Firefighter Page 3

  Scout was off like a shot, gone around the curve before Matt could even blink.

  “Man, he’s fast,” Matt’s dad said, staring at the empty spot where Scout had just been standing.

  They hustled up the path after Scout. Matt could hear him off in the brush, crunching around on dry leaves and twigs.

  Scout jumped out of the shrubs and leaped across the trail in front of them, heading for the other side. He disappeared again. Matt heard the dog moving through the bushes, obsessively searching for the hat—but also, clearly, having the time of his life.

  Matt’s dad let out an astonished laugh. “He’s intense!”

  Matt nodded. “Totally.”

  After another moment, Scout let out one loud, sharp bark from the brush. Matt and his dad followed the sound of Scout’s voice and stepped off the trail. The dry undergrowth jabbed at their boots and scratched at their calves. They found Scout sitting proudly and patiently by a large, round rock. His front legs were perfectly aligned and his ears were pricked up. On the ground next to him, tucked halfway under the rock, was the hat.

  “Good job, Scout!” Matt knelt down and gave Scout a treat. Scout scarfed it down.

  “That was awes—”

  Before Matt’s dad could finish his sentence, a booming crack filled the air, followed by a bright flash that lit up the clouds and sky from within. Matt jumped. Scout hopped to his feet and barked frantically at the air around them. Matt’s dad ducked and reached out an arm to pull Matt close, reflexively protecting his son.

  “It’s okay, Dad,” Matt said, looking at him uncertainly. “It’s just dry lightning.” He could see his dad’s clenched jaw and the pulse pounding in his neck.

  His dad released his grip on Matt and exhaled slowly. “That’s right. I forgot that happens out here.” He laughed, but he wasn’t smiling. “Tell me again why that happens?”

  Matt had never seen his dad this jumpy before, but he decided it was probably better to ignore it. Maybe Bridget was right—their dad was just having trouble settling back in this time. Maybe it would just take a little longer than usual for things to return to normal.

  “Well,” Matt said, pointing up at the sky and trying to act like nothing weird had just happened. “We actually just learned this in science. There’s moisture in those clouds, but it’s dry down here. So we don’t see any rain or anything, but the lightning and thunder still happen.”

  Another resounding crack vibrated the air, and a flash of lightning burned Matt’s eyes. He followed the blinding bolt’s path to the ground and sucked in his breath when he realized where it had struck: the top of a mountain in the distance.

  The mountain that was just north of Mount Kit.

  Mount Kit—where Dev, Amaiya, and Curtis were climbing at that very moment.

  A plume of black smoke immediately rose from the summit where the lightning had made contact with earth.

  There was a fire at the top of the mountain.

  “Whoa!” his dad said, sounding calmer this time. “You see that one?”

  But Matt’s chest had tightened with fear, and he couldn’t respond. He watched the smoke dissipate into the sky, thousands of feet above them.

  His dad read the worry on his face. “What’s wrong, Matt?”

  Matt opened his mouth to speak but shut it again. Dev and Amaiya had begged him not to tell anyone where they were really going. He remembered the promise he had made.

  The smoke in the air drifted away.

  Maybe the danger had passed.

  “Nah—it’s nothing. The lightning surprised me, that’s all.” Matt wanted to distract his dad before he asked any more questions. He glanced up the trail and saw the ravine just a hundred feet ahead. “There it is!” Matt said, forcing his voice to sound normal. “Scout—come.” Scout scampered over and stuck close to Matt’s side, following his command.

  “Lead the way.” Matt could feel his dad observing him as they walked. His dad had sensed something was wrong, and Matt knew it would be nearly impossible to convince him otherwise.

  He was worried he’d already given his friends away.

  As they hiked, Matt heard Dev’s voice in his head, promising that Mount Kit was safe. He wanted to believe Dev, to think that his friends were not in danger, despite the blaze of lightning and the dark curl of smoke. Matt kept his eyes forward, not letting himself look back at the mountains.

  Soon Matt, his dad, and Scout were standing at the base of the ravine, the cool water to their left, the steep boulder just ahead of them rising twenty feet into the sky. It was still early enough in the day that the swimming hole was empty.

