Quickly, she reversed her car, turned around, and high-tailed it back to the farm. The further they got away from the fire, the easier it was to breathe, but the tension remained with her.
The fire was too close to the farm for her liking.
The phone rang as soon as Janette and Raven walked into the farmhouse. Janette sprung to life and rushed to get it.
“Anne, yes, I’ll come in with the sandwiches.”
Raven knew damn well that’s where they should’ve gone in the first place. She knew now. She hoped Ben wasn’t going to be too upset with her. Worry kept her stomach in knots.
“No, we’ll stay here.” Janette abruptly hung up the phone and stomped back down to the kitchen.
“I’m putting the kettle on.”
It was Janette’s solution to everything. Raven wanted to know what made her so upset when she felt the buzz of her cell. She took it out of her pocket. There was a message from Ben, her heart quickened, thumping hard in her chest as she read the message. Her hands shook.
This can’t be happening.
Raven read the message again.
Ben:Fires out of control, it’s coming your way. Get Mom and go into town. NOW.
“We’re going into town.” Raven looked at Janette.
“No, I’m staying here. I’m going to fight. I’m not going to let a bloody fire destroy all the hard work my husband did before he died…” Her words choked in tears.
“Leaving won’t destroy that. Your life is more important.” Raven suspected that might’ve been what the call was about. They were told to leave. She took a deep breath, trying to find the words quickly to motivate her to get in the car. She’d seen the flames and knew that there was no way she had the means to fight back.
“This is what Ben wants, and you know he’s fine. Don’t make him worry.” She typed back a message to Ben.
Raven:Leaving now.
Janette took a deep breath.
Raven cut her off. “You saw how bad it was out there just now. We have a car full of food, and I can only guess that there are people who’ll need your help in town. Get in the car now.” Raven put her hands on her hips.
Janette paused, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath.
Raven’s mind raced and wondered how things would go if she went up to Jeanette and grabbed her arm and tried to drag her back to the car. She was beginning to get worried, Janette was going to be bloody stubborn.
“I’ll grab Rex.”
Raven breathed, her pulse racing. “Hurry.”
She stepped outside, fighting the urge to go back inside to grab her things. What was going to happen to the alpacas? And Evie? Her own eyes began to water with emotion.
She coughed from the smoke in the air as she rushed with Janette to the car. She held on to Rex, who by some miracle was calm.
Snipper ran up to them, and Raven opened the back seat for him to jump in. She’d put all the alpacas in there too if they would fit, and if they had time. It felt like they had no time. She glanced up the road where they had driven before. Not only could she see the smoke but also the flames. There was only one way out of the farm in her city car.
“Quickly.” She opened the door, glad that Janette could get in on her own even though she was holding the cat. She figured things might go south with the cat and the dog in the car, but there was an eerie silence inside as she slammed her door.
Usually, she would drive carefully along the unsealed driveway. For the first time, she put her foot down on the accelerator, ignoring the bumps, and drove as fast as she dared. Her heart was squeezing, hoping against the odds there would be a home and alpacas for her to return to.
Monday, December 23rd
Raven barely had any sleep. She and Janette had gone into Keith, where fortunately Anne had met them, and helped to calm Janette, reassuring her that they had to leave the farm. They had spent the rest of the day helping prepare food for the people fighting the fire. All the time Raven had thought about whether or not the place she was beginning to call home had burned down or not.
At dusk, Anne said that they would come back to her place. Raven didn’t mind the option of sleeping on the couch. Life was much better than material possessions. She just hoped that the alpacas were safe and sound. Rex was making himself at home at Anne’s, and Snipper was his usual happy self, claiming the backyard as his own.
