by Leigh Bale
“No, Mommy! Stay here with us,” June cried from the open truck door.
“I’m just checking the tires,” Megan yelled back.
She rounded the vehicle, looking at the wheels. When she saw the problem, her heart sank. She’d hit a wide tree stump, the left rear tire high ended and unable to move. She pushed against the fender with all her might, but it wouldn’t budge. She couldn’t get it free. Not without some serious help.
She knew she had a tire jack with the spare in back. Glancing at the blazing fire, she realized there wasn’t enough time for that. They had to get out of here. Right now.
She coughed, the acrid smoke choking her lungs and burning her eyes. Above the dull crackling roar, she heard her children crying. The greedy flames were moving closer. So near to them now. Moving fast. Tracking them. The only way to safety was back to the camp. But she knew she couldn’t race the fire. She would never be able to run fast enough to outpace the flames. Certainly not with two little kids in tow.
Think! Where could she go? What could she do?
Another sound caught her attention, just to the south of her. Gosser’s Creek. It was close by. Blaine had taken her fishing there a couple of times over the past years. In some places, it was quite wide, the cool, clear water rushing past. If she could get the kids down there, they could take shelter in the creek. It wasn’t foolproof. Many firefighters lost their lives even when they took sanctuary in a creek bed. But it was their only chance.
* * *
Jared drove like a lunatic. Much too fast on this rutted road. But he didn’t care about the shocks on his truck. They could be repaired. Megan and the kids were the most important thing right now. And Sean and Zach. Nothing else mattered but saving all of their lives. Hopefully helitack would be able to fly in and retrieve the two hotshots, but Megan and her children had no one to save them. Except for him.
Jared’s vehicle bounced hard along the furrowed road as he searched for any sign of his green truck. Correction. Megan’s truck. In his mind, he’d given it to her. Just as he’d given her his heart.
But where was she?
There! Her truck sat half-on and half-off the dirt road. Both doors stood wide-open. Megan and the kids were nowhere in sight.
He pulled over and got out, taking his Pulaski and fire shelter with him. Something had happened. He inspected the truck and discovered the problem. It’d become high ended when she’d tried to turn around. She’d probably been in a big hurry and couldn’t get it unstuck.
“Megan!” he yelled, looking around for any sign of her.
They’d been here. He must have just missed them by minutes. The fire rushed nearer, moving so close that he could feel the heat of the flames blistering his exposed face. Billows of smoke flooded his lungs, and he coughed.
“Megan! Where are you?”
Where would they have gone? Where would she take the children? Not into the fire. And not back to the camp. She didn’t have many options. He would have seen them somewhere along the road if she’d gone that way. Then where?
He paused. Within minutes, the entire place would be engulfed by flames. He had only moments to act. Whirling around, he ran toward the creek. He had to find them. Had to get them to safety.
“Megan!” he yelled over and over again. Desperate. Filled with fear. He couldn’t lose them now. He’d given her his word that’d he’d keep her safe.
He yelled again and again. Hoping she could hear him above the roar of the fire.
This was his fault. His error. He’d promised she’d be safe, and he’d let her down.
* * *
Megan held her children’s hands, looking for a safe place to cross the wide creek bed. The kids hugged close to her legs, terror filling their eyes. Drifts of white smoke shrouded Megan’s view. Red flames winked at them. The fire was on the other side of the creek, too. They were surrounded. Trapped! So, where could she go? Maybe they should just get into the water and wait it out. That appeared to be their only option. But Blaine had told her stories of how the fire could superheat the water in a creek or stream until it was boiling hot. If they had a burnover, the creek wasn’t necessarily the safest place to be. But what other choice did they have? She only hoped there was enough water in this wide creek to spare their lives.
“Megan! Megan!”
She turned, thinking her ears were betraying her. Thinking she’d lost her mind. Above the growling roar, she thought she’d heard her name, as if it came from a long tunnel. She paused, listening. Frantic. Desperate for escape. Her children’s lives depended on her.
