The First Hours Page 22

  “That’s not going to happen Tom. We’ll all be here when she gets home, or none of us will be.”

  “What about the guys who did this? We going to ignore what they’ve done?”

  Tom turned to Simon, “What do you think we should do? Did you see who it was? Can you say positively who did this? Should we just go out and start killing people until we find the person or persons responsible? Is that what you want to do Simon?” Tom had begun pacing in circles around Simon without realizing it. He wanted to seek retribution from the men who had started the fires, but who did they go after? They had destroyed more than just his home; evident by the wide-spread mantle of smoke hanging over the town.

  Simon stepped away, holding his hands up, “Take it easy, Tom. You and I both know who’s behind this. He stood right in the front yard earlier tonight, making threats.”

  Tom knew Simon was right again. That was twice in a short space of time, but he also knew there was no way he was going to go chasing Jack just to kill him. The damage was done and as far as he knew, irreplaceable. They still had what mattered the most and felt they were lucky to have escaped with their lives.

  Tom felt fortunate in that he had removed his supplies. The trees behind his house had burned, and he was sure the blackberry vines would be charred, but his cache would be fine.

  He looked toward his neighbor and saw they had troubles of their own. With the wide-spread devastation, Tom thought it had to be more than just Jack involved. There was no way one man could start so many fires simultaneously. What did he hope to garner by burning everyone’s houses down? He would lose valuable supplies as well as turn the people around town against him.

  “Oh my God, Tom, look!” Carrie pointed down the driveway where the fire followed the hedge and jumped to the closest pine tree. The fire exploded up the length of its trunk and leaped across to the fir tree. Both trees were heavy with pitch and burned like torches. The fire sparked by the wind spread quicker than Tom could have believed. The trees along his property line were fully engulfed and spreading into the forest behind. The flames hungrily devoured everything in its path, tasting first then swallowing before moving on to the next delicacy.

  Tom watched spellbound by the hungry flames as they danced from tree to tree. No smoke jumpers or firefighter were coming to the rescue, and they had no choice but stand and watch the forest as it turned from a beautiful canopy of green to charred sticks protruding from the burned and singed soil.

  Tom didn’t remember feeling so low. He had dealt out the most of his energy fighting the man to save Nancy, and watching the needless destruction was quickly sapping the rest.

  “What now?’ Carrie asked. She sank down to rest against the shed. Simon sat beside her with a groan.

  Tom turned to look at her. A parody of blackface greeted him on both his friend's faces. Their eyes being the only bright spots on a soot-covered face. He wiped his hand down his and didn’t know if he’d wiped anything off or not. His hand was black, but he was sure it had been before he’d touched his face. Nancy sat holding the bottom of her shirt against her knee.

  “What happened?” He bent down and gently removed her hand. Her knee leaked blood across the bottom of it. “Use your shirt and keep the pressure on it.”

  He looked around; he couldn’t think of anything at hand to stem the blood flow. They all only wore what they had been wearing earlier. They had no jackets or extra clothing at all, but he had an idea.

  He stood, went to the shed door feeling his pocket s as he walked, and his shoulders sagged, “I don’t suppose you have the car keys?” He wasn’t hopeful because it was a large keyring and would be awkward in someone’s pocket.

  Carrie fumbled, her eyes opening wide in disbelief, “I do!” She tossed the bulky mess of keys to Tom. “I have a habit…I can’t believe I still have them.”

  The first piece of good news. Tom searched through the keys and unlocked the shed. He hung the padlock back on the clasp so it wouldn’t get misplaced. Above the work-bench, there was a white metal first-aid box. The last time he’d looked in it, there had been antibiotic cream and bandages.

  He suspected that Nancy had cut her knee while climbing through the bedroom window. It would have been easy for her to have missed some of the glass across the bottom of the frame. Maybe in her panic, she hadn’t cleared any of it away, and they were lucky the one cut is all he had to repair. Having inspected her cut, he would give anything to have some of the spray-on bandage. It stung like heck going on, but it sealed the cut immediately and kept it clean without the mess of cloth or plastic bandages.

