Engine 51 was approaching base, but as they got nearer both Cap and Mike looked at each other apprehensively. They soon realised they were in the middle of base and all that remained was two burnt out fire vehicles and the charred remains of the temporary building used to strategise. "Will you look at that?" Cap said perusing what was once their base.
Everyone looked at the blackened remains and visualised their fellow firemen virtually running for their lives. Mike caressed the steering wheel, thanking his sturdy engine for keeping them alive and safe. They all took deep breaths and patted their engine relishing the fact that they were still living.
"Where to Cap?" Mike asked.
"Kelly what does the map say?" Cap asked from his seat.
"Next town is north, about twenty miles" he replied "Just keep following the road" he continued, patting the sleeping coyote as he spoke.
Mike put the engine into 2nd gear and continued on down the road hoping that they wouldn't be facing any gruesome discoveries along the way. They were still deep in the hills, their next destination waiting to be reached. The engine continued to move through the hills, mindful of its cargo never wavering from its mission.
Johnny and Roy were worried about Karl. His burns needed to be debris in areas around the arms; infection was a big worry. Jason talked to Karl trying to keep his mind off the painful burns and trying to keep his own mind off his wife who lay under the blanket next to him.
Johnny began to frown as he tried to focus on what he thought was movement near a burnt out house. "Stop the engine" he called out and started to climb down.
"Johnny what is it?" asked Roy.
"Movement, I saw movement" he called out. He pointed towards the back of the scorched remains of the house. The chimney the only recognisable feature left of the house. Johnny, Roy and Cap walked round the back of the house. Floating in blackened water were two bodies, a woman and a child. The wind moved the face down bodies along the surface of the water. All three men squeezed their eyes shut but not before stopping the image from being etched into their minds, where it would remain for a long time.
"Should we move and cover them, for the authorities to take care of?"
"Yeah, let's get them out and wrap them up" said Cap.
Mike brought two blankets to use to wrap the bodies. He had joined the trio, and as soon as he saw the bodies he ran back to the engine for the blankets.
As Roy and Johnny retrieved the bodies, Roy remarked "They must have thought the pool would save them".
"Yeah well, they would have suffocated first, that fire would have sucked all the oxygen out of the air."
"Yeah" agreed Roy trying hard not to think about how terrifying it must have been for the woman and child.
They carried the wrapped bodies over to the remains of the house and placed the bodies carefully next to the chimney. The four men said silent prayers for the woman and child. Chet marked it on the map and they continued the arduous journey hoping against hope that the living nightmare would come to an end.
Johnny and Roy continued to scan the skies for helicopters. If things were still really bad with the fire to the east the helicopters would be busy water dropping to save other lives and property. They wondered if engine 51 was presumed dead by their superiors. They didn't blame them if they thought that after the devastation they had witnessed this day.
The stark landscape was endless, offering nothing but despair to the lone men as they continued to thread their way through the hills. They craved for Mother Nature's colours in contrast to the bleakness they constantly viewed. Their moods matched the landscape and hope was gradually being eroded. They were all tired, hungry and thirsty and craved for clean air. The constant intake of smoke killed their senses and they wondered if the smell would ever leave their nostrils. They swayed with the movement of the engine entrusting her with their lives. They never doubted that they would reach their destination totally trusting their engine and engineer to lead them out of the hills that held them captive.
Finally they reached a point where you could almost visualize the fire turning. Colour appeared in small areas and those areas grew in size the further they drove. Everyone sat up straighter anticipating seeing life, begging it to make an appearance for their starved eyes. It was a further ten miles down the road before they finally saw unscathed existence. Eight hours after being assigned, six fire-fighters, two ambulance attendants, two casualties, one code F and one injured coyote made their way into base. Everyone in the base stopped what they were doing and watched the engine roll in, finishing her journey and finally delivering her valuable cargo.
They were met by relieved superiors and peers. Dr Brackett and Dixie quickly took charge of the men and had them all led to an area where they were quickly given cold water and food. Dixie took one look at Johnny's face and returned with the necessary items to clean and treat the burns scattered over his face and neck. The Chief sat next to Cap and asked him what happened. Cap told him of their harrowing escape from the wind-driven fire and when he got to the part of reaching the original base, Chief told him how they fled with only minutes to spare. Cap gave him their map informing him of their gruesome findings.
Animal control approached Chet and took over the care of the coyote. "Make sure you take care of Lucky" he told them.
"Lucky?" Marco asked.
"Yeah well, I figured it was a good name for him. He was very lucky we came along and took care of him" said Chet affectionately. Naming the rescued coyote was a great idea he thought. Everyone just shook their heads. Chet never ceased to amaze his friends.
Everyone had their vitals checked; Johnny's blood pressure was very low so he was encouraged to drink juice to increase his sugar levels. As fellow fire-fighters returned to base stunned faces would take in the view of engine 51 and they would then scan the base for its crew. The men of engine 51 were constantly greeted by relieved fellow fire-fighters, all having thought A Shift of Engine 51 was part of the enormous death toll. Their stories would be retold many times over.
When life returned to normality, no-one scoffed when Mike gave his beloved engine a loving caress and every member would diligently pat the 51 emblem on the front of her at the start of every shift.
The fire marked its spot in the history books as one of the most devastating catastrophes. Whole towns were completely wiped out and many lives were lost that fateful day. One little life was returned to the wild six months later. Chet and Johnny took the honors of lifting the lid of the cage allowing Lucky to escape and join the small community of surviving coyotes within the hills. The earth was still black but life was taking birth across the landscape. Just before disappearing Lucky stopped and turned, he looked back at his carers as if to say thank you. Johnny noticed moisture pooling in Chet's eyes and placed his arm around his shoulders. The two men stood in silence and watched the small life disappear into the hills.