“Megan!”
There it was again! She was sure of it. Someone was calling to her.
“Here! I’m here,” she screamed.
She peered through the smoke. A man’s shape took form among the dry sagebrush. Tall and lean, moving fast as he ran toward her.
“Jared! Oh, Jared.” She cried, falling into his arms. The children were crying, too. But he didn’t pause for hello.
He pulled Megan’s head close and spoke against her ear so she could hear him above the rumbling noise. “Take June’s hand and don’t let go. I’ll take Caleb. Follow me.”
He lifted Caleb on his hip. The boy held on like a python. Jared took hold of Megan’s hand. Megan clasped June’s wrist tightly. Then, she followed Jared as he stepped into the creek. The water rushed around their ankles, then their knees and thighs. They stumbled over the slippery rocks.
“But I can’t swim. Mommy!” June cried.
“I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Megan said, pulling the girl onward.
Megan held tight to Jared’s hand, hoping some of his strength might seep into her. To give her courage and hope. And that’s when she knew. She needed to trust him. Completely. Since Blaine’s death, she’d been living in constant fear. Cheating herself and the kids out of so much joy because she didn’t want to be hurt again. But her plans to remain remote had backfired on her. She was miserable when Jared wasn’t with them. So were the kids. They all craved being with him the way flowers craved rain. And now he was here. Her firefighter hero. As she uttered a quick prayer, she realized she trusted Jared completely. She trusted the Lord, too. Somehow, they’d get out of this alive. They just had to. She refused to consider any other option.
They waded into the deepest part of the water. It rose to Megan’s waist and she held June close to keep the girl’s head up. Jared did the same for Caleb. The man searched the embankment, though Megan had no idea what he was looking for. Finally, he pointed at a low overhang of plants where the roots had been washed free of dirt by the rushing tide. She didn’t ask questions but trusted his judgment, going with him willingly.
He pulled them into the bank of the creek bed, pressing Megan and the children in against the damp earth. Then, he positioned himself with his back to the opening. As he shook out his fire shelter and wrapped it around them, his wide shoulders protected them. Whatever happened, he’d take the brunt of the fire. His heroism touched Megan’s heart. He was prepared to die to save their lives.
Megan clutched folds of his shirt, pulling him closer. Trying to keep him safe, too. The children didn’t move. Just remained silent, their eyes wide, their bodies quivering with fear.
Dead fish floated by. The water was quite warm. Not cold and clear as Megan remembered it from her fishing trips with Blaine. No, it was hot and uncomfortable.
“Mommy?” Caleb spoke in a frightened voice.
Megan was scared, too. More than at any time in her life. But she refused to give in to it. Even as the sounds of the fire intensified until it seemed a freight train was crashing down around them, she refused to let her fear destroy her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re going to be okay,” she soothed her children. Hoping and praying it was true.
“Are we gonna die
?” Caleb asked.
“Absolutely not,” Jared said with conviction.
“Oh, Jared.” Little June wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight.
Megan leaned her head on the man’s shoulder and closed her gritty eyes. A prayer stayed in her heart, begging God to save them. She wanted to cry but couldn’t allow it. No weakness. Not now. Not when she had to be strong for her children. She had to fight. To trust. She had to!
“Hold on, Megan. We’re gonna be okay,” Jared said over and over again. And she believed him.
A shudder swept her body. She could barely hear him, the noise outside their tight cocoon sounded deafening. She knew it was the fire, burning through the trees and brush just above them. A burnover.
Jared’s words gave Megan hope. The courage to ride out the storm and survive.
They didn’t speak again. They seemed frozen in time. Locked in a bubble of angst and uncertainty. Unable to move. Unable to think.
They stayed that way for what Megan guessed was an hour before the firestorm passed and the loud sounds faded to a crackle.
“Look!” Caleb said. “A bug’s crawling on me.”
