“Not enough.”Pain’s eyes met mine briefly, a flicker of something like apology crossing his face before his professional mask slipped back into place.“Wind’s pushing twenty to thirty miles per hour in sustained gusts.Fire’s crowning through the canopy.”
From the front seat, Inferno twisted to look back at us.I looked out the side window and all around where I could see, the sky glowed orange at the top of the tree line.“We’ve got minutes.And precious few.Then these pines will go up like matchsticks.”
“Can we outrun it?”I asked, my voice sounding strangely small and far away.
Inferno shook his head.“Not on these roads.Not with the wind direction.”He turned back to scan the path ahead through the windshield.“If I had to guess, we’re already surrounded on at least two sides.Getting out is not going to happen on any usual route.”
The certainty in his voice chilled me more than any shouting could have.This man knew fire, had fought it, respected it.And he was uneasy.
A violent gust rocked the Bronco, so strong it nearly pushed us off the narrow logging road.Through the windshield, I watched the trees bend and sway like dancers performing for a cruel god.
“Look out!”Inferno shouted.
A massive pine seemed to come down in slow motion.There wasn’t a snowball’s chance of making it under that tree.Noose slammed on the brakes.I flew forward, Oktober’s arms not quite fast enough to hold me.My forehead cracked against the back of the passenger seat.Stars burst behind my eyes as we skidded to a halt, the Bronco’s front bumper mere inches from the fallen trunk.
“Everyone OK?”Pain called, already reaching for me, tilting my chin up to look into my eyes.
“I’m fine,” I managed, though my head throbbed with each heartbeat.
Oktober pulled me into his arms, wrapping himself around me.“She’s bleeding.”
I touched my forehead where it stung, my fingers coming away red.Before I could process this, the Bronco’s engine revved as Noose shifted into reverse.
“Hold on,” Noose warned, his voice sharp with urgency.
The tires spun, finding purchase for a moment before the vehicle jerked backward.We’d moved perhaps ten feet when a sickening crack split the air.Through the rear window, I watched another tree, this one wrapped in flames, crash across the road behind us.
“Verdammte Hölle!”Oktober’s curse was nearly lost beneath Noose’s more creative string of profanity as he slammed on the brakes again.We’d all braced for it this time but even that preparation couldn’t help the current situation.
The Bronco rocked forward, then back as Noose tried to navigate between the big trees, the engine whining in protest.“Fuck!There’s not enough room.We’re boxed in!”
Inferno turned to Oktober.“We need to move.Now.”
“You heard the man,” Oktober said, already pulling me toward the tailgate.
Pain grabbed a small backpack from beneath the seat and slung on.Noose and Inferno were already out the front doors, scanning the forest for any path not yet consumed by fire.
The heat hit me like a physical force when Oktober yanked open the back door.My lungs seized around a breath that seemed to sear my insides.It was hot inside the Bronco, but the reality of the unshielded wind made me cry out.Smoke rolled in, thick and choking.Oktober pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth, helping me do the same with my own.He took a bottle of water and poured it over my nose to wet the material before doing the same with his own.
“Keep your head down!”he shouted, helping me scramble from the Bronco.
All around us, the trees swayed as embers floated above our heads.The timber directly above us hadn’t ignited yet, but I didn’t expect things to stay that way long.The wind had become a living thing, hungry and furious, pushing the flames toward us from multiple directions.Already the air was almost unbearably hot making it uncomfortable to breathe.
Oktober grabbed my hand, pulling me close enough that I could feel his breath on my face.“The waterfall,” he said, his blue eyes intense in his smoke-smudged face.“Remember?It’s less than half a mile east.If we can reach it --”
“Water’s our best chance,” Inferno agreed, appearing at Oktober’s shoulder.“The water might not save us, but maybe we’ll have a fighting chance.”
Oktober’s fingers interlaced with mine, his grip strong and sure.“Don’t let go,Kätzchen.No matter what.”
We ran.There was no path, no clear direction except the one Oktober set.Branches whipped at my face and arms leaving shallow scratches and catching in my hair.The smoke thickened with each yard we covered, until the world narrowed to Oktober’s hand in mine and the vague shapes of trees materializing and vanishing in the haze.
My lungs burned.Each breath brought less oxygen and more pain.My legs trembled with exhaustion and fear.Behind us, the roar of the approaching firestorm grew louder, drowning out everything but the thunder of my pulse in my ears.
“Keep going!”Oktober shouted, though I could barely hear him over the fire’s voice.“Almost there!”
I stumbled, my foot catching on an exposed root.Oktober’s grip tightened, yanking me upright before I could fall.The momentary halt in our flight gave me a chance to look back.
The forest behind us had become an inferno, trees transformed into towering torches as the wind gusted through like a hurricane.Heat pressed against my back like a living thing.In that moment, I understood with terrible clarity we were running for our lives, and the margin between survival and death had narrowed to the distance we could cover before the fire caught us.
