Free Wildfire Run by Dee Garretson

Callie said.
    â€œCallie, did your dad know you had the kitten?” Adam asked from the front seat.
    â€œNo!” The last thing she wanted was for her dad to get in trouble. “I just had him in my pocket the whole time. My dad told me to give it to the lady at the hotel. He didn’t know anything about it,” Callie said, hoping he would believe her.
    â€œThat took some nerve.” Theo sounded overly impressed, Luke thought, especially since Theo never got in trouble or broke any rules.
    Callie took off her jacket and Luke saw the camera around her neck.
    â€œYou’re not supposed to bring a camera in here either,” Luke said.
    Grant turned around to look at her, frowning.
    â€œIt doesn’t matter now,” Callie said quickly. “We’re leaving. And Agent Erickson was checking to see if it was okay anyway.”
    Luke watched out the window as they left the center of the camp and went down the road through the woods. Nothing moved as far as he could see. He supposed there weren’t any Marines still patrolling around the trees. When the SUVs were only a few hundred yards from the gate, a flash of white caught Luke’s attention.
    â€œThere’s Comet,” he shouted. “Stop, Adam!” Adam jerked back, startled at Luke’s voice, but he kept going. Comet was racing through the woods in their direction, his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth, flopping up and down as he ran.
    â€œAdam, stop!” Luke shouted again.
    â€œGrant, tell Sal we’re stopping for a few seconds to pick up the dog,” Adam said.
    Grant spoke into his microphone as Adam stepped on the brake.
    â€œSal says make it fast,” Grant told Luke. “Don’t get out of the car; just open the door.”
    Luke opened the door and called, “Comet!”
    As soon as he heard Luke’s voice, Comet barked. When he was a few feet away, he took a huge leap and landed on Luke’s lap. Luke slammed the door as Comet danced around, licking Luke’s face as if he hadn’t seen him for a year.
    â€œWe’re ready, Adam,” Luke said. He wanted to put his arms around Comet and hug him, but he didn’t want anyone to think he was being sappy. He grabbed the terrier’s head between his two hands and ruffled his fur. “You mutt. Don’t ever do that again. It’s not worth getting in trouble for a cat.”
    Callie made a funny sound beside him, like she was trying not to cry. Callie never cried.
    Luke scanned the woods for the cat, but he didn’t see Tocho.
    â€œI’m sure your kitten will be okay,” Theo said. “The fire probably won’t even come this far. It is extremely difficult to predict the path of a fire. There are so many variables.”
    â€œI don’t want to talk about it,” Callie said.
    They were almost at the gatehouse. Both the inner electric fence’s gate and the outer wooden gate were open, and Luke could see the kitchen vans and one of the Marine trucks disappear outof sight as they went out the gate and down the hill. The camp commander, Colonel Donlin, was inside the gatehouse, speaking into a phone.
    Sal’s car was already through the gate when Luke heard a rumble of engines. A big group of motorcyclists came up the hill too fast, speeding toward the gates. Some veered off into the grass, and some came to a screeching halt, nearly hitting Sal’s SUV.
    Adam acted quickly, swinging the car around in a sharp turn. Everyone was thrown to the side. Comet’s toenails dug into Luke’s legs and Callie fell against him. When the car was a couple of hundred feet from the gate, Adam maneuvered so they came to a stop, putting the Marines’ vehicle in front of them. Luke turned around and saw that Isabelle had mirrored Adam’s moves so that the trail car was still behind them.
    Colonel Donlin came out of the gatehouse, motioning the Marines to go out the gate. Adam and Grant were