  With Nancy cleaned and bandaged, Tom decided he had tasks to do, and no one could perform them for him. He needed to get together everything from the shop they would need when they left. Tom went to the other side of the house and moved his car around to the shed. He was grateful Carrie hadn’t parked it close to the house in his usual spot. If she had, the tires would have overheated rendering the car useless to them. He had spares for both of his vehicles, but one never plans on having to change all four tires out at once. He had two for each car. One in the trunk and one in the shed.

  Opening the big door to the shed, Tom replaced the distributor and points on Teagan’s car and holding his breath cranked the starter. He saw Simon in the rearview mirror blocking the doorway. Hands resting on his hips, Simon’s eyes met Tom’s in the mirror. As Tom began to back, Simon stepped aside.

  “I thought it didn’t run?” Simon asked as Tom came abreast of him.

  “It didn’t. It does now,” Tom said and backed the car the rest of the way out. He pulled it up beside the people door and shut it off. He didn’t feel it necessary to fill Simon in on why it hadn’t run because he still didn’t completely trust Simon. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t.

  With the keys safely in his pocket, Tom began to gather up anything he thought would come in handy. As soon as Teagan returned, he planned on going for Carrie’s trailer and bikes. He knew Carrie could ride as could he, and he was sure Simon could as well. That would put Teagan and Carrie driving the cars and he and Simon on the bikes, provided he could make them run. He had every tool in the shop to make sure it happened.

  Both cars had the framework and receptacle to put hitches in, but he only had one hitch. He would put it on his car because it had more horsepower and he remembered the road to the cabin. It would be grueling getting everything up there, but worth the trouble in the long run.

  He figured it would only take a week or two before people flee from the sinking cities in search of food and Tom didn’t want to be anywhere around when they came.

  He was just getting up from installing the hitch when he heard the cry. It began as a moan, quickly turned into a scream. He jumped to his feet and wheeled to face his house. The roof was the first to let loose, showering Tom and the others in burning embers. The walls began to lean and collapsed, sending more sparks in the air. Tom saw what was going to happen and ran for a bucket. He threw it in disgust. Without electricity, he had no well-pump.

  He watched the sparks shower down on the shop roof but was surprised to see Simon on top beating the flames with his shirt. It proved to be a losing battle. With every ember he extinguished, a dozen more took root. The shop was going to burn, and Tom needed everyone on the ground to help him empty it out.

  “Simon, forget it. I need you down here,” he hollered to be heard over the last of the walls collapsing.

  Simon beat his shirt, trying to save what was left of it and finally gave up, dropped the material, and jumped down. Tom groaned when Simon hit the ground and rolled. He saw the flash of pain that crossed the younger man’s face.

  “You better hope it’s not broke or we’re going to have to shoot you.”

  Simon wiggled his foot to show it wasn’t broken, “it’s all good.”

  “Grab a box and help me empty the freezer,” Tom said and dashed through the door.

  “What are we going to do with it?”

  Tom
shook his head and brushed by Simon, “Dump it far enough away it doesn’t melt or burn. As he went into the shop, he saw the two yeti’s sitting on the back shelf and grabbed both of them, discarding the cardboard box. The larger cuts of meat he placed in the biggest Yeti and filled the other with bacon, sausage, and chicken. He slammed the lids and grabbed the rope handles but couldn’t budge them.

  “Simon, help me!” He remembered that’s why they were on the shelf. They were too big for him and Teagan to handle if they were full.

  The smaller one, Tom and Simon carried, but they had to lift and drag the bigger one. With them safely out of danger, they both ran back inside. The roof was now fully engulfed, and both men had to dodge sparks and burning debris.

  “Just grab that and get out of here. The roof is going to come down on top of us.”

