Firestorm (9 page)

“That’s right,
Pete, I’m James Bond. Surprised you didn’t figure that out already.
So, anything else you want to know or can we get going?”

“Well, with
your credentials I would have thought that you could do this whole
rescue all by yourself.”

Brad’s face was
expressionless.

“Well then,
that would mean that you came out here for nothing, wouldn’t it,
Pete? I don’t want to take all the credit here, so how about you
helping this guy into the water?”

I could see the
smirk growing on his face and as tense as the moment was, his sense
of humor actually relieved me of some of my shivers. I moved in
closer and helped him lift Don’s limp body off of the rock and into
the water. Brad held him close and kept him afloat.

“Don, you hang
onto me, okay? I’m going to help you swim to the boat over
there.”

“I’m a good
swimmer, you know, James. I’m just a little tired right now but
I’ll try to swim as much as I can.”

“That’s great.
Okay, here we go.”

I fell back
into the water and swam out slowly, and soon the rope was tight and
I could feel the pull on the line as I led the way. The shore
seemed further away than I remembered but I kept going. Brad had
the greater task because he was practically carrying Don, but I
knew that as soon as I got to the bank I would be able to help pull
them in which would at least give him that much relief. And besides
that, Brad was not only a great swimmer but he’d had lots of water
rescue training.

I kept turning
around in the water to look back and see that they were still doing
okay, and it didn’t take as long as I’d thought it would to get to
the shore. Once I climbed out of the water I was able to pull the
rope a bit at a time and a few minutes later Brad and Don were at
the edge. We lifted Don out of the water and onto the bank where we
all collapsed for just a few seconds. Brad was really exhausted
from carrying Don through the water and he lay on the ground like a
snow angel facing the sky.

“Hey, Pete, we
made it.”

I could hear
the sarcasm in his voice and I knew that he was enjoying this
little game, and I also knew that I was probably going to keep on
hearing about it long after we got back home.

“Yes, James, we
made it.”

Don began to
move around and I opened my eyes to see what he was doing.

“Where’s the
boat? I don’t see the boat. James, where is it?”

Brad sat up and
was lost for words as he looked around and then stared at me.

“Yeah, the
boat. Where’s the boat, Pete?”

Before I could
respond, Don tapped my leg and his voice was excited.

“Pete, we made
it this time. We’re together. We both made it.”

Don really
thought I was his brother and he looked so happy. He was smiling
from ear to ear and his face was radiant with joy. What could I say
that wouldn’t ruin this moment for him? What could I say that would
keep him happy and co-operative?

“The boat? Oh
yes, the boat is uh, it’s over there. We have to go up through that
path to get to it. The water here was too shallow so we had to park
it in the deeper water over there.”

I was shaking
inside and it all felt so foolish to talk this way but Don believed
me and we needed that right now to keep him moving. He had such a
trusting look on his face that it made my insides melt with passion
towards him. He had suffered for so long over his brother’s death
and for these few minutes he was relieved of that burden, and
whether it was right or wrong of us to do it, for these few minutes
he was happy.

Meanwhile, Brad
was hanging on my every word.

“You parked the
boat, eh Pete? Have any problem finding a parking spot over there
that says, ‘Parking for boats only’?”

“Very
funny.”

“How much time
did you put on the parking meter, Pete? I don’t want a parking
ticket put on my boat.”

“Just get your
boots on, James. And don’t forget your shades because soon you’ll
be the Bradster again and I want to remember this moment.”

Don just sat
there with a very peaceful and happy look on his face, and as he
kept looking over at me he sniffed and wiped the tears from his
eyes. I felt so sorry for him.

“I really
thought you were a goner, Pete. Hurry up and get those boots on. I
want to get back on the boat.”

I stood up and
wrung the water out of as much of my shirt as I could without
taking it off, and then I did the same with my shorts. It was
actually refreshing to be wet since the air was so hot and dry.
Brad pulled his shirt off and wrung it out as he continued to crack
little jokes under his breath, and then we both sat back down and
pulled on our socks and boots. After he’d rolled the rope back into
a coil we gently lifted Don to his feet. Brad squeezed the water
out from Don’s clothes and then patted his shoulder.

