Once you hear Masen say, "Buckle up," you'll have been warned that you're about to read a true account of people who had to fight for their lives against a deadly fire.


It's still dark when I go to the bathroom, and Masen's phone is lit up when I come back to bed.

"You good?" he asks with an arm out to welcome me.

"Yeah, I'm much better." I lay down and kiss his cheek, rejuvenated by a dreamless night in his arms.

"Rose just sent a text. She wants to know when we can FaceTime."

I'm eager to meet the woman who is more like a sister than his cousin. "How about now?"

A couple of texts later, we're dressed and calling her. The first thing I notice is the bright light coming through her window, and then I see how pretty she is. Her fair hair and blue eyes are nothing like Masen's, but I can tell she is related to Carlisle.

"Congratulations!" She beams, waving excitedly at us.

"Thank you!" Masen responds, grinning. "Rose, this is Bella."

"I've been looking forward to meeting you, Rose."

"Oh, likewise, and now it's going to be sooner than we expected! That's just awesome you're having the reception in Melbourne. I'm going to spend a few days with Mom and Aunty Esme this week scouting out venues, so do you have anything specific in mind: hotel ballroom, city warehouse, vineyard, farm estate, beach house? I can recommend a few I've been to, but there are any number of great restaurants we can style if you don't want to go for the whole big wedding shabang. I do want to remind you, though, it will still be summer, so you must have air conditioning or a sea breeze 'cause it can be hot and humid in February."

"True," Masen affirms.

"And what about our bride? What have you got in your head, Bella? We can always up the ante on the food, but it has to look like your wedding, girl."

"I do have ideas, Rose, and I can send you some pictures, but really, I'll be happy with big windows and that glorious Australian light you're bathed in right now. If there are glimpses of water or rolling hills, then that's a plus, but I understand it's only six weeks away, so I'm flexible."

"Okay ... brilliant." From the way she hesitates, I gather she's surprised I don't have any bridezilla in me. I guess I'm strange, but it's just one day, and then I get a lifetime with Masen Edwards.

"So, Mom and Aunty Esme are working out numbers for the family. How many will you two be adding?"

I can't say my number without sounding pathetic, so I wait for Masen to answer the question.

"I honestly don't know, Rose, but put us down for twenty. Bella's parents are coming, but we'll catch up with her mob in Alaska."

Incredible. If I ever wondered if he's got my back, he just proved it. That was a perfect way to put the brakes on any more tricky questions.

"When do you have to be in Adelaide?"

I reply this time. "We have to leave at the end of February. Mom and Dad will be going home around the same time."

"Okay. Well, I'd like to make you an offer. They can't go back without seeing the Twelve Apostles, and we haven't been for years, either, so let's all go over on the car ferry from Sorrento and drop into Geelong on the way to the Great Ocean Road. Then Mom and I can bring them back to Melbourne while you continue to Adelaide. I checked, and it only adds two hours to your trip."

"What is the situation with the fires down there?" Masen asks. "I heard about Kangaroo Island."

"Oh God, they're saying there might be as many as 10,000 roos dead. The whole western side is wiped out, but hey, it's burning everywhere. Surely it will be over in six weeks, though."

I have no idea where they are talking about or what her offer means, but it sounds like a lot of effort. "I can't ask you to do that, Rose. They're my responsibility."

"Mom has already agreed, Bella, and she will take them to the airport whichever day they want. Truly, it gives me an excuse to spend time with my mother. It doesn't happen very often, now, and … um … I'm just glad I have her in my life."

With her voice suddenly choked with emotion, I see she's fragile under a confident exterior.

"How are you, Rose?" Masen asks with so much compassion I could cry.

She takes a big breath and blows it out. "I'm not really sure, but I'll probably need to talk to someone. Emmett is still on active fire duty and I'm worried sick every time he leaves. The extent of what we experienced has overwhelmed me a bit."

"What did happen to you? You can talk to me."

