From Fire to Frost

Race to the River

    As they neared the southern edge of the clearing, Madelynn felt a shudder pass through her daughter's tiny frame. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw that the fire had breached the far edge of the clearing. She knew that the clearing was only a couple hundred feet wide, which did not give them much of a safety margin.

    Flames were visible climbing up through the trees and throwing cinders closer and closer towards their home. She kept jogging behind Devin, encouraging him to move faster. They passed through the trees in a rush, hastening towards the river about a mile away from them. She hoped her son's sturdy little legs could hold out, because she knew if she had to carry him, they would be reduced to little more than a walking speed.

    A few seconds later, her daughter stiffened in her arms and pointed back over her shoulder with a cry. "Mommy! Our home!!" Eva burst into tears, burying her head in her mother's shoulder.

    Madelynn and her son paused long enough to look back the way they had come and they watched as the inferno claimed their cabin. Devin's lips trembled, and Madelynn herself felt close to tears, but panic urged them onwards. Every time that Devin would slow or stumble, his mother's hands would be there to catch him and keep him going. She shuffled her daughter from one side to the other as her arms tired. The fire was out running them though, and they could feel the heat from it growing steadily hotter upon their backs.

    Finally, Devin couldn't run any further, and fell to his knees, completely spent. Over the roar of the fire, Madelynn struggled to hear any sound of the river which she knew must be nearby. "Climb upon my back," she told Devin, and crouched long enough for him to struggle aboard. Then they were off again.

    Madelynn wasn't in much better shape then her poor boy though. She walked as swiftly as she could, her lungs burning from the force of her exertions. Her arms felt like lead weights. "The fire is getting really close, Mama," warned Devin, looking back over his shoulder at the threat chasing them.

    "I know, baby, we are almost there," she replied, wheezing slightly. She paused for a moment, hoping to spot any of the familiar landmarks around her, but the harsh light of the fire, and the moon light beaming down on them made it almost impossible.

    After a little while, Devin suddenly hopped off her back. "Mama, I can run a little farther now," he said and he grabbed her hand and took off again, hauling her behind him with all the force he could muster. Driven onward by her brave little boy, she started jogging again.

    The fire line must have been mere feet behind them, for hot cinders and smoldering leaves were being tossed by the fire over their heads and all around them. The heat was so intense that their skin burned, and their eyes watered continuously. Suddenly there it was.

    The broad river from which they had once caught fish was before them, and Madelynn could see that they were near one of the deeper sections. In the middle of the river were a couple of large boulders which peeked above the dark water. Beside herself with relief, Madelynn grabbed her son's hand and they began to wade into the cold water. Mudd needed no encouragement, and jumped in after them with a splash. An efficient swimmer, their long-haired dog paddled around them as they waded deeper into the cool, soothing water.

    "Hold on to me, darlings," she said, as the water got deeper than her son could handle. Although he knew enough to stay afloat when they went swimming, it was quite another thing to swim across the current in the darkness. Devin clung to her shoulders as she raised the bag and rifle over her shoulders with one hand.

    "So cold, Mama," stuttered Eva, her little teeth chattering.

    "I know baby," Madelynn replied, squeezing her daughter closer to her, "But this river will save our lives."

    They had reached the middle of the river now, and the cold liquid was flowing around Madelynn's shoulders. Devin held on fiercely to her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as far as they could go. "It'll be okay Eva," he told his sister reassuringly, although the look on his face defied his statement.

    They weren't the only things in the river either, for any animal that hadn't been able to cross the river before the fire reached it was now sheltering in the middle, just as they were. She could see deer standing in the middle of the water, who didn't seem to mind at all the smaller animals clinging to their necks and hanging on their antlers.

    A family of raccoons were sitting on the pile of rocks to which Madelynn was approaching, but they ignored her, never taking their eyes from the raging inferno before them. She set the rifle and the bag down on the rocks, and pushed them as far from the water's edge as she could. Mudd climbed up next to them, since dogs are no good at treading water, and he was already exhausted from running so far.