Looking down, she saw a small centipede was creeping along the sleeve of her son’s shirt. She gave a croaking laugh, thinking how even the smallest of God’s creatures must be frightened right now. They all wanted to live.
She brushed the centipede away and hugged her son tight.
Jared turned, moving slow and stiff as he peered out at the blackened ruins of the forest. “I think it’s gone past.”
“Can we get out of the water now?” June asked.
Jared nodded. “I think so, sweetheart. But stay close.”
He edged his way out from beneath the overhang. The skeletal remains of blackened trees came into view. Drifting smoke had settled over the forest like a fat, dark cloud. Jared blinked his eyes and looked around. They all climbed out of the creek, their faces, arms and hands black with mud and soot.
Megan lifted Caleb onto her hip, her arms trembling with fatigue and shock. Jared picked up June. Together, they clawed their way up the embankment.
Voices filtered through the air. The whoosh of a water hose. The clamor of numerous men and vehicles working.
The smoke cleared, and Megan saw a pumper truck spraying the blackened remnants of trees, bushes and earth with a deluge of water.
The firefighters were here. And Megan had never been so happy to see them in all her life.
She carried Caleb toward the thin road. The burned remnants of their trucks sat right where they’d left them. Megan shuddered when she considered what might have happened to her family if they’d stayed with their vehicle.
There were fire trucks parked nearby, while men scraped back smoldering bushes down to mineral soil. They shoveled dirt over the smoking remains of the fire.
“Jared!” A man waved at them.
“Come on.” Jared took Megan’s hand.
Megan struggled to walk, her legs weak and wobbly. She fell in the dirt, but strong hands were there to help her up. One man took Caleb, another one took June. Leland Churchill, the incident commander, greeted them, a relieved smile on his plump face.
“Boy! Am I ever glad to see you guys. We thought we’d lost you, too,” he said.
“Too?” Jared said.
Leland’s eyes filled with anguish, and he brushed a shaking hand through his short hair. He was a tall, strong man, but his eyes filled with tears. “We’ve got a couple of hotshots unaccounted for.”
Megan froze, her heart up in her throat. That horrible day when she’d lost Blaine came rushing back with the impact of a cyclone. She staggered, barely catching herself to keep from falling to the ground. Jared reached for her, wrapping an arm behind her back for support.
“Is it Sean Nash and Zach Carpenter?” he asked.
Leland nodded. “How did you know?”
“Dale Carter told me they were trapped. That a buttonhook fire had swept around where they were working. That’s how I got the warning that I needed to come after Megan and the kids.”
“Oh.” Megan pressed her hand against her lips as she burst into tears. Sean and Zach were in danger. They might already be dead. It was too much. The horror replayed over again in her mind.
Jared held her close in his arms, his face pale with grief. In her mind, Megan could hear Sean’s low voice and Zach’s teasing laughter. Tessa must be beside herself with worry right now. The hotshots couldn’t be dead. They just couldn’t.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Leland said.
“Not half as glad as we are,” Jared said.
Leland clapped Jared on the back. “As soon as the EMTs have a look at you, we’ll drive you down into town. I’d like you all to go to the hospital to get checked out.”
“Yes,” Jared said. “Megan and the kids have breathed in a lot of smoke. I’m worried about their lungs.”
“You will go with them. You’ve breathed in plenty of smoke, too,” Leland said.
“I’m fine, sir.”
Leland’s jaw hardened. “I insist. I don’t want to lose anyone under my command.”
With that settled, two medics offered them first aid, then loaded them all into a truck. The ride into town was subdued. They shared two oxygen masks, but Megan was more concerned about her kids. And Jared. The man who had saved their lives.
The rest of the night rushed by in a blur. As Megan watched over her children, she couldn’t help thinking about Sean and Zach, too. She carried a desperate prayer in her heart. That God would look after the two hotshots. That somehow, they’d get out alive and safe. And that He’d comfort Tessa as she awaited news of her fiancé and brother.
