Page 5 of From the Ashes
Dark smoke filled the sky. The wind shifted and I caught the scent of burning wood on the breeze. Here and there I saw ashes flutteringdownward. A glance at the mountain showed that the fire was descending on the valley on the northern side. My blood turned cold with fear as I realized it was heading right for us, carried by the wind.
“Nix!” I yelled across the creek. “We need to go!”
He turned to look at me, but his gaze was pulled toward the giant column of smoke just to the north of us. His jaw dropped open as he stared, an expression of awe and wonder filling his face.
“Nix! Come on!” I shouted again.
That seemed to pull him out of his stupor. In a flash, he’d bounded across the creek and was at my side. Together we ran north,toward the wildfire, to get our bikes. It felt incredibly stupid to run directly into danger, but without our bikes, it would take far too long to make it back to town. Besides, it was downhill the entire way from the creek, so we could use the speed to our advantage.
By the time we reached them, we were both coughing from the smoke. Ashes and hot cinders rained down around us, coating everything in a fine gray powder. The moment we hefted our bikes up, ash slaked off them. I threw my leg over the seat and looked back, only to find Nix standing there with his back to me, staring at the approaching wildfire.
“Let’s go look at it,” he whispered.
“What?! Are you fucking crazy?!” I didn’t usually swear like that, even as a twelve-year-old boy. But I needed him to know how serious I was. “You can’t gotowardit!”
“How often do you see something like this, Charlie?” he asked, the same wild look in his eyes that I saw every time he was about to get us in trouble. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“The mountains catch on fire everysummer!”
“Yeah. And our parents aren’t here right now.” Pulling his bike alongside him, he headed for the fire. “Come on. It’s easy to just turn around. What could go wrong?”
I coughed again, the smoke stinging my eyes. For a moment I hesitated, my heart pounding in my chest, and fear threatened to consume me. But as I watched my best friend in the entire world walk toward the burning forest, I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn’t follow him. Besides, Nix had never gotten me hurt before. He wouldn’t do that. I trusted him.
The road was steep and the smoke made it hard to breathe, but we headed toward the fire, anyway. A tower of black smoke, dark and menacing as if it held the darkest evil in all the land, reached up into the sky, blotting out the sun. But Nix didn’t stop. Not until we could feel the heat from the burning woods on both sides of the road. The fire had jumped thanks to the wind, and it didn’t look like it was slowing down.
“Wow…” Nix whispered, staring up at the trees turned bright orange as they were consumed by the blaze.
I was still straggling a few feet behind him, unable to bring myself to get any closer. I lifted my arm, trying to wipe the ash out of my eyes. It mixed with my sweat, stinging everything it came into contact with. I tried to speak but choked as tears streamed down my face. But I didn’t want to back down. Not when Nix was being so brave.
There was a rush of heat from the fire as a harsh, burning wind full of ash and embers kicked up around us. It swirled through the trees like a fiery tornado, engulfing everything in its path. The moment I saw it, I took a step back. But Nix… he took a stepforward.
“Nix!” I cried. “Let’s go!”
He didn’t react.
“NIX!”
As if I’d broken some magic spell over him, Nix shook it off and glanced back. I had to stare in wonder for a moment as the tornado flared in front of him, flames shooting up on either side of the road, silhouetting his body. For just a brief moment, he looked like his namesake, a mythological creature wreathed in flame. It made his green eyes glow even brighter as the embers swirled around him.
“Come on!” I yelled again, the fire moving toward us at a rapid pace. “We have to go!”
He finally nodded, throwing a leg over the seat of his bike. At the same moment, there was a thunderous crack, and a tree crashed onto the road only a few feet behind him. Fire erupted in all directions as he took off. And I was right there beside him, my heart pounding so hard I thought I would die.
We didn’t look back as we pedaled for our lives. If not for the steepness of the road lending us speed, I’m not sure we would’ve made it. By the time we got back into Creekside, both sets of our parents were standing in the road with terrified expressions on their faces. The moment they saw us, relief and anger washed over them. I knew, whatever happened, we were in big trouble.
“Where have you been?!” my mother yelled, dragging me toward the car before I even had a chance to get off my bike. “I was worried sick!”
She practically threw me in the back before sliding into the driver’s seat. But as she slammed the key into the ignition and turned it over, the car sputtered, but didn’t start.
“Dammit!” she cried, hitting the steering wheel with her open palms. “This fucking car!”
My mother never swore like that. We both knew the car was unreliable, but it falling to pieces in the face of a wildfire was the last straw.
“We’ve got plenty of room in the van, Diana,” Mrs. McKean called as she hauled Nix into their vehicle. “Just come with us.”
Grabbing our emergency bags, my mother left her car with the keys still in the ignition. The fire was nearing the edge of town, and there wasn’t time to dawdle. She tossed our bags in the neighbor’s van and made sure I was securely in the back with Nix before she got in herself. A single glance showed me the tears in her eyes, and I was sure they were my fault.
As the van began to roll down the road away from the fire, I jabbed Nix hard in the ribs with my elbow.