FIFTY-FOUR

THE FORWARD OBSERVERS SAW and heard the explosion first. For a brief second a brilliant white-hot light lit the countryside and the night sky. That stab of light blinded those closest to the blast, leaving them momentarily sightless. An instant later a thundering blast rolled through the darkness followed by a shock wave of heat swift enough to make the observers cringe while huddled flat on the ground–their hands clutching the dirt. As if alive with evil intent, a bulbous column of orange fury boiled aloft, writhing like a tormented beast. Those in the rear witnessed the ball of fire belch upward, encircled by a rolling ring of white smoke, lit by incandescent gases. Burning fragments of debris whirred over the landscape, some striking the surface with a thud. Large and small fires burned on the ground like scattered campfires.

Pressure from the blast opened a rusted seam on the side of a nearby crude oil storage tank, causing a steady stream of oil to flood its base. Burning embers from the explosion settled on the exposed fuel, igniting a new fire. Heat from this inferno caused the warped seam to split open, creating a fiery torch that shot up the side of the tank making more fuel gush out. Within seconds a massive fireball filled the air with billowing flames that created thick black smoke visible by the light of the fire that rose twisting and changing shape as it grew higher into the night sky. Glowing light from this hellish scene revealed the tortured land.

Ashley heard the first explosion as did Walter and Assault Leader Davis. They dashed out of the tent in time to see a bright column rise above the land and form a tornado-like funnel lit by the ruby red fire within the cloud of churning smoke. Ashley thought of Cebeck.

"Walter," she shouted. "I have to go." She ran for the Humvee, and jumped behind the wheel, with Kent right behind her. He didn't have to ask where she was going. "Hit it," he said, swinging into the front seat beside her. The tires tore through the sandy soil as they swerved onto the dirt road heading for Highway 82.

While they jerked over the rough terrain, several new explosions occurred in the distance. Once on the hard road, Ashley floored it, determined to make fifteen miles in ten minutes. Gripping the steering wheel her eyes never left the yellow centerline. As they approached the geyser of smoke and fire, it grew larger, swirling overhead like a blazing dirt devil.

Walter checked the odometer. "One mile," he shouted, as they neared the inferno. He searched south of the road for signs of the two story house, but couldn’t find it. As they neared the site, a wall of heat engulfed them. Ashley slowed and left the highway on the north side. A barbed wire fence lined the right-of-way. "I'm going through," she yelled steering into the fence and hitting a metal post square on. "Tally-ho," shouted Walter with a taste of satisfaction in his voice.

They swerved back and forth covering a wide swath of land with the headlights, as they searched for that clump of trees amidst layers of smoke. The heat became suffocating. "Over there." Kent pointing to the right. The lights reflected off a white patch between several shattered junipers. Ashley geared down and pulled near the crumpled vehicle, its hood, bent back. Only bits of the windshield remained. Kent leaped out and ran as Ashley set the brake and jumped out, too. The van, its front end lifted off the ground two feet, sat pinned between several tree stumps bent at awkward angles. Ashley, holding back a scream, felt the scorching heat on her body from the nearby fire. Stumbling over debris in the darkness, she yanked on the driver's side door. The hot metal burned her hand. Wedged shut, the door didn't move. She heard Walter shout for her to come to the back of the van.

In the headlights of the Humvee, Ashley saw Walter pulling on the rear right door with both hands, one foot on the center of the left rear door. She grabbed him around the chest. "We pull together...now!” The door moved only an inch. "Again!" It moved two inches. "Again!" The door gave way and they both fell back crashing to the ground. They faced each other with grim satisfaction, and then leaped toward the open door.

Together they crawled into the van and began a frantic search for Cebeck. The fire created heat, but also light. Surveillance equipment lay scattered about the interior. Choking on the smoke, they moved forward. On their knees, they searched as much with their hands as with their eyes. Ashley pulled herself up with the back of the passenger seat. "He's over here." Walter moved to the driver’s side. On the floor jammed between the dashboard and the seats lay a man–not moving.

Walter catapulted over the driver’s seat and touched Cebeck. "He's alive. He's breathing."

From behind the seat, Ashley tried to open the passenger door, but couldn’t. "Kick the door. Kick it hard," she shouted, then reached down near the floor for the seat release. Her hand scraped into the tiny space between the door and the seat controls. It touched a lever. She pulled it. The seat snapped back. Walter, with more room to maneuver, kicked the door, bracing himself against the steering wheel. He kicked with both feet. With an abrupt grating noise of metal against metal, the door cracked open. Another kick and it opened just enough. Kent jumped outside, turned and grabbed Cebeck by the shoulders. Ashley, now in the front seat, locked her hand under Jerry's belt and lifted. "We have to be careful, we don't know his injuries." Walter nodded and pulled with care, sliding Cebeck off the front floor, a few inches at a time. He got a better hold on him and pulled as Ashley lifted. The semiconscious man moaned when he slipped to the ground. Ashley vaulted out of the van. "I'll get the Humvee."

The headlights let Kent do a quick examination. No compound fractures. No profuse bleeding. Together they moved Cebeck onto the back floor and Ashley stayed with him as Kent drove east toward Lovington and the nearest hospital. Ashley called in their medical emergency.

Sprawled on the floor, she cradled Cebeck on her lap. He moaned and opened his eyes; one nearly swollen shut. "Jerry can you hear me?" she asked pulling his head toward her. He stared at her with a blank expression. Blood and dirt stained his face. She brushed his hair back and felt angular grains of glass from the windshield. "We're getting medical help, Jerry." His mouth moved, but no sound came out. "It's okay. Hang in there."

Cebeck focused on her face, and brought his hand up, but it fell back. In barely a whisper he said. "Ashley...Ashley."

"I'm right here," she reassured him.

He tried to lift his head. "I saw it.”

"Yes, I know, a terrible fire."

His head shook slightly. "No. I saw it."

She cradled his head. "You're going to be alright."

With an expression of urgency he touched her arm and struggled to speak. Ashley knew he wanted to say something. She leaned near his face. "What is it Jerry? What are you trying to tell me?"

"I saw it...next to...the house."

"What did you see?"

His lips moved, but again no sound. She put her ear next to his mouth. "What did you see, Jerry?"

In a faint voice he choked out two words. "Explosion. Suburban."

Ashley straightened. Her face grew ashen as she processed those words. He nodded his head slightly. She nodded back.