Kiara turned and started backtracking. She'd either find her way out of the flames, or another rescue team would find her. Back to the path they were originally on, around that bend, and then… No, that couldn't be right. That pebble was unfamiliar. Back again, to the left this time. Yes this was better, except—did that blade of grass always split that way, curling brown at the ends?
She paused to take a deep breath, and coughed on the dry heat. Better now to stay put and wait for others to find her. Only the fire seemed closer by the second. As if it were running away from the efforts to contain it, running more fiercely around Kiara, snapping and licking its maws. Her head whipped around, and she darted for the clearest corridor through the grass.
The corridor bent and wriggled, but it seemed it was leading out, up until it ended in a sudden blaze.
Her view wasn't clear on either side, but she pushed through the grass anyways. The flames mocked and raced, herding her.
She paused in her running, doubled over, gulping and heaving. She raised her hand to wipe at her forehead, only for the skin to stick. She wrenched it away, and her hand was bone-dry.
"That's not good," she whispered, voice cracked. She managed a few more steps before her head swam. The fire was too bright, her limbs too heavy, her feet chafed and raw. One, two, and a half step before she collapsed. She rolled onto her back, dry tongue darting out to dab at parched lips. She hadn't started this newest disaster, but she'd still been powerless to help. She couldn't muster the moisture to dampen her cheeks.
A shadow stepped over her, much taller than an ant, but not as tall as a grasshopper.
Kiara reached towards them. "Who are…?"
"I'll tell you later," the shadow answered, his voice clear and bright. He grasped Kiara's hand with two of his own, and used the other two to lift her the rest of the way up. He cradled her against his chest, and the surrounding fire and grass were a blur as he sprinted. Through heat and choking dryness, until suddenly green overtook orange, and the air became cool again.
"Kiara!" several voices shouted at once, and she was crowded.
"Kiara, what were you thinking, wandering off from your group like that? You could've been killed!" Mr. Soil said.
"You better come straight back to the hospital dear, you need treatment right away!" Dr. Flora said, holding her wrist.
"Kiara, I'm so glad you're safe," Flik said, moving to the front.
She managed a nod, unable to tell if the heat on her face was external or internal.
Queen Atta flitted down from the sky, standing by Flik and holding an empty bucket. "You have our thanks, stranger, but who are you?" she addressed the bug carrying Kiara.
He had a black carapace with striking orange patterns and wings, and vivid red irises. "Call me Kady," he said.
"Kady, huh," Thorny said. "And where exactly are you from, Kady?"
"Have you all lost your minds?" Dr. Flora said. She moved around Kady and started pushing him forward. "We can ask questions later, right now these bugs need help." She maneuvered them past the crowd of worried ants and circus insects, back towards the anthill. Kiara glanced up at Kady, and while she was no judge of insects, she thought he must be very close in age to her.