Off Season (9 page)

I wanted to chuckle but then thought better of it. His father had been hit by lightning so I guess he had reason to be scared.

“I used to be afraid of lightning when I was little, but there's really nothing to be worried about when you're in a house. You're perfectly safe.”

“That isn't what I'm worried about,” Ned answered. “You know how most forest fires are caused by humans?”

“Yeah?”

“Well lightning strikes are the second biggest cause. And it's most dangerous when there are drought conditions and everything is dry.”

“But it's not dry now, it's raining,” I argued. The gentle patter had given way to a pounding on the roof. It was really coming down.

“It was a really big storm, but a sudden downpour like this just runs off because the ground is baked hard. It floods the streams
but doesn't really wet the ground enough to make a difference.”

“Maybe we should just go back to sleep,” I suggested.

“I wasn't sleeping anyway. I was thinking about how different things are going to be for me if we move.”

“Different isn't bad sometimes,” I said.

“I guess not.”

The house practically shook as the sound of thunder roared and then echoed off to silence, leaving only the sound of the rain.

“Thanks for what you did,” Ned said.

“What?”

“Getting those guys to play. I know you did that for me.”

“I did that so we could play some basketball!” I protested.

“No you didn't,” Ned said. “And it's going to make things easier for me now.” He paused. “I know I'm different than most people.”

“But remember that different isn't bad.”

“Sometimes. Sometimes it is. I know when kids are making fun of me,” Ned said.

“Only a jerk would do that.”

“You used to make fun of me,” Ned said.

“That's because I used to be a jerk,” I said and Ned started to laugh.

“Just be yourself,” I added. “And it doesn't hurt that you can play ball. Didn't you see how excited those kids were about having you on their team?”

“That's just because I'm big.”

“Big is something you can't coach. Every team needs height. Besides, you are getting better … a lot better,” I argued.

“Thanks.”

“And one more thing. Because you are so much bigger than everybody else, if somebody really, really gives you a hard time, then threaten to pound 'em.”

“You want me to hit them?”

“Not hit them. Just
threaten
to hit them. Stand over top of them and say something like, ‘Do you really want to get me mad at you?'”

“But won't that get me in trouble?” Ned asked.

“Probably not nearly as much trouble as not threatening them might cause.”

I turned my head and listened. Not only was there no more thunder, but I didn't even hear the rain or the wind anymore.

“It's stopped,” I said.

Ned climbed out of bed. “I better have a look around.”

I jumped out of bed and trailed after Ned.
Kia was still sound asleep. That girl could sleep through anything. Walking into the living room I saw Debbie already there, standing by the window, looking out.

“Morning, boys. Did the storm wake you up too?” she asked.

“Bad storm,” Ned said. “Do you see anything?”

“Nothing. I was just waiting for one of you to get up and then I was going to go out and look around,” she said.

“How about if we go out?” Ned asked.

“That would be fine. Don't go too far though, and I'll have breakfast waiting when you get back.”

Ned and I quickly got into our clothes. He put on his hiking boots and I did up my basketball shoes.

Stepping outside I was amazed at how much cooler it had become. The air felt cold and moist as I inhaled a big breath. We started walking up the road. It was littered with leaves and branches — small and large — which had been knocked down by the wind and rain. The winds were still very strong. I stopped and bent down to pick up a bigger branch that I could use as a walking stick. I snapped off the top, breaking it over my knee.

“Do you smell that?” Ned asked.

“What?” I demanded. He didn't answer. I took a deep breath and … smoke.

“Do you smell it?” he asked again.

“I don't smell anything,” I said, although I did smell something … it was like burning toast.

“You can't smell smoke?” Ned asked.

I took a deep breath. “I guess I can, but maybe it's from the fire that your father is fighting and the storm winds just blew it here.”

“The storm blew in from the other direction.”

Ned bent down and picked up a handful of pine needles. He let them go and they were caught up in the wind and scattered.

“Whatever is causing the smoke is in that direction,” he said, pointing up the road.

I anxiously scanned the horizon. I couldn't see any smoke or fire. I couldn't see anything except trees and rocks and the mountains in the background.

“Come on,” Ned said as he started up the road.

“Shouldn't we go back and tell your mother?”

“Tell her what? That we thought we smelled smoke but we didn't see any fire or smoke rising up but we think there might just be a fire
out there, somewhere?”

I stayed right by Ned's side. “What do we do if there's a fire?”

“If it's small — really small — we put it out.”

“You know how to do that?”

“I've read all about it, remember?”

“And if it's not a small fire?” I asked.

“Then we tell my mother and she radios in the location and we get out of here and
fast
.”

I liked the idea of getting away, but I didn't like the way he said “fast.”

“When you said fast, how fast did you mean?” I asked.

“Really fast. A forest fire can move with more speed than a person can run.”

I gulped. “You've seen that?”

He shook his head. “Of course not, but I've read about it. The fire jumps from tree- top to treetop and the tops of the trees just sort of explode. It's supposed to sound like a cannon going off.”

“If it can move that fast, should we be heading up to look for it?” I asked.

“There isn't much of a wind to drive it. Besides, we don't have any choice.”

Of course we had a choice. We could just turn around and get out of here.

Ned left the road and headed along a trail that went almost straight up one of the hills. I figured he was going to higher ground to scout the area. I kept scanning the sky in all directions, looking for telltale signs of smoke that would show the location of a fire. I didn't see anything, but between the rocks, trees and hills there really wasn't that much that I could see.

“There it is,” Ned said and I bumped into him from behind.

I looked up to where Ned was pointing. There was a thick plume of smoke rising up from the ground. As it cleared the tops of the trees the strong winds blew it away so the smoke couldn't be seen from a distance.