"Thanks, Mace, but I can't, mate. Just can't. I already bawled my eyes out telling Mom. Let me finish writing it out and I'll get it to you. Send me your pictures, Bella, and we'll find you some options. I can't wait to see Aunty Esme again. Gotta go."

She disconnects, and I don't know where to look, feeling terrible she's gone through that in front of a virtual stranger, but I sense she has a store of resilience. I can see why she is so important to Masen, and I will make sure I do everything I can to support their relationship.

"I have never seen her like that, and I know their house didn't burn down, so what the fuck happened?" he asks. "God, I hope it's not one of their dogs."

I can't bear to see the same expression he had in those first few days in Helsinki. "She needs to tell you in her own way, Masen."

He walks over to look out the window. I know he battled over coming here and leaving them to the fires, and I imagine it's times like this when he questions whether he made the right decision.

"Come here, babe." He beckons me with that oh-so-welcoming arm.

I hug him and smile, seeing snow for the first time since we arrived in Finland, and it finally looks like Christmas.

January 6th, 2020 - Finnair boarding gate, Helsinki Airport

Even though my chair is uncomfortable, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. We haven't stopped since we spoke to Rose this morning, and we'll be checking into our hotel at nine tonight only if everything runs smoothly.

The trip back from Nuuksio was strained, either because Marcus and Maria thought we were fighting, or they realized they didn't like us much either. I will be very surprised if we hear from them again. It's a shame we didn't hit it off, but we're not sorry we went there. We have memories of a canoe ride on a lake, a smoky sauna and fire pit, Masen's first moose sighting and Finnish snowfall.

We're here early for this evening's flight since we weren't sure what we'd be doing with our luggage. We managed to come in under the limit, but Masen had since found out how cheaply we could put a large suitcase into short-term storage, and we easily fitted our two boxes in my bag. It was such a good idea and has freed us up for our time in Lapland. One suitcase, one carry-on, and a bouquet of roses. Perfect.

I feel like I could let myself drift off for a while, but I should set an alarm, just in case he's as tired as I am. No, he's absorbed in something on his phone, probably researching the next thing, doing what he does so well.

"Fuck," he says to himself, and I shoot him my best "please explain" expression until he looks at me. "Rose posted the story."

"Can I read it?"

"Buckle up." He hands over the phone with the post open on the screen. I have to scroll up a long way to reach the beginning.

I'm finally getting a chance to wish you a Happy New Year! Can I just say how incredible it was reading all the prayers and questions from you wonderful people, and how bad we felt, knowing we had caused concern, but without power or phones, we couldn't let anyone know what was going on.

I'm sorry, but I'm too shell-shocked to respond individually, so this is the only time I will be telling the story (while I can still remember it), and it's only for this private group, so please don't share it.

On the Saturday after Christmas, the smoke was really thick. Emmett rang to say he wasn't coming home, and I knew they needed him more where he was fighting the fires. He wouldn't hang up until he was certain I understood the plan should a fire come to threaten us.

Sunday was hot, and I was hosing down outside, feeling nervous with fire trucks arriving in town. At 1:30, there was a notification from the Vic Emergency app, advising everyone in East Gippsland to evacuate. Because there had been bulletins for days urging the tourists to go home, I didn't think it was meant for us locals. After taking a closer look at the flame icons on the map turning red and multiplying, I understood it was time to put our plan into action.

Texting Emmett to come home, I packed the car. Emmett's sister, Kate, was moving his parents from their farm to her house in town. Pop McCarty was in an Alzheimer's ward at Lakes Entrance, and it was our responsibility to make sure he was okay. When I called the facility, they had fire trucks rostered to stay for twenty-four hours, so they weren't evacuating for the time being.

Chinook helicopters had been shuttling our elderly residents from the local aged care facility to the town's evacuation centre at the cricket oval, across the road from the fire station. The in-laws and I had a bit of a pow-wow after Felix, my brother-in-law, came back from seeing the centre and, for now, they were confident they could stay.

