Chapter 3: The Firestorm Of The Century
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, the battle against the fire was raging. While Ecks, Tobias, Farmer Mosser, and Bingo Bango sprayed their hose on the bigger fires, Zee and the others in their group used fire flappers* to beat out the smaller ones. The trouble, however, was that for every flame that was extinguished, another one sprung up in its place. In addition, the wind was blowing embers from the burning trees and spreading them to trees that hadn't caught fire yet, causing those ones to ignite as well.
"Sheesh, what's it gonna take with this fire?" Zee asked himself out load as he beat out a grass fire. "This sure is proving to be quiet a chore."
Just then, while he and those with him were working the hose, Ecks noticed a burning branch fall from a tree and straight down towards Zee!
"Zee!" he shouted. "Look out!"
Ecks leaped towards Zee and tackled him to the ground and out of the way of the branch just in time.
"Thanks, big brother." said Zee. "I owe you one."
"Hey, I'm just doing my job as the responsible older brother." said Ecks with a smile. "Looking after the little brother."
Zee just shook his head in amusement as the brothers went back to their duties. All of a sudden, Zee saw Urg, Snick, and the rest of the Yetis from the Yeti village coming on the scene. Urg, in the Yeti language, asked what was going on, and when Zee told the Yetis about how the forest was in danger due to the fire, the Yetis readily volunteered to join the fight. So, while some of the Yetis, including Urg and Snick, helped with the hose, the other Yetis began stamping out the smaller fires with their feet. Back at the edge of the forest, as True and everyone else in her group were still working on dampening the grass, Bartleby spoke to her.
"You know, True, I've been thinking." he said.
"What about?" asked True.
"What do you think started the fire in the first place?" replied Bartleby.
"Good question, Bee." said True. "I've actually been wondering that, too. But, I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later."
"Yeah." agreed Bartleby.
Bartleby then noticed some of the guards in their group were using driptorches* on a lot of the drier grasses and shrubs.
"What are those guys doing?" asked Bartleby.
"They're starting a controlled burn, Bartleby." said the Rainbow King. "If this works the way it should, when this fire and the main fire meet in the middle, they'll hopefully burn each other out, because there won't be enough fuel for both of them."
"But what about the whole "shifting wind" thing?" asked Bartleby.
"Don't worry, Bartleby." the Rainbow King reassured. "They know to keep their eyes on the wind."
But then, there was trouble. The water suddenly stopped spraying from the hose. This failed to escape Trinity's attention.
"What in the world?" she asked.
"What is it, Mom?" asked True.
"The water turned off somehow." said Trinity.
"I'll ask Zee if he knows what happened." said True.
Back at the main fire area, Zee and those with him had also experienced the unexpected change, which had been due to a tree falling on Farmer Mosser's pump, crushing it in the process. The Yetis had just moved said tree from the destroyed pump when Zee's Face Bubble badge rang again.
"What's up, True?" Zee greeted his caller.
"Zee, the water's off." said True. "What happened?"
"A tree fell on Farmer Mosser's pump." said Zee. "And it's destroyed, so we're going to have to find another way of getting water."
"Got it, Zee." said True. "I'll let the Rainbow King know."
"Alright." said Zee.
With that, Zee popped the bubble, and subsequently ended the call. At that moment, Bingo Bango noticed something alarming.
"Um...Farmer Mosser?" he asked. "Your pump runs on gasoline, right?"
"That's right." said Farmer Mosser. "Why?"
Bingo Bango pointed at the remains of the pump. Gasoline had started to leak out of the pump's ruptured fuel tank. Just one look at the leaking gasoline was enough to prove that things were about to get ugly.
"Move! Move!" shouted Ecks.
Everyone bolted from the scene just as a burning branch fell on the leaking gasoline and ignited it, and it wasn't long before the gosline-fueled flames managed to reach the leftover fuel in the tank, causing both the tank, and the pump, to explode into a enormous fireball that shot up into the sky like a rocket. Luckily, they had just reached the edge of the forest by then.
"Phew!" gasped Zee as he and everyone else took off their oxygen masks. "That was way too close!"
"You said it." panted Ecks.
At that moment, however, tongues of flame from the fireball, along with burning shrapnel, fell on the rest of the unburned trees and surrounding brush in the area, as well as every plant around Rainbow City that was within their reach, causing them all to ignite as everyone watched helplessly.
"Now what are we gonna do, Your Majesty?" asked True.
The Rainbow King sighed sadly as he gazed at his surroundings before addressing the crowd.
"Citizens of the Rainbow Kingdom, it's with deep regret that I must inform you that the fire has become far too much for us to handle alone." he began. "And with Farmer Mosser's pump destroyed, there's no other way we can easily get water from the Living Sea. Therefore, I'm sorry to say that we have no choice but to evacuate, because at this point, it is only a matter of time before the fire catches on to and destroys every building in the kingdom."
Everyone was flabbergasted and crestfallen at the Rainbow King's words, especially True.
"No!" True cried as her eyes began to water. "There has to be another way! We can't give up! We just can't!"
"I'm sorry, True, but the King's right." said Tobias. "We really have no other choice. The fire's too dangerous for us."
True started to cry after hearing this, and everyone gathered around to comfort her. Everyone, that is, except the Rainbow King, who tapped on Ecks' shoulder.
"You stay here and coordinate the evacuation efforts." he said. "I'm going to make a call."
Ecks nodded as the Rainbow King went inside the castle, where he blew a Face Bubble from his scepter that connected him with Prince Jimbo, the young monarch of the kingdom of Ambientalista.
"Well, hello, Rainbow King." the prince greeted. "Nice to hear from you again."
"You as well, Your Serenity*." said the Rainbow King. "However, I'm calling you because I need your help."
"What's the problem?" asked Prince Jimbo.
The Rainbow King told Prince Jimbo everything about what had transpired in the Rainbow Kingdom. The prince as horrified as he listened.
"I am so sorry to hear that." he said. "Don't worry. I'll make arrangements for your people to live among mine."
"Thank you, Prince Jimbo." said the Rainbow King.
Prince Jimbo nodded, and thus the call was ended. The Rainbow King then went back outside as Ecks went up to him.
"I've spoken with Trevor and Tara and Captain Twain." said Ecks. "They've both agreed to help us evacuate the kingdom with their boats."
"Excellent." said the Rainbow King. "And while you were busy with that, I made Prince Jimbo in Ambientalista know of the situation, and he has agreed to help our people find new homes among his people."
"Good ol' Prince Jimbo." chuckled Ecks. "Well, Yoru Majesty, I don't know about you, but I think it's time we let the others know of the plan."
The Rainbow King agreed, and so, the two turned their attention to the citizens.
"Go into your homes and grab as much as you can, then meet us at Rainbow Harbor." said the Rainbow King. "We don't have much time."
Everyone sadly agreed. By this time, a few buildings in Rainbow City had caught fire from the burning vegetation. True somberly gazed at the burning buildings as she and her friends went to their homes to prepare for evacuation.
"Goodbye, Rainbow Kingdom..." she said as a small tear trickled down her cheek.
End Of Chapter 3
* 1. A fire flapper is a is a wildland firefighting tool that resembles a broom or a leaf rake with wide, overlapping metal bristles in the form of a hand fan. Also called a "swatter" or "beater", it's designed for use on minor fires in rural areas. In the context of fighting forest fires, it is mostly used for minor flames within a limited area.
* 2. A driptorch is a tool used in wildfire suppression, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires by dripping flaming fuel onto the ground.
* 3. "His/Her Serenity", in this sense, is used to address a reigning prince or similar dignitary.