After another hour of real scary ghost stories, everyone retired to bed. Someone dropped a cigarette and stamped on it. But the cigarette wasn't out completely. Nobody cared and everyone settled down to sleep. Nick neatly crossed of the number 1 on the paper, said goodnight and slept.
The tiny cigarette light took a full one-hour to light up the nearest leaf. Soon, the leaf was burning and the next and the next. It made a small bright trail to the bottles of cooking oil set near the stamped out campfire. The fire started to heat up the plastic leaving charred black trails when a bottle tipped over and spilled the oily contents on the floor. Immediately, the fire grew bigger and with the dried conditions of the trees and leaves, the fire spread wildly, licking the leaves and burning them to ashes. It moved from tree to tree, dancing gaily under the soft moonlight giving out a false light glow.
Still, no one noticed.
The tiny breeze somehow carried the fire to the North, successfully avoiding the campers. Unfortunately, to the North was to the gate and the fire started to seal the exit and the entrance slowly. The fires spread from the ground to the tree trunks then to the branches and finally to the crispy dry leaves. Ashes blew and whipped around the air. When the fire was raging big, it began to travel to the Utilities.
Grace from the Special Unit was the one who discovered the fire when she needed to relief herself. She screamed loudly racing from tent to tent and calling the rest up.
"What the hell…" began Warrick as he sleepily propped himself up on his pillow.
"There's a fire!" screamed Sara from outside.
Quickly, Warrick woke Nick up and fumbled with the zip. He finally got it open and crawled up. He gaped as he took in the situation.
People ran to and fro fetching pails of water from the river. Shouts and screams were heard and the heat was ten times the heat of the summer. Smoke billowed out, almost blocking the views and someone gave a hacking cough now and then.
"Grissom and Greg left to help!" shouted Catherine amidst the chaos.
"See if there is anyway out!" yelled Nick.
"That's the way out!" cried Sara pointing to the raging fire.
"Let's go help," ordered Warrick. "You two try to get out."
"Be careful!" yelled Catherine and Sara.
"You got a cell!" cried Tira running to them.
"No!"
"Go ask and if you get one, call the Utilities!"
"No one is allowed to bring communicators!" said Catherine. "It's supposed to be a cut of from the modern world!"
"Hell to the damned guy who made this rule!" yelled Tira. "We are surely trapped in a man made hell!"
Nick and Warrick raced to the river and squeezed themselves in the long line where pails where passed along until the last threw it at the flames.
That was proved useless as the flames reared up just as it was clear.
Catherine, Sara and Tira ran out into the clearing and took in the line of pale and sweaty men trying to find out where Grissom, Greg, Nick and Warrick was.
"They should be able to see the fire by now!" yelled Sara.
"Then where are the damned firemen!" shouted Tira.
In the line of the passing pails, Grissom yelled to his nearest partner, a bulky bald man, "You bought your car?!"
"Yeah! Many of us did! There was no bus at our section! Why!"
"I hope the fire doesn't hit the oil tank!" called back Grissom.
"Speaking of oil tanks, there is a large one just outside the gate!" yelled a man beside the bald guy. "They use it to tank up empty tank cars! After all, this is a remote area! No petrol stations!"
"Damn! Let's hope that it does not hit it!" shouted another guy near Grissom as he thrust the pail towards Grissom.
With the gusto and panicked shaking hands of the men, the full pail was almost empty when it reached the last person and the fire was advancing, forcing them to move back a few inches every 5 minutes.
Catherine, with the help of Tira and Sara managed to climb a tall tree, getting a fine view of the Utilities.
"What does the big container hold!" she yelled down.
"What container?" shouted Sara.
"Oh no!" screamed Tira. "That's the gas tank!"
"Whatever the hell it is, the fire's reaching it!" Catherine screamed.
Geena overheard and shouted, "Get down, get down! Everybody get down!"
