Flashover

Chapter 6

Ash rained down,and reality struck Sophie on her cheek. They were going to die. “I never should have told you to take the shortcut.”

But that wasn’t the real reason death was knocking.

Houston grimaced as he used a nearby sapling to rise to his unsteady feet.

A cough rattled through Sophie, and she squeezed the necklace in her palm. “I shouldn’t have told you to chase Lewis. Crispin is dead even though I longed for him not to be. And now the chances are high that we’re going to end up the same way. I tried to do the right thing and help Lewis by giving him a job, and everything went terribly wrong.”

Did God not see the good she had done?

Houston reached for her. “We’re going to make it up to the road and deploy the shelter.”

She took his hand and put some weight on her ankle. It didn’t throb. Houston’s breathing was brash and labored. She couldn’t let him carry all the burdens. “Don’t pick me up. I can run.” Or at least hobble beside him. He didn’t release his arm from around her side as they climbed the ridge.

Sophie licked her chapped lips. Her throat burned as if she’d spent all day riding in the sun without bringing her water pack.

A thunderous crash boomed in front of them. Sophie’s entire body flinched.

Houston released her and dashed away, up the rest of the incline. And stopped at the peak of the plateau. Whatever he saw made him race back to her and scoop her up.

She heaved out a breath. “W-what is it?”

Another cough rattled through her. She tucked her nose in her shirt.

When they reached the top of the hill, it was like looking into a mirror of flames. Except the water tower peaked through the smoke before them.

Fire was behind them. And now in front of them. Surrounded.

Sophie gasped. “Now what?

Houston tilted his head. “The road is just past that spruce ahead. We’re going to beat the fire there.”

All she could do was lean against her hero—the man who kept standing between her and the flames—and listen to his heart pound in his chest.

A tree branch scraped her arm and Sophie gritted her teeth.

They rounded the spruce tree, and as soon as Houston’s boots hit the gravel road, she released her arms from around his neck.

He put her down and pulled something rectangular from his pocket. With a few flips of his wrists, the silver paper-looking tent unfolded.

Sophie glared at the object she did not want to place her hope in. “Please tell me that is the first layer of hundreds.”

“Soph…”

Her chest tightened. This could not be happening. “I-I can’t get in that.”

It was teeny and didn’t look thick enough to hold rain out, let alone fire.

Houston gave the tent another shake. “We’re going to have to?—”

“You don’t understand. The earthquake.” She shook her head. “I…They…My parents? We were trapped. They died. Now Crispin’s dead and we’re going to die in that tiny thing too.”

He blinked up at her as if he understood. As if her pain and his were somehow connected.

“Trust me.” His tone low. Yet strong. “This is the last thing I want to have to live through all over again. I’ll be with you the entire time.” His voice sounded muffled over the ringing in her ears—or was that the roar of the flames closing in on them?

Sophie stared at the fire shelter in Houston’s hands. It resembled more of a piece of aluminum foil, ready to keep a pan clean. Not a lifesaving device. “How’s that’s supposed to protect us?”

“It’s saved lives before.”

She backed up until her shoulder hit a tree. “We have to keep going. We have to?—”

“We can’t, Sophie.” He slipped his hand around hers. “The fire’s encircled us.”

“How?” Was all that made it out of her mouth before another cough cut her off.

How had God let it come to this?

Houston dropped to his knees and dug his fingers into the rocky ground. “The fire must have jumped the road a way back. It probably ate up a tree, and it fell over the road just like it had in the riverbed. We have to take shelter. Now. We’re completely surrounded, and the fire is going to roll over us whether we’re ready or not.”

She pulled up the neck of her shirt and covered her mouth and nose, her head as foggy as the ashy air.

Houston’s fingernails were caked with dirt. “I should have been paying closer attention. I should have—I’m sorry, Sophie.”

She yanked on his arm. “We’ve got to keep going.”

But she didn’t move him. He kept his head down, and he whispered something to himself—or to Sophie. She couldn’t tell. Not even looking at the fire ahead that was closer than the one behind them. The road no longer separated them from anything. No, Houston wasn’t speaking, he was humming a song. One she recognized.

It Is Well.

A hymn that every time they used to sing it at church when she was young, her mother had cried. But all was not well right now. Her ankle pulsed, and she panted as she gulped for clean air. But the smoke was everywhere. Death right around the corner.

“I don’t want to die here.” She tugged harder on his arm, but the man was a rock. One trying to save both their lives.

And what was she doing?

Now isn’t the time to freak out.Even while the past knocked on the door of her heart and mind. Sophie had to keep it firmly locked away or she would get them both killed.

God, help us.

Finally, Houston stood. But instead of running, he raised the fire shelter.

