Chapter 21

Peg

It was a shame that Flash couldn’t be here and enjoy the party held in her honour. But happier and more at peace with myself than I’d been for years, I stayed and celebrated on her behalf, but even the amount of alcohol I’d consumed hadn’t helped me to sleep. When I returned to my bed it was only to smell her scent all over my pillow and sheets. Although she’s only spent a couple of nights in my bed, I miss her.

Feeling like a teenager, I text her again to let her know I’m thinking of her.

Peg: Miss you

When I get no response I’m not concerned. She’s working after all, and in a job where she must focus all her attention. She’ll contact me in the morning.

But when I awake, there’s still no response. Dragging myself out of bed, I shower, dress, and take a step outside my suite, or, as Flash so aptly named it, my apartment. As my windows face west it’s not until I’m outside that I notice the strange tinge to the light and, looking in the other direction, can see the fire up on the mountains has really taken a hold. Smoke’s billowing up, covering the sun and turning the sky red. Although it’s still some way in the distance, the air’s already tainted with smoke.

Shit. The worry I convinced myself I didn’t have before rises and almost chokes me. I hope Flash isn’t caught up in that. But the fact she hasn’t made contact suggests that she is. She’d warned me her crew might get called in. I stare at the fire, a cold feeling in my gut, trying to convince myself she knows what she’s doing. But the thought of my woman, my old lady, putting herself at risk, drives me crazy. I hate fire. It’s one enemy I have no control over, and one that can be so destructive.

I roll my shoulders, coming to terms with the fact I might not see her for a while. Firefighters stay on duty until a fire is beaten. As another waft of smoke drifts to me, I straighten my back. Can’t do anything to help her, worrying isn’t going to do a thing. Just got to trust she’s keeping herself safe.

I glance around at the compound. Our good luck in getting this place was on the back of a fire that blew up fast and wiped the original resort out. Fire takes what it wants when it wants. Instead of worrying, I should be proud it’s probably my woman who’s, even now, putting herself on the front line, trying to make sure the flames don’t reach us again. But it’s not easy. I shiver, though the morning is already warm.

Raising my hand to shield my eyes, I try to locate where the fire actually is. It’s hard to tell, but it seems a lot further down the mountain than it was the previous day. Fire doesn’t normally burn down, does it? As the shrubs near me bend in the strong breeze, I correct my own thoughts. It does if the wind’s behind it.

“Something to worry about?” Drum calls out on his way down from his house, pointing back up at the mountain.

“I hope not.” I consider for a moment, realising hope isn’t enough. We should be ready for the worst. “Like to get some brothers together to check out the growth that might have sprung up around the boundaries. Get it cleared back if necessary.”

“Have you heard anything from your ol’ lady?”

My eyes go up to the fire raging on the mountain. “No. Nothing. She should have called when she came off shift, which makes me think she’s up there.” I jerk my chin toward the flames. “Cell reception is crap, and she’ll be doing her job, may not even have her phone with her.”

His hand touches my shoulder and gives it an encouraging squeeze. “She knows what she’s doing, Peg. She’s not a rookie.”

“I know, Prez. Would be just my luck to lose my ol’ lady as soon as I found her.”

He swings me around, both hands now gripping my upper arms, and gives me a little shake. “You ain’t gonna do that, Brother. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Prez.” But again, I’m drawn to watching the smoke billowing up into the air. I swear it’s worse every time I look.

Drum turns, and as his eyes narrow I know it’s not just my imagination. That fire is taking hold and looks already out of control. Even as I watch I see a plane drop its load of retardant, but it seems to make no difference to the height of the flames.

I exchange looks with the prez and know we’re both thinking the same thing. Wildfires in the area aren’t uncommon, but in all the years we’ve been here, we’ve never seen one that could be heading for us.

Prez doesn’t waste time. An hour later and we’re sitting around the table. The air outside has thickened with smoke, and the atmosphere inside is sombre. No one has to ask what the meeting’s been called for.

Fire. One of nature’s most destructive elements. There’s not one of us who’s going to be taking this lightly.

