Backfire (19 page)

“Yeah, who’s to say we rush and just run into fire the farther south we go? It’s just too hard to tell.”

Michael looked down at Trevor, and again the child was falling asleep up next to him.  He was exhausted as well.  “Maybe we oughta rest for a little bit, even if it’s just a few hours.  We’ll be useless without any sleep. We can get moving again.  Since we don’t have to move as fast, we can be more careful in the dark.”

“What if we don’t wake up in time?” Lawton asked, his expression terrified.

“Believe me, I won’t let that happen.” He gathered up some dry grass and laid Trevor down in it.  It was still pretty warm out, but Michael draped his fire coat over him for some added comfort. The boy didn’t even wake and only mumbled something inaudible, as he got comfortable on the ground. 

“How so, McGinnis? You’re going on as little sleep as I am.”

“I doubt I’ll even fall asleep, Lawton.  Just lie down and don’t worry about it.  I’ll keep an eye on my watch.”

Michael leaned up against a nearby tree, keeping Trevor in view.  It was after eight PM and almost completely dark.  From what he remembered, the sun didn’t completely go down around here until after nine, but since they were in the middle of the fire, the sun was an unknown thing to them.  He feared that the weather would somehow change on them again, turning the fire even closer to them.  He’d be glad for a huge rainstorm to just come through, dousing out everything. 

Resting his head on the trunk, he pulled his cell phone out.  He had continuously checked it earlier for signal with no luck.  Again, the display read ‘no service’. Shoving it back into his pocket, he fidgeted with a piece of bark, his eyelids heavy.  There was no way he would be able to relax enough to get any sleep.  It was like those times it was better just to stay awake, rather than get a few hours and make it all worse. 

The inside of his mouth was pasty and he fought the urge to drink from the canteen.  It still had quite a bit of water in it, but he wasn’t sure what kind of time frame they were looking at in being stranded.  His thoughts went in different directions, from what Trevor’s story was, how Casey was doing, and what Eva was up to this evening.  He could just hear her say, “I told you so” when she found out about him being put in harm’s way.  He smiled at the visual. 

His body settled in to the hard ground.  Jolting, he looked down at his watch, realizing that thirty minutes had passed.  In an attempt to get comfortable, he adjusted his weight, feeling a small pain against his hip where it had been pressed into the ground.  The wind did calm down as anticipated.  He sat up fully to avoid dozing off again, taking a chance at inspecting the fire again. 

The smoke seemed to be purple against the night sky, and the orange of the flames was lighting up the distance as if the sun was coming up again.  It was a beautiful glow and for a split second, Michael found himself admiring it.  It was as if he was guilty for considering something that was portrayed as evil to be full of beauty.  It was nature’s way of clearing stuff out, it was just unfortunate that the circumstances were playing out the way they were. 

“You were right.  You didn’t sleep at all, did you?” Lawton sat up and brushed the grass from his jacket.  “You’re gonna regret that later.”

“I dozed for about thirty minutes or so.  You two have been out for a few hours.  It’s almost midnight now.”

“The little guy is out like a light. Poor guy.”

“Yeah, I figure we can let him sleep a little bit longer,” Michael replied.  He wasn’t sure what to say, so he sat beside Trevor and adjusted his coat over him.  He would have guessed it was still in the eighties out, but with a cover, people always seemed to sleep better. 

“You got any family, McGinnis?”

The question caught Michael off guard.  He scratched the side of his cheek, not answering quickly. “I got a mom and a brother, and a girlfriend.  She’s a paramedic back up in New York.”

Lawton clicked his tongue as if he already knew the information, but was getting clarification.  “Your brother older or younger?”

“Younger.”  He didn’t want to go into any details about him, so he kept his answers short and to the point. 

“And you and the girl?  Been together awhile?”

Michael was shocked at the questions, but figured it was decent conversation to try to pass the time.  “Yeah, it’s been a good amount of time.  What about you?  You got any family or a girlfriend or anything?”

