Page 105 of Ignite

But this? Nothing seemed recognizable in the smoky haze and I knew without a shadow of a doubt, I should have signed up. I should be with my team now, no matter where they were or what they were fighting.

My place was with my team.

My place was with Rylee.

Jumping in my ute, I turned on the radio before even finding my seatbelt. The national broadcasting station had been the trusted source of local news and warnings for generations.

I didn’t expect anything other than boring commentary or updates for—anywhere but Meringa.

BEEEP. BEEEP. BEEEP.

“The following suburbs are under Watch and Act. There is a heightened level of threat. Residents are urged to start taking action now.”

The calm sound of the middle-age male radio announcer belied the long list of suburbs. Most I’d driven through on my way from Sydney to here. Most lined the highway and were dotted through the national park.

Beringi. Meringa. They were both on the list. The last in a list that had been in alphabetical order. Late additions? Upgraded from Advice level warnings?

Who the hell knew?

Rylee. Korbin. Reece. Even Felicity would know.

Me? I’d been the self-righteous schmuck who thought keeping my head down would absolve me from becoming part of the community.

Bushfire didn’t discriminate. It didn’t decide that you could sit this fire season out.

I’d been an idiot.

I drove home, past Rylee’s house. Darin’s car was no longer parked out the front but I couldn’t see her truck.

Meringa felt like home because of the people. Felicity and her high schooldelinquents—who were all just normal teens. Reece and his crew—who’d become my friends. Even Old Man Hobbs who’d started welcoming me to the pub with a free beer or half-priced lunch.

Rylee.

From the moment she crashed into me on my first day in town, to earlier today when she’d stormed out of my life.

Rylee.

Not being able to wait until I got home to call her, I pulled my ute to a rushed stop along the side of the road and hoped no bastard would run up the back of me in the ash-filled darkness. I swore as burnt leaves fell out of the sky onto my windscreen. The world had gone mad.

“Hey, Rylee, heard the warnings on the radio. Hope you’re safe.”

I drove the five minutes to my place and tried calling her again from my driveway. No need to turn off the engine if she answered.

“Rylee, it’s me. I mean, it’s Ethan. Give me a call and let me know you’re alright, yeah?”

At least the second message sounded nonchalant as if I was just checking in on a friend.

I dashed inside, filled a suitcase with whatever clean washing I could grab before pulling the sheets from my bed and stuffing them in a large box with my blankets and pillows. I left the wet towels but packed the clean ones. Same with tea-towels.

I kept looking for a missed call, or text message.

None.

I could keep calling her and hope she listened to the message or flood her inbox with texts.

Ethan:I was an ass.

Ethan:After the accident, I was an ass. I’m sorry.

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