Chapter 8
As Jim and Jeff stand near the burned out campfire, the radio comes to life. Jeff pulls it out of the saddlebag. "Go ahead, Brian." The radio volume is loud enough so Jim can hear.
"I wanted to let you know that spotter's just reported a fire in Devil's Canyon. It's moving east quickly. We currently have wind gusts up to twenty mph. I just called in a fire crew."
"Brian, we found signs that Jenny and Pete were east of Meadow Loops. There's a chance that they are in that area. Hang on just a second." Jeff walks around the out skirts of the area looking for tracks. He finds what looks like a number of shoeprints and one set of hoofprints tracking toward Devil's Canyon. "Brian, get some officers along with the firefighters over to the end of Devil's Canyon trail and work up the mountain. I'm not sure what we might find, but have everyone be on the alert."
"Yes, sir."
"And Brian, see if we can get some bucket drops over the fire ASAP!"
"Got it. What about you?"
"Jim and I will ride toward the canyon, but we'll be on the watch for any break out fires."
Jeff kneels down and is pointing to the ground. "Hey, Jim, look over here. It looks to me like there are at least four people and one horse heading east from here."
"So, Pete and Jenny have company. I'm guessing that it's not the good kind."
"We should move out." Both men go to their horses and mount up. "We need to keep an eye on the wind so that it doesn't shift or we could be running from the flames."
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Back where the fire began Pete is having a coughing fit. The air is thick with heavy smoke. The larger trees are preventing the wind from clearing it out. The damp cloth over his mouth is helping some, but not enough especially with his already injured lungs. Looking for relief from the overwhelming heat, he picks up the canteen for a cool drink and pulls away the cloth from his mouth. It is soiled with fresh bloody mucus. The smoke is causing his lungs to sting and burn. Pete realizes he can't go to Jenny because it would mean certain death. His next option is to go back up the trail to distance him from the fire. He turns and staggers toward the path he came down on, but with the smoke so thick it's difficult for him to see anything. Pete begins to get lightheaded from lack of oxygen. The combination of not being able to take in a normal breath and inhaling a large percentage of smoke is taking its toll. Each step he takes the more disoriented he gets. Even as the fire moves away from Pete's location the heat is unbearable. Without knowing it, he moves toward the river. He stumbles and falls into a shallow pool of chilly darkness. The waters protect him from the intense heat and the startling cold revives him enough that he pulls himself to edge before collapsing and passing out.
Jenny sits tight in the still pocket of the river knowing that it's the best chance she has with the flames just about to overtake her position. Her whole body is trembling from the extreme cold of the mountain water. She can even hear her teeth chattering. The one good part of being cold is her arm feels numb and not as painful. Jenny spots a few deer fleeing the forest hillside, as they are spooked from the fire. Jenny feels a bit guilty knowing the men are sitting ducks with the speed of the fire. She can hear them in a panic in the distance.
John, not knowing how to save themselves from the flames, shoves Steve down on the path then throws himself over the top of him. He screams as the scorching temperatures begin to burn up his clothes.
Jenny hears the sounds of a helicopter overhead, but is unable to see anything through the clouds of smoke. She realizes it must be a water drop. The crackling and sizzling sounds follow the sudden rise of smoke when the water and flame retardant hit the ground stopping much of the fire in its tracks. Fortunately, the fire is contained in this deep gorge area and is easier to fight then ones more in the open. A few minutes later an air tanker flies over and drops more fire retardant. A large part of the flames seem to be squelched after the second drop. Jenny's mind flashes back to Pete. Is he ok? Did he get caught up in this fire? He has to be struggling with all this smoke. Are John and Steve dead? Should I go back and risk running into them?
Jenny starts to pull herself out of the river using one arm and her legs. She cries out as she leans awkwardly on the obviously broken forearm. With all the smoke still lingering she needs to cover her nose and mouth. She rips away a piece of her right sleeve and uses it to cover her face. Her body is still physically shaking from soaking in the cold water. As she tries to stand, she hears voices coming from further down the canyon. It must be a fire crew coming up the trail. She carefully makes her way back over to the path. She sees a body lying face down in the dirt. Not knowing whom it is she quickly heads down the trail taking each step carefully with the rag over her nose and her right arm dangling by her side. She can hear the men shouting orders to shovel here and throw dirt over that hotspot. At last she sees the welcome outline of a firefighter coming through a cloud of gray.
