The fire raged.\u00a0 The curls of yellow and red wrought of brilliant heat consumed the forest in front of Josh and his brothers.\u00a0 They were the first, the last, and the only line of defense for the homes and the lives that were on the other side of the hills behind them.\u00a0 This was the third year of severe drought in this part of the country, and also the third year of wildfires chewing their way through all the dry brush, fallen trees, and dehydrated trees that appeared to be barely holding on to life.<\/p>\n
The first thing that any person should know about forest fires… they get hot.\u00a0 With all the available tinder laying about, and the lack of the fast moving ground-clearing fires over the years of the Forest Service’s mandate, the amount of fuel that had built up in these mountains was immense.\u00a0 Thousands of tons of fuel standing by and ready to feed the next hungry beast that some idiot let loose upon the world.\u00a0\u00a0 It was always something dumb, like a scorned lover burning an old love note to purge their own guilt or an ignorant truck driver flicking his discarded cigarette butt out the window, too worried about his mileage to concern himself with the ticking time bomb which he only considered a blurred background as he sped away.\u00a0 The forest was nothing but a back drop to many, disregarded and forgotten.\u00a0 But to Josh, this was about the future.\u00a0 This about the next fire that could not be stopped.\u00a0 This was always about the next jump, the next hell on earth to wrest under control, the next opportunity to refute an idiot’s self centered choices.\u00a0 This was the chance to show the world that the Hotshots had shit under control.<\/p>\n
Josh was one of the best.\u00a0 He was a firefighter first and all things second.\u00a0 He could outperform his Marine buddies in every single feat of strength and ability.\u00a0 He often put his gym cohorts into silent awe as he power-lifted himself up to full extension on a one-armed pull-up to a full kip on to a handstand on the bar, then back down, only to do it again on other side.\u00a0 Then again, with a plate chained around his waist.\u00a0 Josh was a beast in his own right.\u00a0 And no goddamn fire had what it took to push Josh back.\u00a0 No flame was too hot, no front was too fast moving, no tornado of flame would deter Josh from running in front of his hotshot team with an axe over one shoulder, a gear bag and two tanks of O2 bouncing off the other.\u00a0 He would dig the trenches, light the breaks, and put another fire down like the out of control wild animal that it was.<\/p>\n
“Bossman, Ops just called in a tanker due west of us.” Charlie called from the back of the line.\u00a0 His helmet was askew while pressed his radio tightly to his ear.<\/p>\n
“Got it.\u00a0 We stick to the plan.\u00a0 We have to dig in from here to the bluff behind us,” Josh called to his team. “We are creating a bigger box.”<\/p>\n
Mikey, Charlie, Bob D, Bob O, and Shawn all gathered around Josh as he unfolded the GS data topology map from his gear bag.\u00a0 The air was acrid and thick in places, the breeze was just strong enough to encourage the fire, but not enough to do anything with the smoke that hung like a blanket.\u00a0 The sun barely peeked through the upper levels of debris and smoke, leaving a broken orange disc hanging intermittently in the sky above.<\/p>\n
“We cut here,” Josh put a finger on the rise off to the west. “If we setup a break from the bluff to the road, we can move over to Nick’s team on this side.”<\/p>\n
Mikey pointed towards to road over his shoulder. “Why are we starting in two teams?\u00a0 Shouldn’t we all work back from the bluff?”<\/p>\n
“We could. But either way, its the same line.” Josh shrugged. “Everyone good?”<\/p>\n
“Uh, Boss?\u00a0 What about the weather report?” Bob O asked.<\/p>\n
“Intermittent winds south by southeast, top speed in the low teens.\u00a0 Shouldn’t be a problem.”<\/p>\n
“Rain today?” Bob O followed up.<\/p>\n
Shawn spoke up with a grin, “In your fucking dreams, dude.”<\/p>\n
Bob D clapped Bob O on the shoulder. “Look up, Bob-o, at least we will be dry.”<\/p>\n
