Read Online Faithful Shadow by Kevin J. Howard - Free Book Online
Authors: Kevin J. Howard
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the Inn,” Paul yelled, nodding to the north. “They need additional clearing up there.”
“I wouldn’t really say we’ve contained bullshit here.” Dale shook his head, not wanting to leave until they’d cleared and soaked the entire west line beside the highway. An impossible task, but it had been assigned to him and his crew.
“Here comes the drop!” Fred yelled, waving to the helicopter carrying a large flexible bucket full of twenty-six hundred gallons of water as it flew overhead.
Dale looked up from Paul and watched as the helicopter carried the heavy load over the fire and released the water, the dump barely making a dent. He lowered his head and saw only smoke. He turned from side to side and saw no trace of Paul, no one walking away, or even standing camouflaged by the forest.
“What the hell?” Dale felt like an idiot, as if he were suffering from Alzheimer’s and likely losing his mind at the age of forty-eight. Had he told Paul to okay the orders and he ran off as he watched the drop? Not likely. Especially when he saw Arnold Gaines with the radio and Paul was nowhere to be seen. “Hey Arnold,” Dale yelled, but Arnold didn’t turn. Dale ran the distance and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, are we heading out?” Arnold’s voice muffled through the mask.
“Did Paul come over here?”
“Yeah, that’s when I told him to give you the orders from HQ.”
“But he hasn’t been back since?”
“No.” Arnold cocked his head to the side, trying to understand what Dale was getting at.
“What the hell is going on?” Dale pulled off his mask and rubbed his eyes, the smoke instantly causing irritation. “Paul!” he yelled. “Paul!”
The rest of the men lowered their hoses and axes and took notice, wondering why he was yelling Paul’s name in the middle of the group. Dale looked from one face to the next, hoping he’d miscounted or perhaps misread the names on the back of their jackets due to the smoke. It did have a way of playing tricks on them, making them see things that weren’t really there, damaging the eyes they couldn’t focus. But this wasn’t the case, couldn’t be.
“What’s going on?” Fred ran over, turning to look for Paul before Dale could even fill him in. “What happened?”
“Has anyone seen Paul in the last minute? Other than when he was speaking to you, Arnold?”
The men shook their heads. A steady murmur began to rise between them as they took off their helmets and began to call out. Eleven grown men yelled Paul’s name at the top of their limited lung capacity in the smoke, and still there was no sign.
“Okay, he may have fallen into an underground thermal vent or geyser. I want a search line, but keep it tight.”
They stood four feet apart and walked from the line of trees toward the highway, moving slowly so as not to miss a single inch of ground. It was very possible he’d stepped onto a loose patch of soil and the ground gave out from beneath him. Hopefully they wouldn’t find him lying in some hole with jagged rocks poking through him, or simmering in a thousand-degree pool of water. Dale shook the image from his head and kept walking, moving toward the trucks until they’d walked up the shoulder, where they stood blank-faced. All the vehicles were accounted for and they could see Paul wasn’t inside any of them. Dale turned and faced the forest, looking through the smoke to the trees beyond and the red glow of the fire. Somewhere between where he now stood and those flames was the youngest member of his crew, a man with a wife and a newborn daughter.
“What’s going on here?” Fred leaned in close so the other men could hear him.
Dale shook his head, unable to comprehend what might be happening. He’d lost one of his men in broad daylight, right out from under his nose. It wasn’t possible.
“Everyone…” Dale rubbed his chin, deciphering a plan. “We’re going to head back down toward the front and we’re going
“I wouldn’t really say we’ve contained bullshit here.” Dale shook his head, not wanting to leave until they’d cleared and soaked the entire west line beside the highway. An impossible task, but it had been assigned to him and his crew.
“Here comes the drop!” Fred yelled, waving to the helicopter carrying a large flexible bucket full of twenty-six hundred gallons of water as it flew overhead.
Dale looked up from Paul and watched as the helicopter carried the heavy load over the fire and released the water, the dump barely making a dent. He lowered his head and saw only smoke. He turned from side to side and saw no trace of Paul, no one walking away, or even standing camouflaged by the forest.
“What the hell?” Dale felt like an idiot, as if he were suffering from Alzheimer’s and likely losing his mind at the age of forty-eight. Had he told Paul to okay the orders and he ran off as he watched the drop? Not likely. Especially when he saw Arnold Gaines with the radio and Paul was nowhere to be seen. “Hey Arnold,” Dale yelled, but Arnold didn’t turn. Dale ran the distance and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, are we heading out?” Arnold’s voice muffled through the mask.
“Did Paul come over here?”
“Yeah, that’s when I told him to give you the orders from HQ.”
“But he hasn’t been back since?”
“No.” Arnold cocked his head to the side, trying to understand what Dale was getting at.
“What the hell is going on?” Dale pulled off his mask and rubbed his eyes, the smoke instantly causing irritation. “Paul!” he yelled. “Paul!”
The rest of the men lowered their hoses and axes and took notice, wondering why he was yelling Paul’s name in the middle of the group. Dale looked from one face to the next, hoping he’d miscounted or perhaps misread the names on the back of their jackets due to the smoke. It did have a way of playing tricks on them, making them see things that weren’t really there, damaging the eyes they couldn’t focus. But this wasn’t the case, couldn’t be.
“What’s going on?” Fred ran over, turning to look for Paul before Dale could even fill him in. “What happened?”
“Has anyone seen Paul in the last minute? Other than when he was speaking to you, Arnold?”
The men shook their heads. A steady murmur began to rise between them as they took off their helmets and began to call out. Eleven grown men yelled Paul’s name at the top of their limited lung capacity in the smoke, and still there was no sign.
“Okay, he may have fallen into an underground thermal vent or geyser. I want a search line, but keep it tight.”
They stood four feet apart and walked from the line of trees toward the highway, moving slowly so as not to miss a single inch of ground. It was very possible he’d stepped onto a loose patch of soil and the ground gave out from beneath him. Hopefully they wouldn’t find him lying in some hole with jagged rocks poking through him, or simmering in a thousand-degree pool of water. Dale shook the image from his head and kept walking, moving toward the trucks until they’d walked up the shoulder, where they stood blank-faced. All the vehicles were accounted for and they could see Paul wasn’t inside any of them. Dale turned and faced the forest, looking through the smoke to the trees beyond and the red glow of the fire. Somewhere between where he now stood and those flames was the youngest member of his crew, a man with a wife and a newborn daughter.
“What’s going on here?” Fred leaned in close so the other men could hear him.
Dale shook his head, unable to comprehend what might be happening. He’d lost one of his men in broad daylight, right out from under his nose. It wasn’t possible.
“Everyone…” Dale rubbed his chin, deciphering a plan. “We’re going to head back down toward the front and we’re going
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