Wildfire Smokejumper Trilogy

Chapter 12-1

Chapter 12

It was precisely one week later when Akbar was jerked awake—shortly before dawn—by the massive thunderclap of a huge explosion.

Laura’s bedroom was briefly lit by a light as bright as a lightning bolt. No lightning had been predicted, anywhere in the state.

He’d heard a sound like it once near the end of the New Tillamook Burn. A massive explosion had flattened a large circle of trees at the northern end of the fire. No one was talking about it; “abandoned propane tank” the newspapers had reported.

Yeah, sure. A propane tank sitting out in the middle of the Tillamook State Forest. He hadn’t been able to figure out what it was. He could tell Jeannie knew, but she’d looked grim and gone tight-lipped when he’d asked.

This blast was close, loud. Moments later, a second one lit the pre-dawn sky again and rattled the windows an instant later. It was close. No time to count the seconds to estimate the strike’s distance.

He was out on the porch with Laura close beside him. Only a hand in front of her kept her from running n***d into the woods to see what happened. He waited for it, saw the underlit smoke climbing into the cloudless, pre-dawn sky above the tall trees.

There was a fire burning below the black smoke. A second tower of smoke rolled skyward to the south of the first one.

By instinct he’d grabbed his radio from the charger as they’d run out onto the porch.

“Grab our boots!” They’d left them on the porch last night. “Come on!” He wasn’t letting go of her hand or his radio until he had them out in the open. As soon as she had the boots, he sprinted over to his truck and called out on the radio.

“MHA base. Someone there? Wake up!” he shouted into the mike. Mark or TJ or someone was bound to have the radio near their bed turned on.

“MHA base,” Jeannie’s voice was blurred with sleep. Mark’s acknowledgement followed a moment later.

“I have a double-explosion at Laura’s cabin. Big ones. We have fire in the woods.” He didn’t need to give any more details.

“Roger, we’re coming!” Mark’s answer was wide awake and there was a heterodyne squeal as Jeannie’s response overlapped his. He could hear the siren already climbing in the background of the dual radio call.

He tossed the radio on the hood of his truck and dug into his ready box. Laura had been too reluctant about leaving his side in the Zigzag Canyon fire, no way would he be able to get her somewhere safe if her cabin was threatened. He glanced up at the two smoke columns against the pinking sky. The tips of the smoke cloud were arrowing right toward them. Not much breeze, but what there was of it would drive the fire right at them.

“Here,” he dug out the long cotton underwear and a tossed a spare set at Laura. “We’ve got to get some clothes on.”

Without a word, she dragged them on. In moments they were both outfitted in Nomex, hardhats, and were lacing up their boots. His beautiful lady was a calm center, his stable rock. How he had lived all these years without her, he couldn’t imagine. It was completely an extra added bonus that she looked so goddamn cute in a hardhat.

He grabbed both of her shoulders and turned her to face him. Her eyes were wide and her breathing rapid—nowhere near panic but not as focused as he’d like.

Akbar pulled her in briefly and kissed her. When he checked again, she swallowed hard, nodded once, and he could see the panic recede a few more steps. Getting to grab her butt was just one of the perks of being in love with her.

“Okay. First thing you do is go to the cabin, get your radio and set it on my frequency. After that, get your hose running and start soaking the side of the cabin toward the fire. You went with a metal roof, so don’t worry about that much. Get the logs of the cabin walls and the first ten feet of ground as wet as you can. And Laura?”

He waited until he got the verbal, “Yes?” meaning she was present and listening.

“If I tell you to run, you don’t ask, you don’t hesitate, you goddamn run. Roger that?”

She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off.

“I am so not going to lose the woman I plan to spend the rest of my life with to some goddamn arsonist over a cabin we can always rebuild together. Are we clear now?”

Laura nodded, hesitantly at first, then more emphatically as the message sank in. Then she hit him with one of her glowing smiles and he felt taller than Tim.

He turned her, aimed her at the cabin, and slapped her butt to get her moving. He took the precious few seconds to watch her find her feet and break into a sprint. Not quite how he’d ever pictured proposing to a woman, but then Laura wasn’t quite like any woman he’d ever met, so it fit.

Then he grabbed an axe, but left the chainsaw. This fire was too close to fight with a firebreak, they were going to have to fight it on the ground. He stuffed his radio into its pouch on the front of his jacket at his left shoulder. A quick double-click came out the speaker of someone keying their own radio. He looked over to see Laura emerging from the cabin holding up her own handheld.

Akbar turned and headed into the woods. His buddies were still ten minutes out, so it was too dangerous to approach the fire directly. Instead, he circled wide of the flames avoiding the road and began trotting in a wide circle through the woods toward the fire’s origin.