  “That’s high,” his dad said, shading his eyes.

  “It’s even higher when you’re at the top, trust me,” Matt said, forcing himself to smile. “And let me tell you how much it stings when you land . . .”

  5

  MATT DREAMED HE WAS RUNNING through the woods with Scout. They were looking for Bridget, but Scout skidded to a halt and started sniffing the air frantically. Matt smelled something too—it was . . . it was . . .

  Pancakes?

  Matt’s eyes popped open. Someone was making pancakes downstairs. The smell had wafted all the way up into his room and beckoned him to the kitchen. He kicked off the covers and reached over the side of the bed, where his hand landed on something warm and fuzzy: Scout. Scout always slept on the floor, just inches from Matt’s bed, like a guard dog.

  “Morning, Scout,” Matt mumbled. Scout raised his head, looked up at Matt, and dropped his head back onto his paws with a yawn. Matt ran his fingers through the dog’s thick fur.

  Matt loved waking up to Scout every morning. Technically speaking, Scout wasn’t supposed to be living at their house. He was supposed to live at the kennel on base, which was a pretty comfortable setup, with plenty of space to sleep and play, twenty-four-hour veterinary care, and the best K-9 training facility in the country. Every dog in the unit had one handler, and human and canine were totally devoted to each other.

  Matt’s mom wasn’t supposed to be a dog handler. She ran the whole base and was building up the K-9 unit—she didn’t really have time to train her own dog.

  But that changed after the flood, when Scout was granted special privileges—or, as Matt’s mom liked to call it, the You save my kids, I take you home exception. Now he was a bona fide member of the Tackett family, who slept in Matt’s room and left for work every morning with Matt’s mom. As far as Matt could tell, Scout was there to stay.

  As Matt lay in bed, enjoying the feeling of a Sunday morning, he heard the ring of his mom’s laughter downstairs, followed by the gravelly bass of his dad’s voice. Matt couldn’t make out the words, but he could tell his dad was acting out some elaborate, funny story—probably about a prank one of his guys had pulled in Afghanistan.

  Matt closed his eyes for a moment and listened to his parents’ muffled voices. Birds chirped brightly outside. A truck rumbled past. Scout sighed and snorted as he rolled over and settled back into a comfortable position.

  Matt felt like his world was complete. Especially now that there were pancakes involved.

  His phone dinged on the bedside table. Matt fumbled for it and saw there was a text from Dev: Dude! Climbed all day yesterday and came down to the waterfall for a morning swim. Heading back up to climb some more now. So bummed you’re not here. It’s awesome.

  The phone dinged again, and a video arrived. Matt tapped the arrow to play the video and a shaky, blurry scene unfolded. Dev was jumping up and down, his long arms and legs flying in every direction, while Amaiya and Curtis ran in a circle around him.

  The sight of his friends having so much fun sent a pang through Matt’s chest. Mount Kit did look pretty incredible.

  Maybe it really was worth the risk.

  And maybe he had nothing to worry about with Dev and Amaiya.

  “Lunatics.” Matt laughed. “Where are they?” He played the video again, but this time he focused on the background. He could just m
ake out a clearing with a vertical wall of rocks at the sides and back. And right in the middle of the rock face, a powerful waterfall cascaded straight down, splashing and churning into a wide pool at the bottom.

  Matt had to agree with Dev’s description—the waterfall was indeed ridiculously beautiful.

  Holding the phone over his face—and trying not to drop it on his nose—Matt texted Dev back.

  How much farther to the summit? And is Curtis doing cartwheels?

  Matt watched the send bar slowly make its away across his screen.

  “Matt-o!” his dad called up from downstairs. “Scout!”

  Matt forced himself out of bed and stretched his arms over his head. Scout lumbered to his feet too and stretched out his front legs, sticking his rump and tail in the air.

  “You hungry, buddy?” Matt gave Scout a morning scratch behind both ears. “Pancake time.”

  With a wag of his tail, Scout scooted out of the room and bolted down the stairs, beating Matt into the kitchen. By the time Matt sat down at the breakfast table, Scout was already eagerly waiting by the stove, where Matt’s dad was flipping pancakes. Matt’s mom stood at the sink in her camouflage pants and jacket, reading something on her phone.

