We sat and watched it creeping over the far hill. Like something alive it slithered and spread. 'We'll be all right this time love, if the wind doesn't change,' Gordon said. I kept quiet. I knew it was useless to contradict or question Mother Nature.
'Wish we lived in the city,' I said, but he ignored me. He'd heard it all before, and knew I didn't mean it. Except at times like this when the fires got too close for comfort.
'Make sure the dogs are all tied up love. We don't want any of them running off in fright again. If we have to move fast, we need to know where all the animals are.'
I nodded. We both knew the score. I fretted about the horses. They were already galloping madly from one end of the long paddock to the other, as if they knew that soon they would be left to fend for themselves. Last time they'd all survived.
'It's getting up love,' Gordon said, and I knew he meant the wind. The heat was so bad it was enough to scorch your socks off. 'Not much use going to bed.'
We could see the wallabies on the hill to the left, jumping wildly everywhere. I never knew there were so many in the area. They must have bred well in the past couple of years. The cats sat staring at the sky, as if pondering on whether to stay with us or to flee. The dogs are all barking, their eyes following our every move.
'Thank God we have plenty of water in the tanks love,' Gordon said and I gave him a wishy washy smile. I can't stand snakes, and I'm beginning to worry that they'll all come near the house again to escape the fire.
'It's heading this way. Put the dogs in the back of the ute and I'll...' he broke off when we heard a loud explosion from the other side of the ridge. The smoke was billowing now just about three miles away. It's the blackest night I've ever seen. The crackling noise, like giant rashers sizzling in a pan, is getting louder by the minute.
'What about the koalas in the big tree,' I moaned, fearing for the mother I'd seen only yesterday with a baby on her back. The smoke is everywhere now, clogging our throats and drying my mouth until I can hardly breathe.
The ute is so hot I can hardly touch it. 'The phone's down. I just got through on the radio,' Gordon is saying as I watch a great flock of cockatoos fly over.
'Poor mites. I hope they haven't had to leave any babies in their nests.'
'Here grab this hose and I'll get the other one. I'll have to open the horse's gate and let them out. I hope the foal keeps up with Bess.'
'They'll be right love,' I assured him with more confidence than I felt.
Grit was in my mouth, up my nose, in my ears. The noise was deafening. Visibility is down to ten feet. The horses are off down the road to town. The smoke is choking my lungs.
'Quiet!' I yell to the dogs who are all barking and going berserk in the back of the ute.
'The water's not coming through the pipes love. I think we'll have to make a run for it.'
'No! What about the house?' I scream as I frantically clutch at his sleeve.
Rabbits are scurrying past us, ignoring the barking of the dogs in the face of a bigger threat. Possums are running madly in every direction, and there's the big red roo who comes near the garden every morning.
'Come on love. Here's your bag, get in.' I jumped into the passenger seat. We'd already put all our valuable stuff, like family photos and documents, in the ute so we were ready to leave.
'It won't start,' Gordon said, as he tried for the third time. The ute made a whining noise, then died.
'What'll we do?' I screeched, shaking his arm. Sweat was pouring down our faces, leaving streaks in the soot that covered us.
The heat was abominable. It was so dark that we couldn't see how far the fire was from us, but we could hear it roaring.
'What's that?' Gordon asked, cocking an ear. 'I thought I heard a bell above all the other racket.'
He was right. A fire engine came rattling into the yard, followed by another and a water cart.
I pressed my hands together in prayer. The men began to spray the house and as the smoke billowed and a cloud parted we could tell that the fire had worked its way through the horse's paddock and was heading south.
'Six horses passed us on the way,' Fred, the chief fireman shouted when I was near enough to hear him.
'Was the foal with them?' I shouted back.
'Yes. They'll be fine, if we can turn this here, before it gets a run up Rooster's Peak.'
That was the longest night of my life. By daybreak the fire had been turned. There was little threat to our property; there wasn't much left to burn.
The parched and blackened earth lay like a dirty blanket before us. Three of the cats turned up, squalling for a drink. Don't know how the other two fared. The fire-fighters left an hour after sunup, off to snatch a couple of hours rest until their next battle.
'You wouldn't be happy in the city, and you know it,’ Gordon said, patting my hand. ‘No, love, we'll stay, and rebuild the fences again. At least the house is still standing. Though it'll take forever to get rid of the soot and the stink. At least we’re here, and we'll live to fight another day.'
i wouldn't want to be caught in ANY fire; fires absolutely TERRIFY me! a scary, intense write! well done! :( (((HUGS))) and love, your friend in texas, karen lynn.
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