Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 Josh snapped his head to the side, avoiding the full-on hit. But as the branch sailed by him, a paper-sized strip of burning tree bark dropped onto his arm. Pain exploded through his body like an electric shock as the bark burned through his skin.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Josh screamed, falling to the ground. It felt as if the bark had glued itself to his flesh. Before he could think twice, he reached up and peeled it off his skin. He threw the bark on the forest floor. It crackled and hissed like a rabid rat. And now his fingers were burned, too. Josh sat there, dazed and shaking. The pain was like none he'd ever felt, as if the flesh of his arm had been roasted, ripped from the bone. His fingers throbbed as if he'd pricked himself with a thousand needles. He wanted to curl up into a ball, let the pain crash over him. To disappear inside it. But now Holly was next to him. She stomped on the hissing bark so it wouldn't ignite the brush on the ground. She reached down and grabbed Josh's hand, not realizing he'd been burned. He pulled it away, crying out in pain. "My hand is burned," Josh said. "And my arm." "We can't stop," Holly said. "Come on."

Josh wanted to move. But the pain was making him feel sick and dizzy. He was sure he couldn't stand up, let alone run. But Holly gently took his other hand and managed to pull him to his feet. She stood there for a few seconds, very close. "I know it hurts," she said. "But you can do it." She sounded almost like Dad. Somehow Josh forced his body forward. And soon he was running again. He followed close to Holly, his eyes stinging from the smoke and ash. They zigzagged around the burning branches and puddles of flame on the ground. The sky was filled with birds flying away from the fire. And other animals were on the run, too. A rabbit hopped in front of them. Chipmunks and squirrels skittered at their feet. "The river's not far!" Holly shouted, coughing from the smoke. "It's just over the hill. We're almost there!"

The temperature was rising—the air was searing hot, the ground a stovetop that burned Josh's feet through his sneakers and socks. He could practically feel his blood boiling inside his veins. How much heat could the human body stand? He had no idea. But he could tell he wasn't going to last much longer. His skin was roasting. Each breath of the smoky air seared his throat and lungs. And it would only be a few minutes before the wall of flames caught them. They kept up their desperate climb. "We made it!" Holly said as they reached the top of the hill. But then she gasped. "No!" Right in front of them, blocking the river, was a line of blazing bushes—a fence of fire. Josh turned his head. The flames seemed to stretch out for hundreds of feet in both directions. They were trapped.

Josh thought of the fire shelters Lucas had described. If only they had one of those! But they had nothing to protect them. Suddenly a deer came barreling from behind them. It launched itself over the bushes and hit the water. Splash! Holly stared at the deer, then turned to Josh. "The zip line! We're close to the zip line!" "Zip line?" he said, wondering if the smoke was messing with her head. "It could take us over those bushes. We can let go over the river and swim across. Like the deer!" She whipped her head around, eyes narrowed and searching. "There it is!" She pointed to the zip line. It was a crazy idea. And their only idea. In a flash they were on the move again. But now all Josh could think of was what could go wrong. The path to the tree could be blocked.

Even if they got there, the zip-line tree could be burned. The wire could have melted in the heat. And how would he be able to hold on with his burned hand? He tried to push those fears from his mind as Holly led them farther over the hill. They had to keep changing direction, to zigzag around the flaming trees and branches in their path. "There," Holly said finally, pointing to a big tree. He couldn't imagine how she'd managed to find it. But there it was. Josh saw the zip-line wire stretching across the river. There were some embers clinging to the tree's branches. But somehow it was not on fire. Josh almost cried with relief. "Follow me," Holly said, hoisting herself up onto the lowest branch. Josh scrambled right behind her, gutting through the pain of his burns. He noticed that this tree wasn't an evergreen like most of the others. It didn't have spindly