Chapter Twelve
Nate was trying like hell not to panic, but no matter how far or how fast he and Isa walked, the fire only seemed to draw closer. Combined with the fact they’d walked most of the night and eaten only a handful of potato chips today, he was running on pure adrenaline.
Ash fell around them from time to time, reminding them of the fiery beast on their tails.
“I’m so tired,” Isa mumbled as they climbed over yet another rock. Dark smudges pooled beneath her eyes, and angry red scratches marred her face from their hike through the night.
He suspected he didn’t look much better. “And hungry.”
“Yeah, that too.”
Neither of them suggested they stop to forage. They both knew there was no time for that.
“Around the next bend,” she muttered.
“One of these times, it will be true.” He kept his hand in hers, offering his support but also taking strength from the connection between them.
“Let it be this time,” she said as they rounded the bend, only to find another stretch of endless forest. “Shit.”
Smoke filled the sky ahead. Had the fire encircled them? Or was the wind just messing with them? A fist clenched around his gut. They were going to make it out of here alive. He refused to accept any other outcome.
They walked on, weaving their way through the forest as they followed the stream on its endless journey to…somewhere. Several times, they scrambled down steep slopes to stay alongside it. No time for detours today.
No time for anything except putting as much distance between themselves and the fire as possible. The duffel bag bounced awkwardly against his back, weighed down by the bundle of blankets. “I think we should consider lightening our load,” he said finally.
She looked at him in alarm. “How do you mean?”
“These bags are slowing us down. We’ve barely eaten anything in the last two days. We’re running on fumes, Isa. We need to do whatever we can to move as quickly as we can.”
“And we don’t need most of this stuff anymore anyway, right? Either we’ll make it out of here soon, or…we won’t.” She swiped a tear from her cheek, nodding.
That small action broke him to pieces. Through all this, Isa had been a fucking rock, and to see her cry now… He tugged her up against him and kissed her. “We’re making it out of here.”
“I want to believe you,” she whispered against his lips.
He wanted to believe himself too. They stopped and dumped out their bags, leaving most of their belongings behind. They kept their water bottles, the pocket knife, the blanket, and a few toiletries, putting everything into Isa’s backpack. It was more comfortable than his duffel bag, and they would take turns carrying it.
With that done, they kept walking. As the sun began to slip down toward the treetops, Maya—who’d spent most of the day whining and pacing anxiously around them—took off into the woods, leaving them behind.
“She looks like she’s making a run for it,” Isa said quietly.
“She does.”
“Should we follow her?”
“No. She’s already gone.” The dog had disappeared into the trees.
“Good for her,” Isa said. “No reason for her to hang back with us slow humans. I hope she makes it.”
“I do too.” But the truth was, his conviction was beginning to waver. His exhaustion had reached the point where each step required a mental effort. He felt light-headed, and the heavy smoke made his eyes water.
“When we get out of here,” Isa said, her voice quiet but strong, “we’ll find her.”
“Damn straight.” He gave her hand another squeeze.
“What will you do first?” she asked, glancing in his direction.
“What?” He coughed.
“When we get out of here, what will you do first?”
“Kiss you,” he answered without thinking. “And then eat a really big meal.”
“I want a cheeseburger,” she said. “With mustard and pickles. And lots of french fries.”
His mouth watered at the thought. “That sounds like perfection.”
“And then a really long, hot shower.” She closed her eyes, smiling dreamily. “And then a bed.”
“I would love to join you for all those things.”
She gave him an amused look. “I would love that, but no offense…I need to actually sleep before I could sleep with you again.”
“I’ve never been this tired in my whole life, but I could probably still get hard for you, Isa. You turn me completely inside out just looking at you.” And it was more than just physical attraction. He loved being with her—even though they’d shared pretty much nothing but dire straits since they met. She made him laugh. Made him feel.
And right now she was looking at him like she wanted to jump his bones. Or maybe like she wanted to take him home to meet the family, because the look in her eyes seemed to run much deeper than attraction too.
He said nothing because he didn’t want to ruin the moment, no more than he wanted to break her heart. He just kept walking, hustling them along and hoping for a miracle.
***
“Too bad my Fitbit got ruined when we had to swim out of the lake,” Isa said as they walked. “Can you imagine how many steps we’ve walked by now?”
“So many you might have broken it.” Nate smiled. His eyes were tired, and several days of stubble coated his cheeks, and he was the most handsome thing she’d ever seen.
The sun had dropped beneath the treetops, casting long shadows around them. Behind them, the fire glowed ever brighter. It was windy today. The breeze kept blowing her hair in her face and sending smoldering ash through the air around them.
Wind like that couldn’t be good news. Already, they’d dodged several small brushfires. No matter how far or how fast they walked, it was closing in on them.
“Nate…” She didn’t even know what to say.
“I know, sweetheart.” He squeezed her hand.
The forest around them was silent except for the rustling of the wind. Not even a bird squawked overhead. All of nature’s creatures seemed to have fled.
