Read Online Heartland by Davis Bunn - Free Book Online Page B

JayJay flung his arms around the unseen figure. The man was almost his height, which meant it had to be Robbie. The way Robbie clung to him, JayJay knew he was not the only one who had panicked. Feeling the young man’s muscled strength beneath the jacket drew JayJay back from the brink.
    He stripped off his belt, reached around, and found Robbie’s arm. He planted one end of the belt into Robbie’s hand. He drew his helmet in tight to Robbie’s. “Don’t let go!”
    â€œWhere are the others?”
    â€œStoop down and hunt! One hand only!”
    JayJay found the body by stumbling over it. He had no idea whether it was Ahn or Minh. Only that the body was small and still except for tremors that did not quite form into full coughs.
    The chain saws and the bulldozers grew silent. The fire still roared at them from all sides. Other hoarse voices called out names and confusing directions. The claxon whooped and shrilled and offered no clearer a course than the fire.
    JayJay clearly heard Robbie croak, “I’ve found Ahn!”
    Which meant it was Minh that JayJay was slinging onto his shoulder. “One of you strip off your jacket!” He did not recognize his own voice. “Grab hold of the arms. Everybody stay together!”
    â€œWhere is Minh?”
    â€œI’ve got her.”
    â€œWhere do we go?”
    â€œI’m working on it.” JayJay shifted Minh so that she rode easier on his shoulder. At least it was the lightest of the team that had gone down. He squinted and looked straight up. Ash and burning cinders pelted his face. He blinked away the blinding tears and forced himself to keep staring at the unseen sky.
    A panic-stricken voice shrilled, “The flames! They’re coming! I can see them!
    â€
    â€œHold hard there, brother. You ain’t burning yet.” Then it came. The one solid opening he had been waiting for. There and gone in a single frantic heartbeat. But enough for JayJay to get a sighting on the sun. But he also lost hold of his belt. “Where are you at!”
    A panicked voice tremored, “Here.”
    â€œHere don’t mean nothing in this soup. Follow my voice. Okay, I got you, no, don’t grab, I’m carrying somebody.”
    Ahn cried, “Minh!”
    â€œYou stay calm too. I got your sister.” JayJay heard other voices calling with the authority of having made the same sighting as him. Which added to his confidence. “Everybody listen up! Grab hold of anybody you get within reach of, but only use your free hand! I spotted the sun. Okay, let’s move!”
    They had only gone about thirty paces when JayJay tripped over a coughing form and almost went down. Half turning, he called back, “Robbie!”
    â€œYo.”
    â€œGrab my jacket. I need my other hand.” He scooped up the unseen figure. “You got to help me, mister. I’m too burdened down to bear your weight.”
    The guy tried his best. But he was coughing and hacking so hard he kept wanting to fold again. “Mister, you got to stay up, we don’t have that far to go.” Each word raked another furrow in his throat. JayJay hacked and came up dry. “Come on, keep walking, that’s it. We’re almost there.”
    But he wasn’t sure where “there” was until he recognized the hoarse female voice that had directed them off the trail and into the fire line. “Okay, y’all get ready. On my count, we’re all gonna shout together, ‘The trail is over here.’ Ready? One, two, three .”
    They didn’t make much of a dent, even calling together. But the news was caught by those closest and passed back. At JayJay’s command they did it again. Then other shadow figures were closing in. And JayJay was still holding a supine form. “Let’s go!”
    He took the trail at as close to a trot as his exhausted legs could manage, what with a body on one shoulder and his