    "We need to stay in the water, children," Madelynn warned them, and they saw why as hot debris rained down upon them from the fire as it climbed the tree tops and leaped across the river into the trees on the other side.

    A mass of burning leaves suddenly fell on top of them, and Eva wailed as her head and shoulders were burned. Instantly, she pinched her daughter's nose shut. "Hold your breath," she shouted, and all three of them submerged into the water, which quickly washed away the burning matter. As she rose from the water's surface, Eva was sputtering and coughing.

    Madelynn checked her daughter for any injuries. "Are you okay?" she asked. Tears in her daughter's eyes, her brave little girl nodded, sobbing in emotional distress. Devin had been mostly protected by his mother's figure since he was lower in the water than his sister. "Are you okay?" she asked her son, who nodded as well.

    They stayed in that river until the last vestiges of the fire had died out on the northward bank, and the southern bank had turned into nothing but ashes as well. Madelynn took the bag and her rifle from the rocks, and then waded back to shore. The flames had disappeared into the distance as Madelynn and her children climbed out.

    Their clothes were sodden, and the long wool jacket around her shoulders weighed her down instantly. But, miraculously, her family was alive, and relatively unharmed, and that was all that Madelynn cared about. She lowered her daughter slowly to the ground and the family stood there, looking around them in dazed bewilderment. With heavy footsteps, they began the laborious walk back towards the place in which their cabin had one stood. It seemed to take them forever, but finally, weary beyond anything they had felt before, they found themselves standing in the clearing.

    It was the first place they had found not completely covered by ashes, although there were some scattered throughout the clearing. Except for the smoldering remains of their cabin and barn, the ground seemed relatively safe. Mudd collapsed at their feet as the family stood there dumbly. Madelynn's brain was so tired she was having trouble thinking through the fog of exhaustion.

    "What do we do now Mama?" asked Devin, his voice sad and upset.

    "For now, we sleep. In the morning, we will sift through the remains for anything that might be useful. After that, I'm not sure darling. We will figure it out though, and we will be okay. Let's just stick together I take it one day at a time," she told them, touching their heads reassuringly.

    "Where we sleep?" queried her daughter. "No beds," Eva said.

    "The ground will have to do, children. We can use our coats as blankets, and Mudd will help keep us warm. At the mention of his name, the shaggy dog, who had dried off long ago, wagged his tail and squirmed a little closer to their legs. "Stay here a moment," she told them. She walked around, looking at the ground for a few minutes, until she found a place that she felt was suitable. Using her hands, she scraped out a large divot, big enough for all of their bodies to lie in.

    The family lay down in the berm, with Eva in between Madelynn and Devin. "Stay close to Eva," she told Devin. As it was much more difficult for tiny children to regulate their body temperature, and Eva's dress was still soaking, the poor girl was half frozen despite being surrounded by a smoldering forest.

    Devin crowded close, and Mudd lay on the other side of him, keeping his back warm. She's wrapped her long wool coat over them all, then exhaustion overtook them, and one by one, the small family drifted into sleep.

    Madelynn slept like the dead, and awoke only as the rays of the sun tipped over the treetops and lit up her face. Her two children were sleeping soundly next to her, and she slid out from under the coat so as to not wake them. She took her bag, which sat nearby, and spread out the contents to see what was available. Their initial departure had been such a rush that she could barely remember what she had put in the bag.

    Wrapped in oilskin was the remainder of their loaf of oat bread, a round of the hard-rinded creamy cheese, a large pouch of salted ham and dried beef, as well as an envelope of dried apricots and raisins that Madeline's mother had mailed her the week before. A few apples and a skin of water were all that existed of the rest of their food stuffs.

    She had also thrown in every last bit of ammo that she had, a spare pair of wool socks for each of them, her hunting and her skinning knives, her husband's pocket watch with his family crest engraved on it, and each of their hats. Their large fishing reel and a couple of tripwires nestled in the bottom of the pouch, out of the way. Her flint and steel was safe in the front pocket of the bag, as well as the last of her box of matches.