"Here she is!" The fireman takes off his fire coat and wraps it around her still trembling body. He introduces himself and asks her a question. "Jenny, I'm Matt. Can you tell me how you're doing?"
"How do you know who I am?"
"Well, for one thing, a search was started this morning for you and Officer Malloy. Second, we found your horse Trooper at the bottom of the trail just a few minutes ago."
Jenny stops in her tracks. "Did you find Pete yet?"
"Not as far as I know."
Jenny looks desperately in his eyes and says, "You need to know that three men held us at gunpoint and were hiking down this path when the fire broke out. I heard one fall and saw another body just up the trail. I don't know if any of them are still alive, but they all had guns. We left Pete this morning further up the trail because he's hurt. I'm sure he has broken ribs and a concussion. We need to get him to a hospital right away!"
"Calm down, Jenny. There are a couple men riding in from the western part of Devil's Canyon, and we will hike up from here. I'm sure we'll find Pete soon."
"I'm coming with you."
This gritty young woman amazes Matt. She is wet, cold, dirty, and wearing a tattered uniform along with the burden of a broken arm, but still is determined to continue. "I think you need some medical attention first. Let's get you some first aid."
He carefully walks her down the trail to where a staging place is set up. Some additional fire crews as well as some police officers get ready to hike up the trail. Matt calls over a medic to check over Jenny. The medic convinces Jenny to sit before she falls down. Her face is turning a pale white as shock is finally setting in. He wraps her up in blankets and splints her right arm. He places an IV catheter in her left and starts a bolus of fluids.
Matt gathers up the officers to inform them of the three potentially dangerous men who are armed. The police and extra firefighters march up the trail while Matt makes a radio call. "Jeff, do you copy?"
"You've got me. Go ahead."
"Jeff, we found Jenny and she's injured, but I think she will be ok. She says Pete Malloy is hurt and was left further up Devil's Canyon trail. I'll keep in close radio contact as we ascend the canyon trail. Be aware that three men armed with guns are also involved. I have yet to discern whether they are still a threat. At this point the fire is under control, but we have a crew working on hot spots.
"Thanks for the information and the news on Jenny. We must be approaching the fire zone. We are coming into some low-lying smoke." Jeff and Jim dismount the horses and lead them as they try to see the ground better.
Matt and his men work their way up from the bottom along with the police officers. They come upon two men lying in the trail. One is burnt beyond recognition, but another man lies beneath and is still alive. They can hear him crying. The officers step in to assess the safety of the scene. They pull the body of the burnt man off the other. They remove the handgun protruding from his waistband. The fire and rescue crew move in to help. Steve is covered in dirt and blood. They see he has an injured leg and two men get ready to carry him down the steep trail. The body of the other man is covered and left since two more men are yet to be found, one being Pete.
Next the searching officers come to the ledge with a third man. By good fortune, he was spared from the flames with the timing of the last chemical drop. Dean is just beginning to come around and looks up into the eyes of two Los Angeles Police Officers. They help him to stand on wobbly legs and pat him down for a weapon. After confiscating the weapon, they recognize it as an off-duty police gun. Lying nearby is a backpack, which they retrieve. Inside is the evidence to the recent robbery from Friday. "This might come in handy." The officer slings it over his shoulder before cuffing Dean and leading him down the trail.
The radio squawks again, and Jeff answers. "Go ahead."
"We have located the three potential robbers. One is dead the other two are injured and are being assisted down the mountain as we speak. Still no sign of Pete Malloy yet."
"I believe we just arrived at the fire's starting point. I'm looking at the burn marks now. I'll report if I find anything. Radio out." Jeff and Jim notice that the smoke is a little thicker here, their mounts are becoming more nervous, too. Many small animals have been scurrying towards them in an attempt to escape the fire. As they approach the river, Jeff notices the remnants of what looks like a fire pit, the stones are haphazardly in a circle with several knocked away from the pit.
