Into the Sunrise

Chapter 1 Zoe heaved one suitcase into the backseat of her car, then ran back through the open door of her motel room to fetch the other. As she came back out, Gary Rowling appeared from around the corner of the building. His deputy’s uniform was rumpled and dirty, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. With the fires so close to town, she guessed he hadn’t. “Let me help you.” He took the suitcase and lifted it into the car. “Thanks.” He followed her back into the room, and between the two of them, they grabbed the rest of Zoe’s things. She slammed the car door on the last load. When it didn’t catch, she clicked her tongue and lifted and closed the door. It had started to sag on its hinges. She should get that fixed…sometime. Gary looked at the car dubiously. “Are you sure that junker’s going to get you to the emergency center?” “She’ll get me there.” “I could give you a ride.” His sheriff’s department cruiser stood askew in the middle of the motel parking lot. “You’re too busy.” He’d be knocking on doors, making sure everyone was at least on their way out of the motel before the fire reached it. “Want me to stick around in case anyone needs a ride with me?” “No. I’ll deal with anyone who needs a ride. You get going now, Zoe.” “Aye, sir,” she said with a salute and a grin. But his face was serious. “Good luck,” she said more quietly and ran to the driver’s side. “I’ll text you when I get there.” With a last wave, she jumped inside and started the car. It sputtered to life with the usual reluctance. It was no better at getting up in the morning than its owner, but like its owner, it got its act together eventually, and she drove out of the motel’s lot. The road north was blocked off with police barriers. You couldn’t see the fires from here yet, only a glow on the horizon and a sky full of smoke. But they were moving fast, consuming tinder-dry underbrush and trees left parched by a long summer. A helicopter flew over, dripping water from a massive bag ready to loose into the fires. Zoe turned south, toward town. The motel she lived in, paying weekly and always on the verge of moving out—for six months—was on the outskirts of the north end of town. The forest came right up against the borders of the property, and if the fire did come this way, Zoe doubted the firefighters could save the place. They expected to stop it between there and the town. They’d already done some controlled burns to clear the brush and create firebreaks. She passed Billy’s, the roadhouse where she worked as a bartender, closed up and dark with not a car or truck in the lot. She drove on and in a few miles was in town. Big temporary signs with the words EMERGENCY CENTER pointed her on south. The whole town was on the move. Some maybe only as far as the emergency center, others with loaded vehicles who looked as if they were taking no chances and getting the hell out for good. How many times did your town have to nearly burn to the ground before you decided the tinderbox of Northern California was not for you? Maybe she’d do the same. If the fire took the motel and the roadhouse, then she had no job and no place to live. So what then? She could always go home to her folks, but she didn’t know if this was how she wanted to go back there. The gas station was still open, with a long line of vehicles waiting. She checked her dash. Nearly dry. If she decided to leave right now, she’d have to sit in that long line first. Maybe she’d spend the night in the emergency center and then decide what to do in the morning. She drove on and shortly turned up the road to the emergency center, housed in the local elementary school. She parked in the still almost empty lot, stuffed a change of clothes and a few essentials in a backpack, then got out of the car. She locked everything worth stealing in the trunk and headed inside. The school’s gym had been set up as a dormitory, rows of cots against the wall and a double row down the middle. Zoe was directed to go claim one—there were plenty to choose from, but that would change soon enough. She took one beside a retired couple she knew. “Hey, Mrs. Ruiz, Mr. Ruiz,” she said. They lived at the north end of town, in the same house since they were married over forty years ago. Zoe hoped they’d get to go back to it. “Hello, Zoe,” Mrs. Ruiz said. “Good to see you safe and well.” “You too. You okay here? Got everything you need?” “We’re fine. Everyone’s very kind.” “Great. Hey, I’m gonna leave my stuff here. If you’re going to be here for a while, can you watch it for me?” “Sure,” Mr. Ruiz said. Zoe took her phone from her pocket as she walked away from the cot and tapped in a text to Gary. At center ok. Be safe. She didn’t expect an instant reply, because he’d be a busy man. She slipped the phone away in the pocket of her hoodie and walked up to one of the women organizing several people distributing blankets and moving boxes of food around. “Hi, I’m Zoe Bradshaw. What can I do to help out?”