“We all know the reason we’re meeting today,” Prez starts without preamble. “I don’t want to wait to see if the fire’s comin’ closer. I want to be prepared in the event it’s heading this way. Which means we’re gonna do what we can to protect the compound.” He points first to Bullet, and then to Viper. “Get any equipment you have off site that we might need back here, like yesterday.” Both men raise their chins.

“We’ve got a couple of bulldozers and an earthmover. We’ll get what’s on site back here. There’s one already up the top of the compound, and we can start using that immediately.”

“Thanks Bullet. Peg?”

I sit forward, resting my elbows on the table. “We need to make sure there’s a good area around the perimeter that’s clear of anything that might burn. There’s some scrub taken root that needs to be dug up or stripped back to ground level at least. We’ve been neglecting it recently.”

“’Cause we’re not fuckin’ gardeners,” Slick observes.

Prez isn’t going to put up with any shit. “Well today you are.” He toys with his beard for a moment. “Might be nothin’, but I ain’t takin’ the risk. This is our home, brothers. Peg, what do we need to do?”

“Remove anything that can burn that’s within the hundred-foot boundary.” I wave down their protests. “Yeah, I know, we’ve already done that and taken out the nearest trees. Now we need to remove all that crap, all the grass and shrubs which have self-seeded.” I look around the table. “Ideally, we should push back on the tree line, make our no-burn zone bigger.”

“My track,” Road says glumly.

“Don’t give a fuck about your dirt track, Road. It’s what’s underneath that worries me.” I exchange glances with Blade. Yeah, that’s where we bury the bodies.

“What would happen if the forest burned there?”

It’s something I don’t want to think about but must. I wipe my hand over my beard before answering honestly, “Fuck knows. But we buried them deep. Hopefully they won’t come to the surface.”

“Need to keep the firefighters’ diggers away if it comes to it.” Prez frowns. “Don’t want any of them accidentally dug up.”

“From what I know, Prez, the trees have to be cleared back so the firebreak’s the width of their height. Shouldn’t take much off the dirt track, if any.” Bullet’s pinching his nose as he thinks. “May help to cut a few of the closest trees down. I’ll get a couple of chainsaws brought back for that.”

“I’ll take charge of the trees.” Road nods at Bullet.

I make a decision. “Road, check it out. If need be, take down some of the trees in front of it. We’ll extend the firebreak as far as we can without risking exposing any of our activities.” Cocking my eyebrow towards Drummer, I silently ask his opinion.

He looks at me, at Road, then nods. “Leave the dirt track well alone. And we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed we’ve done enough.”

For a moment no one speaks, all presumably imagining the horror we’ll feel if the fire does come close.

“What about within the compound? Aren’t the buildings protected?” Marvel is the first one to break the silence. “Thought someone told me they were when I got here.”

Viper nods. “We used fire resistant and/or fire-retardant coatings on all buildings when we restored them. But that only delays fire taking hold. It doesn’t stop it.”

“But gives us a chance to fight,” Drummer says, his hand stroking his beard. “Ain’t gonna lose this compound, brothers. Don’t want us to be homeless again.”

Viper hasn’t finished. “Prez’s house, the sweet butts’, and the empty one we use for visitors have been sorted. And Heart’s new house is protected. But Wraith’s is just a wooden frame.”

At the moment it’s just information. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping to fuck we can clear enough undergrowth away, so the fire doesn’t come near us. That’s if we’re unlucky enough to end up in its path. “The shop,” I begin.

“Brother. Can’t do anything about it.” Blade, who manages it, interrupts me and is shaking his head. “It’s someway from the clubhouse. If we moved the gas, where the fuck are we going to put it? In the middle of the fuckin’ compound where it could go off like a bomb?”

“We’re doing all this work probably for nothin’,” Beef complains. “Fire might not even be comin’ our way.”

Drum’s hands smash down on the table. “I’m takin’ no fuckin’ risks with our home or our lives. If this fire doesn’t head in our direction, it doesn’t mean there won’t be another behind it. We’ve neglected the boundary enough already. Now get the fuck to work and do as I fuckin’ say.”

All’s quiet for a moment. We live in a tinderbox area—whole villages have been burned when they didn’t expect it. One by one we nod at the prez. I hope what we’re doing is unnecessary, but I’ll give it my all to make sure we’ve done what we can if the worse happens.

