Firestorm - Ellie Masters Page 0,96

of black smoke marks the spot of Grady and his team. They’re completely surrounded by a raging inferno.

“Smokey, we have a location.” I point toward the fire, trying to distinguish landmarks in the darkness which will help.

No one questions the next step. We need to get to those men.

The wind howls all around us, drawn in toward the flames. Adrenaline flows through me as does the sickest feeling. There’s nothing we can do to get to those men except to wait for a break in the fire.

“If they survive.” Smokey’s never one to mince words, “They’ll need to cut their way out.” He draws his finger across the landscape. “We’ll head there. Try to meet up with them. If they make it out.”

We all know the likelihood is slim. I pray the fire blows through quickly, and keep count in my head.

Five-minutes.

Three-hundred seconds.

That’s all the time Grady and his team have to survive.

“Come, we’re heading out.” Smokey gathers us together. He calls in to HQ, telling them what we plan. After he gets the go-ahead, we head down into the blaze.

The stifling heat only grows more oppressive as we near the leading edge of the fire. Smokey leads us off to the left, along a line he thinks Grady’s team will follow. We’ve got a long hike ahead of us.

The minutes stretch and we pass the five-minute mark. Smokey calls in, but there’s no word from Grady’s team. Either their coms are down or the entire team is dead.

Hour after hour, we work the line. Backbreaking work that makes our muscles ache and steals our breath. Hours during which I think about Grady, wondering if he and his team survived, and hours to think what would’ve happened if that had been me.

I’m not ready to say goodbye. Not after finding Evelyn. It’s a sobering thought. When it was just me risking my life, I didn’t worry about death. Now, there’s someone I want to come home to.

What has she been doing these past four days? Did Grant stop by like he promised? Did he follow up on that receipt like he said he would?

Are Brody and Cage taking good care of my girl? There’s at least one question I know the answer to. My brothers won’t leave Evelyn’s side.

Dawn is upon us before we know it. We’re eager to find Grady and his team, but we’re hampered by vegetation. We cut in fire prevention lines as we go. The work never stops.

No radio calls come in from Grady’s team. Not that radio silence means shit. They could’ve lost their coms in the fire.

It’s frustrating work, no matter how hard we work, hot spots flare around us, delaying us as we stop to put them out. Smokey keeps shouting at us to ‘keep the line’ and we do the best we can. We’re coming up on forty-hours with no sleep. Adrenaline can push a man only so far.

It feels as if we’ve stepped into hell with fire and brimstone all around us. The smoke is so thick we practically push it aside as we advance. Orange flames lick their way up the bark of trees and red embers fade and flare on the ground. It looks like the fire is breathing.

Out of habit, I take a swig of water from my hydration pack. There’s not much left. We need to resupply, but that will pull us off finding Grady and his team.

Smokey holds up a fist and we pause. He taps his ear, telling us he heard something and we pause to listen. All I hear is the crackling of fire and the roar of the wind. But then I hear it. “Balls to the wall, boys.” The deep voices of men respond.

Smokey calls out into the smoke. We pause and hear a response. My heart lifts because I know that voice.

“Grady-fucking-Malone are you alive?”

“Ace? Holy mother of God. It’s fucking Ace La Rouge.”

Our teams find our way to each other, calling out through the dense smoke. There’s seven of them and six of us.

Grady emerges out of the smoke. When he sees me, his face spreads into a huge grin.

“Goddamn nice to see you,” I say.

“It’s good to be seen.” We clasp each other and thump each other’s backs. This is repeated all around until Smokey’s clear voice rings out.

“HQ, we found them.”

I don’t know how long Grady’s team has been on the mountain, but they look strung out and exhausted. Their eyes are haunted from the firestorm which nearly