“Yeah, but that means this fire is not going to stop tonight.” Bob O said sourly.<\/p>\n
“It’s our job… you should look on the bright side,” Josh said.<\/p>\n
“And what’s that?”\u00a0 Bob O raised his eyebrow.<\/p>\n
“I have no damn idea.”<\/p>\n
Shawn guffawed, but Mikey didn’t move as everyone else started to pick up their gear.<\/p>\n
“What’s wrong, Mike?” Josh asked.<\/p>\n
“I just got a bad feeling about this plan.\u00a0 I don’t know why.”<\/p>\n
“We will be ok Mikey,” Josh laid his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “Fire is clicks east of us, the front is moving slow.\u00a0 We have all the time in the world.”<\/p>\n
“If you say so.” Mikey shook his head. “Sorry.”<\/p>\n
“No worries, it’s only your second assignment. You will get used to it.”<\/p>\n
“Boss?” Charlie yelled back.<\/p>\n
“Yo!”<\/p>\n
“Pick up your radio!”<\/p>\n
Josh pulled the radio from his belt and clicked the power on.\u00a0 His battery always seemed to short out or drain too fast for his liking, so he tended to leave it off and let his team monitor comms.<\/p>\n
“… or 3 from the east.\u00a0 Team four, come back. Over.” The static filled voice crawled from the speaker.<\/p>\n
“This is team four, over.” Josh replied.<\/p>\n
“Josh, be advised, new weather report issued.\u00a0 Winds increasing south by southeast, be advised.\u00a0 Team 3 is being moved back to new lines, 3 by 6 at elevation 4,552. Over.”<\/p>\n
“Understood, 3 by 6 at 4552. Over.”<\/p>\n
“What’s up?” Mikey walked over with his gear strapped on tight.<\/p>\n
“Small wind change. We will be meeting Nick at a different spot. Nothing major. Let’s go.”<\/p>\n
The team spread out in a line, picking their way through the brush towards the bluff.\u00a0 The ground was uneven, since parts of this area had been logged years ago.\u00a0 The old stumps had been pulled and cleared, but the big machinery had left ruts in the hilly landscape that had let erosion do its fair part in changing the landscape.\u00a0 Honestly, it was probably a few rainstorms short of a landslide if the remaining trees died out among the steep ridges that made up the landscape around them.\u00a0 As they walked towards the bluff, the marked the line, using their drip torch to dispense small amounts of lit firestarter along the way.\u00a0 The little drops of flame landed among the dry tinder and started to crackle and pop.\u00a0 The all knew the line of chain they needed to follow, and started to dig and cut as they worked towards the bluff, working like a well oiled machine.\u00a0 There was small talk in between the grunting and sniffing of the ardous work, and the made short work of clearing the brush back and pulling the mineral soil up to stop any ground crawling fire.<\/p>\n
The bluff was not an imposing thing.\u00a0 The fire was following the natural valley curve of the land it was moving along, and the bluff happened to form one wall along its path.\u00a0 The bluff was only a few dozen feet high of sloping exposed rock, with a rockfall underneath it, spreading a gravel of scree and small boulders across its base.\u00a0 It did not take the team long to reach it.\u00a0 They all sat, ate their lunch, and watched the smoke thicken as the fire climbed its way up the trees in the distance.<\/p>\n
“I think its running hotter.” Bob D said offhandedly.\u00a0 Bob D was the oldest of the crew and by far the most experienced.\u00a0 He could predict some shifts of a fire that had left Josh scratching his head on how the guy could tell.<\/p>\n
Mikey craned his neck upwards and tried to see the crown of fire on the trees in the distance. “How can you tell?\u00a0 I can’t see shit.”<\/p>\n
“See the smoke up high?\u00a0 See how it is curling faster?”\u00a0 Bob D replied.<\/p>\n
“Yeah.\u00a0 I guess?” Mikey said.<\/p>\n
“That means shit is hot.”<\/p>\n
“Let’s go find Nick’s team.\u00a0 They should be over that ridge,” Josh said.<\/p>\n
“That’s going to be a fun walk.”<\/p>\n
“You are a complaint a minute, Mikey.” Charlie laughed.<\/p>\n
They started walking towards the ridge, circling over the high ground near the taller older trees.\u00a0 They were getting closer to the fire, and the sound of it was reaching them through the smoke.\u00a0 As they walked, the sun climbed far over head, but it they could only tell because the light shifted.\u00a0 The sky was nothing but a brown orange glaze above them.\u00a0 They walked for over an hour before Josh realized something was not right.<\/p>\n