  “Dogs don’t eat pancakes,” Matt’s dad teased Scout.

  “He’ll eat anything,” Matt said. “And don’t be fooled by his perfect-dog act. He’s just in it for the goods.”

  “Oh, I know what Scout’s after.” His dad laughed. “But I’d give a million pancakes to this guy, after all he’s done for this family.” He looked down at Scout, who gazed back up at him with a half-expectant, half-desperate look on his face.

  “We have a house rule though, right, Mom?” Matt turned to his mom. “Don’t feed him table food out of your hand. Put it in his bowl.”

  “That’s right,” she said without looking up. “Otherwise you’ll have a lifelong beggar on your hands.”

  “Sorry, Scout.” Matt’s dad shot an apologetic look at the dog. “You heard them. House rules.” He turned from the stove, holding a teetering stack of pancakes on a plate. “Who’s ready to eat?” He put the plate down on the table just before the pancakes toppled.

  “Wish I could stay,” Matt’s mom said. “I’m so sorry I can’t hang out with my boys today.” She stepped over and gave Matt a kiss on the top of his head. “But I have to scoot.”

  “Wait, what? Why?” Matt asked. “It’s Sunday.”

  “I know, honey,” his mom said. “But there’s a wildfire in Pine Valley.”

  Matt’s parents helped other people for a living, and emergencies weren’t planned—he knew that. But sometimes he just wished they could get through one meal together without someone having to run off to work.

  Matt felt his perfect day with his parents slipping away.

  “Where’s Pine Valley again?” Matt asked, trying to push away his disappointment.

  “It’s just south of town,” his mom said. “The fire’s not too bad yet, but it could spread fast. Firefighters are getting it under control, but they need the National Guard to set up a perimeter and be on hand to help folks evacuate if necessary.”

  Scout sat down by her feet and looked up at her attentively. His body language had changed, Matt noticed. He wasn’t just playful and desperate for food. He was . . . listening to what his handler—Matt’s mom—had to say. It was almost like he could tell that she was ready for action, and he wanted to let her know that he was ready too.

  Sometimes Matt forgot that Scout wasn’t just a family pet. He was a first-class working dog with an important job.

  “Sorry, Scout.” Matt’s mom leaned down to put her face next to his. “I can’t take you on this mission.” She looked from Matt to his dad. “I’m going to leave Scout with you two, okay?”

  “Sure,” Matt’s dad said. “We’ll keep him company. Right, Matt?”

  “Yeah, of course,” Matt said. “Just curious: Why isn’t Scout going with you, Mom?”

  “It’s not a search-and-rescue situation—yet. It’s too dangerous to take the K-9s out if we’re not sure what the conditions are.” She shook her head. “That fire could change direction at any moment. It all depends on the wind.”

  “How do they think it started?” Matt asked.

  “Dry lightning. It hit the mountain yesterday.”

  Matt’s blood went cold.

  “Wait, did you say ‘mountain’?” He tried to sound nonchalant. “The fire is on a mountain? Which one?”

  His mom looked up from snapping the buckles on her pack. “What’s that, honey?”

  Matt cleared his throat. “Which mountain is on fire?”

  “Oh, it’s the peak just north of Mount Kit.”

  “Okay,” Matt managed to squeak out.

  His mom stopped getting ready and looked at him for a second. “You all right, Matt? What’s up?”

  “Huh?” Matt cleared his throat. “Oh, no, I’m fine.” He ran a hand through his hair. “That’s just kind of close, isn’t it?”

  Her expression changed to one of concern—it was the same look she always gave him when he said he wasn’t feeling well. “Don’t worry, okay?” She squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not like the flood; we’ll be fine here in town.”

  Matt was happy to let his mom think he was worried about the fire making it into town. It bought him some time to think. He replayed the scary scene he and his dad had witnessed yesterday: the blaze of dry lightning cracking the sky, the bright flash as it lit up the mountaintop, and the cloud of smoke drifting slowly away.

  But the smoke stopped, he thought. There was no fire . . . was there? A panicky feeling washed over him. Were his friends okay?

  As soon as his mom turned her attention back to her gear, Matt closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

  “Hey, Matt?”

