Page 203 of Her Reluctant Hero
“Get her,” he ordered.
Peyton forced herself forward and picked up the child, who added kicking to her screaming. Peyton blinked against the flailing fists that knocked back her helmet, gasped against a blow to her stomach from the small feet. The flurry of movement made it hard to see where she was going as she headed for the door. She tripped, and Cooper caught her arm and dragged her with him.
In the clearing, four girls in various pieces of fire gear hunkered together. Two were wrapped in Gabe’s fire shirt; she only now realized he wasn’t wearing it. Two others held his silver fire shelter about their shoulders, one of them balancing his large helmet on her small head, the other with his bandana about her nose and mouth. The sweaty fabric couldn’t smell good, but it would keep some of the smoke from her lungs.
Gabe stopped in front of the oldest one. “Why are you still here?”
The little girl’s lip stuck out. “You told us not to move!”
He rolled his eyes as Peyton came up beside him.
“Where is everyone else?” Peyton asked.
“I sent them out already. We need to get going. Now.”
Gabe couldn’t hear the saws anymore and didn’t know if the noise was drowned out by the encroaching fire or if his team had been forced to retreat. Embers rained down on them, and his skin prickled with dread. Before the intuition had time to fully form, the wind kicked up and the flames jumped into the canopy.
God help them, it was a crown fire, fast and loud. At least the smoke rose off the ground and he could see. He lifted the smallest child into his arms.
“We’re going out under the fire!” he yelled. “It’s in the crown, but it could drop down, all right? So we’ve got to go fast. Michaels, bring up the rear to push them along. Can you run with her?”
“God, I hope so.” Her eyes were huge in her soot-dusted face as her gaze followed the leaps of fire through the treetops.
“Don’t look at it. Just move forward as fast as you can.”
The child she carried still fought her, the strain of it showed on her face. He leaned down to the girl, watching her eyes widen in terror. He must appear monstrous to a small child, with his dirty face and glowering expression, and he used that to his advantage.
“Stop it. Now,” he said in his sternest voice.
The child froze, staring at him, and he nodded his approval.
“All right, here we go. Follow me!”
He tucked the head of the child he carried under his chin, grasped the hand of the hard-hatted girl and hoped he could trust Peyton to shepherd the others after him.
The fire hit the camp’s bus then, over near the road, and ignited the gas. The concussion from the explosion hurtled them forward. Gabe lost his balance and threw himself onto his back to protect the child in his arms. Rocks gouged between his ribs; the combination of hard ground and the child’s solid body knocked the breath from him.
He couldn’t slow down. They should have been out of here five minutes ago. There was no margin for error now. He scrambled up to check on his charges, his arm banded tightly around the little girl. Screams rang in his ears. He glanced at Peyton, his most likely suspect, and saw her trudging grimly along.
The counselor was on her hands and knees, screaming. The two girls wrapped in his shirt watched her, sobbing so hard they couldn’t catch their breath. Gabe wrapped a hand around the woman’s skinny arm and dragged her to her feet, hoping the force didn’t snap her bones. He spun her around to check for flames or blood, but saw nothing. She was just terrified. Hell. The quickest way out was a slap to the face. She blinked at the rough contact, but stopped screaming before she panicked the children worse than they were.
“You’re all right.” He glanced at Peyton. “You all right?”
She actually laughed and raised a hand in front of her, palm out. “Yeah, I’m good. I promise.”
“Let’s go!”
The fire cracked and sizzled over their heads as they ran through the trees. Falling debris could rain down on them. They had to keep moving. Gabe hated being in the lead—he checked over his shoulder every few seconds to ensure his group followed him. He lost time, but couldn’t trust Peyton to lead them out.
The child he dragged stumbled, jerking his arm and throwing him off balance. He kept her upright by sheer strength of will and propelled her forward.
The fire was at their back, the heat incredible, the smoke blinding. He could smell singed hair. The slightest delay would kill them.
A flaming branch hurtled through the air and crashed in their path. Gabe threw his body back to block the others from running into it.
Damn, this would ignite the floor fuels. He dodged to the right and kept running. He glanced back to ensure his charges were following, registering their terrified, tear-streaked faces.
They could be terrified as long as they kept up with him.