Josh pulled out his radio. “Base, this is team four.\u00a0 Can you confirm team three’s position, over.”<\/p>\n
“Team four, yeah, just a second,” a pause filled with a few pops as Josh watched the smoke move fast above them. “Yeah, team four, be advised team three is at 6 by 3 at 4,552. Their line is done, they are waiting for rendezvous. Over.”<\/p>\n
“Base.\u00a0 I was advised earlier that team three was moving to 3 by 6.\u00a0 Can you confirm? Over.” Josh said.<\/p>\n
“Negatory.\u00a0 Team three is at 6 by 3.\u00a0 Repeat, 6 by 3.\u00a0 Over.”<\/p>\n
“Fuck!” Josh yelled.\u00a0 His team all turned their heads and looked at their commander. “We have been walking in the goddamned wrong direction.\u00a0 Nick’s team is that way!”<\/p>\n
Josh pulled his radio close to his mouth. “Base, we were advised incorrectly.\u00a0 Tell team four that we will not make rendezvous. Over.”<\/p>\n
“Confirmed. Do you know your location? Over?”<\/p>\n
Josh dropped his bag and pulled his topo map out, throwing it over the top using it as a lumpy, misshapen table. He ran his finger along their line, and followed the grid numbers accordingly.\u00a0 They were in the right spot.\u00a0 Or they would have been if the fucking dispatch did their job right. “Base, we are roughly at 3 by 6, moving back. Over.”<\/p>\n
“Acknowledge, team three. Be advised winds have increased. Please evac as soon as possible. Front is at Irontooth. Over.”\u00a0 The radio went silent as the tree tops nearby whistled with a gust of wind.<\/p>\n
“Ok, guys.\u00a0 We need to head back.” Josh pointed back at the trees. “Sounds like the fire is closer than we thought.”<\/p>\n
“How close?” Mikey called.<\/p>\n
“Irontooth Ridge is the next one over.” Charlie groused.<\/p>\n
“That’s close.”\u00a0 Mikey swallowed.<\/p>\n
“Winds changing, boss.” Bob D said.<\/p>\n
“Huh?”<\/p>\n
“Yeah, smoke top that way just turned west.” Bob D pointed.<\/p>\n
“That means…” Mike shrugged, lifting his axe up awkwardly.<\/p>\n
“That means that if we don’t hustle, our way out is cut off, genius.\u00a0 The bluff that we walked around will be in front of us. I, for one, do not feel like climbing down that ugly mess.” Charlie said.<\/p>\n
“Keep it civil, Charlie.” Josh said, knowing that when Charlie stressed, he morphed into a bit of an asshole. Josh traced his finger along the map, trying to figure out better ways to get out of the area, but the valley conspired against him.\u00a0 They could attempt to climb out, but Charlie was right, it would be a risk. They could double time it back, but they had been trenching all day, so they would be tired and clumsy.\u00a0 It would be a hard slog back over the rough terrain they had already crossed. He made up his mind suddenly, folding up the map and shoving it back into his bag. “We go back the way we came.”<\/p>\n
Bob D furrowed his brow. “It will be close.\u00a0 The wind pushing the fire this way and all.”<\/p>\n
“I know, but the bluff is a cliff pretty much, and we climbed it the long way.\u00a0 I don’t want to try climbing down it the short way.” Josh said.<\/p>\n
“Fair enough.”<\/p>\n
They walked as fast as they were able, the radio squawking occasionally to request their position.\u00a0 The ground was treacherous though, with rocks sticking out in odd locations, and branches and roots making the footing uneven as they went.\u00a0 With a heavy gear bag, axes and chainsaws in hand, it made the going slow.\u00a0 The sound of the fire was increasing all the time as the crew walked towards it and it growlingly crawled closer, feeding on the tightly clumped dry trees. In a short span of time, the glow of the fire could be seen up front and closely, and they team tried to hustle all the more. The realization was not a thunderclap, but a slowly crawling one that slowly over took Josh’s mind.<\/p>\n
“We are not going to make the bottom.” Josh said out loud, the winds were getting stronger, making the tops of the evergreens on all sides whisper loudly as their tops shook.<\/p>\n