“I got a mother who lives near Dallas.  She wouldn’t remember me if I walked in and hugged her though. Has severe dementia.  I try to go visit her some. My sister lives in the same town and is pretty much in charge of all of that.  And no on the girlfriend.  I was married once, and as you probably have inferred,
it
didn’t end well.” 

“Sorry to hear that,” Michael said, feeling the awkward tension.  “Sometimes family isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be, anyway.”  He got up before Lawton could respond, wishing he wouldn’t have allowed those words to fall out of his face.  “I gotta take a leak.  I’ll be right back.”

***

Lieutenant Harlan’s patience and hope were wearing thin.  They had driven around the fire and came in from the south side.  There was still no real safe way to get through to find McGinnis and Lawton.  At least by that time, they had gained radio communication, but were still not able to get into contact with the two lost men.  All contact was with people outside of the ring.  It had been suggested by other fire departments to pull out and be relieved. The Manor Fire Department had been out since early that morning, and the exhaustion was starting to really settle in with his men. 

They all met up on the side of the highway and gathered around.  Harlan could see in their facial expressions and body language that morale was shot.  “It has been suggested that we pull out and allow another fire department to relieve us.  I have been told that the manhunt will continue as long as other crews are kept safe.”

The reactions of the men told Harlan that none of them wanted to leave the two men behind.  “It’s a tough decision, but we do need to take help where we can.  If we don’t get rest, we’ll just hinder the search anyway.”

“Lawton and McGinnis aren’t getting a break, why should we?” One of the men in the back shouted.

“I hate to say this, but we don’t even know if they are even alive anymore.  I hate to do this, but we’re just gonna have to trust other crews to help us out.  We’ll be back out here bright and early to continue, but for now I’m calling us off.  That is not a declaration of giving up.  I want to find them, okay?”

There were a few mumbles of disagreement, but each of them men got back in their vehicles to leave.  It was the hardest decision Harlan could honestly say he ever had to make.  Feeling defeated, he climbed back in the fire engine and took one last glance back at the wall of flames he was leaving two of his men behind in. 

“God be with them.”

***

“Guess we better get moving. The winds start picking up pretty early in the morning hours and with as unstable as it all is, there’s no telling what’s going to happen,” Lawton said as he adjusted his gear.  “You need me to carry him?”

“Nah, I’m okay.” Michael pulled his fire coat off of Trevor and lightly shook his shoulders to try and wake him up.  The boy swatted at him and mumbled.  “I really don’t want to carry him while he’s asleep, though.  Too much dead weight.”  He slowly picked him up, hoping the sudden movement would get him to open his eyes.  “Trevor, wake up.  We gotta get going.”

“Still sleepy,” the child said through half closed eyes. 

“Need some water?”  Michael grabbed Lawton’s canteen and offered it to Trevor.  He quickly snatched it out of his hand and took two long gulps before Michael was able to pry it from him.  “I know you need more, but right now we have to save as much as we can.”

“Why?”  He swiped the back of his hand over his eyes and sniffled.  “It’s still dark out.  Can’t we sleep until morning?”

Michael sat Trevor down on a tree stump and knelt down at eye level with him.  He looked back at Lawton, pretty much knowing the other guy wouldn’t have much input on this.  He seemed uneasy with the kid and Michael didn’t want to force him to interact if he didn’t want to. 

“The fire is right behind us and coming fast.  We have to try and get out of here, okay?  I told you I’d keep you safe.  Part of that is not getting quit
e
enough sleep or water until I can guarantee that we won’t run out.”

A tear trickled down the boy’s cheek, leaving a trail in the dirt and soot on his skin.  “I’m scared, Mikey.”

“It’s okay to be scared, Trev.  You just gotta trust us.”  The boy nodded and Michael pulled him back up.  “You ready to go?” He asked Lawton.

