and followed the GPS to the destination. Just over the hill, clouds of smoke were beginning to rise up. The wind blew fiercely, sending the fallout in our direction, toward town.
“I know it looks bad, but if we act fast, it won't have anywhere to spread,” Jake said.
“But what if it does spread? Just how many people we got out there?”
“Enough for now.”
I didn't like his answer. After what happened years before, that disastrous fire that wrecked houses and lives, they ought to have called in the National Guard. If the blaze got out of control, what were we supposed to do? We didn't have the equipment to handle this.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I whipped it out with one hand and held onto the steering wheel with the other. Don't text and drive – I knew better – but right then I didn't care.
It was a message from Anna. “You be safe too,” it said. Made me feel warm inside.
“Look at that dopey grin on his face.” Jake nudged me. “Save talking to your girlfriend for later.”
“She's not my girl.”
Chris's eyes rolled. “Sure, buddy. Even a moron knows what that look of yours means. So, who's the lady? Found somebody in town already?”
“It's just Anna Southwell. We're friends, that's all.”
The guys quieted. Had I said something wrong?
“Oh,” said Jake. “I thought she was with that...”
Chris smacked his arm. “Drop it, okay?”
Nothing more about it was said, thankfully, but the whole thing made me feel weird. Seemed like folks in Bastrop were quite the gossipy sort. There were so few people, and the neighborhoods so close and tight-knit, everyone was always in one another's business.
But there was no time for drama. I got off the highway and followed the side path into the woods. It was such a narrow road, the truck took up both lanes. I prayed nobody would come flying around the bend in the opposite direction.
In this area, the smoke blanketed the valley like thick fog. Sirens screamed in the distance. Ahead, a truck from some other town flew down the hill, its lights flashing red and white.
“They're set up a base camp outside the safe zone perimeter. Just follow that truck and we'll go right to it.”
The other guys led us to the parking lot of an old convenience store, which looked like it had been closed down and abandoned for decades. All the windows were busted out, the shelves coated in cobwebs and dirt, and the walls smothered with colorful graffiti.
About six other trucks were there. One of them was a tanker loaded with water for us to use. This far out, there weren't any hydrant hookups, so this was our only choice.
The scene was a flurry of activity. Guys ran around grabbing supplies and then rushing off to attack the blaze from whatever angle they could. Chris handed me an extinguisher and a backpack tank.
“Go get that thing filled up with water. Then we'll take ATVs out to where they need us most.”
We got our tanks loaded, then met with the guy in charge of this operation, Buck. The dude had more muscles than me and looked as if he'd been a pro wrestler in a past life.
Buck had a map of the area pulled up on his laptop. He waved for us to come see.
“There y'all are. We sure could use the extra help.” He gave a grim smile. “My boys got the north quadrant covered, but the wind's blowing east now. Slowly but surely, the flames are spreading that way.”
East was toward Bastrop. Toward Anna, Trey, and Rachael. I refused to let anything happen to them.
The three of us followed his directions, hoping to cut the fire's path off before it advanced beyond what we could handle. Already, the blaze had charred a line of bushes, fallen branches, and other plants. Luckily, the area around here was pretty rocky, so it didn't have a lot of places to go otherwise.
“We got this, boys,” Chris yelled over the wind. “Split up. I'll take center, Jake will do west. You're on east.”
A few other firefighters joined us. We set to work hosing down the
“I know it looks bad, but if we act fast, it won't have anywhere to spread,” Jake said.
“But what if it does spread? Just how many people we got out there?”
“Enough for now.”
I didn't like his answer. After what happened years before, that disastrous fire that wrecked houses and lives, they ought to have called in the National Guard. If the blaze got out of control, what were we supposed to do? We didn't have the equipment to handle this.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I whipped it out with one hand and held onto the steering wheel with the other. Don't text and drive – I knew better – but right then I didn't care.
It was a message from Anna. “You be safe too,” it said. Made me feel warm inside.
“Look at that dopey grin on his face.” Jake nudged me. “Save talking to your girlfriend for later.”
“She's not my girl.”
Chris's eyes rolled. “Sure, buddy. Even a moron knows what that look of yours means. So, who's the lady? Found somebody in town already?”
“It's just Anna Southwell. We're friends, that's all.”
The guys quieted. Had I said something wrong?
“Oh,” said Jake. “I thought she was with that...”
Chris smacked his arm. “Drop it, okay?”
Nothing more about it was said, thankfully, but the whole thing made me feel weird. Seemed like folks in Bastrop were quite the gossipy sort. There were so few people, and the neighborhoods so close and tight-knit, everyone was always in one another's business.
But there was no time for drama. I got off the highway and followed the side path into the woods. It was such a narrow road, the truck took up both lanes. I prayed nobody would come flying around the bend in the opposite direction.
In this area, the smoke blanketed the valley like thick fog. Sirens screamed in the distance. Ahead, a truck from some other town flew down the hill, its lights flashing red and white.
“They're set up a base camp outside the safe zone perimeter. Just follow that truck and we'll go right to it.”
The other guys led us to the parking lot of an old convenience store, which looked like it had been closed down and abandoned for decades. All the windows were busted out, the shelves coated in cobwebs and dirt, and the walls smothered with colorful graffiti.
About six other trucks were there. One of them was a tanker loaded with water for us to use. This far out, there weren't any hydrant hookups, so this was our only choice.
The scene was a flurry of activity. Guys ran around grabbing supplies and then rushing off to attack the blaze from whatever angle they could. Chris handed me an extinguisher and a backpack tank.
“Go get that thing filled up with water. Then we'll take ATVs out to where they need us most.”
We got our tanks loaded, then met with the guy in charge of this operation, Buck. The dude had more muscles than me and looked as if he'd been a pro wrestler in a past life.
Buck had a map of the area pulled up on his laptop. He waved for us to come see.
“There y'all are. We sure could use the extra help.” He gave a grim smile. “My boys got the north quadrant covered, but the wind's blowing east now. Slowly but surely, the flames are spreading that way.”
East was toward Bastrop. Toward Anna, Trey, and Rachael. I refused to let anything happen to them.
The three of us followed his directions, hoping to cut the fire's path off before it advanced beyond what we could handle. Already, the blaze had charred a line of bushes, fallen branches, and other plants. Luckily, the area around here was pretty rocky, so it didn't have a lot of places to go otherwise.
“We got this, boys,” Chris yelled over the wind. “Split up. I'll take center, Jake will do west. You're on east.”
A few other firefighters joined us. We set to work hosing down the
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