“What about Ma Jones?” Dollar asks, his surprising question breaking the silence, and all eyes go to the treasurer.

“She still around?” I haven’t heard anything of her in years.

Dollar shrugs as Paladin’s brow creases and he asks, “Who’s Ma Jones?”

Drum’s shaking his head. “She was old when we bought the compound. Not seen or heard of her in ages. Old bitch probably died long ago. She has that place about a quarter of a mile from us, our nearest neighbour you could say. Kicked up a hell of fuss when we moved in. Tried to block the sale.”

“Yeah.” Viper gives a quick grin. “She didn’t want no dirty bikers on her doorstep.” For the last he uses his fingers to put it in quotes.

Mouse is tapping away at his keys. “Think she’s still there. Got another bitch livin’ with her from what I can tell.”

How the fuck he gets his info so quickly, I’ll never know. “What you thinkin’, Dollar?”

“If the fire is coming in our direction, just wonderin’ if we ought to be neighbourly and check she’s alright.”

Prez gives one of his rare grins. “Brave bitch tryin’ to take us on. Had some fuckin’ admiration for her. If she is in the land of the livin’, she must be ninety, at least, by now. Wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on things and check in with her if the fire comes close. Yeah, Viper?”

Having caught the Prez’s attention, Viper grins. “Despite the trouble she tried to cause us, I liked the old bitch. Got guts, that’s for sure. Would be worth a call if Mouse can get her number. And if we end up in the fire’s path, I don’t mind trekkin’ out to check up on her.”

Mouse nods. Yeah, he can do anything.

Drum takes a second, and then nods to Viper. “Okay, we’ll leave Ma Jones to you.”

As I’m inwardly chuckling at the thought of Viper going up against the woman who’s name we coined for her—fuck knows what her real handle is, but Ma Jones suits her—I realise Prez is addressing me.

“Peg. How do you suggest we do this?”

Drumming my fingers on the table, I put together my thoughts. “Compound’s basically rectangular. Fire’s coming down the hill. If it heads straight for us, it will hit the back of the compound first, or one of the sides if it veers off. So, we concentrate on clearing everything around all sides. We divide into four groups and keep working until we’ve cleared it.”

“Fire might not come anywhere near us,” Marvel grumbles.

Prez slams his fist on the table. “I know this will be hard fuckin’ work, and hopefully completely unnecessary, but I won’t take the risk of losin’ this compound.” He stares around the table waiting for the chin lifts and nods. “Okay. Let’s get to work.” Prez bangs the gavel, and brothers start sorting themselves out.

I’m taking the back with Marvel, Joker, Lady, Slick, and Dollar. Drum will be covering the north side with Beef, Jekyll, and Paladin, and Wraith will tackle the south along with Mouse, Beef, and Hyde. Blade, with a vested interest in protecting the shop he manages, will clear around the entrance assisted by Shooter and Rock. Viper and Bullet are off to bring back machinery, and then they’ll go where they can help the most. Road goes off to commune with trees or something.

It’s a sweltering day, the worst to be outside doing physical work. The air’s gradually thickening with smoke, the strong breeze doing nothing to cool us. Brothers work with chainsaws, scythes, shovels, or whatever they can get hold of to cut down or dig up the overgrown shrubs for others to rake away. Mouse has looked it up on the internet, and we need to dig a shallow trench and make sure anything combustible, or fuel for the fire, is clear of it. Some bushes have taken a good hold, and it’s fucking arduous work. But as pieces of ash start to float down around us, everyone redoubles their effort, and as it worsens, becoming like black snow, bandanas go up to cover faces.

Complaints this isn’t necessary start to trail off as the wind rises and we exchange worried glances. I realise I haven’t seen the planes for a while and remember hearing they can’t drop retardant in high winds. The smoke becomes thicker, the sun can only just be made out, and I can hear a distant roar.

“Listen up.” Drum comes up and my group gather around him. He has to raise his voice to be heard over the sound of the flames. “Just got the text, an evacuation order. Fire’s definitely turned and is comin’ our way.”

“Not leavin’.” Viper steps down from the bulldozer.

With a quick grin that doesn’t meet his eyes, Drum nods. “Expect that’s how everyone feels. We stay here to protect what we’ve got. But women and children need to go.”

