Chapter 53 – Grady
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
GRADY
“If this shit was easy, Malone, everyone would do it.”
I look at Veego as the rig we’re on bumps and jostles while it heads up the mountain. The fire rages on the ridge in front of us. She’s a mean, nasty bitch, consuming every piece of brush she can find. The wind serving to add gasoline to her fury.
I don’t respond other than a nod because I don’t have the words. How can I when I’ve spent every call, every minute, scared of the one thing that makes me feel alive. Putting out fires .
My fear and my salvation are one in the same.
The rig stops at a makeshift basecamp that is ready to go on the fly should the wind switch and fire swing, and we unload in one big mass of equipment and anxious energy.
The next hour or so is spent double-checking our gear and stocking up on any supplies we’re going to need in order to keep a line up on the ridge above us.
When we get the go-ahead, we begin the climb into the belly of the beast to be tried by her flames.
My fears are eaten by the adrenaline.
My doubts are eroded by each cut we make into Mother Nature to stop her progress.
My hesitations are nonexistent as I slowly lose myself to the concentration it takes to stay alive.
As I do what I love.