“Okay, Don.
Pete and I are going to take you back to the boat now so we can get
on with our little mission and get you to safety.”

But Don
shrugged Brad’s hand off and took a couple of steps towards the
water. He gazed up into the sky and then looked back at us with a
solemn look on his face.

“Better hurry,
James. It’s Pearl Harbour over there. They just dropped another
bomb and everything’s burning.”

I stood beside
Don and gasped as I covered my mouth. I would never have guessed
that the fire could have spread that fast.

“Oh my god,
Brad, look at it! It’s so close. How could it spread that
fast?”

Brad’s face
flushed red and I knew that he was thinking the same thing I
was.

“Okay, Sarah.
Let’s grab Don and get out of here.”

“How far away
do you think it is?”

“Couple miles,
maybe. Can’t really tell from this angle, but it’s dry out here and
it won’t take long for it to spread. Let’s go.”

We each took
one of Don’s arms and led him up the rocky path to the main trail
and he was eager in his own world to move fast, so that was good
for us. We knew it would take at least thirty minutes to get back
to the others since Don had become a bit flaccid from the fear of
running from the enemy that was in his mind.

Suddenly the
dream began to flood my own mind and a couple of times I was so
taken up with the fear of it that I tripped on the path. I couldn’t
get the notion of smothering out of my thoughts, and now it seemed
as if that dream just might happen.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, Brad,
just a little nervous, that’s all.”

“Yeah, me too.
We just need to get to the bridge so that we can beat it back to
the house and get away from this.”

Just then Don
tripped and said he wanted to take a break. He was panting and
looking quite red in the face, and we were both concerned about
him. After all he was in his early seventies and the pace was a bit
much for a man his age. Brad helped him to sit on a tree stump to
rest.

“Hey, you don’t
go and have a heart attack or something on us now, okay man?”

Don looked up
at Brad and shook his head.

“I’m just
tired. I want to get out of here but the legs won’t move fast
enough.”

After a minute
or so, Brad became very fidgety and said we should continue on, so
we both grabbed Don’s arms again and headed back onto the path. It
was a bumpy trek with an uneven trail, stones of every size and
lots of hidden potholes. And while that had become a significant
challenge, so did the fear of smothering that was constantly
flickering in my head.

We had to stop
two other times before we got to the plateau which was just before
the spot where we left the others. But when we got there, Don
turned around in a panic and began to shout.

“They’re
coming. I can feel it. We can’t stop them now. They’ll keep
dropping bombs until they’ve got us all.”

Don’s face was
distorted with fear and his eyes welled up with tears. He held onto
my arm with both of his hands and I could feel him shaking. I
wasn’t sure what to do. He was living in a real world to him that
he’d once experienced and that had ended badly, and I wasn’t sure
how to deal with him besides feel sorry for him.

The air was so
still that I couldn’t hear a sound outside of the noises we were
making. From the place we were standing, there was no sign of a
fire and for that few seconds I was able to get my thoughts
together and break myself from the fear that was slowly overtaking
me. My lips trembled almost as much as my hands, but I put my right
hand on Don’s shoulder to try and calm him anyway.

“Don, the fire
is way behind us and we’re heading to safety, so just….”

But before I
could finish, Don pushed my hand away and stood up to stare me
right in the eyes. His voice grew loud and aggressive.

“Where’s the
boat, Pete? The bombs are coming. Where’s the boat?”

I wasn’t sure
how to answer Don, and so I looked at his eager face and then to
Brad. After another few seconds of silence, Brad looked at the
trees around us and then turned back to Don.

“Don, Pete and
I left the boat over there a ways. We didn’t want to leave it out
here for the bombers to find it.”

Don’s face
relaxed and he sighed heavily as he nodded to Brad.