“My house,” offers Viper, who’s got a place in town.

“And mine,” says Dollar.

“Yeah, Bullet’s already offered his as well.”

Drum eyes the work that’s been completed. “Think we’ve done all we can do out here. We’re got to start movin’ valuables down into storage and get the women and kids out of here.”

“Think we’ve done enough, Prez?”

When his eyes find mine, I find myself answering the question on Drum’s behalf. “We can only hope, Blade.”

Despite our best intentions, the women don’t leave immediately, staying behind to help sort through the stuff we want to keep safe and taking it under the old swimming pool. Slick moves his explosives, and I move the ammunition. Don’t want the heat to set them off. Viper uses his digger to make a deep hole, and we bury everything combustible in a metal safe.

I’ve missed something and immediately act to rectify it. While they’re prospects no longer, Jekyll and Hyde make no complaint as I ask them to start clearing the ground around the propane tanks.

When the converted pool’s full to bursting with everything from Mouse’s computers, my precious hi fi, Drum’s turntables, photograph albums, the lot, we close it up and hope, if it comes to it, any fire burns over it quickly. For good measure, Bullet uses the bull dozer and puts an extra layer of sand over the top.

“Paperwork?” Drum checks with Dollar, who’s just walked up.

“Fireproof safe,” he replies, his face looking worried. “Tried ringing the number Mouse gave us for Ma Jones. It’s out of service. Viper’s going to take the 4 x 4 and take the direct route over to her. Check she got the evacuation order alright.” Viper, standing next to him, jerks his chin in agreement.

I’d taken a moment to ring Flash’s station house and got the confirmation it was her crew that was up on the mountain fighting the fire. Having no old lady here to get organised, and now we’ve done all that we can, if I have time on my hands, I’ll only spend it worried about her. It’s an easy decision to make. “I’ll come with you.”

Casting an uneasy glance above, I see the sun has been totally obliterated by the thickening smoke, a weird yellow glow replacing blue sky. It’s dark when night isn’t anywhere near close as Viper drives the Jeep over the rough ground, saving time by going direct and not taking the long route of going down our track, along the interstate, and then up a parallel, unpaved road to the isolated homestead which I’d forgotten was even there. Ma Jones…well…we’d often prefaced her name with the word fucking. Twelve years or so now and she was threatening to take us to court. But since we’ve moved in we’ve seen nothing of her, and presumably have caused her no concerns, despite her dire predictions at the time.

It takes us a while to navigate the direct, but unmade route. As we draw close I swear. “Hope she’s already out. Look at that mess.” Shrubs and tall trees are up close to the boundary of her yard, and not very far from the timber-frame house. From here, the fire seems closer.

“They’ve probably already left.”

I nod. It’s my thought as well that we’ll find no one at home, but we’ve come this far. “Best go check as we’re here.”

Viper turns onto her rutted driveway and takes the Jeep right up to the house. As soon as he pulls up the handbrake, the front door swings open and a young woman runs out. Viper and I look at each other. This wasn’t what we expected. As we open the doors and jump to the ground, I get my first proper look at the frantic woman. She appears to be in her late teens or at the most, early twenties, attractive, but her looks are marred by the tears on her face.

“Oh, thank God you’re here. Help us, please!” Her hands wringing, she looks first at me, then to Viper. “My great-grandmother’s bedridden, and we should have evacuated, but the phone’s out and there’s no way I could get help. I can’t get her into my car, and the fire’s so close…”

“Whoa, hang on there. We’ve come to help. Where’s your gramma?”

She almost staggers with relief. “This way.”

We follow her into the house, noting the wooden boards of the veranda look like they’re rotting away. Inside, the house is dim and dark.

I try a switch and tell Viper, “Electricity’s out.” Then take another look at the girl. “What’s your name, darlin’?” She’s so wound up she’s shaking like a leaf, and I’m asking partly to calm her.

“Sarah. I’m Sarah.”

“I’m Peg, and this is Viper. Do you need to sit down while we sort Ma Jones out?”

“Ma Jones?” She gives a little giggle at the handle we’d given the old woman. “You better not call her that.”