The news spread through the crowd and everybody started to drop down, some even fleeing deeper into the forest.
"Down! Down! Everybody down!!"
Fleeing further was the best option and everybody dropped whatever they were doing, and ran.
"RUN!!"
Injured ones were quickly propped on shoulders and brought to the short relief of the meantime shelter.
"Down!"
A mile away, the huge oil tank exploded, shaking the ground and spilling the oil on the nearby trees, fueling the fire even more.
The wind suddenly changed routes and began rearing towards the South. Everyone screamed and ran further in but could do nothing but watch the monstrous fire advance towards their temporary shelter.
"Nick!" Sara cried, her hand clinging on Catherine's.
"Grissom! Greg, Warrick!" shouted Catherine. "Where are you!"
____________***____________
***
"Down! Down! Everybody down!!"
Hearing the cries, Grissom looked around wildly for Greg who was just beside him. He was nowhere to be seen, but Greg would not dessert Grissom. Not in a lifetime.
"Greg! Where…"
A huge explosion rocked the earths and Grissom dropped to the ground. "Greg!"
A strong hand pulled him up and he came face to face with Warrick.
"Come on, we have to leave! The fire's advancing!"
"Wait, where's Greg!"
"I don't know! I lost Nick too!"
"Let's hope for goodness sake that they are already ran!"
"Grissom, let's GO!"
Another distant explosion sounded as the fire hit the gas tanks of the cars, but was not that tremendous. Warrick and Grissom was about to turn and flee for their lives when Grissom saw a man curled up near a tree trunk, the fire only a few feet away.
"Grissom!"
"There's someone there!" yelled Grissom.
He ran towards the fire ignoring Warrick's curses. Warrick ran after him and together they hefted the man over their shoulder and ran.
"There's…there's…another…man…" he croaked.
"From where?" asked Warrick desperately.
"I don't know. His department ended with an I. I couldn't see the rest, his shirt was all burned."
"Damn!" cursed Grissom.
"Don't you dare be a CSI," muttered Warrick.
Together, they hauled the man to the crowds of panicked people yelling at each other. Catherine and Sara saw them and immediately yelled to get their attention.
"Grissom! Warrick! Over here!"
"Are you okay?" asked Grissom.
"We are fine! Where's Nicky and Greg?" replied Sara.
"I don't know! I lost Nicky and Grissom lost Greg!" shouted Warrick.
"It's getting closer! Back up, back up!"
Screams erupted and the group backed up a few inches.
"Is there anyway to get around the fire?" yelled Catherine.
"It's all burning crazy!" yelled Thomas.
"The other side!" someone yelled.
Everybody whipped their heads over to the East where a clearing had yet to be set on fire.
"What are we waiting for! Run!?" shouted Tira.
"What about the lost ones?" asked someone.
"The rescue teams will save them, now go!" a skinny man who was sweating profusely took the head and ran towards the East.
"Go! Go!"
"I'm not leaving without Nick!" shouted Sara.
"The rescue team will get him, now go, Sara!" screamed Catherine.
"I'm not leaving!" yelled Sara stubbornly.
Warrick and Grissom grabbed her arms and began hauling Sara towards the only route out.
"Let me go!" Sara shouted furiously.
"You'll thank us for this one day!" yelled Grissom.
People ahead screamed as the trees at the East started to catch on fire. Many suffered minor and major burns and others had to help them clear the route.
Another explosion sounded and everyone fell to the ground. Burning branches rained down on the people.
"What the hell was that!" yelled Grissom.
"Where's Catherine!" yelled back Warrick.
Grissom looked around wildly. "She was there a minute ago!"
"Who bought a damn truck to the camp?" shouted someone furiously.
"Ryan! Ryan, answer me! Someone! Help me get this branch off!"
"Jeffrey! Where the hell are you!"
"Libby! Janie!"
"Let's go!"
"Where's Junior!"
"Catherine!!" hollered Warrick.