“That gust had to be over thirty.” Bob D said.<\/p>\n
“Fire is close, boss.” Bob O wiped at his brow with an ugly handkerchief.<\/p>\n
“We can go back.” Mikey said.<\/p>\n
“And get stuck on top?” Charlie frowned.<\/p>\n
“We have our shelters.\u00a0 Better to be out of the trees.” Mikey said.<\/p>\n
“We are almost out.\u00a0 We can drop our shelters at the base.” Bob O said.<\/p>\n
“This is only halfway.\u00a0 We aren’t going to make it.\u00a0 We are already in the dead man zone.”\u00a0 Josh frowned.<\/p>\n
“What’s the plan?” Shawn asked.<\/p>\n
“We are going to have to shelter. Let’s get out of the trees and radio in.” Josh said.<\/p>\n
“Want me to call it in?” Charlie asked.<\/p>\n
Josh shook his head and left it at that.\u00a0 They all turned as another gust of wind pushed at their backs and made the fire behind them roar loudly.\u00a0 It was moving faster than it should have been. Far faster.<\/p>\n
They started moving as fast as they could to match, but they struggled.\u00a0 Mikey let out a loud shout from behind, and the team turned to look.\u00a0 Mikey was on the ground holding his ankle tightly.<\/p>\n
“What’s wrong Mikey?” Josh called.<\/p>\n
“I stepped in a damn hole. Twisted my ankle.” Mikey cursed. “Actually I think I broke it.”<\/p>\n
Charlie reached under Mikey’s armpit and pulled him up. “Put some weight on it.”<\/p>\n
Mikey tentatively stretched his foot out and pushed down, screaming almost immediately. “Oh yeah, my ankle is fucked.”<\/p>\n
“Shit.\u00a0 You guys head on.\u00a0 I will help him up.” Josh said, putting his arm under Mikey.<\/p>\n
“You sure, boss?”\u00a0 Bob D asked.<\/p>\n
“Yeah, get safe,” Josh said as Mikey winced again. “Go on, radio our position Charlie.”<\/p>\n
The guys moved on tentatively at first, all the while glancing at the red glow behind them, as Josh tried to pull Mikey along and show some semblance of keeping up. Behind the fire was roaring loudly, as ash and flecks of red amber sprites started to float around them.\u00a0 The smoke was oppressive as an angry diatribe.<\/p>\n
“Christ, Josh.\u00a0 We aren’t going to make it any farther. I am sorry.” Mikey whimpered.<\/p>\n
“Don’t apologize, Mikey.\u00a0 This shit is nothing.”<\/p>\n
“Really?”<\/p>\n
“Really.\u00a0 I had this jump a couple years back, the Walcott Canyon fire.”<\/p>\n
“I heard about that.\u00a0 It was in Colorado.”<\/p>\n
“Yeah, three of us died.\u00a0 I was supposed to be number four, I suppose.\u00a0 But I got out,” Josh said stoically. “We will get out too.”<\/p>\n
“What did you do?”<\/p>\n
“Found some good cover, holed up, and prayed.\u00a0 Same thing we are going to do when it comes to it.”<\/p>\n
The heat was catching up to their backs, and the sprites became wind bound twists of flame ready to touch the next tree.\u00a0 The roar of it was animistic, a beast calling out loudly to the world around it to beware its coming.\u00a0 Josh could feel the hunter after him again.\u00a0 It was palpable in its ferocity.<\/p>\n
“Here, here.\u00a0 Sit down.\u00a0 I will pull the shelters,” Josh said, setting Mikey down gently. The outcrop had little to no brush, and the tallest trees would still be many feet away if any fell.\u00a0 The grass would go up, but they could weather that.\u00a0 It was the heat that they had to survive. And the lack of oxygen.\u00a0 And the fumes.\u00a0 And the complete lack of running water nearby.\u00a0 If Josh could throw Mikey in a river, he would.\u00a0 Being cold and wet is better than being hot and dead. Josh grinned.<\/p>\n
He pulled the shelters out and quickly assembled the simple structures.\u00a0 They resembled a human size burrito cut in half, a shiny ellipsoid of reflective material designed to reflect heat, light, and trap good air.\u00a0 Josh grabbed trenching tool and got to work, digging down into the soil. The length and width of each bag, clearing as much as he could quickly.\u00a0 The fire was raging, its light all consuming around them making them squint heavily.\u00a0 Mikey climbed into his first, his filter and equipment between his legs.<\/p>\n
“Good luck, Josh.” Mikey said as he put his face downwards and hugged the pad against his chest.<\/p>\n
