Passage Through Fire - Part 11

NOTE: This is derived from the "Swept Away" RP continuity which started in 2007 and has continued in various forms and spinoffs ever since, first on the old Hillbilly Hell forum and presently in Wingnut City. I'm sure it's not the first or only "Humans in the Carsverse" thing that ever came up, but boy, has it had staying power. By the in-RP timeline, the events of Planes 2 would be taking place perhaps 6 years after the humans' arrival.

Disclaimer: Don't own no canon characters. They belong to Disney. Weesa be makin' no money offa dis!

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The sparks, blown up by the previous day's jetwash, had swirled on the eddies of the wind across the valley until they settled in dry pine needles and among tinder-dry branches, to smoulder for a while until they flared up into hot spots, ultimately growing new conflagrations along the ridge overlooking the abandoned mineworks halfway to Whitewall Falls. The amount of ladder fuels was more than ample, and the wind carried multiple flaming fragments to create new blossoming fires further downwind.

The smoke blew down from the hills, through the trees and the brush, causing the already restive deere to move further away from the source. Balsa thrushes flitted restlessly, not quite ready to flee their nests. One of them zipped by N'Sheki's nose as Mii'Auww guided her down the trail to their original campsite, causing the mare to crow-hop and snort before bolting for the nearest open path. Mii gritted her teeth  and swallowed a curse as her helmet received a painful whack from a low-lying tree branch. Her people were never forest-dwelling types, and she what she was presently missing most was the ability to see. She hauled back with her right hand, bringing her mount to a firm one-rein stop as Nick and Wally floated alongside her. Nick hadn't said much in the last hour, and Wally hadn't been much more talkative. Staying out of the way of a raging forest fire didn't lend itself to casual conversation.

"**** you, Spinner." Wally growled at last as he saw a flaming twig drift overhead. "Lotsa times I coulda sent your aft right off the canyon road and scratched paint woulda been the least of your problems. I should have."

" Then we'd have to put up with HIS ghost too, and it'd be all your fault." Nick snorted.

"I'd rather he go straight to hell, speaking strictly for myself." the Orion-ghost snarled back. Mii, having regained control of the mare, kicked her on downtrail, lips pursed and eyes focused on the light down the end of the path that promised another clearing, where she could get her bearings and hopefully get clear of the fire's leapfrogging march. As N'sheki's feet found firmer ground, less slick with needles, she accelerated into a canter. There was more sunlight, and clearer air. They were joined by several deere as they made a beeline for the meadow and the kettle hole it contained, a near-circular pond that promised refuge from the inferno to the west. The wind wasn't blowing in its direction at present, and as long as they stayed put, they would be reasonably safe, though the mare was not thrilled about sharing this haven with the deere, pinning her ears and switching her tail every time one infringed on her personal space.

 Mii slackened the reins and allowed N'Sheki to wade in, to drink and paw at the water. She refilled her canteen as well, then dropped a purification tablet in before recapping. It was possible that someone flying overhead could spot them, but the clearing was small and partially in the lee of the canyon walls. She looked back at Nick and Wally still bickering, and sighed before digging around in her saddlebags for a protein bar; she was down to a precious few. After polishing off the seed-loaded confection, Mii shook off the crumbs, wet a cloth and wiped her face. It seemed that several days' dirt came off on the rag, and she couldn't recall when she'd last had a proper bath. The radio was on again, at low volume to spare the batteries, to keep track of the fire's reported progress and direction. The sound of engines dopplered in from the northwest, and Mii'auww raised her eyes, blinking and squinting, to make out the profiles of a single-engine plane and helicopter going hell-for-leather over the treetops.

That was finally enough to silence Nick and Wally for the duration. About time they knocked off that crap. Mii fought an impulse to retreat into the shadows; it was unlikely, given their focus, that the two aircraft had spotted anything else on the ground. Turning up the volume, Mii pressed the radio's speaker into her ear, and squinted as she strained to hear words through the static. Wally and Nick, however, had started in on each other again.

"Shush, both of you!" Whether from urgency or the vehemence of her tone, they immediately went silent.  Another moment. "The fire's going towards the lodge. According to Blade, they've got four hours."

Wally looked as if he were muzzling something obscene. Nick took on a seething look, a white-hot fury Mii had never seen in him before. They continued to listen to the exchange between Blade and Dusty. "What's up with him? Is he out of it?" Nick asked at last.

