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Chapter One

The Rescue

The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air as Jonah Mercer thought about the task ahead. When the call went out to Search and Rescue, Jonah and his team were dispatched to the wilderness outside Valley Vista State Park. When the wildfire broke containment, evacuation orders were issued, but some families were left behind. Now, with the fire rapidly approaching, it was Jonah and his team’s mission to rescue them and get them out of harm’s way. Jonah had handled enough wildfire calls to know how these missions usually unfolded. Once you arrived, you assessed the best route in as quickly as possible using whatever maps and satellite data you could gather before the fire outran you. Jonah reviewed the map spread across the truck’s hood, held down by walkie-talkies and insulated coffee cups. The plan had been sketched out an hour earlier, but it was built on experience, and that mattered.

Jonah gathered the team for a final briefing. Caleb was the first to arrive. Caleb was the Senior Field Rescuer; he had worked with Jonah for years. Jonah relied on him to stay calm under pressure.

Caleb patted Jonah on the shoulder. “How’s it looking?”

Jonah traced the route carefully with his finger. “I think it’s pretty solid. The ridge road is the best option available. It’s narrow and winding, but passable. Also, it’s high enough to avoid the worst of the fire’s early spread, and it’s directly connected to where several families are believed to be sheltering. It’s not perfect, but it’s familiar terrain. We’ve trained in similar areas for years, so we’re used to it.”

Caleb nodded. “Sounds good to me. The sooner we get in and out, the better. The way this fire is jumping around has me nervous.”

Jonah smiled. “I agree. But this should be a quick extraction. Easy peasy.”

“Lemon squeezy,” Caleb chuckled, finishing Jonah’s sentence.

Smoke hung low in the trees, dulling the morning light as the rest of the team assembled. It was a small team, just three others besides Jonah and Caleb. Lisa Ortiz, the drone operations specialist; Mara Vance, Medical Support; and Eli Navarro, the newest member of the team, would handle Logistics and Communication. The group gathered around the truck’s hood, where Jonah and Caleb waited.

“Okay, listen up,” Jonah said. “The fire jumped containment overnight, faster than expected. There’s still a window, but it’s small and closing quickly. As you can see, I’ve marked the route on the map. We’re moving now and taking the ridge road as far as it goes.”

“What if it doesn’t hold?” Eli asked.

Jonah shrugged. “If it doesn’t hold, we stop and reassess. I don’t want anyone trying to push through blindly. Any other questions?”

Eli shook his head, as did the rest of the crew. With the exception of Eli, they had all been here before. They recognized the pattern and the timeline they faced. Most importantly, they trusted Jonah to lead them through it. Jonah had over twenty years of experience in search and rescue. He recognized the patterns in these situations and where they usually failed. If anyone could get them through, it was him.

Jonah folded the map. “Okay, people, let’s get moving; we’re burning daylight. We’ve got families up there trusting someone will come, and we’re that someone. Let’s move out.”

Based on their estimates of how many people were trapped, Jonah decided to take three large 4-wheel-drive trucks. He and Eli would ride in the first one, Lisa and Mara would ride in the second, and Caleb would fly solo in the last truck. Jonah settled into the lead truck and buckled up as Eli climbed into the passenger seat. After Eli was settled, Jonah started the truck, waiting for the headlight flash from behind him that would signal the entire caravan was ready to go. 

Jonah looked over at Eli. “It’s your first time, you nervous?”

Eli looked out at the ominous plumes of smoke that seemed to drift closer by the moment. “I mean, hell yeah,” Eli laughed nervously. “I would be stupid not to be. But, as long as we stick to the plan, we’ll be good, right?”

Jonah shrugged. “That depends. The plan is entirely based on our trust at the time. If that truth changes, then we’ll have to adapt as we go.”

“Wait, what?” Eli asked.

“It’s called Strategic Adaptability, my friend,” Jonah said with a laugh as he saw the familiar flash of headlights in his rearview. “There’s the signal, now let’s go get those families.”

Jonah shifted the truck into gear, and the caravan moved forward toward the constant, menacing wall of smoke and fire that dominated the landscape. Jonah felt the gravel crunch beneath the truck’s tires as they surged ahead, pushing the limits of how fast you could go in this type of terrain. He knew it was now a race between his team and the fire, with the lives of those families hanging in the balance.

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