Page 17 of Fire Bear (Return To Fate Mountain #1)
Chapter
Seventeen
Red and blue lights flashed in the darkness as Ash guided the truck along the orchard’s main road. A thick curtain of smoke rose behind the rows of apple trees. Eliana leaned forward, eyes wide with fear.
When Ash finally rounded the last curve, the full scale of the emergency lay before him. The orchard glowed with an eerie orange light. Several Fire Patrol vehicles were parked at awkward angles, and crew members rushed between them. The roar of the fire filled the air.
He pulled his truck to a jolting stop, and Eliana was already reaching for the door handle. The fear in her eyes made his heart clench.
“Eliana,” he said, his voice tight, “please stay by the main road or near one of the trucks. Do not go near the flames. My crew should be able to contain it, but I need you to be careful.”
She nodded, but her jaw was set. “I will,” she whispered. She opened her door and climbed out into the swirling smoke and flashing lights.
He swung out of the driver’s seat and immediately spotted two of his fellow firefighters, Kyle and Erin, sprinting across the orchard field. Kyle waved urgently for Ash to hurry. The thick tang of burning wood made Ash’s eyes water as he jogged over. Each footstep kicked up dust, and the rumbling pop of flames filled his ears.
“Chief,” Kyle called, barely slowing as Ash reached them, “it spread fast through the forest behind the orchard. The old outbuildings at the back are fully engulfed. We’re trying to keep it from jumping into the orchard trees, but the wind is picking up.”
Ash scanned the scene. Even in the dim light he could see two small outbuildings in flames. Fire crackled along their roofs and walls. Beyond them, the forest was alight with orange flames. Smoke billowed upward, casting a haze that reflected the flashing lights.
“Where’s the command post?” Ash asked Kyle, raising his voice to be heard over the roar.
“Jake set it up near the second Fire Patrol truck,” Kyle shouted back. “We’re having trouble getting enough water pressure. The lines are old. We may need a tanker.”
Ash fought a swell of frustration. The orchard’s infrastructure was not built for this. He gave a quick nod. “I’ll grab my gear. Keep me updated.”
In five quick strides, he reached the nearest Fire Patrol vehicle. The station’s lights strobed across the side, illuminating the open compartments stocked with hoses, axes, foam canisters, and protective suits. He hauled out his turnout gear and helmet.
Smoke stung his throat, and he forced himself to cough out the worst of it before tugging on his protective hood. He struggled into his heavy fire-resistant coat, gloves, and boots, snapping each buckle with an economy of motion that came from years of training.
Once dressed, he looked around for Eliana. He spotted her near a different engine, face lit by the pulsating glow of the emergency lights. She had her phone in one hand. Ash’s chest clenched with worry, but he had no time to linger. The orchard was at stake, and he was in charge.
He sprinted to the command area Kyle had mentioned. Two brush trucks and a standard engine were parked at angles, their crew members unspooling hoses. Jake stood by a portable floodlight, scanning a map of the orchard taped to the hood of the brush truck. His face was coated with sweat and soot, and he acknowledged Ash with a brief nod.
“Ash,” Jake said, his voice gravelly from shouting over the blaze, “the fire started near the fence line again. The back buildings are gone. We need a direct line to the orchard rows or this could spread.”
Ash’s gut twisted. He studied the partial map. The orchard hydrants had low pressure. The slope was uneven, making it hard for larger trucks to position themselves for direct water attack. If the wind turned, the flames could jump the orchard rows. He felt the press of time.
“Alright,” he said. “We’ll cut around the outbuildings from the west side. Send a line to the slope to keep it from creeping deeper into the forest. If we have enough foam, start dousing the orchard’s perimeter so embers don’t catch the trees.”
Jake nodded, scribbling notes. “We could use help pulling lines. We’re short-handed.”
Ash turned to see some of his off-duty crew arriving, hauling gear out of personal vehicles. They had come as soon as they heard. Relief flickered through him. They would need every available hand. “Good,” Ash said. “Let’s tackle the outbuildings first, keep the orchard safe, then push back the forest line. Be mindful of the changing wind.”
He heard an ominous crack behind them and spun, eyes darting to where a massive pine tree swayed, its trunk partially scorched. The flames gnawed at its base, sending showers of sparks into the air. Ash felt a surge of urgency.
“I’ll head over,” he told Jake. “Coordinate from here. Radio me if you see a shift in wind or if water supply changes.”