Mii'auww had to concur that Dusty didn't exactly sound like he was everything he should be this afternoon. "Guess his gearbox problem is still eating him."
"Hey!" Nick blinked as Wally rose to the sky. "Where are you headed?"

"I wanna see what's going on with'em." the Orion-spirit shot back. "And kiddo, it's time to get a move on. That fire ain't close yet, but it's getting close-ish. "

"Where?"

"Wherever it's NOT going." Wally's voice seemed to fade as he ascended. "Just pay attention to wind direction and don't ride into smoke. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but you'll just have to trust me on that." Mii sighed, shrugged and remounted. N'Sheki pinned her ears and lashed her tail, but did not defy the bit. They moved out at a fast racking pace as the radio continued to spit out static and words. Nick zipped out ahead, scouting a clear route.

Wally came barrelling back. "Did you get that?!? Blade told him to drop a split load, but he goes and lets it all out at once! What the hell are they gonna do with him?"

Nick looked up. "As I recall, it took Your Wallyness at least a month to get the ropes."

"His Dustiness doesn't have a *#$% month, excuse my French." Wally retorted. "And he can forget about dipping off the lake, it's all too choppy there right now. The others are gonna have to make up for him. Blade's not a happy camper right now, believe me."

"He hasn't been a happy camper since 1982." Nick rolled his eyes.

"Because you were a g*dd*m fool and did a stunt in a place you shouldn't 've."

"The stunt was in the script... but the location, not so much." Nick growled back. "The show had to change locations last-minute, because of a gulf fever outbreak where we usually did our stunt work for the show. Did they ever tell you about gulf fever, Mii?"

"Some." Mii'auww applied her calves to the mare's sides as she hesitated at strong shadows crossing her path. "I was told it was to helicopters as swamp fever and bastard strangles are to horses."

"Dunno what either of those are, but they sound hella bad." Wally, again.

"They are." Mii slapped N'Sheki's hindquarters with the bight of her rein. "A horse will die from either, and it wipes out entire herds if not contained."

"So we had to go to a whole new area, where the winds weren't so predictable." Nick went on, "Though it'd seemed calm enough that day. Right up until I was at the top of a loop and that wind shear hit me... I count myself lucky that it was over so fast I didn't feel a thing. Blade, though... they actually had to rope him down and sedate him. He was crazy. At their movie night, one of the smokejumpers speculated that Blade had gone "coo-coo" on the set. In a way, he wasn't far wrong." 

"I'll take your word for it." Wally looked back in the direction that Blade and Dusty had gone... then exploded with profanity.

"What? WHAT?!" Nick popped up as well. "Oh, hell...."

"What is it?" Mii called up, "What are they doing? Radio's breaking up bad, I'm getting maybe one word out of three."

"That g*dd*m fool, that alleged SEAT-in-training, he just might've done himself in!" Wally shouted down. "And he just might get Blade killed too!"

"He just... didn't listen. He tried skimming off the lake, and he's getting swept downriver." Nick clarified. "And he didn't tell anybody here about his little issue. This is bad. REAL bad."

Mii scowled, and kicked her mount further down the trail. There were wisps of smoke blowing across it, making the mare reluctant to proceed. At one point, N'Sheki halted, half-reared, then twisted her head around and snapped at her rider's toe, proving her name. The ensuing "Come-to-Jesus" consumed another two minutes, but eventually, Mii managed to push the mare further down the trail, snorty and pinny as she was. The Nomad's mind was on... a lot... especially last night.

That prideful freak, all about himself...

All about fame, and money, and adulation, and to hell with everything else.

Well, "hell" is what he's about to get everyone else into.

She recalled Dusty, what she knew of him. A sweet, big-hearted soul, even if he made mistakes. All the people in the lodge, there for a few days of fun, or reliving old memories. The park staff and the firefighters, who would lay down their lives for people they knew and many they didn't. None of them deserved this. Not even the least of them, the little sweepers. She wondered what had happened to "Dent".

She swung her heels out, and snapped her rein ends so that both hit N'Sheki at once. The mare squealed indignantly and rolled her eyes, but exploded into a gallop.
Nick and Wally were caught by surprise for a beat or two, then dashed after the mare's heels, eating her dust.