    She sat back on her heels as she mulled over their situation. Including Mudd, the food they had could keep the family for just about a week, if they ate a little less than what they were used to. The problem with that however, was they might possibly be spending more energy than they were used to, which would make them hungrier. But beggars can't be choosers, she said to herself, and wrapped everything back up and tucked it into the bag.

    She sat there a little longer, going over their options, but in the end, she only saw one clear alternative. They would scrounge for what they could in the remains of their old home, and then they would have to head to New Haven and see if it had survived the horrible onslaught of the fire. With luck, there would be not just survivors, but possibly some buildings still intact that they could hole up in over the winter.

    But, and the thought made her grim, if New Haven was completely destroyed, they would have to head for the nearest civilization and pray that they could reach it before the fast approaching winter was  upon them. That would give them only a couple months to reach Fort Namaqua, which was several hundred miles away. As far as she could recollect, the fort was the last sign of civilization they had crossed during their travels westward before they had found New Haven two years ago.

    Still, there's no point on dwelling on if's until they knew the fate of New Haven, she thought to herself. Just then she was startled from her reverie by a small hand upon her shoulder. By the size of it, she knew it to be Devin.

    "Mama?" he asked in a tired, quiet voice, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and leaning against her for comfort.

    She reached around  with her arm and snagged his small figure, pulling him in front of her and plopping him into her lap as she settled into a cross-legged position.  He snuggled into her with relief, leaning his head into her shoulders.  She kissed the top of his head and they sat that way for a moment, silent.

    "Have you thought about what we are going to do?" he asked her, looking up into her face.  

    She stared out at the forest as she answered.  "I think we will spend the day morning searching for any of our stuff that may have survived the fire.  Then we will head to New Haven.  I'm praying the village managed to survive the blaze."

    "But what if it got burnt down, too?" he asked, unhappily.

    "Then we will search for a few days for anything we can use before we head to Fort Namaqua," she told him.

    "Fort Namaqua? Where's that?" he asked, confused.

    She looked down at her small son as she replied, "You probably don't remember, since you were only two and a half when we traveled through there on our way to this area, but it is the largest human settlement for hundreds of miles around.  We will have to travel to Fort Namaqua as quickly as we can, because winter is coming in a couple months.  It might take us that long if we have to walk the whole way."

    "What 'bout Penny?" asked Eva, who had apparently awoken.

    She came from behind them and her mother held out an arm to her.  Happily, she joined her brother in her mother's lap, one on each thigh, as her Madelynn wrapped her arms around their shoulders lovingly.  "Darling, I don't know where Penny is.  She might have run so far that she can't find her way back.  But if we have to go to Fort Namaqua, we will stop back here once more to see if she made her way home.  Otherwise, we will have to leave without her.'

    "Can't we rebuild our cabin?" asked her son.

    "I'm afraid that won't be possible by ourselves.  It would take the three of us until spring to build a cabin for us to survive the winter.  If Penny returns, she could help us haul the logs we would need to rebuild.  Or if there are survivors, they might be able to help us. But if not, we won't have any choice but to go to Fort Namaqua," she told them grimly. "Now let's have some breakfast," she said, changing the subject, "and then we will search for anything useful."

    The children slid off her lap and she pulled the food out of her bag.  She cut off three slices of the hearty bread, spread some of the creamy cheese on each slice, and then sprinkled some raisins onto each one.  Handing a slice to each child, they all tucked in happily.  "We need to make our food last as long as possible until we know what is going on in New Haven," she told them as they ate, "so we are going to have to eat a little less than we might want, and I'm sorry about that." Madelynn tossed a couple strips of beef jerky and the heel of the bread to Mudd, who had been watching them eat with big eyes.  He gobbled down the food within seconds, and then started sniffing around them for any fallen crumbs.

    "It's alright, Mama," Devin replied, his mouth full of food.  His sister nodded seriously beside him.