There were now two huge columns of smoke extending ten kilometres into the sky. The one in the west was predicted, but the eastern outbreak was not, and the evacuation zone had expanded as far as the NSW border.

Back at home, I made sure every hose was connected and all our buckets were full, and I was about to hop up on the roof to plug the gutters when Emmett came home. He took over, getting the job done quickly, telling me he was proud of me enacting our fire plan and having the car packed and ready, but there was an urgency about him, whistling for the dogs who were naturally excited to go for a ride.

As we pulled out of the driveway, I silently told the house we'd be back when it was all over, but I wasn't really sure it would be standing when we returned. It seems funny now that we were back within an hour. After watching the traffic crawling along the Princes Highway, Emmett was worried we'd be trapped if the fire came at us on the road. He felt we'd have a better chance at home where he had some control over the situation, and this was his world, so I just got back in the car, ready to do whatever he said.

We checked the perimeter of the block and moved a few more things into the shed. The smoke was now so thick that we couldn't see the end of our backyard, and we brought the dogs inside to try and settle them down.

After it flickered off and on several times, we lost power in the early evening. We knew it wasn't a good sign. The local communication tower was down, so we had no phone service and no way to tell anyone we were staying at home. At least we had batteries for the radio we left on ABC Emergency, but the half-hourly updates were worrying. The fire was travelling faster than anticipated, and the conditions were now catastrophic.

I was getting anxious and a little manic, struggling to come to terms with the fire reaching us, but Emmett assured me we'd be okay. We went to bed, talking through all the what ifs, and neither of us could sleep with sirens blaring throughout the night.

We were up early the next morning, having spent half the night patrolling outside, so we started the day exhausted. It was already hot, with a forecast of strong winds and temperatures in the mid to high forties.

Emmett went into town to pick up supplies but came back with news that we were now cut off from the west and east by road closures. None of the shops were open, but we had enough to see us through for several days.

By midday, the heat was stifling, and we could hardly see anything through the smoke. We checked on Shelly, our elderly neighbour, who had also elected to stay now her son and daughter-in-law had joined her. Between us, we kept the hoses running all day, sharing any updates we heard on the radio.

The fire was now savagely destroying homes, and the sky gradually turned black with an orange/red glow in the east and the west. It was forty-six degrees with strong winds predicted.

When the official emergency siren wailed, vehicles patrolled the streets with loudspeakers urging all residents to go to the evacuation area. The McCartys had agreed to evacuate when the time came, but it was like being in a disaster movie for us, knowing we were going to stay and fight. It wasn't long before we could hear the rumble of noise from the mass of people gathering at the cricket ground.

It felt ominous as we talked to our neighbours, preparing for what was to come, and my heart hammered in my chest when I saw worry etched on Emmett's face as a hot gust of wind blasted us. He'd predicted this fire season while we were driving through southern NSW in early summer when everything was bone dry. He said that it would only take one spark for all of it to go, and there wasn't a drop in the rivers, creeks, or dams to put it out. It was all coming true, and now it was coming for us, too.

Debris began to land in the yard, and burnt leaves swirled everywhere, so we rushed to do another hose down of our home. Emmett was wearing his full fire gear, dressing me in one of his older uniforms, when smoke and dust had been stinging my eyes. I emerged on the steps in fire gear and safety glasses, and we both started to laugh. It made us focus on ourselves and drink some water. We'd been on the go all day, forgetting to eat and drink.

We spent the last hours of December 30 extinguishing embers and checking in with our neighbours. Emmett sent me inside for a break, and since we didn't own woollen blankets, I grabbed our quilts and soaked them in the bath. The conditions hadn't worsened, but Emmett had told me enough to know that things could escalate quickly.

When he woke me, I couldn't believe I'd slept through the arrival of the hounds of hell, bringing searing heat and the glow of the fire approaching. The ferocious roar was like nothing I'd ever heard before.