Josh closed the shelter. “Luck is not a factor, just stay calm and you will be ok.”<\/p>\n
The fire was everywhere. Above the tree tops crackled as the needles turned into bright orange flame and pine cones popped loudly.\u00a0 The trees around them were catching readily.\u00a0 Josh tossed his own shelter down hastily and climbed in, holding his face against the pad underneath.\u00a0 The ground still felt cool from the digging, he hoped it would help. The fire could pass in moments, or minutes, or longer.\u00a0 Every minute counted inside a shelter.\u00a0 The longer they were in heat, the quicker they broke down.\u00a0 Anything above 500 degrees would be really bad if it was sustained.\u00a0 Eventually, the layers of the shelter would fail to save the tender human inside.<\/p>\n
Josh closed his eyes and listened as the fire overtook their position. It was a furious crescendo of noise, the fuel being consumed while the trees shook and shriveled under an assault that they had no chance to escape from. It may have been minutes, or it may have been only seconds, but time was not the same while in the firestorm.<\/p>\n
“Child of strength and honor…” The voice in his ears was of hunger and rage twisted upon itself. “Come out and witness me in all of my glory.”<\/p>\n
Josh shook his head, trying to clear his ears.\u00a0 Hearing the voice again made him want to vomit.<\/p>\n
“I am resplendent in all my fantastic power, draped in the sacrifices of this forest.\u00a0 Come look upon me and weep.”\u00a0 The voice called outside Josh’s shelter.\u00a0 He kept his face down, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.<\/p>\n
The edge of his shelter lifted up suddenly, and Josh pushed his leg down hard, trying to keep the shelter grounded. The casing ripped and tore, the top of it pulled away suddenly and Josh’s back immediately was assaulted by a massive amount of heat.\u00a0 He turned his head to the side and saw it.<\/p>\n
The dragon was wreathed in flame, its dark skin glowing brightly at the edges of every scale, as smoke poured from its nostrils.\u00a0 Its eyes were like the sun, and the crown of its head, two golden horns fluttered in the wind, made entirely of flame, nuclear and awesome.\u00a0 It was as if Josh was beholding the moment of the birth of a sun, or the eruption of a mighty volcano, or a comet striking a planet.\u00a0 His eyes, going wide, tears streaking down his ash covered face, his skin turning red from the convective heat assaulting his entire frame, Josh understood that he was insignificant.\u00a0 This was power.<\/p>\n
“I have seen you before,” Josh said quietly, feeling the dry heat instantly take the water from his mouth, and pull the moisture from his exposed skin.<\/p>\n
“You have.”<\/p>\n
“Why did you take them from me?” Josh asked.<\/p>\n
“Why did you not save them from me?” The dragon replied, sinuously curling itself among the trees, each place its scaly plates touched, the bark erupted into flame.<\/p>\n
“I was not strong enough.” Josh admitted, his gut dropping.<\/p>\n
The dragon roared and was gone.<\/p>\n
Minutes later, as the fire finally passed, Mikey unsealed his shelter and climbed out, his ankle completely filling his boot painfully.\u00a0 He thought he had heard talking in the middle of all of it, but he was too busy praying for his immortal soul, so he figured it was hysteria. His subconscious must have been playing tricks on him.<\/p>\n
Mikey looked around for Josh’s shelter, but it was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 A black stump was sitting behind his own shelter though.\u00a0 A stump he did not remember.<\/p>\n
“Josh!” Mikey yelled, his voice cracking near the end with the strain.<\/p>\n
The stump that was not a stump sat up and turned towards him, its eyes wide and bloodshot. Black soot and debris fell away from his skin as he straightened up. Josh was naked, his hair was the color of ash.<\/p>\n
“How are you alive?” Mikey asked in wonder.<\/p>\n
Josh sat there staring at the bones of the black trees, not saying a word.\u00a0 He wept as his eyes began to glow like the sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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