“We’ll have to walk through the night again,” she said.
He nodded. “Maybe we should take a few minutes to gather pine nuts before it gets any darker.”
“I don’t know.” She glanced back at the fire. Hunger was a constant ache in her stomach, but was it worth losing precious time while they foraged for a handful of food? “We might use more calories hunting for them than we’d gain in eating them.”
“You might be right about that.” He stopped walking, drawing her in for a kiss. “I can’t imagine doing any of this without you.”
“Promise you won’t walk out of my life when we get home.” Tears stung her eyes. Her heart pounded, and her head swam.
“Isa, you know I can’t—”
“Don’t give me more bullshit about loving your job.” She jabbed a finger against his chest. “I love my job too. This thing between us is more than just two people stuck in a survival situation.”
His arms tightened around her. “I know that.”
“Then promise me that we’ll see each other again after this is over. If we make it home in one piece, we owe ourselves that much. At least a date to see how we fit together in the real world.”
His brown eyes locked on hers. “I promise.”
“Okay.” She blinked away her tears and kissed him like her life depended on it…because maybe it did. Their tongues tangled as all her fear and exhaustion ignited into pure, raw lust. Nate’s cock pressed against her belly. She smiled against his lips. “You weren’t lying when you said you could still get hard.”
He rocked his hips against hers. “I don’t think I could ever be too tired, or too hungry, or too anything to get hard for you, Isa. But we don’t have the energy—or the time—to waste fooling around right now.”
“But once we’re safe…”
“Count on it.” He gave her another quick kiss, then took her hand, and they set out again, walking into the darkening night.
She drew in a deep breath and coughed. “Around the next bend…”
***
Nate thought he must look like one of the zombies on The Walking Dead right now. He staggered through the dark, feeling his way along like a blind man with Isa at his side. They fumbled and groped through the woods as they had done the night before until the moon sank below the horizon, leaving them in total darkness. Then they sank to the ground, wrapped themselves in the blanket, and slept.
He woke with a start sometime later, coughing from the smoke. The sky above was beginning to brighten, which meant it was time for them to move on. His hand rested over the hollow of Isa’s stomach. She’d lost so much weight. No doubt he had too. It was Saturday now. Would they find their way out of this mess today?
“Rise and shine,” he whispered into her ear, and she stirred, grumbling under her breath.
He stood, alarmed at how weak and sluggish he felt. This morning marked twenty-four hours since they’d had even a bite of food, over forty-eight since they’d had anything significant to eat. While Isa walked toward the stream, he gathered as many pinecones as he could find, using his pocket knife to pry out the pine nuts.
It wasn’t much, but it was something.
“It’s gotten closer,” she said when she came back. “The fire looks like it’s all around us.” She hugged herself. “I’m scared, Nate.”
“I am too.” He handed her half the pine nuts, about ten each.
“Thank you.” She popped them into her mouth.
He did the same, rolling up their blanket as he chewed.
“Here goes nothing,” Isa said as they struck out.
Smoke rose from the trees all around them. It was hard to tell which direction it was coming from now. Since they knew there was nothing but forest behind them, they kept moving forward, following the stream and hoping it led somewhere.
But it didn’t. They kept up their forward march, conversation between them becoming sparse as the day wore on. On and on they walked, as the wind whipped around them and the fire drew ever closer. From time to time, they called for Maya, but he didn’t think either of them expected her to return this time. With any luck, she was already miles away from here, somewhere safe.
“I can see the flames,” Isa said quietly, looking into the trees to their right.
Sure enough, orange flames flickered against the treetops. The air around them was heavy, thick with smoke. They walked faster. The wind whistled around them, but now he could also hear the crackle and pop of the flames.
“Around the next bend,” Isa said as they followed a curve in the stream. She said it every time, although it was getting harder to hope civilization lay around the next bend. The forest around them seemed as remote as ever.
A hiking trail was possible, though, and it was better than nothing.
They rounded the bend, and Isa stopped short with a gasp. “Oh no.”
Flames leaped through the treetops ahead.
“Shit,” he muttered.
She turned to bury her face against his chest. They were surrounded by fire. This was not good. This was so incredibly bad. For the first time, he considered the fact that they might not get out of here alive. The thought of dying out here in the woods, of losing Isa…
“It’s time for Plan B,” she said against his chest.
“What’s that?”
She lifted her head. “We have to leave the stream.”
“Yeah, okay.” Their chances grew even more slim once they’d left the stream that had guided them all this way, but she was right. There was no other way. And they weren’t going to give up. Not yet. Not ever.
They refilled their water bottles before striking off into the woods. The terrain was more uneven here, rocky and hilly. And they were both so tired, so weak. But she still wasn’t complaining, and neither was he. They adjusted their course here and there to keep heading toward the brightest patch of sky overhead, no longer caring about moving in a straight line as much as just staying away from the fire.
