A/N: Thanks for the wonderful feedback, Caranath, Jackie, unobtrusive, zenfrodo, KennaC, Leya and Vinsmouse! Shorter chapter today. Thank you to all who are continuing to read!
Chapter 9
Nancy turned as Buck opened the door to the pickup, the heat from the fire filling the cab. "Man, this is a bad one," he said, shaking his head.
She exited through the passenger side door, followed by Emily, and stood gaping at the blaze.
"Holy…!" Nancy stared as cowboys began unreeling the hoses from the back of the spray trucks and aiming the water at the flames. She'd never seen anything like this. The fire was eating up the pasture, the dry grass of late summer burning quickly. It reminded her of an ocean wave as it moved along, consuming everything in its path.
She glanced at Joe and Frank who had jumped down from the back of the truck, awaiting instructions from Ed.
"Get the hell back in that truck and don't get out again," Ed called to her and Emily. "Frank, Joe, get on that spray truck." He gestured to a green pickup with a large tank in its bed parked in front of Buck's.
Nancy and Emily climbed into the cab of the pickup they'd been riding in for the third time, as Buck put the truck in gear. "You two have got to stop disappearing on me," he said with a chuckle as he pulled forward.
Nancy clutched Emily's arm. "We're driving straight into that inferno."
Emily nodded. "It's getting bigger."
Nancy leaned forward, trying to peer through the windshield as Buck turned the truck to ride parallel with the blaze. She watched Frank and Joe jump down, manning the hoses and spraying into the flames, holding their free arms up to shield themselves against the intense heat. "This is crazy," she whispered. "They could get killed."
Buck overheard Nancy. "Aw, honey, don't you go worrying none. Guys love doin' this."
She sighed deeply. "I'm sure it satisfies some ridiculous, male, pyromaniacal urge, but I still think it's insane."
"We gotta put it out, darlin'," Buck said, pulling the truck forward a little more. "Otherwise the whole damn ranch will burn down."
OOOoooOOO
"Give it some slack," Ed hollered down to Joe. "Spray it at the base of the flames."
Damn, Joe thought, as he wrestled with the hose against what felt like impossibly searing heat. This is not what I was expecting. He glanced at his brother, his face grim, the sweat pouring off him as he struggled against the blaze.
"Follow the truck. Spray as you go," Ed ordered.
Joe aimed the hose at the base of a four foot crackling wall of fire. How are we ever going to beat this?
OOOoooOOO
Emily lurched forward in her seat when Buck applied the brakes abruptly as they chased the fire over some rocky terrain. She raised her hand to her mouth as the truck stopped mere inches from Frank and Joe.
"Be careful, Buck. Please." Her voice was anxious.
"Don't worry, sweetie, I've been doin' this longer than you've been alive." He accelerated again, bouncing the girls violently in their seats.
"I hate this," Emily hissed to Nancy. Prairie fires always set her teeth on edge. She'd seen how they could turn on a dime, and hoped that the backfires she knew her uncle was lighting would keep the flames away and help the fire to burn itself out.
"It looks like they're standing at the gates of hell," Nancy said.
Suddenly there was a loud popping noise and the flames right next to the pickup shot into the air. The truck Frank and Joe were manning lurched forward and they ran along behind it.
"Are they okay?" Emily asked, her heart beating a mile a minute.
"They're fine," Buck assured her, waving his hand.
A crackling noise came over the CB radio in the truck. "Buck, you're on fire! You're on fire, Buck! Get the hell out of that truck!"
"Oh, damn!" Buck yelled, his voice anything but reassuring. "We gotta get out." He gave Emily a shove. "Get out of the truck, darlin'. Now!"
Nancy managed to open the door, stumble out of the vehicle and straight down an embankment. Emily followed closely behind her. She stood up, dusty and coughing, and realized they were blocked by flames less than fifteen feet from them.
"Where do we go?" Emily called out. The smoke was thick around her and she couldn't tell in which direction she should move. If they went the wrong way, they would be trapped by the flames. Panic began to set in as the smoke filled her lungs and impaired her breathing. She coughed violently, knowing she didn't have much time to make a decision.
"I don't know," Nancy replied. "I can't see anyone."
Emily couldn't answer her, the smoke was closing off her airway. She reached out for Nancy in the haze, her vision growing black around the edges.
"Emily!" Nancy called out. "What do we do?"
Emily turned as she thought she heard the clattering of horse hooves headed toward them. She shielded her face from the searing heat, and through the smoke saw Tim appear at a full gallop, one arm extended out to her. He leaned down and snatched her up easily as he passed, pulling her onto his saddle and holding her close.
"Nancy!" Emily choked out.
"Jake's got her," Tim said. "Hold still, sweetie."
Emily stopped trying to twist away when Tim tightened his arm around her, clutching her securely to him. They rode until they were far enough away from the flames to be safe. Tim pulled up on the reins and the horse slowed to a stop.
"You scared the hell out of me," Tim said to Emily as they waited for Jake and Nancy to catch up to them. "What on earth are you doing on a fire line?"
