“Asher! Calvin! You’re with me!” I yell.“We’re going in!”
No hesitation. They fall into step behind me as we push deeper into the smoke.
Visibility drops to feet, mere feet. The smoke is thick enough to chew. My lungs burn with every breath.
We call out, we sweep the area, and finally, a voice. Weak. Coughing.
We race toward it and find them, older man and woman huddled together, terrified, smoke-blackened.
“We’ve got you,” I say, steady, even though my pulse is a jackhammer.
We haul them to their feet, supporting their weight, guiding them out…
But then the wind shifts.
And the fire moves.
Fast.
Too fast.
“Asher, move!” I shout.
He shoves the woman into Calvin’s arms.“Go! I’ve got him!”
We sprint, dragging the couple with us, but the fire races through the canopy faster than any of us expect…
CRACK.
A sound like thunder splitting the mountain open.
I whip my head just as a burning tree, massive, leans, creaking, groaning.
“No, no, Asher, move!” I scream.
He tries. God, he tries.
But gravity is faster.
The tree collapses with a roar.
I shove the older man forward and sprint toward Asher, reaching out, lungs burning.
Then the world explodes in fire and noise as the tree slams down on both of us.
Pain detonates across my side, my shoulder, my ribs. The ground knocks the breath out of me.
My helmet cracks against a rock. Heat sears my skin through the gear.
I hear the radios screaming, voices calling our names, panic ripping through the frequency.
“Asher!” I rasp, but smoke pours into my throat, choking the words.
He’s not moving.
He’s pinned under the bigger part of the trunk.
A deep, primal fear claws up my spine.