“There’s no more time to run.” With a few motions, the so-called tent had grown, except it didn’t look all that bigger. Or sturdier.

Her hands ran up her neck, then her cheeks, before she buried her face in her palms. Except squeezing her eyes shut didn’t hide the memories of the confinement from the earthquake. Of also being trapped in the car accident.

Her good leg buckled beneath her, but something held her up.

Or rather, someone.

Worry lined Houston’s creased forehead. “We’re going to have to face the fire.”

Face. Not run or hide. But she was so much better at the latter.

Her fingers latched on to the rings on the necklace around her neck.

Of course he was right. “W-what do I need to do?”

“Use one of those rocks to dig a hole in the dirt. You’re going to make us a bigger air pocket.” Houston’s words came out staccato. “And tell me about the earthquake.”

Her mind flew back to the first aftershock. The one that had completely trapped her. “My parents had told me to climb out my window. But I couldn’t.”

Houston slipped his hand into hers. “Let’s kneel. I’m sure your ankle is throbbing?”

She tightened her fingers around his. “Don’t trap me in that?—”

“We’re only kneeling.”

Her body seemed to move when his did.

He let go of her hand as they both squatted onto their knees. “Now, we’re going to lie down over that hole in the dirt so we can breathe better. The smoke will go over us, and we’ll have clean air to breathe.”

The fire popped in the distance, and she pressed her stomach against the bumpy ground. The loose gravel bit into her hips. The freshly dug dirt was cool against her palms, but her cheeks were flush. “Houston…”

She sealed her mouth closed. She didn’t want to throw up.

He rested his hand on top of hers which had fisted on top of the ground. His eyes filled with a peace she didn’t feel. Then he grimaced.

She frowned. “That’s your bad side. You need?—”

“Soph.” His whisper made her stop. “This is the way of escape God has given us. I’d have chosen a different way, but He doesn’t always listen to my plans.”

“Surely there’s got to be another way?”

He panted twice. His next breath was as loud as Sophie’s fears. “The road won’t allow the fire to go underneath us. And I need to shield you because I have the heat protective clothes on.”

At his pause, her pulse beat harder, which did not help her throbbing ankle. But it did help her think. “And then the fire shelter?”

“Then the shelter, yes. I’ll be with you the entire time. And Sophie, God is always with us.”

He sounded so calm. How could he be so still when she was panicking? Yes, God would be with them, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be killed. “How will you get fresh air if you’re on top?—”

“To keep the fire shelter on, I have to slide my arms through a section and put my boots and body on the inside flaps. I have to hold it tight to the ground.”

Her empty fingers clawed at the pile of dirt from the dug hole. Didn’t they need larger air holes to survive? She wouldn’t allow him to shield her by giving up his life. He had been her protector every step of the way. Even when she didn’t know she needed him.

But God had known.

Houston moved closer and rested his head against hers. “Don’t think of it as being trapped. Think of it as surviving.”

Surviving. Not trapped.

Her parents might have survived if she’d listened to their instructions. If she’d fought harder to get out. She had to listen to Houston now.

The man God had brought here to save her life.

“Can I slide my arm through one side and you can do the opposite? I know that thing’s not big, but we both need to do this together. We used to work well together. Remember? You dissected all the frogs for me, and I wrote out our essay.”

A brief smile, and then, “We can’t this time. You’ll get burned if your arm is in the pockets instead of mine.” Houston shot up and positioned the fire shelter over her before she could abort the mission. “You’re going to have to trust, Sophie.”

Darkness slipped around her. “Houston!”

“I’m right here,” he whispered.

She leaned further against him, and he seemed to do the same. She exhaled slowly through her mouth. They were going to make it. She only had to trust in God’s ways.

And then a ripping sound obliterated her hope.

Too much light entered their once dark cocoon. How close were the flames now? Sophie glanced over her shoulder. The supposed survival tent had a tear down the middle. “I take it back! We can be trapped. We just need…”

She reached for both ends of the fire shelter. Except the two separate fire tent pieces were not going back together.

It had torn down the center. “No, no?—”

Houston’s palms rested on either side of her cheeks. “New plan.”

However, his eyes darted around, not meeting her gaze.

Her stomach clenched.

He didn’t have another plan.

Sophie threw down the broken fire shelter. “How about we keep running and pray that the fire splits like the Red Sea.”

What had Moses prayed that God told him to raise his staff so the sea would be parted?

Houston took a deep breath, then held out his hand to her. “Are you running or riding?”

She placed her hand in his, and he pulled her to her feet. “Running. I’m going to carry my own weight.”

They moved toward their one o’clock. Left foot. Right. The fire in front of them was darkened by the haze. A crackle of the fire snapped louder. Closer. But in which direction? Probably all of them.