Jake saluted with two fingers. “Got it.”
Ash jogged to where the pine threatened to topple. Two firefighters aimed a hose at the lower trunk, but the angle was poor. Another was trying to break off limbs with a pole, in hopes of minimizing the risk.
The air was thick with the stench of burning sap. Ash stepped in, directing them to reposition so the water could hit the flames from a better angle. The heat pressed on him like a physical force, sweat trickling down his temples under his hood.
All the while, he caught glimpses of Eliana on the outskirts of the chaos. She stood near a safer area with Talia, who must have arrived moments after them. Her eyes followed his movements as if checking to be sure he was unharmed. Ash’s heart panged with concern for her, but he tore his gaze away to focus on the roaring fire. Every second counted. They had to act fast or risk losing the orchard.
He hauled a hose line forward, flanked by one of his crewmates, Alec, a wolf shifter with strong shoulders. Together they aimed at the pine’s trunk, saturating the bark to slow the spread. The water hissed on contact, steam rising in clouds.
Ash shouted for foam to bolster the water’s effect, and another firefighter rushed up with a foam nozzle. The combined effort dimmed the flames enough that the tree no longer blazed like a torch, though embers glowed among the blackened bark.
Ash scanned the rest of the orchard boundary. Fire Patrol members were dragging hoses, but the ground was uneven with irrigation trenches. Someone stumbled, sending a coil of hose flopping around. Another crew driving around the back of the property, to hit the flames from behind.
They used foam to coat the wooden structures, though the old wood had already burned to skeletal remains in places. Smoke hung in the air like a thick blanket, tinted orange by the flickering firelight.
A loud whoosh flared to his left. A smaller brush pile near the fence line caught fire when a gust of wind carried embers over. The flames shot up in a tower of sparks. Ash cursed under his breath and signaled two nearby firefighters to redirect a line that way. He pressed his radio. “We have a new hot spot by the fence, near the last outbuilding. Need coverage.”
The wind changed direction again, swirling smoke in unpredictable patterns. Ash tasted bitter ash in his mouth and spat it out. He felt the orchard’s precious trees behind him, and he knew if the wind carried those embers deeper into the orchard, the rows could ignite. They had to protect this boundary at all costs.
The Fire Patrol wrestled with the blaze. The roar of flames began to wane as bright orange tongues turned to dark, charred remnants. The orchard filled with thick smoke, making it hard to see more than a few yards at times, but the worst of the raging fire receded.
The outbuildings had collapsed into sodden heaps of charred timber. After a final push from both sides, the fires in the trees died down to smoldering embers. Crews took turns spraying and raking the debris to ensure no hidden hot spots remained.
The orchard’s air was thick with soot, and the once lush grass was now a blackened mess. Some of the orchard’s outer rows bore scorch marks where the fire had licked them. Ash stepped back from the last building they had doused. His helmet felt unbearably hot, sweat trickling down his face as he pulled off his protective hood and inhaled. The air smelled like burnt wood and chemicals.
Soot clung to his cheeks, and his arms felt like lead from manhandling hoses for what seemed like hours. He scanned the orchard, looking for Eliana. Finally, he saw her silhouette near one of the Fire Patrol trucks.
She was standing beside Detective Parker from the Fate Mountain Police Department. He was standing beside Eliana, scribbling in a small notebook. Ash’s chest tensed. The detective must have arrived sometime during the chaos. Eliana’s gaze locked onto him as he approached. Her eyes were bright with emotion, relief, and lingering fear. “Ash. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
He swallowed and nodded, trying to catch his breath. “We got it contained. The orchard rows are mostly safe. How are you?”
She let out a shaky sigh. “Worried about the damage. About the possibility that this was set on purpose again. Detective Parker was asking about the phone we took to the Bright Institute.”
Parker cleared his throat, looking solemn. “The encrypted phone could mean we have a serious pattern of arson, plus a missing person. This is not a simple case of negligence.”
Ash felt a flash of anger coil in his gut. If someone was deliberately burning the orchard and had kidnapped Mateo, the stakes were enormous. He flexed his shoulders, muscles aching. “We lost a few outbuildings and part of the fence. Some trees too. Could have been worse if the wind had shifted the other way.”
Parker made a final note, then closed his notebook. “We will keep patrols around the orchard, and I will update you if we find any new leads. I’ve already spoken with Marta from the Institute, and she’s going to send us updates on the phone.”