I roll my shoulders, determined I certainly am, and a quick glance at Viper shows he’s on board. Amusement or anger, those emotions can damp down the fear. It’s easy to see why Sarah was so scared, stuck in this house with no way out, and the fire drawing closer.

She leads us to a bedroom and opens the door, and immediately a crochety voice calls out, “I told you to go, Sarah. Get in the car and go. Leave me here.”

“Not leaving you, Gramma, I’ve already told you that. And I’ve brought help.”

As Viper and I step into the room, Ma Jones makes the effort to sit up. Her eyes open wide, then she points an unsteady finger at us. “Get out of my house. You’re those filthy bikers. Sarah, run. Run for your life. They’ve come to rob us. They’ll rape you.”

“Now, now.” I take a step towards the bed. “We ain’t here to rob you, hurt you, or take advantage of you or your granddaughter. We’re here to help.”

But she’s not listening. “Get your phone, Sarah, and call the police.”

Sarah walks over to her grandmother and takes her hand. “I told you already, the phones are out. I can’t get a signal on my cell. We’ve no choice but to trust them, Gramma. If we don’t, well…” Her head tilts toward the window where the sky’s now glowing orange.

Ma Jones looks at her granddaughter. “You’re still refusing to leave?”

“Look, Ma.” I don’t miss how her eyes flare as I call her that. “Sarah’s not going anywhere without you. We’re takin’ you both with us. Now you can come easy, or make it difficult, that’s up to you. But we ain’t leavin’ either of you here. There’s too much that’s likely to burn around here. If the fire comes this way this place will go up like a tinder box.”

The old woman’s eyes narrow. “So, it’s kidnapping now, is it?” But I don’t miss the slight glint in them.

“Com’on. Let’s get you up.” Viper takes a step toward the bed, throwing a look over his shoulder to the girl. “Pack a bag quickly, anything you need to take get it.”

“Already packed,” she replies. “We were hoping someone would remember we were here and come get us.”

“Can you put your stuff in the back of the Jeep?”

I watch as she nods and goes off.

“Now, Ma, you gonna make this easy or hard?”

“I ain’t your ma,” she grumbles, and again goes to sit up. Viper helps by putting his arm around her. “I’m heavy,” she admits. “Don’t know how you’re going to move me.”

“What’s the matter with you?” I ask.

“Me legs have gone.” She gives me a sly look. “But my eyes still work. You try and take anything…”

“We’re not here to steal from you, Woman. Give it a fuckin’ rest.”

Viper puts his arm around her and moves her to the edge of the bed, then putting his other arm under her legs sweeps her up into his arms. He grimaces at me, but to her says, “See, light as a feather.”

Seeing his muscles straining, I hold the door open wide and then go ahead to clear the way. When we get to the Jeep and he props her up inside, he mouths to me, “Next time you can do the liftin’,” and rubs his back as he straightens up.

“Got everything?” I ask Sarah.

“Yes, I’ve just got to go back and lock up.”

“Yeah, because those filthy bikers might come back now they know the place is empty.” As Ma complains from the back seat, I turn just in time to see her lips curling slightly.

Sarah’s quick, and soon sitting beside her great-grandmother. Viper starts the Jeep, and soon we’re on our way. As we turn onto the sand, Ma pipes up. “The road’s thatta way.”

“Quicker to go direct. Just hang on tight.”

There’s a few grumbles and moans as we bump over the sand, but they’re half-hearted at best. My summation is the old woman’s putting on a show, partly to stop Sarah from being scared.

There’s no denying it is scary. The slight roar we’d heard earlier is far more audible now. The sky’s bright orange as flames are reflected from the smoke that’s so thick it’s hard to see where we’re going. Viper’s driving mainly by the compass on the dash. Soon we’re getting close to home.

“What the fuck?” he suddenly exclaims.

As I peer in front I can see the compound, and beyond the gate, flames shooting up. How it started, I’ve no idea.

“The fire’s reached us,” I shout. “Fuck! Put your foot down, man.”

Fire’s eating up the ground, and it seems to have come cross from the direction we least expected and hadn’t prepared for, cutting off our access to the main road, and the main wildfire is still steadily burning down toward us from the mountain, closer than when we left. We need to hope we’ve made the compound as safe as we can, as it looks like we’ll be surrounded by flames.

Fuck.