Emily couldn't reply. Her breath was still coming in gasps as she tried to fill her lungs with the now clean air surrounding her. She'd been moments away from death, and she knew it. If she'd passed out, no one would have found her. And Nancy would have died, too. The terror and panic she was feeling only intensified as she looked around her. It seemed like the entire world was on fire.
"Are you okay?" Tim stared into her eyes, then pulled her against him. "Don't worry, honey. Everything's going to be just fine."
Jake came up right behind Tim. Nancy's arms were around his neck and she was visibly shaking. "I guess we got to you two just in time," Jake said to Emily as he looked back at the blaze.
Buck's truck was completely incinerated, only a shell remaining where they'd been sitting moments ago. Emily shivered at the sight and the sudden coolness of the air surrounding her. The temperature away from the fire had dropped considerably. Tim tightened his grip on her. She heard some static coming over the walkie-talkie attached to his belt and reached for it.
"Hang on, darlin'," Tim said with a chuckle. "What do you need?"
"Joe," Emily said, coughing to try and clear the hoarseness from her voice. "I want to talk to Joe." She was sick with worry. He and Frank had been right there when the fire jumped. She was desperate to make sure he was all right.
Tim sighed as he unclipped his walkie-talkie. He held it up to his mouth. "Ed?"
"Tim? Where are you?" Ed's voice crackled back.
"About fifty yards behind you," he replied. "Jake and I have the girls."
Emily could hear her uncle sigh with relief. "Good. Then keep them the hell away from here, please."
"Will do," Tim responded. He glanced down at Emily, who mouthed 'Joe' to him. "Listen Ed, Em wants to talk to Joe. Is he there?"
"Frank, too, please," Nancy called out.
"And Frank," Tim added.
"Hang on," Ed told him.
Momentarily, Joe's voice came over the airwaves. "Emily? Are you okay? Where are you?"
Emily could feel his panic right through the walkie-talkie. "I'm fine. Don't worry," she replied shakily. "Joe, please be careful."
"I'm fine, as long as I know you're safe. I love you, baby."
"Love you," she said.
She handed the walkie-talkie to a grim faced Tim, who tossed it to Jake. Nancy grabbed it from him.
"Frank?" she called out, her voice sounding anxious.
"I'm here, honey," he responded. "Listen, you stay safe and away from this fire, understand?"
"Gladly," Nancy replied. "And I want you back as soon as possible and in once piece, too. Got it?"
"Got it," Frank said. "I love you, Nan, and I'll see you in a little while."
"I love you, Hardy," she said, softly, before handing the walkie-talkie back to Jake.
Jake smiled down at her. "He's a damn lucky guy and I hope he knows it."
Tim turned his horse and walked him over to a nearby pickup truck. He dismounted, then helped Emily down just as Nancy and Jake rode up next to them. The four of them paused for a moment, surveying the inferno.
"It's moving away from here," Tim said. "You'll be safe in this truck."
"Are you going back?" Emily asked.
Tim gave her a lazy grin. "Have to. It's my job."
"Be careful."
"I will."
Emily touched his arm lightly. "And thank you, Tim. Thank you for helping me."
He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Any time, darlin'. You know that." He opened the door to the truck and helped her inside. "You stay right here, you understand?"
Emily nodded and glanced at Nancy who was climbing in on the passenger side.
Jake leaned in and rummaged around in the glove box. He pulled out another walkie-talkie and handed it to Nancy. "You need anything, sweetheart, you call. Okay?"
Nancy smiled at him. "Okay."
Jake grinned back at her, then leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Bye, now."
Tim looked at Emily for a long moment then took one of her hands in both of his.
"Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.
Tim just smiled, brought her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. "I'll come check on you later." He touched his hat, then he and Jake got on their horses and rode off toward the fire.
Nancy sighed and turned to Emily. "I love Frank Hardy with all my heart...but that was awesome."
Emily burst into giggles. "Nancy Drew I never would have guessed you were such a sucker for romance."
"Me neither," she replied. She gestured around her. "Especially this kind. Cowboys, the wild west, horses...it's so cliché, so…so offensively macho." She shook her head. "It's got to be the adrenalin. Because this has Bess Marvin's name written all over it in capital letters, and yet, I'm the one who's all mushy inside."
Emily laughed. "I won't say a word to Frank about your mushiness."
OOOoooOOO
Joe collapsed onto a nearby hillside with a bottle of water in his hand. He opened it and gulped down half, then turned it upside down over his head and chest as Frank took a seat next to him. "Man, this is brutal," he said, taking in the controlled chaos surrounding him as men continued hosing down flames that stubbornly refused to die out.
Frank lay back on the grass, wiping his arm across his face and smearing the soot into his sweat. "I wonder if whoever is threatening Ed and Susan knew the extent of the damage they'd cause with this fire."
Joe shook his head. "I don't know. If they didn't, they're stupid. If they did, they're more dangerous than we thought." He put the water bottle up to his mouth to try and catch another drop on his tongue. "I don't know which is worse."
Frank swallowed the contents of his bottle quickly. "Not good either way, is it?" He stood up and gestured to Joe. "We'll have to analyze it later. Right now we have to stop half this county from burning to the ground.