"Jim, from what Jenny said this is where they left Pete. Tie up Jackson and let's scout out this area well." The smoke is finally clearing as the afternoon is wearing on. The temperature is in the eighties, but it feels much hotter with the fire still smoldering. Jeff is analyzing the burn marks on the ground and can see where the fire began. The two sites weren't far from the campfire area. There are shoesprints everywhere, but mainly around the fire pit and on the path to the water. Jeff notices a badge lying on the ground by a marked up tree. He picks it up and realizes it's Jenny's forest service badge. He observes some blood smears on the trunk. Jim is wandering further from the fire pit and sees signs that Trooper was tied close by the water. Piles of manure and grazed grass give evidence to this fact. Jim scans the edge of the river then stops in his tracks.
"Jeff! Over here!" Jim rushes to the stony river's edge where he finds Pete lying unconscious half in and half out of the water. Jim steps into the frigid water and carefully pulls Pete out onto the sandy soil. He then gently turns him over on his back. Pete's blue tinged lips alarm him. Jeff comes and kneels down beside him and feels for a pulse.
"It's ok, Jim. He has a pulse. It's weak, but it's there." Jeff leans down and turns his face right by Pete's lips to listen and feel for a breath. He feels some air against his cheek. "He's breathing, but it's very shallow short breaths. I think the water may have dropped his body temperature really low. "Jim, grab my jacket off my horse."
In almost a robotic way, Jim retrieves the coat from the bay horse then brings it to Jeff. As he hands it to Jeff he glances over Pete. He notices leather remnants around each of Pete's wrists, bruises and cuts on his temple and chin. Pete's clothes are dirty and torn with blood droplets splattered on the front. Partner, what did they do to you? "How are we going to get him out of here?"
"I'm not sure just yet." Jeff tucks the jacket over Pete. Putting his radio to his mouth he puts out a quick call. "Come in Matt."
"This is Matt. Go ahead."
"We found Pete. He is about four miles up from the base of Devil's Canyon. I'm assessing his injuries now. Standby please." Jeff has first aid and rescue training and puts it to use looking over Pete. With a quick rub of his knuckles across his sternum, he tries to bring him around to consciousness. "Pete, can you hear me? He's non-responsive." As Jeff slowly goes from his head down, gently pressing on both sides of his head, shoulders, and ribcage then Pete releases a moan at the sudden jarring pain. Jeff can feel the bones shifting. "I found a big problem. He definitely has some broken ribs. We need to keep him very still." Jeff continues down Pete's body. He gets a response at his abdomen, but his legs seem to be ok.
"Matt, we need to see if we can get a copter up here to airlift Pete out. He's unconscious. He appears to have broken ribs, a concussion, and contusions to his abdomen. I'm really worried by his respiration rate."
"I'll see what I can do. Is there a clearing near you for a stokes to be dropped?"
"Matt, I'll look and get back to you. Jim, I'm going to look around for a break in the trees. Keep an eye on him."
"Ok, Jeff." Jim looks down at his friend. "Pete, stay with me." Perspiration is dripping from Jim's forehead with the hot temperatures in the recent fire zone. Time seems to be passing slowly as Jim's patience is evaporating with worry for Pete. Suddenly, he hears the sounds of a helicopter flying overhead. The leaves on the trees are shaking and swishing about. A short distance down the trail he sees a wire stokes descending from the sky above. Jeff grabs for the basket in mid air and pulls it down the rest of the way. He unhooks it from the safety lines and carries it over to Jim.
"Help me get him strapped in." Jeff and Jim carefully lift Pete up and into the stokes. They secure him inside and together carry him back into position to be airlifted out. The safety lines are reattached. Jeff gives the word to hoist away over the radio. Slowly, the rescue basket rises up and through the trees. Medics on board the copter pull the stokes into the bird. They quickly place an oxygen mask on Pete and establish an IV for fluids.