“Good thinking,
boy, ‘cause those guys are real smart, you know. Well, let’s get
going then.”

I was relieved
that Don wanted to keep going even if it was for different reasons.
We took him by the arms again and continued along the path to the
terrain where we’d left the others. But when we got there, my voice
must have been more nervous than I wanted to let on.

“Where are
they? They’re gone? Brad?”

Brad tapped my
shoulder as he spoke calmly.

“It’s okay,
Sarah, calm down. We’re okay. Remember Ali said that they might
move into the shade over there more if it got too uncomfortable to
wait here in the open? And that’s likely what they’ve done, so we
just need to head over that way and meet up with them there.”

I felt so
foolish. Ever since I began to really like Brad I’ve tried to
impress him with the typical girl attributes that guys like, such
as being beautiful and smart, and not crying over everything. And
yet once again he’s looking at a girl whose hair is still wet and
tangled from the water, whose fragrance is a blend of sweat and
dirt and whose makeup is washed off. And to top it off, she can’t
even say anything intelligent without stuttering.

I wanted to be
his partner and not this useless tag-along who was more annoying
than helpful. But it was getting difficult because the fire was
real and it was threatening and getting closer, and it was making
my dream of smothering a reality that was really beginning to scare
me.

Don broke the
silence when he pointed to some sticks that were set in a pattern
on the log where he was sitting.

“What’s this? A
bunch of arrows, it looks like. What do you think, Pete?”

Brad and I
looked at the sticks at the same time and he snickered as he
spoke.

“These are
arrows that are pointing this way. I guess if we follow them we’ll
find the others.”

The broken
twigs were set out into three small arrows and I could see Meagan’s
handiwork in them.

“That’s Meg.
It’s her way of saying, ‘we’re over here’. Well, I’m ready to
go.”

Brad threw the
rope around his shoulder again as he glanced behind us.

“Me too. Let’s
go.”

We followed the
path in the direction of the arrows and to where Ali said they’d
go, and we didn’t get far before we noticed drops of blood on the
ground. Don began to complain again that he was tired and so we
stopped for a minute to let him rest on another broken tree limb.
Brad and I scouted the area for more blood drops and I found
several.

“Look, Brad.
The trail of blood leads up the path so they’ve headed to the
shaded area like they said. Gees, I hope Grandpa is okay.”

Brad turned to
the side and then back at me with one of his reassuring smiles.

“I’m sure he’s
okay, Sarah. Ali and Meg are with him so he’s in good hands, and
he’s in the shade. They’re probably just up there a short ways so
we should get going. Ready, Don?”

We trekked
along the path as quickly as we could and a few minutes later I saw
the purple from Meagan’s shirt.

“There they
are!”

We hustled over
to where they were resting on some rocks and Meagan’s eyes almost
popped out when she saw us. We crashed on the ground beside them as
she squeezed my pony tail that still dripped water down my
back.

“What happened
to you guys? You look awful.”

We took another
two-minute break to explain what we’d been through, but the whole
time I couldn’t take my eyes off of Grandpa.

“Are you okay,
Grandpa?”

He forced a
smile but his face was obviously distorted with pain as he closed
his eyes and cringed.

“Been better.
How’s Don?”

Don was sitting
on a log across from me and was staring at the sky behind us.
“He’s lost in the past, Grandpa. He thinks I’m his brother, Pete,
and that Brad is your helper you sent to rescue him.”

“Yeah, he does
that sometimes. That’s Don.”

Grandpa’s leg
was covered in blood and infection that was leaking through the
bandage. His face was white and I knew from the face expressions he
was making that he was in a lot of pain. I leaned in to Meagan and
whispered.

“Meg, Grandpa
doesn’t look well at all.”

Meagan shook
her head and sighed as she watched Grandpa.

“I know. But
what can we do? We’re doing everything we can to get him home. And
it’s not him that’s slowing us down anyway, it’s Don.”

Brad sat down
beside Ali and told him about the fire that we’d seen back at the
lake.