Free Jungle of Deceit by Maureen A. Miller

The avenue to enter this field was the only roadway—rutted path that it was, and it was in the fire’s immediate route. The forest curved. Soon the north and west would be inaccessible as well.
    She nodded because her throat failed her. Mitch moved in close to place his mouth by her ear. “We’ll get them all out of here, Alex. Do you hear me? Look, they’ve already packed the Jeeps. They’re ready. Let’s move.”
    What was wrong with her? Why was she paralyzed? She never failed in the face of crisis. She was the rock. Even now she caught a glimpse of a young, frantic face watching her−one of her students seemingly afraid to take a step until she gave the command. It was Zachary Selmon, a grad student from the University of Miami. He and his friend, Tim Gundy joined her field research team, but Tim was the gregarious one while Zachary was the reticent half of the tandem. Behind Zach’s silhouette she could see Tim jogging with gear tucked under his arm towards a parked Jeep.
    Her throat croaked out a warning that would never be heard over the excessive crackling. Flames licked the rim of the field and used brushwood and decaying grass to boost their impetus. Emboldened, the smoldering leviathan crept from the tree line to advance on the parked Jeep. The fiery python slithered a decisive track, reaching the rear end of the Jeep just as Tim started towards them.
    Zachary’s eyes were still locked on her, but behind his silhouette, the burning snake’s head swayed back and thrust for the kill bite.
    “ Alex!” Mitch hauled her to the ground.
    She felt the rough sting of the turf and the weight of Mitch’s body atop hers, yet even from this angle her eyes never left the triangle of Zach, Tim and their Jeep. As the snake’s fangs sunk in, an explosion shook the ground beneath her. Zach tumbled to her level, and his eyes finally broke their connection with hers. A scream pierced the smoke-filled air, the catalyst to snap Alex from her paralysis. She used all her strength and launched Mitch off of her. She felt his hand clasp around her ankle but she shrugged free from it and started towards the Jeep. Before she could make two steps, his arm locked around her waist and he yelled into her ear.
    “ No. Stay back.” He pointed through the smoky melee. “They’re both okay. It’s just the Jeep.”
    Fire erupted from the rear end of the vehicle, but Tim was indeed safe, offering a hand to Zach to lift him off the ground. The sound of the flames still filled her ears−like fall foliage rustling under the prongs of a rake.
    Mitch’s forearm grounded her, but it was time to act. She turned to him and saw perspiration laced with black ash bead on his forehead. He seemed so strong and assured. It was like looking into an abstruse mirror that reflected all the traits she did not possess.
    She touched the arm about her waist. Her fingers wrapped around it for a second, holding onto him.
    “ Thank you,” she whispered, knowing he could by no means hear her. She saw his head dip in acknowledgment. “I am okay now,” she coughed. “I’ll gather everyone up and we’ll head south.”
    He hauled her into a hug, and for a moment she felt fortified by that embrace. Finally he released her and ordered, “Stay close.”
     
     
     
    C hapter Five
     
    It was chaos. Alex had witnessed brush fires before, but always under some modicum of shelter. At first she had considered the field as an avenue of escape, but the smoke and advancing flames were narrowing that channel down to a single alley in the jungle. She thought that if she could just reach the river that they would be okay.
    The wall of the forest looked animated. Branches fell to the ground, their gnarled forms ablaze, while glowing vines undulated in a curtain of flames. From that curtain, embers dropped to stoke the undergrowth into an inferno that now attacked with cunning precision.
    What staggered her was the speed and aggression of the fire. The group was at an