It wasn’t a restful nap. Her left eye, the one that had been hit by a flying ember, was swollen almost shut and ached dreadfully. Buttons insisted on lying on Emily’s chest. Not only did the dog stink of smoke and muck, but having even a small weight on her chest made it harder for Emily to get comfortable.
Then there were the nightmares. Fire demons were chasing her. No matter how fast she ran, or where she turned, she couldn’t escape. They were armed with plumes of smoke that turned into nooses. Finally they caught her and attempted to strangle her with the ropes of smoke. In her dreams she kept on fighting and didn’t surrender.
One of the fire demons started barking. The barking grew louder and more frantic. It seemed so real that it woke her up. It was no dream. Buttons was in hysterics.
“Leave me alone!” ordered Emily, groggy from pain and exhaustion. But Buttons wouldn’t let up. The dog licked Emily’s face and his tongue touched the sore eye, causing her to sit up and shriek in pain.
Her first instinct was to swat him, something she would normally never even think of doing. Then, as she became more alert, she realized something was seriously wrong.
The wind was now raging with an intensity she had never imagined possible. The walls of the flimsy shack creaked and groaned. The entire structure appeared to be in danger of flying away. A steady stream of leaves and branches pelted the roof.
Both candles had burned out. Emily fumbled for the flashlight, found it, and used the beam to look around the cabin. The walls shook every time they were hit by a strong gust. There was a deafening crash. Something heavy had landed on the cabin’s roof. Emily jumped to her feet and ran for the door. Buttons tried to follow, but Emily feared he would panic again and run into the night. She firmly shoved the dog aside with a foot, slipped outside, and closed the door behind her.
The wind was so strong she had to hold onto a tree to keep upright. Even without using the flashlight she could see that the top of the tree had broken off and landed on the roof, ripping open a hole.
The gale had brought new life to the forest fire. Ferocious winds were fanning the flames and the other side of the lake had become an inferno. It was a wall of fire that seemed to stretch forever. As Emily watched in disbelief the tallest flames joined together and began to whirl around. It was the most awe-inspiring and chilling thing she had ever seen — a tornado made of fire.
The fiery whirlwind seemed to be alive. It went spinning across the land, consuming everything in its path. It halted at the lake’s edge and the bottom of the funnel moved erratically back and forth, as if seeking food. For some reason the word firenado came into Emily’s head. Had she just made it up, or had she actually heard that term before?
Then the firenado seemed to make up its mind about where to go next. It moved on to the lake’s surface and headed directly toward Emily. It was as if one of the fiery devils from her nightmares had seen her standing on the shore and was determined to devour her. There was no possible escape. It looked as unstoppable as a locomotive. Emily wanted to turn and flee, but terror caused her legs to go numb. She fell to her knees and held up her hands in surrender.
At the precise moment she gave up all hope the towering flames started to lose their intensity. There was no fuel on the lake’s surface — the fiery tornado disappeared in just a few seconds.
Discovering that her legs were working once again, Emily got up and turned to run. The flames of the firenado may have died but the intensity of the wind hadn’t diminished. Just before reaching the cabin she was knocked violently to the ground by a massive cloud of swirling ash.
A flock of sparks landed all around. The lake wasn’t wide enough to ensure safety after all. It wouldn’t be long before some of those embers started new fires. Emily understood that the surrounding forest would swiftly become a death trap for any living thing caught in it. Once again the lake appeared to offer the only hope of escape. She had to get into the boathouse.
The cooler was lying next to the spot where Emily had fallen. She already knew the container floated well. It was also large enough to hold a lot of supplies. She got to her feet and carried the cooler it into the cabin, where she was greeted by a frantic Buttons. The dog sensed danger all around and wouldn’t stop barking.
Using the flashlight to find her way around the shack Emily grabbed everything she could think of that might prove useful. She threw matches, emergency candles, condensed milk, beef jerky, a can opener, and all the spare batteries into the cooler. As she moved the beam of light from her small flashlight around the cabin it suddenly illuminated the ball cap and jacket hanging on the wall. She put on the cap and jacket, hoping they’d offer some protection from flying embers.
Emily placed the cooler next to the door and went back outside. Once again Buttons attempted to follow. Not wanting to run the risk of losing the dog she shoved him back inside and hoped the flimsy door wouldn’t blow open.
Then she picked up the axe, aimed the flashlight at the ground, and ran toward the one place that seemed to offer a chance of escape.