"We radioed for extraction, and a National Guard helicopter is on the way. But it can't land here, and the conditions aren't good for a hoist rescue. Now, we just need to get y'all to the far shore, double-time, and with no, uh, fu—futzing around," he corrected himself, with a glance at the fascinated circle of kids.
Thor, who now wore only briefs and displaying an impressive amount of muscle and dark body hair, spoke up. "Shoes off, everyone. Leave behind everything that doesn't comfortably fit in your pockets and can survive getting wet. We'll carry what we can on those pool toys. Everything else, we'll come back for once everyone's safely outta here."
He continued issuing crisp instructions, assigning each of the Ordinary campers to a float. Ken, Thor, and Mike would carry the adults across the lake on their backs. The floats with kid passengers were all apportioned out to the other firefighters, including Mr. Hotness.
The next few minutes passed in a bustle of activity as the tools that the firefighters had brought with them were swiftly bundled up in waterproof ground cloths, along with their clothing…and Maggie's, too, she was glad to note.
It would be less embarrassing for everyone if she didn't have to participate in a naked helicopter ride after she shifted back to her human shape.
Then the firefighters began to shift.
First to rise on four paws was the brown-haired female firefighter, Kara, whose beast shape was a large coyote. She was followed by the blonde woman, Felicia, a tawny-furred giant cougar.
Thor and the Asian firefighter, Mike, both transformed into gargantuan brown bears. Mr. Hotness's jaguar shape was twice as large as Maggie's, with beautiful gold fur and crisp black rosette markings.
Rounding out the group, Josh shifted into a large gray-and-white wolf, and Ken's beast form proved to be a huge black-maned African lion.
As instructed, the adult campers swiftly climbed onto the backs of the two bears and the lion. Thor, Ken, and Mike wasted no time wading into the lake and striking out for the far shore, where the first two kids that Maggie had carried over were tiny, distant figures sitting on boulders.
Then the rest of the transformed firefighters lined up on the shore, Maggie among them, and the kids took their places in the floats, the bigger kids guiding and helping the little ones to climb into the bobbing rafts.
They were a third of the way across the lake when Kathy shouted, "Oh my God! Will you look at that?"
She pointed back in the direction of the campground. Maggie stopped swimming for a moment and turned her head to glance over her shoulder.
The sight drove the air out of her lungs in a deep huff of horror. Behind their little flotilla, tall pines blazed like torches as a tidal wave of orange flames swept down to the lakeshore, devouring every living thing in its path.
They'd escaped the inferno with maybe five minutes to spare. Maggie figured that the sight of their campground in flames would probably have a starring role in her nightmares for years to come.
If Thor and his team of shifter firefighters hadn't shown up when they had, then Bob, Susan, Kathy, and every child that Maggie hadn't managed to ferry to safety would have died. Horribly.
Trying to push down the disturbing realization, Maggie resolutely turned back to look at their destination. She continued to swim forward as fast as she could manage, pushing a small float shaped like a gaping shark ahead of her.
You can freak out later, she told herself. Keep swimming now.
Despite carrying larger and heavier loads, the two bears easily maintained their lead as they cut through the cold, clear water. Bob looked like he had a death-grip on Thor's thick brown fur, and Kathy and Susan both held bundles of clothing and personal belongings carefully above the water lapping at their hips and waists.
Their group reached the other side of the lake safely. Their passengers had just dismounted when Susan pointed at the welcome sight of a huge double-rotor National Guard helicopter coming in over a distant ridge.
All of the evacuees began waving and cheering and hugging each other. Some of the kids fearlessly hugged the strange menagerie of large carnivores that had carried them across the water.
As the helicopter ponderously swung around and began heading in their direction, Thor's bear grabbed the tarp-wrapped bundle of clothing in its jaws and dragged it into the forest that crowded up against the lake's rocky shore.
Maggie joined the others in