“Is it big?” I asked anxiously.

“Too big for me to fight. We have to get back.” Ned turned and started running back down the trail. I sprinted after him. He was ahead of me as we reached the road. I was running as fast as I could, but he was pulling farther ahead on those long legs of his.

“Wait up!” I yelled. I didn't want to be left behind.

“Every minute counts now,” Ned yelled back over his shoulder.

I doubled my efforts and started to close
the gap between us. Little by little I got closer, although it felt like my lungs were going to burst. The smell of the smoke became stronger in my nose. That didn't make sense — we were leaving the flames behind. Maybe it was because I was sucking so much air into my lungs to keep up with Ned.

The house came into sight and I stopped running. I wasn't going to catch him anyway, and I was safe here. Ned continued to run. As I walked I looked back over my shoulder as if I was afraid the fire was going to suddenly burst into the open and be right behind me. I didn't see anything. There was no smoke in the sky, no flames, just trees. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes — if I wasn't still smelling it in my nose — I wouldn't have believed it.

The door to the house was open. As I walked in, Debbie was already on the shortwave radio calling in the report.

“Yep, we have a burn,” she said into the microphone. “Lightning strike, less than a kilometer from our location. Do you copy?”

“Copy,” came a static-filled voice. “Can it be controlled?”

“Not here. We need support.”

“That's a problem,” the voice responded.
“There's no support in the area. Soonest ETA is six hours at best.”

“ETA?” I asked Ned.

“Estimated time of arrival,” he explained.

“Lots of fuel to feed this fire,” Debbie said. “Six hours isn't good enough. Any chance of sooner?”

“It's as good as we can get. All firefighters are already out on assignment battling other blazes.”

“I copy,” Debbie said. “I have three children with me so I'm going to evacuate my position.”

“Seems wise. Get out as soon as possible.”

“Will do. Roger and out.”

She put down the microphone and looked over at us. “I think somebody better get Kia up.”

“I don't know what the rush is about,” Kia said.

There were now pillars of smoke visible along the horizon.

“It's growing and growing fast,” I said. “You can see it and smell it.”

“I smell it more than I did a while ago, but the smell of smoke isn't going to kill any-body.”

“It's not the smell I'm worried about.” I couldn't help thinking about what Ned had told me about how fast a fire could move if there were strong winds. I could just picture the fire moving from tree to tree, coming down the valley right to where we were standing.

“Just hurry,” I said as I put my pack into the back of the truck. Already in the back were three little cages holding Ned's pets.

“These are heavy,” Kia said. “Hold the door for me.”

I held it open and she put down the load she was carrying — picture albums. Debbie was packing the truck up with all sorts of personal things because she was afraid that the fire would spread to their house.

Debbie came out of the house. She was carrying the shortwave radio. She said it was worth thousands of dollars. I ran over and opened the passenger door and she carefully placed the large shortwave radio set on the seat.

“What more do we still have to get?” I asked.

“There's lots of things we could bring, but that's all we have time to take. We have to get going.”

“So we're going to get going now?” I said. The sooner we left the better.

“As soon as Ned is finished.”

Ned had hooked up a pump and hose to their well and was spraying the ground around the house with water, soaking it down, so if the fire did spread this way it might stop before reaching the house. Ned dropped the hose to the ground and the water continued to flow out onto the ground.

“I don't know how much more water is left in the well, but it's better to be up here than down there.”

“That's a smart idea,” Debbie said. “Now
everybody in. It's time to go.”

I climbed into the back seat and Ned and Kia climbed in beside me.

“Do you think the house will be okay?” Ned asked.

“I'm sure it will be.” Debbie turned around to face us. “I hope it will be. There's nothing more we can do. Maybe the response team will be here sooner than they said.”

She started driving. Ned looked out the window at their house, turning his head to keep looking at it as we moved up the trail.

“It'll be okay,” I said. “Either way it's going to be okay.”

Ned nodded his head.

“Is it just me or does it smell like we're getting closer to the fire?” Kia asked.

“The winds swirl around in the hills,” Ned said.

I could smell the smoke … but I could also see it. The road up ahead looked a little bit like there was mist or fog.

“Mom … do you see — ”

“I see it,” she said, cutting him off. She looked back over her shoulder at us. “There's nothing to be worried — ”

“Look out!” I screamed as the road in front of us was blocked.

Debbie cranked the wheel of the truck and slammed on the brakes. We skidded sideways. Suddenly everything seemed to be happening in slow motion — like the video replay in a basketball game. Kia screamed … the seat belt tightened across my chest … Ned was yelling too… my hands came up to brace myself against the seat … and then we slid off the road and down a bank. Branches scratched at the doors and windows. Finally, with a loud thud, we slammed into a tree. Things that had been piled loosely in the back of the truck came shooting past my head. Outside, clouds of dust rose all around us. Then everything was silent.

I stared out the windshield into nothing but branches and a spiderweb of cracks running across the whole width of the glass. I wanted to call out, but I was too stunned to talk — so stunned that it was like I'd even forgotten to breathe. I took a deep breath.

“Is everybody okay?” Debbie asked, breaking the trance.

“I'm okay,” Ned said.

“Me too,” Kia said.

It was good to know that nobody was hurt.

“Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you alright?” Debbie asked.

“Sure, I'm fine.”

“How about you, Mom, are you okay?” Ned asked.

“I'm okay … I jammed my leg into the dashboard, but I'm okay. Everybody get out of the truck,” Debbie said. “And get out carefully.”

That was a good idea. I'd seen enough TV shows to know that cars that crashed often burst into flames … and I could smell something burning! I felt a rush of panic surge through my body and then realized that of course I smelled something burning because the forest was on fire … For a few fleeting seconds I'd forgotten that!