“I’m just—I’m tired.” Isa propped her hands on her thighs, bent over and gasping for breath. Her face was alarmingly pale.
Nate was damn near tapped out himself, and he had a lot more body mass to fall back on than she did. “I’ll gather a few more pine nuts. You sit and rest for a minute.”
She sat without protest, which let him know how bad off she truly was. He spent the next few minutes gathering pine cones, providing them both with another mouthful of food.
Then they forged on.
“Nate.” Isa gripped his arm, and her tone sent fear down his spine. “Look.”
Flames glowed through the trees ahead. Close. Way too fucking close. He gripped her arm and hauled her to the left, away from the fire, but after a few minutes, they ran into it again.
“Behind us,” she said, reversing direction.
The sun dipped low in the sky, marking the end of another day, but this time, it didn’t leave them in darkness. All around them the forest glowed. The flames crackled and hissed as they devoured trees, drawing ever closer.
“There is no way I’m burning to death in these woods,” Isa said, grim determination in her tone.
“I am right there with you on that.”
Adrenaline flooded through him. They broke into a run, headed for the darkest part of the forest ahead. He slid the backpack from his shoulders and dropped it. They ran for their lives, ducking and dodging around tree branches. His lungs burned, and his legs shook. Beside him, Isa coughed, wheezing with each breath.
On and on they raced. Flames licked at them from every direction, close enough to feel their heat on his skin.
“I can’t breathe,” Isa gasped, stumbling against him.
Fear knifed through him as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.”
He held on to her, supporting her as they forged on. His eyes caught on something up ahead, something dark glistening beneath the moon.
“Water,” she whispered.
They’d run back into the stream. Or a different stream, but water nonetheless. And water didn’t burn. In silent unison, they plunged into it, sloshing to the center as flames licked at their heels.
“What now?” She wrapped her arms around him, gazing wide-eyed around them.
The flames had surrounded them. The smoke was so thick, he could barely breathe. Each breath drew a hacking cough from his lungs, and tears streamed from his eyes.
“That way looks better.” He motioned downstream, where the fire seemed less thick.
The water reached their knees, ice cold and moving fast. The rocks beneath it were smooth and slippery. The perfect recipe for disaster, but he didn’t care. They had to keep walking. Isa clung to him, coughing and wheezing. Her body shook, whether from cold or fear, he didn’t know.
“I can’t—” She fell to her knees, coughing.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not.” Her eyes were wide and glassy, her breathing ragged.
Flames reached toward them from both banks. The stream was only about five feet wide, not nearly wide enough to protect them. The heat of the fire singed his upper body while his lower legs grew numb from the water.
“C-can’t breathe.” She sank to her knees in the water, scooping handfuls that she poured into her mouth. Then she sat back, clutching at her chest.
The truth was, he was having trouble breathing too. Every time he inhaled, it felt like flames had invaded his lungs. Spots danced around his vision.
He sat, letting the water swirl over him. Isa crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him. “I think…this is it, Nate.” Tears streamed over her cheeks.
“Don’t say that.” Desperation roared inside him. It couldn’t end for them now, not like this.
“It’s not…so bad,” she gasped. “The smoke will get us here…not fire.”
“Don’t give up, Isa.” The urge to run was so strong. Surely around the next bend—
“I’m not giving up…but it’s out of our hands now.” She tipped her face toward the sky, her breaths shallow and rapid.
The flames had walled them in. They could try to keep picking their way downstream, but it would be slow going. Still, it was better than sitting here…
“Nate”—she gripped his face, staring into his eyes—“when the plane was crashing…one of the irrational things that went through my head was that I’d die without ever having been in love.” She broke off as a fresh round of coughing racked her body.
“We’re not going to die.” He tightened his arms around her. They needed to get up, keep walking…
“Listen to me,” she gasped. “Now that’s not true, because I’m falling in love with you.”
“Isa—” His heart clenched painfully at her words.
“Wanted you to know,” she murmured as her eyes fluttered shut, and she fell limp in his arms.
No! “Isa…” He shook her gently, but she didn’t stir. Frantic, he pressed his ear to her chest. Her heart thumped steadily against his ear, and her chest still rose and fell with rasping breaths. She was alive, but for how long?
“Hang in there, sweetheart. I’m going to get us out of this.” He struggled to his feet with her in his arms, but the smoke was too thick. He couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. “I’m falling for you too, Isa. Don’t you dare leave me now.”
The noise of the fire seemed to intensify. It roared around him, punctuated by some kind of rhythmic sound, almost like static. And now he was hallucinating. Shapes moved around him, alien shapes with black hoses where their faces should be.
“Help,” he gasped, clutching Isa’s limp body in his arms.
“Over here!” a man’s voice yelled, and this was no hallucination. Firefighters in full suits and face masks were sloshing through the water toward him. “Holy shit, are you the missing people from that plane crash?”
Nate nodded as he held tight to Isa, her beautiful face illuminated by the flames, so pale, so still. “Please help us.”