Emmett looked after the backyard and I took the front, feeling like I was about to break down with the howl and burning debris raining from the sky. Imagining embers getting into our two huge palm trees and them toppling onto the house, I ran back to Emmett, saying I couldn't stay on my own. After that, we stuck together, keeping each other in sight as much as we could.

Over the next hour, we ran around the house, trying to douse every flame, yelling to one another, and checking in with the neighbours. Eric, the son, told us to remain out back. He had an emergency tank of water on his truck and a generator to run his hoses.

It was two o'clock when the monstrous roar and the scene I was witnessing finally pushed me to the limits of my sanity. Emmett had joined Eric out front when the wind brought a shower of incandescent embers, and in my head, Gandalf was battling the fiery Balrog. I could see myself yelling out, "You shall not pass!"

Emmett raced back to me, and we watched embers swirling above us, bracing ourselves for the fire to blast through the smoke. It felt like we never stood a chance against this beast, beaten by heat, smoke, and exhaustion.

Suddenly, I heard Eric call out, "What happened?" and realised the wind had changed direction, swinging around on itself, and smothering the sound.

"Keep on your toes," Emmett yelled back.

And we did just that. The wind continued to blow for the rest of the night, but it took the fire away. Burnt leaves and charcoal had filled every inch of the yard, and we were covered in soot. Inside, the house was full of smoke, even though we packed every opening with towels, and the dogs hadn't moved since I covered them in a wet quilt. We were hopeful we wouldn't need to use ours.

I don't know what made the wind change at that exact moment. Maybe there was a higher power answering the weight of prayer, but I was able to sleep, grateful we hadn't lost everything. Unfortunately, we woke to the news that towns in the east had not been so lucky.

The photo I'm posting is of Emmett on the couch, too tired to strip off all his fire gear from the day. We didn't have a proper chance to rest. I was on clean-up duty while they called him back into active fire duties on New Year's Day, and I want to say that after going through the experience with him, I have nothing but respect for Emmett McCarty. There's no doubt that we would have lost our home had it not been for his training and ability to keep his cool when I was falling apart, and he is much more than the man I married. I now see him as a real Aussie hero.

They restored the power briefly on New Year's Day, just long enough for me to send a message to Siobhan and receive the sad news that they were staying with family, having lost their house in the inferno at Mallacoota.

The army arrived on the 3rd when more catastrophic conditions were forecast, and our town hall was overflowing for a community meeting which all the emergency services attended. They were urging everyone to evacuate by noon the following day. Buses would be here to relocate the elderly, and more helicopters were coming.

Maybe we were naive in thinking it couldn't be as bad as the week before, but the McCarty family were staying, and I knew I could help with the food pantry at the local church. There was no way I was leaving Emmett to return to an empty house, hungry and dog-tired, especially when he had left with no idea where they were sending him, having packed a bag for a whole week away.

I came back home to find the power on, but without knowing how long it would last, I made one call to Mum and asked her to pass on the news that we were all fine. She was sobbing, so I didn't tell her how close it had been, or that there was another threat on the way.

The fires never came near us the second time, and Emmett is back now we've had a little rain. Most days, he's back burning, and it's unlikely he'll be sent away for more long stretches this season. All in all, we've been very lucky, and I'm now looking forward to a year without any more drama.

We've already had some great news in the family that has really lifted my spirits, so tell me how 2020 is going for you.

I'm numb when I hand the phone back to Masen. Having read her account, I completely understand why she wouldn't want to tell the story ever again, and my reaction is the same as Masen's.

Fuck.

I didn't identify the people involved at the start of the chapter because you know one of them as our fandom's artist extraordinaire. Some of you will remember Lizzie Paige's posts while it was happening at the close of 2019—how worried she was when her hubs was away for days fighting the fires, and the pics she shared as the sky turned evil when the monster fire was near them. Lizzie never told the worst of it at the time, but she has agreed now because I asked her.

Lizzie, I want to thank you so much for letting us in to what it was really like. I am so in awe of the bond you and your husband share.