    After they were finished, the family began sifting through the ashes, looking for supplies.  They started at the barn, and were happy to find the rake, which was two feet shorter because the wooden handle had burned up, and the shovel, which had suffered the same fate.  Using the two tools, they made their way through the remains of the barn and cabin.  When they had reached the area where the kitchen once was, Devin made a pleasant discovery.

    "Eva, it's Missy!" he exclaimed.  Madelynn and her daughter hurried over.  He had found his mother's two cast iron pans and the cast iron Dutch oven.  It was under this that her dolly had been found.  The thick, solid metal had apparently protected the ragdoll from the fire.

    Devin carefully shook the doll off in a cloud of dust and ashes, and then handed it to his little sister, who snatched up the doll and hugged it to her, humming with joy.  Madelynn smiled down at the scene.  "What on earth was Missy doing under the Dutch oven?" she asked her children.

    Her son laughed.  "Eva wanted Missy to play hide-and-seek with us, so I hid her underneath it," he said.  "I just forgot where I had hid her."  

    His mother laughed as well. "Well, it's a good thing you did.  The metal protected the doll from the forest fire."

    They continued their excavation of the site after Eva placed Missy safely away from the ashes next to her mother's bag.  Even Mudd helped, by digging into the ashes several times after sniffing around the area. By the time the sun had risen above the clearing, they had searched the whole area, and found a few more things to add to their collection, as well as the mostly burned carcasses of at least two chickens that Mudd had found at the edge of the clearing.  Madelynn looked down at everything they had found, before carefully adding the smaller cast iron pan, the rake, a spatula and a bucket to their supplies.

    "What happen others," asked Eva.

    "You mean the other chickens?" asked her mother, looking down at her. The little girl nodded.

    "I am hoping the rest of the flock escaped in time," Madelynn said.  "Hopefully only these two got caught by the fire."

    "I don't understand, Mama," said Devin, looking down at the stuff laid out before them, "Why did some of the metal melt, but not all?"

    "Every different kind of metal melts at different temperatures.  Cast iron is very tough and it is very very hard to melt it.  That's why all of it survived the fire intact," she told her son.  "But our silverware, and the utensils, and things like that, they melt much easier.  The spatula and the bucket must have just been lucky enough to be in an area where the fire wasn't as hot, I guess" she theorized.

    They sat on the ground near Missy, and she handed out some strips of beef jerky to everyone, including Mudd.  Each of them got an apple, and they tossed the cores to their dog, who gnawed on them to get off any last bit of food.  After she was finished, Madelynn cut off any burnt parts of the chickens, then deboned and gutted the birds.  She sliced away any decent meat, which had been thoroughly cooked by the fire, and stashed it in the oilskin with the rest of the food. Finally finished, she wrapped up the tools in her large jacket and slung it, the bag, and the rifle onto her back.  Then the family headed into the forest, aiming for New Haven.

    The path was indiscernible from the rest of the ground around it because everything was covered in ashes.  So much of the forest had been completely burned to the ground.  Some of the trees had remained standing, but even these were blackened husks of their former selves.  The group walked as quickly as they could, their footsteps throwing up little clouds of dust and ash behind them.

    The family was used to the relatively quick trip provided by Penny, so when they hadn't reached the edge of the forest around two hours later, even Madelynn was surprised.  They tarried on, and by the time the sun was starting to touch the treetops to the west, they emerged from the trees, staring in awe at the destruction around them.

    The forest had hidden a lot of the waste around them, but now they could see that the scrub and grassland surrounding the forest had been burned bare.  For miles, there was nothing but dirt and ash.  A breeze blew eastward, tossing the debris into the air and blowing it around, partially obscuring the vision of the family.  But they could see the wagon ruts in the ground now, and followed the path towards New Haven.  As they neared the town, Madelynn's heart started to beat faster. One more bend in the road, just around the hill, and they would be able to see if the village had survived.  She found herself praying, praying for the survival of their friends, praying that New Haven was intact.  Then they rounded the bend, and the family stopped, frozen in disbelief.