  Matt opened his eyes to find her staring at him.

  “You’re perfectly safe. I’ll be home as soon as possible, okay?”

  “Okay,” Matt said, forcing a smile.

  She heaved her heavy pack onto her shoulder and headed for the door. Scout followed closely behind her.

  “Oh, before I forget,” his mom said over her shoulder. “Can you guys finish up the yard today? Sorry I can’t be here to do it with you.”

  “No problem, Mom,” Matt agreed distractedly. “Love you.”

  “It’ll be done when you get back,” his dad said. “Stay safe.”

  Scout looked up at Colonel Tackett and let out a soft bark. She winked at him and, with that, she headed out, shutting the door firmly behind her.

  The room was quiet for a second as both Matt and his dad adjusted to the sudden feeling of emptiness.

  “Ready to eat, pal?” Matt’s dad stabbed at a pancake with his fork. “Grab the butter and syrup, would you?”

  Matt crossed to the fridge, happy to have a second to gather his thoughts before sitting across the table from his dad. Where were Dev, Amaiya, and Curtis right then? The fire was on the ridge next to Mount Kit. Maybe it was far enough away that they’d be safe. Or maybe they’d even gotten off the mountain before the fire started.

  No, not half an hour earlier, Dev had texted him the video of the waterfall . . . the waterfall on Mount Kit. Matt pulled his phone from his pocket to check for any more texts. Nothing. And the response he’d tried to send Dev hadn’t gone through. Underneath Matt’s text, in tiny letters, it said, simply, NOT DELIVERED.

  Matt’s heart was beating fast. He wasn’t worried anymore about why his friends had asked him to lie about where they were. Right now, all he could think about was that they could be in danger. And if that was the case, didn’t that mean the whole deal was off?

  But what if they didn’t agree with him? A promise was a promise . . . right?

  He didn’t know what to do.

  Matt brought the butter and syrup over to the table and sat down. His dad piled a stack of pancakes on Matt’s plate, followed by a giant scoop of fruit. “What’s the matter, Matt-o? You loo
k a little stressed.”

  Matt stuffed a forkful of pancakes and blueberries into his mouth. “I’m fine,” he mumbled unintelligibly through the food.

  “Wildfires are unpredictable,” his dad said, “but Mom said we’re safe here. She’ll tell us if that changes.”

  Matt chewed, swallowed, and smiled weakly. “Thanks, Dad.” He felt terrible, but he wasn’t exactly lying, was he? It was more like letting his parents think something that wasn’t true.

  Usually, Matt could trust his dad with anything, but this time he wasn’t so sure.

  He ran through different scenarios in his mind.

  What if Dev, Amaiya, and Curtis were fine, but they found out that Matt had told on them. Would they still want to be his friend?

  But on the other hand, Matt had information that they didn’t have—and he knew they could be in danger. Even his dad said wildfires were unpredictable. If the wind shifted direction or the blaze found new kindling . . . what then?

  6

  “YIKES.” MATT’S DAD SHOOK HIS HEAD. “If I had known the yard needed this much work, I wouldn’t have volunteered to help.” He let out a deep belly laugh and adjusted his baseball cap.

  Scout had climbed a tall pile of dirt with sticks and wood chips jutting out all over. He perched on top like a conquering hero, his head high as he sniffed at the air.

  “So what are we doing here?”

  “Scout’s standing on the mulch,” Matt said. “We need to spread it around.”

  His dad clapped his hands. “Let’s get to work, then.” He waved Scout away. The dog hopped off the pile and ran over to a long stick lying by the fence.

  Matt pulled his phone from his pocket and checked for any more messages from Dev. Nothing.

  “What’s on that phone that’s more interesting than mulching with your dad?” Matt’s dad peered over his shoulder.

  Matt quickly jammed his phone into his shorts pocket. “Oh, uh, nothing. I mean, I was just texting my friend Dev. You met him on a video chat, remember?”

  “I remember him.” Matt’s dad squinted at him. “What’s up with Dev today?”

  “What do you mean?” Matt’s guilty conscience was starting to get the best of him. Did his dad sense that something was up? Matt swallowed the lump in his throat.