“How long before…”

The fire caught up with them?

How long before they burned to death?

“Truth?” Houston coughed. “Pray that your Red Sea fire miracle will be sooner rather than later.”

* * *

Fire. The last way Houston ever wanted to die. Though none of the options were on today’s to-do list. If given a choice, going up like Elijah might be his preferred way to go, eventually. But without the flames on the chariot and many, many years from now.

Houston squeezed his fingers around Sophie’s side. Even with her limp, Sophie kept a steady pace.

“If we don’t make it. I’m…” She swallowed and turned her gaze on him. Soot and dirt mixed with fear streaked across her face. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done without you today.”

Lord, why did You let the fire shelter rip?

Houston opened his mouth, but a loud whooshing noise thundered over the crackle of the flames snapping at their heels. A helicopter. It had to be.

His feet stuttered. Then a half laugh, mostly cough escaped. “A miracle helicopter.”

Sophie wrapped her arm tighter around his back as if to hold him up. “A helicopter can get us out of here, right?”

Houston spun around. Tree branches formed a blanket above them. The smoke camouflaged them, and flames blocked an escape route toward any open ground.

The thumping noise escalated with the beat of his heart. “Not right here. But maybe up the road.”

And that’s when the helicopter flew overhead with a monsoon bucket.

“This may be the start of our parted Red Sea miracle. But we’ve got to get to some kind of barrier against the water.” Houston slipped his hand into hers and pulled her toward the largest tree within a few steps. Branches stretched out from its base like a protective mother hen. “The crew’s about to drop over two thousand gallons of water and fire-retardant foam. We need to get under as much shelter as possible. After the water hits, we’ll run and try to get the pilot’s attention in the open.”

“And the fire?” Sophie whispered.

Houston kept his attention on the tree ahead, not the choking smoke or the flames brightening around them. All he could offer was a nod.

They reached the pine and ducked under the low-hanging branches. “Get as close to the trunk as possible.”

She sank her elbows into the dirt and crawled forward until she put her back toward the trunk. Houston lowered onto his hands and knees. He placed his body next to hers and adjusted his ribs to lift his throbbing hip off the ground.

Sophie tucked her head closer to his chest. “How close do you think the helicopter is now?”

“Hopefully, it’s swinging back around.”

“Why is waiting so hard?”

Houston shoved a pine cone out from under his shoulder. “Before today, I thought waiting on my seminary acceptance letter had been taking forever.”

But trials had a way of revealing the truth.

She tilted her face toward him. Her palm rested on his chest. “I remember when I was in fifth grade and my gym teacher would make everyone run for five minutes at the start of each class. It used to feel like an eternity. Kind of like waiting on a lifesaving helicopter filled with water.”

Her voice quivered.

He needed to keep her talking. “Where were you in fifth grade?”

“California.” She exhaled a shaky breath. “Was there until seventh grade. Then after the earthquake and aftershock where my parents died, Crispin and I bounced around a bit. He was only five years older than me, barely legal to take custody.”

The whoosh of the helicopter had faded to the snaps of the fire. Houston closed his eyes. “I can’t imagine being eighteen and having to be responsible for another. At that age, I’d failed my own life choices and spent months in the hospital recovering from the fire. But those days were where God changed my life, so I can’t regret them.”

Where Houston promised himself that he’d use his life for God’s work.

He pulled a leaf out of Sophie’s hair. “And where did you go after Last Chance County?”

“Nevada. Idaho. Then Crispin left and never came home. Last year I was still working in Wyoming, and I got a phone call. A lawyer said I’d inherited a ranch in Montana—a state I’d never even lived in.”

She moved against him, probably from a shrug. “I thought…” Her voice hitched. “I thought it was Crispin somehow trying to take care of me despite being gone. That was until his postcards stopped. And I’d kept hoping the mail was only late.” She sniffed and then wiped her cheek with her knuckles. “You though, you stayed in Last Chance County?”

He used his thumb to wipe away her stray tear. “Why leave when I had the perfect job?”

Until it wasn’t.

Sophie ran her fingertips along the trail of his scar on his wrist. “I had the greatest job in Wyoming. Planned to stay on that ranch working with the best thoroughbreds forever. Even thought I’d found someone to marry. But Landon kept wanting to sneak in and ride one of the racehorses. I had vetoed the idea, multiple times, but apparently not firmly enough. My now ex hopped on one of the most prized horses when I wasn’t looking and took him out in the dark. The horse ended up stepping in a ditch. Broke two legs.”

Sophie sniffed. “The horse had to be put down. Then when the authorities came, Landon said I allowed him to take the ride so he wouldn’t be sued. I lost my job. I should have seen it coming, but…”

Houston had been there. Swimming in the whys.