  Simon grabbed the last box of freezer food and headed for the door. A beam cracked and fell pushing Simon to move faster. He sagged to the ground by the ice chests heaving the smoke from his lungs. Looking back at the burning building, he saw Tom throw two tires out the door followed by several coils of rope and blue water jugs. Tom fell through the door landing on his knees, coughing he pushed himself further away.

  Tom sat hacking and spitting until Carrie began to scream.

  “Tom! Oh my God, Tom…look!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ryan felt a slight feeling of loss. To a certain degree, Teagan had been dependent on Ryan, and now she wasn’t. He didn’t know how he felt about that, but he missed the connection already. He wondered if she would forget about him now that she was home or would there still be a place in her life for him.

  He looked at the house and the shed behind it. The house was a total loss, and it looked as if the shed wasn’t far behind. He did see a couple of people but other than the sheriff, he didn’t recognize the others.

  At the end of the drive, Ryan parked the bicycle against what used to be the mailbox and followed Teagan up the drive at a much slower pace. He was torn whether to go home or see that Teagan was safe. He frowned and wondered about Trevor and Deena. He didn’t think they could have gotten too far in front of them and hoped they’d not tried coming through the fire if they had stopped and Ryan had just missed them.

  Ryan dragged his feet and watched her father throw his arms around Teagan in a bear hug. He didn’t look like he would ever let her go. The woman running to the couple had tears running down her face as she went to join father and daughter.

  Ryan let them have this reunion, giving them the space they needed. The emotions emanating from the three ranged from anger to despair. He understood all of them but felt the loss as if turning Teagan over to her father was the end of what seemed like a long journey. The past two days had taken more from Ryan than he realized. The relief of seeing Teagan reunited with her family left an empty void. He wasn’t sure what he needed to do next. He had a familial obligation to find Trevor, but for the moment he was content to wait and observe. He turned his back to them to give a degree of privacy and wished he hadn’t. As far as he could see the pall of black hung low on the horizon with a few active fires still burning. Up until that moment, Ryan hadn’t questioned the origin of the fires, but with the multiple locations spread across the county, he decided they had to be man-made, but didn’t understand why. Who, in their right mind, would set out to burn every building and place of refuge.

  Ryan frowned at the last person standing up by the burning shed. Other than he was about the same build and height as Ryan, it was hard to tell anything about him with the soot covering every inch of his body and Ryan wondered if it was Teagan’s boyfriend. She hadn’t said if she had one or not. Somehow, he’d gotten the impression she was…attracted to him? But maybe he’d misread something. Maybe she just needed him to help her get home. Maybe she just felt she needed the protection that came with not being alone, but she was the one with the gun. She could have protected herself if push came to shove and she’d, sure hadn’t hesitated when she’d pointed it at him. He would never forget looking down the barrel. At the time it seemed as big as a cannon.

  Ryan sighed. He stood waiting for someone to acknowledge his presence, and to his surprise, it was Teagan’s dad who stepped forward. He had his hand held out but looked at it and pulled it back. Ryan could see the blisters and a few cuts on his hands as well as they were black from the fire.

  “Mr. Cooper…” Ryan didn’t know what else to say. He thought any of the niceties of the day before, “So, what do you think of the situation or so sorry about your house or how’s it going?” didn’t seem appropriate. Ryan had no desire to hear an unmeaningful conversation, and he suspected neither did the sheriff, but what would be appropriate for someone in his position? He isn’t sure exactly what his position is, other than Teagan is someone he wants to know better. Much better! He finally knew what the saying, “the ties that bind,” meant and somehow, he felt he was bound to Teagan by something far stronger than any ropes or chains. Their relationship was new and shiny and formed under tumultuous circumstances, but if she felt even a glimmer of what he was feeling, there was hope. If only he were to be accepted by her dad.

  ≈

  Tom pulled his hand back when he saw the condition of it. He dusted his palm on his pant leg and waited for the boy to say something. He didn’t know how Teagan had found him, but he was a familiar face. Square jaw, military-style haircut, reminded Tom that he’d heard the kid had joined the Marines. He didn’t know what he was doing here, but Tom was grateful for his help in bringing Teagan home. What he found disturbing was the way he looked at Teagan. Didn’t he realize she was only a child?