“Let’s do this.”

Michael knew
that they’d find out the direction
of their future during this walk.  A lot of questions would be answered as to what way they needed to go and if any areas were clear, and hopefully it would all be positive.  They moved at a speed walker’s pace.  With the uneven ground, Michael felt that they should slow down, especially since it was dark.  Lawton seemed to be set on how quick they were going.  Did he know something Michael didn’t? 

He tried walking in the same areas Lawton did.  At least he was experienced with the landscape here.  Michael was used to sidewalks and streets.  He had been hiking a few times, but the land wasn’t near as hilly and questionable as what they were trekking across. 

Lawton stopped abruptly, catching Michael off guard.  Standing beside him, he put Trevor down to get some rest.  “What is it?”

“There’s a house right up there. I’m sure it’s abandoned, but we should check anyway.”

They slowly walked up the driveway and it was as if the houses were all carbon copies of each other.  They all had livestock barns and had the same farm look to them.  “Trevor, stay with Lawton.  I’ll go search the house real quick and make sure it’s clear.” He smiled at Trevor. The last thing they needed to do was take him into an unknown structure.  “It won’t take long.  I’ll be right back. Stay right here.” Fears of being separated were fresh on his mind, but they were in the front yard. 

He slowly walked through the ankle high grass.  Something felt eerie about the place and his instincts shouted out at him to stay away.  He felt his pulse thump quicker with each step closer to the home.  The wood of the porch creaked under his boots, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.  The door was cracked open just a tad, so he pushed it completely open.

“Manor Fire Department.  Is anyone inside?”  He took one last glance back at Trevor and Lawton before entering.  It was pitch black so he clicked on his flashlight to get a better view.  It looked as if no one had lived here for years.  There were a few old pictures hanging crooked on the wall, along with some random pieces of old furniture in the middle of the room. 

The floors were all hard wood and felt weak under his weight.  The living room and kitchen were the only two rooms on the bottom story.  He gripped the rail of the staircase, feeling the sweat bunch in his palms under his gloves.  He tested the first step by putting his foot down hard on it.  It felt sound enough so he slowly made his way to the top story, questioning the stability of the entire house as he made his way to the landing. 

Again he yelled out, “Fire department. Say something if you’re up here!”  No response.  He averted the flashlight down the hallway, taking note that there were three doorways.  It was evident that the house was vacant, and probably was even before the fires, but Michael still had to be one hundred percent certain they weren’t leaving someone behind.  What if another kid was here, scared to death to even move? 

Wiping the sweat from his face, he forced his body to move t
oward the hallway.  A loud shudd
er shot through his eardrums, along with an earthquake like shake that sent him careening downward.  The floor had given way underneath him and pain shot through his entire body as he fell.  He landed on his back and found it hard to breathe in.  From what he could tell, the floor had collapsed above the living room, and he was now back at ground level of the house. It tasted as if he had a penny in his mouth and he could feel liquid trickle down the side of his forehead. Exhaustion hit him blindside and everything slowly began to turn black.  The darkness completely overtook his vision and he drifted away from consciousness. 

Chapter Fifteen

“McGinnis!  Wake up! Can you hear me?” Michael slowly opened his eyes.  Everything was fuzzy and it was as if someone was shoving a nail through his head.  Something was bright, accentuating the pain that radiated from his head, all the way down his spine and legs.  “Open your eyes!”  Was that Lawton?  He couldn’t tell.  It was so blurry that all he could see were outlines of someone hovering over him.

“Turn the light…”  Just speaking the few words he had sucked the last bit of energy out of him.  “Wha?”

“It’s me, Lawton.  You fell through the floor upstairs.”

“Shh.” Even his voice was hurting him.  Michael tried to sit up, but he felt someone’s hands hinder the process.  He was too tired to fight.  “Where’s Trevor?”  He was still unable to completely open his eyes, but his mind went right to the kid.