Page 68 of Wild Fires

Completely frustrated, I pulled over to the side of the road out of the flow of traffic, parked, and got out.

“Oh, hey Mayor. I didn't realize it was you,” Ken Thornton said. “Sorry about the finger.”

“It's okay. We're all anxious right now.”

I didn't stop as I started out on foot toward the rendezvous scene.

“Hey, Mayor. What's happening?” someone else stopped me and asked.

“I don't know. Stay in your car. I'll see what the holdup is and what we can do about it.”

A few cars further up the road someone else stopped me.

“Ryan, is everything okay? The sky's turning orange.”

“It's a fire, according to the emergency radio. I'm trying to get us some answers, but I'm also just as stuck in this traffic as everyone else.”

When I looked up, she was right. The sky did have an orange hue to it now. I knew this was a bad one.

Gracie! I thought with a desperate need to get to her.

Mate! my raven added in my head, sending my anxiety up another notch.

I took off running, ignoring all the shouts and questions as I passed car after car.

My town wasn't this big. Where the hell did all these cars come from?

I knew that was a ridiculous thought, but it felt like all of Ravenden was out here stuck on this road right now when they should be at home.

The faster I ran, the more my raven tried to sprout my wings and fly.

I could hear a motorcycle approaching behind me, so I slowed and got out of the way. It stopped beside me.

“Heard you were running like a fool towards the fire,” Elias said with a smirk. “Hop on. Short of flying I'll get you there the fastest.”

I didn't hesitate. I didn't even put on a helmet. I desperately needed to know my mate was safe even though I kept telling myself we didn't want or need the stress of being with someone like her. But I couldn't help the feeling of needing to protect her.

My brother was true to his word and got us to the base station quickly. A combination of police, firefighters, EMTs, and volunteers were everywhere. I found Clarence in the midst of it all.

“Is it him?” I asked.

“I don't know. We’ve been too busy trying to tackle this fire to even start looking for evidence.”

“But what does your gut say?”

“Ryan, this is the worst fire we've seen in Ravenden in decades. It could take weeks until we know anything. I'll keep you in the loop, but you don't need to be here right now. We're evacuating all homes and businesses south of Main Street and east of the river as a precaution, but the road through town is so backed up that it's taking time to even get the word out.”

“I can help with that,” I told him. It would be good to have something to do right now.

I looked around and noticed Vance was there. He was just standing all alone in the middle of the chaos staring out into the fire. We were still a ways away from it, but close enough to feel the heat. If the wind changed directions, it would be nearly unbearable to remain here.

“What do you need?” I asked him.

“Get these people back and help those in the danger zone relocate and settle.”

“Okay. But first I have to know Gracie's okay.”

He stared at me for a moment but didn't question it.