wilderness unexpectedly. He wasn’t going to attest to the freshness of the food, but hey, beggars couldn’t be choosers.
He unzipped the front pocket and pulled out the headlamp he kept tucked in there, pulling it into place on his head. He didn’t need to turn it on yet, but having it ready to go could only be a good thing. The sun was starting to head for the western horizon, which meant that they were about to enter the seemingly endless twilight zone that came along with living in a deep valley. For hours after direct sunlight would’ve disappeared, the sky would still be lit with the fading rays of the sun. Hopefully Moose would be able to get the guy and his dog back up to the truck and to safety before the light completely disappeared, but that was nothing more than a hope at this point.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and then began searching for the rope he’d thrown in the backseat last fall. He’d kept meaning to get it out and put it away, but somehow, he’d never gotten around to it. His laziness was about to pay off. He tossed some blankets and an old jacket out of the way when he finally spotted it, peeking out from under the seat, and pulled it out, sighing to himself as he did.
Dammit, it was as short as he remembered, which meant that it was too short to get all the way down to the base of Eagle’s Nest. He’d gone out rock climbing and rappelling with Levi dozens of times over the years, and this spot was a favorite of theirs, so he knew just how much rope he needed to get to the base. This wasn’t going to do it.
But on the other hand, if he didn’t rappel off the side of the cliff, he’d be stuck taking the trail on the north side that also wound its way through the forest to the base of the cliff. It was totally doable, of course, but a hell of a lot slower. He might as well have just come with the rest of the guys in that case.
No, down the front was the only way. He could get the dog, the guy, and they could hike back out together the long way around.
His heart was running at top speed, adrenaline dumping into his system on overload, as he climbed up the barrier of large boulders, his work boots slipping as he tried to heave himself upward. This climb was a hell of a lot easier when he was wearing the right shoes. No surprise there, of course.
He finally got to the top of the boulders and worked his way over to a relatively skinny boulder stuck firmly in the ground. It was the same one they’d used countless times in high school. The boulder wouldn’t move an inch, so he at least had that certainty he could count on, even if it was the only one.
He didn’t have rappelling gear or safety equipment of any kind, and he was risking life and limb here, but hell, he’d come this far. He could go a little farther, right?
He straightened up and took a moment to look out over the hillside and valley below. Smoke and flames were billowing up, but it appeared the majority of the fire had started working its way to the south. Thank God. It wasn’t terribly surprising – daytime winds tended to go upslope and then as soon as evening hit, they usually changed directions and went downslope. It looked like that was holding true for the winds whipping this fire up. As long as this tourist and his dog had stayed put at the base of Eagle’s Nest, they might just live through this after all.
As Moose was doing his best to figure out where this fire was going and what it was doing, his boot slipped a
little on the pebbles underfoot and he instinctively looked straight down, his eyes skittering past his boots and down the cliff face. He’d made it a point to never look down – he hated admitting to it, but heights scared the bejesus out of him, something even Levi didn’t know. Looking over the valley was one thing; looking straight down a cliff was another.
And that’s when he spotted her.
“Georgia?” he said, in shock.
Chapter 8
Georgia
There she was, huddled against the cool of the rock, trying not to breathe in too deeply, holding Sparky close against her, praying harder than she’d ever prayed in her life that the fire would change directions and leave her the hell alone, when she heard a noise. Rocks, bouncing down the side of Eagle’s Nest. What the hell? What had knocked the rocks loose?
She wiggled backwards a little until she could give herself enough room to crane her neck upwards – not her most graceful move ever, but okay – to see a dark figure waaayyyyy up at the top of the cliff face.
He looked down and their eyes locked. Her mouth dropped open as she stared upwards.
“Georgia?” he called down to her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“What am I—” She broke off into a coughing fit, the smoke starting to burn her lungs. She’d been careful to keep her shirt over her mouth and her head tucked down between the rock and Sparky for what felt like forever, but now that she’d pulled away from that sheltering embrace, the ash and soot were starting to work their way into her lungs.
She tore her eyes away from the apparition of Moose – she was at least 72.3% sure that he was a figment of her smoke-addled mind – and towards the fire below. She hadn’t dared to lift her head before, and she was shocked to see that the fire had in fact turned and was heading south. There were glowing embers everywhere, and a few straggly brushes still on fire, but God must’ve been listening, because she was still alive.