“Soph, we’re going to get out of this.” Then he thought of the old hymn he’d first heard when he had awoken in the hospital, his body screaming from the burns. He murmured the lyrics, and Sophie laced her fingers with his.

Only the low hum of the flames was picked up in his ears over the song. Or was it the helicopter? God could have shifted the winds and changed the fire’s course, but they probably would have noticed the movement in the branches above.

He didn’t know whether he or Sophie moved closer, but their lips were only an inch away. His history with women since his burns had been disastrous. But technically, he’d met Sophie before his wounds. Would that make a difference?

As he lifted his hand to her cheek, a bang rocked through the air. Then the ground vibrated beneath them.

Sophie screamed, and Houston pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her. This was not how he thought things would go.

Just as quickly, the ground stopped rumbling.

Sophie dug her nails into his hand. “What was that?”

“It could have been the monsoon water drop. Or it could even have been that car exploding.” Which would mean the fire was growing stronger. Not weakening.

“It rumbled like an earthquake.” Her body quaked under his touch.

“Are you…”

But he didn’t get to ask if she was okay. Suddenly, water crashed into them. Anything that was fire’s enemy should have been welcome at the moment. Instead, the coolness stole his breath and sent their bodies tumbling down the sloped land. He locked his fingers around Sophie’s shirt as the water rolled her in a circle.

The swift current took them down the path they’d only just climbed up. Saplings and bushes grated against his skin as they slid by. She turned and reached for him.

Houston tugged her against him. The water wasn’t too deep. They needed to stand. Had to get steady before the water hurt Sophie’s ankle even more. He placed his heel against the slick ground, but a floating stick poked him in his injured hip.

He jerked, and his head smacked against a tree trunk, slowing his descent until his body crashed up against another tree. Stars lit up his vision. His hands cradled his temple. When he pulled his fingers back, there was no blood. But something was far worse.

His grip was empty. “Sophie!”

Only the hiss of the dying flames and the thump of the helicopter’s blades hit his ears.

He jumped to his feet and chased after the current. Down the rest of the angled terrain. The weeds were mowed over and sticks were piled against tree trunks. A rotted fallen tree had been caught up against something like driftwood. Wait. Was that the tan flipped car?

They were actually right back where they started.

Or at least Houston was. “Sophie!”

Please, God! I need her to be okay.

He spun back toward the hill they’d slid down in the impromptu water slide. Had she held tight to a sapling somewhere between the first plateau and valley?

“Houston.” Her voice was weak.

Houston glanced over his shoulder. Nothing but foggy air that seemed to distort his ability to pinpoint her direction.

He stomped through the soggy ground before him. But she wasn’t sitting or standing anywhere on the road. Wasn’t clinging to a tree behind him.

God, where was she?“Sophie!”

The flames no longer trailed his every movement. The water had cut the fire off by soaking the ground around him. But he still needed to be mindful of the smoke smoldering up like a fence.

Footsteps splashing in a puddle allowed him to breathe again. He ran toward the sound to his left. “Sophie.”

“I’m here.” She rounded a tree.

Standing with mud-caked clothes, her wet hair stuck to the side of her cheek, and soot surrounded her haggard-looking eyes. He’d never seen anything more beautiful.

She limped toward him, but he was faster, and he wrapped his arms around her. She tucked her head against his chest. For a moment, the chaos around them stilled as he breathed her in.

Her touch against his shirt warmed his skin and his heart. They were drenched and drained, but not dead. He didn’t want to move.

All too soon, he pulled back. His hands went to her arms. Her cheeks. Then he squatted and touched her ankle. “Anything else hurt worse?”

“I think I’m okay. And I think…” She rested her palms on his shoulders. “That maybe we’ve had enough character building for one day.”

He rose slowly. “I’m sorry I let you go.”

“No, I should have held on tighter. You already did more than your share when you had to carry me. You shouldn’t have to protect me all the time.”

His gaze locked onto hers. “Maybe I want to be the one who protects you.”

Yes, he’d finally said what he’d been thinking all day.

She opened her mouth, but he didn’t know what she was going to say. The roar of the helicopter made her look away. It circled overhead. One of the smokejumpers leaned out of the open door and pointed toward the road back to his right.

Just beyond the location of the flipped car, up on top of the hill, the trees were spread far enough apart where the helicopter could get a rope down to them.

He glanced down at Sophie, but he didn’t have to say a word.

She’d already slipped her hand in his. “No more waiting. Let’s go get rescued for the last time.”

No more waiting.Except, once again, his timing wasn’t right. She was staying—her life was here.

This was a summer gig, not his forever ending.

But maybe God had answered his prayer—he’d made things right. And that would have to be enough.

Somehow.