‘They’ve pushed us straight into the fire. Jesus Christ,’ Euan bellowed over the whine of the engine.
They had. There was no escape. They were trapped. Men of war at their backs, a wall of woodland before them.
Euan risked a glance at Nick. He knew what those men expected. They’d hope they’d double back. Keep within the safety of the jeep. As their gazes met, it was obvious they shared the same thought. Euan nodded with a single jerk and Nick slammed on the brakes.
‘I’ll carry Kira, you get the gear,’ Euan said as he opened his door.
‘Not happening,’ Nick yelled as he opened his own door. ‘You’ll destroy your feet with her on your back. You take the gear and rifles, I’ll get Kira.’
‘I can run!’ Kira yelled from the back seat.
It was Euan who answered. ‘They’ll be looking for your footprints, sweetheart. We gotta keep your location hidden for as long as possible.’
Between the twisted and gnarled branches of the forest, the sky was orange, a colour that screamed danger, that heralded disaster. Euan coughed, his hand at his mouth did nothing to stop the smoke. It burned his throat, his lungs. It scorched everything.
He opened the trunk to gather their gear just as Nick swung Kira’s side door open. Both Nick and Kira’s coughs were like razor blades to his heart. If he didn’t get them out of this fire, they were dead. If they weren’t fast enough to escape their enemy, they were dead. If he took the wrong direction, led them into the path of destruction. They. Were. Dead.
Euan had suffered at the hands of the men that hunted them. His feet and his face were evidence of the malice and cruelty they could inflict without trying. He only had to remember the shock of the taser to know how simple it was to keep him from protecting those he cared about.
His mind pure instinct, he secured the packs and rifles to his body, checked his Glock was loaded and waited for Nick and Kira to be at his side. Then, he turned to the trees. ‘Let’s go.’
Chapter 6
Euan
In a single, explosive moment, all hope for a safe path behind a strong leader out of this horror story had been destroyed.
The forest was alive with noise and commotion. Animals scampered under their feet. The birds squawked and took flight. The trees groaned, creaked and popped with the heat. The sun was obscured by smoke and clouds. Vibrant shades of orange, red and pink stained the sky. The sound of gunfire was lost in the distance. They disregarded it all as they fled.
Breath, heartbeats, the crunch of mulch under boots. Smoke burned their lungs. Every inhale seared and scorched. Wet fabric was wrapped around their heads, the heat from the fire at their back. They jogged, as quick as they were able, through the trees. Each step was one more that separated them from the enemy. They didn’t speak as there was no energy. They didn’t rest as there was no time. They headed east, the mountains to their right, their future path was unknown.
Euan only tripped twice before Nick took the lead, Euan’s hand on his shoulder for direction and support. Their resentment aside, they were in this together. A united front to ensure that they found safety and sanctuary for themselves and for Kira.
But despite Euan’s best efforts, the memories clouded in, swamped his senses, stole what little focus he retained.
Ash, flame, the stink of his own flesh as it burned. The taste of blood, the sensation as it dribbled down his torso. His vision black, lost. Pain, pain everywhere, but especially in his heart, where he held the guilt of knowing that he would die in that cabin and Kira and Nick would perish because of it.
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it.
‘We need to find water!’ Nick yelled over his shoulder.
Euan’s eye scanned their surroundings. Trees, boulders, rotten logs and scrub. The light was tinged orange, the air was murky with smoke. To find water in this environment was to find the proof of the existence of an afterlife.
Still, Euan nodded and gripped a strong shoulder as Nick changed their course. Fingers were buried deep into Kevlar, the guidance Nick provided unencumbered by the past. A figure of authority, it was Nick’s strength now that provided guidance when Euan could offer none.
They moved together. Kira clung and Euan stumbled. Nick was their beacon. Soon, the landscape changed, dipped. Nick followed the slope, used it as a conduit that pointed them to safety. It wasn’t long before they stumbled down the sharp edges of a ravine to follow an invisible trail cut by aeons of water into the landscape.
Each step further, the air cooled. Each length run, the smoke dissipated. Soon, they could breathe without the rasp, could suck air into their lungs without the cough. Kira’s body was tight around Nick’s back. Euan’s shoulder ached from the weight of the packs.
‘There.’
Euan’s focus followed Nick’s finger as he pointed through stunted trees and moss-covered stones. In the distance, water glinted and rippled. If Euan listened closely, he could hear the current fly.
Kira cried out with relief, and Euan was hard pressed not to omit his own grunt of gratitude. In water, there was safety, his memories would abate and the fire could not reach them. The ravine provided walls of sanctuary. In the water, there was hope.
They stumbled over the stones and the moss-covered boulders. The dirt squelched under their feet as they made their way forward. Here, the leaf litter was wet, soft. It would hinder whatever fire attempted to cross their path.
The bank was black, brown and green. The sound of the stream was a chorus made from joy. It bubbled, it rippled, it lapped and tinkled. It was not deep, but it was enough to ensure their safety.
At the edge, Euan tore off the packs and rifles, his shoulder screamed in protest.
