strange joy. Every member of the Damp Ground Clan who had not been able to join in fighting the fire-the females with kittens, the elders, the crippled, — now waited in the bed of the truck.
As the two-legs approached-Shadowed Sunlight and the larger boy carrying Windswept, the tall girl holding the battered Dirt Grubber cradled in her arms-every single one of those gathered clan members held out their arms, offering without words to hold and succor the wounded, mutely expressing that they trusted the two-legs would carry them away to safety.
Knowing from experience how soothing treecats could be, Stephanie accepted the invitation that the injured two ride in the back of the air-truck. She climbed in first, directing Chet and Karl to place Jessica’s head in her lap. The treecats-among whom were doubtless relatives of the ’cat Jessica had rescued-took charge of their clanmate. As the males spilled in to join the females, young, and infirm, the back of the truck became quite crowded.
“Where are we going from here?” Chet asked as he headed for the pilot’s seat of the truck. “I mean, the treecats seem to have accepted our offer of a ride, but where do we take them?”
“Out of here first,” Karl said practically, from his own vehicle. “The main body of the fire is spreading from the southeast. So we head west. Steph, you let me know if the treecats get agitated or something, okay?”
“Okay,” Stephanie said somewhat absently.
Toby had brought her the enhanced first-aid kit from Karl’s car before going to join him. Christine was riding with Chet. Now, Stephanie focused on trying to figure out what was wrong with Jessica. The other girl was breathing raggedly, doubtless because in opening her suit to hold the treecat she had inhaled a lot of smoke. She was also soaked, so she might have breathed in water as well.
Stephanie placed her hand against Jessica’s bare skin and was shocked to feel how cold it was.
“Okay,” she muttered. “Hypothermia. Being surrounded by treecats should warm her up…Let me see what I can do for her breathing.”
The med-kit contained a compact oxygen mask-Richard Harrington’s addition after the rescue of Right-Striped and Left-Striped. He’d insisted that if Stephanie and Karl were going to be out in fire territory, they needed to be prepared for the worst.
“You might not need it,” he’d said when Stephanie had protested that she and Karl weren’t such zips as to forget to use their respirators. “But someone else might not be that lucky.”
Stephanie fitted the mask into place and set the pressure low, watching carefully to see if Jessica started coughing. That would indicate water in the lungs. However, after a few breaths, Jessica seemed more relaxed. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“Take it easy,” Stephanie murmured, wondering if the thrumming of the surrounding treecats meant much the same thing. “You’re safe now. So’s the ’cat. We’re getting away from the fire as fast as we can.”
Too fast, so it seemed. Stephanie heard Lionheart “bleek” for her attention, and looked up. The treecats clustered in the back of Chet’s truck were stirring uneasily. A few were looking over the side, as if contemplating jumping.
“Slow down, Chet,” Stephanie said through her uni-link. “Seems that all treecats aren’t addicted to speed like Lionheart. I think some of your passengers are getting motion sick.”
Chet slowed down immediately. “How about elevation?”
“That doesn’t seem to bother them as much,” Stephanie said, “maybe because they live up in trees. Still, I think we’d better stay under the canopy.”
Christine’s voice cut in. “We’re not going to be able to cover much distance if we stay low and slow.”
“As long as we stay ahead of the fire,” Stephanie said, “and get out of the worst of the smoke, we’re doing good.”
She listened to the feed over her uni-link. The SFS reported that containment of the northern fire was far from achieved, but that the fire had been diverted from the Hayestown. Water drops had succeeded in downgrading the fire in some areas from crown level to surface level. A few teams were now being diverted to where the southern fire still raged in the mountains. However, the battle on either front was far from won. A call had gone out for volunteers to spell those who had been on duty since before dawn.
“What time is it?” Christine said, then answered her own question. “I can’t believe it’s only a few hours past noon. I wonder if we’ve been missed?”
“Check your uni-link,” Chet said practically. “If you don’t find a stream of messages from your mother, you haven’t.”
“No messages. I guess if anyone has missed us, they think we’ve been diverted to another area.”
Toby chuckled. “As we have been. We’re on the probationary rangers’ team. Hey, Steph and Karl, do you think we could qualify?”
Karl’s reply was very dry. “Either you’ll qualify or Steph and I are going to be out of a job. SFS isn’t a military organization, but we’ve bent the rules. I’m guessing that the only reason someone isn’t worrying about what we’re up to is they have a lot more to worry about.”
“Out of sight, out of mind,” Stephanie agreed. “Though the automatic messages you arranged to send were a good idea, Karl.”
“Thanks. How’s Jessica?”
“Coming around. She seems to be breathing easier. Since we’re out of the worst of the smoke, I’m going to work the mask off.”
“How about the treecat?” Toby asked.
“I think he’s all right. I mean, the treecats have all huddled around him, but they don’t seem anxious. I saw some patches of burnt fur, but I think Jessica grabbed him before much worse could happen.”
“That was really brave,” Christine said, admiration in her voice. “I don’t know if I could have done it. I mean, I didn’t mind getting close to the fire because the suits kept out the worst of the heat and smoke. Opening up a suit when surrounded by fire…”
Jessica obviously overheard. Even before she fluttered open her eyes she said in a very soft voice, “Brave or really dumb…”
She coughed a few times. Stephanie patted her hand, then moved it so Jessica could feel the oxygen mask.
“Don’t stress your voice. If you need more air, take a pull on this.”
“Okay. Can Valiant have some?”
“Valiant?” Stephanie realized Jessica must mean the treecat. “Sure. Take a drag and I’ll see if he wants any.”
Knowing that Lionheart would likely be with Stephanie when she went on fire duty, Richard Harrington had shown her how to adjust the flow for treecats. She did so now, glad that she hadn’t been such a blackhole as to ignore good advice just because it came from her father. Dad had also included a variety of simple drugs-painkillers and stimulants mostly-that had been proven to work on treecats.
“Lionheart,” Stephanie said holding out the mask. “You’d better show Valiant how to use this.”
Lionheart took the device promptly. One of the females-an older one, Stephanie thought-hissed, but another treecat patted her and eased her back when she would have intervened.
His wife? Stephanie thought. His mother? I can tell a kitten from an adult, but there’s so much I don’t know…
The oxygen seemed to help Valiant. Lionheart then made a quick inspection of the other ’cat’s bedraggled fur. It was burnt in places, but the skin was badly blistered only in one area-a long streak down the left shoulder and flank.
Stephanie took out some quick-heal and sprayed on a light application. In nature, burns healed best if kept clean and left to open air, but she wanted to do something for the creature’s evident pain.
“Valiant got that,” Jessica said softly, “when he pushed me into the stream. I froze for a minute too long, then I stumbled and did something to my ankle. He could have gotten away, but he stopped…”
Her voice choked with tears. “He’s going to be all right, isn’t he? I’ll just die if anything happens to him, especially because of me…”
Stephanie’s eyes widened. There was more here than just guilt or sympathy. She heard in Jessica’s voice the same pain she had felt when Lionheart had attacked the hexapuma in an effort to save her.
She looked at Lionheart, wondering if he would confirm her guess.
