Backfire (14 page)

“Hey Mikey!”

“Sorry it took so long to call back.  I didn’t have my phone with me when they were training me.” He leaned back on the bed and allowed his head to sink into the soft pillows.  He felt the exhaustion instantly.  Maybe falling asleep tonight wouldn’t be impossible.  “How was the flight?”

“It was okay. Glad to be back on the ground.  How did your training go?”

He closed his eyes and it felt like he was floating upward.  “It’ll be okay.  Just went over general stuff.”  Michael didn’t feel like getting into how nervous he was.  It would just make her worry more.  “Just ready to get the first day under my belt so I know what to expect.”

“I’m ready for the fires to be done with so you can get back to New York.”

Michael smirked and rolled onto his side.  “It hasn’t even been a day yet.  Pace yourself, babe.”

There was silence on the other end and for a second, Michael wasn’t sure if she had hung up or not.  Propping himself up on his elbow, he began to say something else when Eva finally spoke up.

“Yeah, the apartment just seems different.  It’ll be okay. I stopped by the firehouse on my way back.”

“Yeah? What did they all have to say?” Maybe he was better of not knowing.

“Everyone was real supportive.  Said they think this is just what you need to do.  Everyone is on your side, so let it be one less worry on your mind, okay Mikey?”

He nodded as if she could see him.  “Yeah, okay. Thanks for the support on all of this.”

“I should give you more than I have.  Telling you how much I miss you and things is not exactly what you need to hear.”

He forced a laugh.  “You’re fine, Eva. I miss you too.”

“You sound exhausted, hon.  I’m going to let you go so you can get some rest.  Be safe and careful.  I love you so much.”

Michael let out a deep sigh.  “I love you too.  I’ll call you tomorrow.” 

He ended the call and scooted the cell phone across the nightstand.  Pulling the central Texas map out of his backpack, he spread it across the bed and scanned over it.  It wasn’t too hard to follow.  There were several different county and state roads to use.  At least tomorrow they were all meeting at the firehouse.  It would give him more time to get acquainted with the area. 

He took a long shower and savored the warm water as it trickled over his sunburned skin.  He never identified himself as being an overly religious man, but he ducked his head anyway and said a quick prayer for the unknown days ahead. He got dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and walked through the living room, noticing that Lawton still wasn’t home and it was after eleven pm.  He opened the fridge and browsed through what was inside.  It was typical of what a bachelor would have – more beer than food.  Michael quickly shut the door and shook his head.  Just what he needed, temptation. 

He went back to his room and shut the door.  He had to ease his mind somehow to get some sleep.  Tossing and turning, he continued to look at the time on his phone. He buried himself deep within the covers and tried to relax. 

Everything was going to be okay.  The odds were on his side.  For the size of fires raging on, the injuries to other
firefighters seemed pretty minu
scule in comparison.  Just stick with the group and listen to all orders.  Don’t be a hero.  Get in there and do things right.

Chapter Ten

Michael’s alarm woke him up at six am the next day.  Rolling over, he let out a low groan as the brightness of his phone flashed in his face.  An instant pang of butterflies rushed through his stomach.  Sitting up, he saw light pouring in from the bottom of the door.  Lawton must have already been up.  He kicked his legs over the side of the bed and raked his hand through his hair.  He was facing mixed emotions. He was pumped to get out there and see what it was all about, and at the same time, he just wanted to burrow back in bed and not face it.
Thoughts of how he froze on the job hit him.  Would this help his PTSD or make it worse?  Just a week ago he had come close to losing control on the job.  Maybe doing this wasn’t such a good idea. 

Ignoring the second thoughts and hesitation, h
e put on a pair of medic pants and one of his firehouse t-shirts he considered good luck.  He stared at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. His hair shot out in every direction, compliments of going to bed with it wet.  It didn’t matter.  He wasn’t attending something formal.  He threw a baseball cap on and studied himself for a few more seconds before meeting Lawton in the kitchen.