  Tom glanced at Teagan and frowned. He’d caught the looks the two young people had exchanged and wondered what they meant. He wasn’t stupid when it came to the affairs of the heart, but Teagan was far too young to attach herself to anyone, especially with all that had happened the past three days.

  Carrie poked Tom in his side with her elbow, and whispered, “Stop gawking Tom, she’s eighteen. Remember?” Louder, she asked, “Are we going to stand here all day waiting on those men to come back, or are we going to make some plans?”

  Tom coughed to cover his confusion. He had forgotten Teagan was now legally an adult, but to him, she would always be his child. At work, Carrie used to tease him about being Teagan’s “Smother,” but he saw it as good parenting. If he didn’t teach her good values, morals, and how to support and defend herself; who else would?

  Carrie elbowed him again, “Tom!”

  “Sorry,” he said, looking at Ryan. “I recognize the face but can’t put a name to it. I’d shake your hand for bringing Teagan home, but…” Tom looked at the sooty mess covering every inch of his hand and pulled it back.

  He looked toward the road and tried to keep his anger at putting Teagan into a perilous situation under control. They could have waited or used a different route; anything but coming through the middle of the fire, “Nasty business there. Why would you even try to come through it?”

  “I didn’t bring her home. She would have gotten here without any help from me.”

  Tom interrupted, “But you came right through the middle of a damn inferno! What the hell were you thinking?”

  Teagan stepped in front of Ryan, to stand between him and Tom, her voice raised in protest, “It’s not Ryan’s fault. We were in the middle of it before we knew it, and if you’re going to blame anyone, blame me.”

  Tom raised his eyebrows in surprise. Who was this girl? She had never raised her voice to him, ever. Now here she was defending this boy’s actions, and doing it loudly. His first thought was, “Don’t raise your voice to me young lady,” but realized she had every right. He had attacked her friend without first knowing the circumstances. He knew how quickly the fire had spread and there’d been nothing he or anyone could do to stop it or slow it down.

  “Tom? Maybe we should get moving?” Carrie was as puzzled by Tom’s actions as she was by Simon’s; who stood glaring at
Teagan and her friend as if he wanted them to both disappear, or maybe the look was for the boy. Could Simon have had aspirations about Teagan? He wasn’t that much older than her, but she was way out of his league, and Tom would never stand for it.

  “You’re right. I think we need to be packed up and gone before dark because I don’t see this improving any time soon, and we still need to pick up the trailer and whatever you need.” He turned to Ryan, “What are your plans? Can we give you a ride into town?”

  “A ride? You have a car that runs?”

  Tom nodded at his Chevy, “It does. I have to take Carrie to her house and get her things. I could drop you somewhere.”

  Ryan glanced behind him, “Well, I do have the bike.”

  “No, you don’t. It doesn’t have any tires. Ryan, let my Dad take you. Maybe you’ll find Trevor on the way.”

  She turned to her Dad, “Did you guys see and guy and girl on another bike? They should have been right in front of us, but we lost track of them.”

  “We were a little busy,” Tom told her. With the excitement of having Teagan home diminishing, Tom sagged with despair. They had lost their house, the garage and everything in it was destroyed. He was forced to follow the plan that had been brewing in the back of his mind, and maybe it was the best recourse after all. Putting some distance between his family and the gang of thugs who’d started the fires had to be the logical answer. He had no doubt, Jack would be coming back to finish whatever it was he’d hoped to gain by burning everyone out.

  “Sheriff? Do you know what happened or how wide-spread it is? I’m wondering if I need to head to Seattle and try to find my parents.” Ryan stopped talking when he saw the hopeless look on Tom’s face. Ryan wasn’t sure what emotion he felt right then, but it felt very much like relief, and he was ashamed.

  “I honestly don’t know. At least not anything concrete, but unless you have other family members in the area, you might consider going with us. If the rumors are correct, Seattle is gone.”