The Heat of Fire

Chapter 8

I wake up, shivering.  I see my surroundings with light from the moon above, and a soft reddish glow. I sit up, rubbing my eyes. Did I really fall asleep? I thought I was just resting for a quick second... I see that Neil and Adam had started their fire. The campsite is arranged in a classic circle, with the fire in the middle. I watch the flames twist and curl, and look at the burning twigs and weeds shriveling in the heat.

I shiver again, and this time, I get under my sleeping bag, propping my head up on my bag. There's not much of a temperature difference, but it is warmer. I wonder about the people we've left behind, who are just a mile away, with a mountain between us. It has been silent, and I see no smoke, so I assume that the fires had been put out. I stretch out, and close my eyes, hoping I can fall asleep easily.

Whoosh. I hear a strange sound, and sit up. Woosh. There it is again. I glance around, and look up at the sky. I am startled by the brightness and quantity of stars. I tilt up my head more, to take in the beauty. Bright specks cover almost every corner of the vast, black sky. There seems to be a cloud of darker purple streaking across the black. There are virtually no clouds, so the moon can be seen as a crescent. I stare up at it for about 30 seconds, calming myself, forgetting about the long day, all of my troubles. I wish I could become a part of that beauty. Where there isn't time, and I don't have to worry about every second being counted, and every thing is perfectly placed, where my own thoughts aren't constantly  battling to control me.

Woosh. I snap my head down, and catch a glimpse of a black figure darting behind the skeleton of a tree. I wiggle out of the sleeping bag, deciding I should go investigate. I am slightly disappointed that the calmness had to end to abruptly.

I use the light from the sky to guide me, my boots dragging through the red dirt. I see a gecko or two scamper under a rock as I pass. I'm sure to shuffle and dig my heels into the dirt, to create a path back to camp. As I walk more and more south from Ojai, I begin to climb a small hill.

I stop at the top to catch my breath, and take a seat. I've forgotten all about the thing I was trying to follow, as I am distracted by the beauteous sky once again. I feel almost connected to it, and feel pulled to it. I hear the sound of pebbles moving, and quickly spin around. It's Dante.

"Hey." I say. He takes a seat next to me.
"Can't sleep?" He says.
"No, I just was woken up by something. Probably a bird." I respond, beginning to draw shapes in the sand. "I'm actually exhausted!"
"Me too. But the sky was so beautiful I couldn't help but stay up and look." Dante says, his eyes skimming the wide sky. "What you did today... I really admire that. You saved as many as you could." He says, bringing back the still fresh pains of the day.
"Thanks Dante. I really couldn't have done it without you."
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Bright sun burns though my eyelids, and I am sweating. I open my eyes once again and blearily look around. The sun is a bright orb high in the sky, and the fire at our campsite has been extinguished. Most of the people are awake, talking to each other, trying to predict what lies in store for today. Some, like me, are trying to sleep as long as they possibly can.

After getting back to the camp last night, it had taken me a long time to fall asleep. I am still tired.

The Heat is so intense that when I look into the distance, the hills are waving up and down. It's like looking into the air above a hot grill.

I groan, and unstick my legs from the tangled bag. Today's going to be really hard. First, this heat, second, not knowing where to go, and third, only a few bottles of water.

"Our main priority today will be finding water. And where there's water, there'll probably be people! People that can help us." I think.

"Dante! Can I talk to you for a second?" I call to Dante, who is scavenging for any mud nearby. We walk over by the dead tree.

"What's up?" He asks.

"I was just thinking, that there's a city or something a few miles south of Ojai. We could see if they have supplies." I say, picking at a scab on the arm.

"That sounds good. Dyou know where our final destination is?" He asks concernedly.

"No." I say, looking down.

Dante looks at me before saying, "it's ok! We'll figure it out." He reassures my guilt.

"Thanks bud." I say, smiling, walking over.

"Alright happy campers! We are going to head south, to a city nearby! There we can get help and supplies! We also can stay there. Because the Fires seem to have started in the north, I don't think this city will have been burned yet." I announce, after waiting for everyone to pay attention, and standing on a boulder.

I watch everybody exchange glances, and whisper comments to each other.

"When are we going to leave?" I hear a snarky voice call out. "And are you sure this will be safe?" It's of course Gregory.

"We should leave sooner than later, so we can get there before dark. But I don't know for sure that this is safe. Nobody does. How could we? We've been living, growing up in Ojai for most of our lives!" I respond, having to shout over the growing volume of voices.

"At this point, going back to Ojai is safer!" Someone shouts.

"You want to die in a fire! From thirst?" I shout, incredulous. "We are leaving now!"

With that, I leap down from the rock, grab my supplies, and walk through the group of people. Dante, as well as my other friends, follow me. A couple other people stand around unsure of where to go. Gregory walks the opposite way to Ojai.

"Who's with me?" Gregory shouts. His closest friends follow him.

"You know this is a mistake! You're going to die!" I say in desperation. It can't be my fault that more people are dead. As they walk away in the burning sun, I feel as though I've failed, and that 3 more people will have died at my expense.