“There’s McGinnis! I guess you must’ve already been crashed out when I got home last night.  Sleep okay? Was the bed comfortable?”

“Yeah man, everything was good.” The smell of scrambled eggs and bacon made Michael nauseous.

“I’m making enough for you to have some too.  Better eat up. Don’t want to go out there on an empty stomach. Sometimes we have snacks and things on the truck and sometimes we don’t.”

He piled the food high on Michael’s plate and he didn’t want to seem ungracious, so he force-fed himself.  The food wasn’t half bad. He just didn’t have much of an appetite.  Lawton was right.  He’d be begging for this later if he didn’t eat it now. 

“Thanks for cooking breakfast.”

Lawton nodded from the sink as he filled up several canteens of water.  “I’ve got a couple of these you can borrow. We take water on the truck, but never hurts to have these stowed away as well.”  Lawton paused as he handed one of them to Michael. “You alright?”

Shrugging, Michael draped the strap around his shoulder. “I’m fine. Just feels like we are preparing to go to war or something.”

“That’s a good way to look at it,” Lawton replied.  “Go ahead and take your Tahoe to the station and I’ll take my truck.  They might need our vehicles.”

Michael wasn’t sure if taking a rental into the fires was a good idea, but it didn’t really matter.  He had renter’s insurance on it and if something did happen, hopefully they’d understand.  He double-checked to make sure the bunker gear was in the back and put the canteens in the front seat next to him.  A thick haze from the smoke lingered in the air.  It was humid out, which was a good thing in helping control the burn.  The air just seemed more potent, as if the smoke had no way of escaping the atmosphere. 

He followed Lawton to the firehouse. The sun was starting to come up on the horizon, giving the sky a bright orange contrast against the darkness.  Traffic was light for seven AM, especially compared to New York.  Several men were gathered in the parking lot as they pulled in.  Michael gripped the steering wheel tightly and waited a few seconds before exiting his vehicle.  Everyone greeted him as if they had known him forever, easing the tension that was built up throughout his body.

Lieutenant Harlan approached the group, a packet of paperwork in hand.  “They are dispatching us to Bastrop State Park.  The fire has already destroyed two thirds of the six thousand acres.  They want us to go in and build fire breaks, fire lanes, and soak down areas around historical structures. It’s heavily wooded, so we’ll be using bulldozers and things to knock trees down and build trenches. I don’t want all of us taking personal vehicles, so two or three men ride together.  We’ll take one of our
rigs so we can soak stuff down.
If the fire looks like it’s getting near, we’ll move it.” 

Michael decided to leave the Tahoe parked.  He didn’t want to risk it getting damaged if he could avoid it.  He, along with Lawton, rode with two other men in a Suburban.  They took highway two ninety and Michael made a mental note of it.  He scanned everything outside the window to try and get more familiar with all of his surroundings.  They cut down Texas highway ninety-five to go around the major core of the fire.  As they got closer to their destination, the smoke grew thicker and the landscape became more depressing.  Farmland for miles was charred and homes in every direction had been completely burned to the ground.  The cement foundations left behind were the only clue that a house once stood there.  The fire was threatening a housing development on the outskirts of Bastrop and the State Park, and other departments were lined up, doing the same tasks they would have to do inside the park.

Michael had seen his share of five alarm fires in skyscrapers and major factories, but never had he seen walls of fire like the ones spreading across the thousands of acres before them.  They passed through meadows and woods still smoldering.  Wildlife was sparse, but the few animals he saw were frightened and in search of a way out of the blazing inferno.  When looking at the fire head on, it appeared to be moving slowly, but in reality, with the help of the winds, it was spreading more rapidly than any fire he had ever seen.  The roar of the flames sounded like a freight train, heightening his adrenaline. 

They reached their destination.  The fire lined the outskirts of the park and it was a shame to see much of it already destroyed.  The park was heavily blanketed in pine trees, and the pine needles that covered the ground were serving as kindling to fuel the fire’s speed.  Michael got out and they were instructed to put their masks on immediately.  The smoke was so thick that it was as if they were in a heavy fog storm. 