The doctors and nurses at the hospital offered the best of care. Administering bronchodilators for Caleb. Giving each of them oxygen and fluids. Washing the soot off their bodies. Making sure they were stable.
The next morning, once Megan knew they would be okay, she finally slept, sharing the same room as her children. She wouldn’t leave their sides to save her life. And when she awoke, her weary mind wondered where they’d taken Jared. They’d faced death together and been handed a blessing of second chances.
Later, the kids were eating lunch when Megan left them for a time. Connie had brought her a change of clothes, so she cleaned up, dressed and then walked down the narrow hallway looking for Jared. She had to see him for herself. To know he was really okay.
She found him in a room down the hall, sitting in a chair as he tied his shoes.
“Hi.” She smiled, slipping her hands into the pockets of her blue jeans.
He looked up, his face freshly shaved, his dark blond hair damp and combed into place. He wore a clean Forest Service uniform, and she thought maybe Connie had brought him a change of clothes, too. Except for the dark circles shadowing his eyes, he looked great. Never better. And yet, there was a forlorn look of misery in his bloodshot eyes that she didn’t understand. She only knew that she felt a rush of gratitude so strong that she wanted to cry.
A sad smile curved his handsome mouth, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked hesitant and uncertain. “Hello.”
She stepped closer and rested her hip on a corner of the hospital bed. “Are you getting ready to go back out on the fire?”
He nodded and looked away. “They...they lost Zach Carpenter. Sean made it out okay, but Zach’s gone...”
Jared covered his face with his hands. He didn’t make a sound, but she knew he was crying. His shoulders trembled as the grief shook his body. Tears flooded her eyes, as well.
“Oh, Jared. Oh, no. I’m so very sorry.”
She touched his arm, wanting to hold him tight. Wanting to run away at the same time. To flee and never hear such horrible news again.
“Poor Tes
sa. I should go to her. She’ll be brokenhearted,” Megan said as tears ran down her cheeks.
“Her mom should be here soon,” Jared said. “They’ve pulled her and the rest of the Minoa Hotshots off the fire. Sean’s being treated somewhere here in the hospital for some second-degree burns and smoke inhalation, but it looks like he’ll be okay. They say he blames himself.”
“Oh, no. Did he do something wrong to cause Zach’s death?” Megan asked.
“Leland says no. Apparently Sean radioed the hotshot crew, giving them enough notice to evacuate. No one knows why he and Zach couldn’t get out in time. But they’ll send in an investigation team to determine what went wrong.”
Yes, Megan remembered the same procedure after Blaine had died. The investigation team had found that he’d been working so hard that he hadn’t noticed the winds changing and the fire creeping up on him. By the time he’d realized his error, he’d been surrounded. Human error, they’d called it. A simple mistake that had cost him his life.
Poor Zach. Poor Tessa and Sean. The three were inseparable. Sean and Tessa were planning to get married in the fall. So in love. So happy. And now this. Megan couldn’t find words to say. Couldn’t think this through. And yet, in her heart of hearts, she knew it would turn out okay. Because God was with them, no matter what. This wasn’t all there was. Life went on eternally. Megan believed that with all her heart.
Jared looked at her, his eyes filled with anguish. “I’m so sorry for everything that happened.”
“I know, but it wasn’t your fault,” she said.
“Yes, it was. I promised if you took the catering job that you’d be okay, and you weren’t. You and the kids could have died...”
She interrupted him. “But we didn’t. We’re fine.”
“But you wouldn’t have been in that predicament if I hadn’t pushed you to take this job.”
“It was my choice, Jared. And I don’t regret it, either. This job has blessed our lives. Financially, I’m able to breathe again. And it’s allowed the kids and me to be near you.”
A blank expression crossed his face. Then he nodded. “I don’t want to lose you, Megan. I don’t want to let you go. Not ever. I’ll get a different job, if I have to. Nothing is more important to me. But you and I have to be together.”