 
             
“McGinnis, go search that structure and make sure no one is in it. Lawton, go with him,” Harlan instructed.  “If it’s clear, come back and grab shovels and start helping with the building of some fire breaks and lanes.”

For the most part, Lieutenant Harlan had been right.  His instincts kicked in, and with the help of adrenaline, everything started out fine. Aside from being awe struck from seeing wildfires like this for the first time, Michael was ready to go.  The line of buildings they were ordered to protect were several cabins built years ago during the Great Depression.  They were bricked up using old rock, and algae lined the bottom area of each cabin. 

The smoke hovered at eye level in the buildings.  “Anyone in here?” Michael crouched down to get a better view.  “Fire department! If anyone is in here, yell out!” He made sure to keep Lawton in his peripheral vision.  They were right when they emphasized how important it was to stay together.  The haze and smoke was so thick that Michael could definitely see how getting disoriented would be easy to accomplish. 

There were four cabins clumped together and they did an interior walk through of each of them. 

“There were no civilians in any of the structures, Lieutenant,” Lawton replied.

“Okay. We’ve got a truck soaking down the land around them and spraying down the roofs of the buildings.  The fire is still a few miles away.  We need to start building trenches, breaks, and lanes to keep it away from these.  There’s a bulldozer down there knocking trees down.  Start piling the limbs up.”

The terrain was uneven and Michael remembered hearing that fire spreads faster as it goes uphill.  Unfortunately, the cabins were at the top of a hill.
He had to wonder how long their air
tanks were going to last if they kept them on the whole time.  Did they have someone going back and forth to the firehouse to get full ones if need be? Just as he was thinking that, an order was called out to preserve their oxygen and only use it when the smoke was overly thick.  With the fire still being a few miles away, a lot of the air wasn’t as potent to wear a mask constantly.

Michael pulled his off and let the mask dangle from his neck.  As long as he wasn’t in a confined space, he felt it wasn’t needed.  He was amazed at how out of breath he was as he gathered up branches and piled them up.  He felt as if he was out of shape.  If they appeared to be exhausted, another firefighter would take over and allow them some rest time. 

It had been some of the most excruciating work Michael had ever taken part in.  He looked down at his watch and was shocked to see that it was already past noon.  Time was flying by and the fire was getting closer and closer.

Another fire department took over their task as they got a chance to take a break and eat. And auxiliary group of women brought in some sandwiches and more water.  It was just bologna on white bread, but tasted as if it was gourmet cuisine.  Each fire fighter got two sandwiches and tons of water, and Michael had never scarfed his food so quickly.

“McGinnis, I told you that you’d kick ass out here. Damn fine hard work!” Lieutenant Harlan patted him on the back. “What do you think so far?”

Michael thought about the question for a second.  “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.  Sad to see it get so bad.” He was also amazed at the camaraderie with the group.  They were all together, doing horrible work in bad conditions, volunteers making no money for it, yet the morale of the group was amazing. Everyone was laughing and spirits were high.  It was an eye opening experience, and one Michael was glad he was taking part of.

“Okay boys, we’ve got another good few hours of work ahead of us.  Drink up your water and stay hydrated.  Another department will be coming on soon to relieve us,” Lieutenant Harlan said.  “Keep up the good work!” Nodding toward Michael, he winked and went right back to the task at hand.  Not once did Michael hear a word of complaining from anyone.  It was a true inspiration right in the midst of it all, right in front of him. 

***

The sound of the phone ringing jolted Eva from her sleep.  Sitting up, it was as if her body wouldn’t move.  Everything was a haze and as she reached for the phone, it seemed to be moving farther and farther away.  Stretching, the nightstand continued to move back.  She was finally able to grasp the phone and answered it quickly, hoping whoever was on the other end hadn’t hung up yet.