But then, when I went to grab the bottle opener, I saw the picture of Charlie and I on the fridge and I wasn’t sure if we had a digital copy of it. I couldn’t even remember who’d printed it in the first place. There was a candle holder my baby brother Brody had made me in preschool out of a small glass baby food jar with colored tissue paper stuck to the outside. A vase that had been my Nana’s and she’d handed down to me when I moved out. All irreplaceable.

  Thirty minutes later I had another bag full of things that I couldn’t stand to leave behind.

  I had to stop looking around the house. How did people do this? How did you narrow it down? Maybe it was easier when the threat was imminent and you could only grab the absolute basics. I had too much time to worry about the things I’d leave behind.

  Oh, shit. I strode over to the couch and grabbed the blanket I always slept with and rolled it into a ball, setting it on top of the milk crate. Who cared about the stupid birth certificate? If I accidentally left my blanket behind, I’d be devastated.

  I was just about to reach for my phone to check the news again when someone started pounding on my front door.

  Chapter 2

  Draco

  “You sure you don’t want to go somewhere else?” I asked my mom for the fifth time. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped so tightly around a coffee mug that her knuckles were white. Not exactly as calm as she’d like everyone to believe.

  “We don’t need to go anywhere,” she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. “The fire won’t get to us.” The words were more of a mantra than a statement—as if she was willing the fire in a different direction.

  I looked out the window behind her. The sky was so murky and thick that you couldn’t see a hundred yards from the house, but the glow of the distant wildfires still shone through, orange and creepy as all hell.

  “You packed up the important shit anyway, right?” my brother Curtis asked.

  Mom nodded.

  We’d been through a fire before. When Curt and I were young, we’d been caught in a house fire with our cousin Gray and Aunt Lily. There’d been a whole lot of shit surrounding that situation that went way over my head at the time—but what I remembered most was the smell of smoke and the way we hadn’t been able to see anything.

  The sky outside was a vivid reminder. It made me feel claustrophobic.

  “It’s fuckin’ pea soup out there,” my dad complained as he stepped inside the kitchen door, closing it quickly behind him. “Can’t see shit.”

  “You should be wearing something over your face, Cam,” my mom scolded.

  “I was out there five minutes,” he replied easily. “Don’t need to cover my face.”

  “Going outside to smoke when the entire house already stinks seems kind of stupid,” my mom mumbled, making dad laugh.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket and I reached for it at the same time Curtis reached for his. I knew what the notification was before I even saw it.

  “We’re at level two now,” Curtis told my parents, lifting his phone so they could see it.

  “We’re packed up,” my dad said with a nod. “If we need to go, everything’s in your mom’s rig.”

  “You takin’ the bike?” I asked.

  “Better wear a mask,” Curt joked.

  “He’ll wear the full helmet,” my mom said, pointedly ignoring dad’s disgusted expression. “Like he said, you can’t see shit out there, which means people are going to be driving like idiots.”

  “Can’t breathe in that fuckin’ thing,” my dad replied, but I knew he’d wear it anyway.

  “What’s the plan with the clubhouse?” I asked just as the power shut off.

  “Dammit,” my dad bitched. “Knew that was gonna happen.”

  “It’s fine. The power company warned that they were going to be turning everything off,” my mom said tightly, getting up from the table. “I’ll put the coffee in a thermos so it stays hot.”

  “Couple of the boys went over last night and made sure everything was locked up tight at the clubhouse,” my dad answered me as he stopped my mom with a hand on her hip. He leaned down and kissed her, instantly calming her frantic movement around the kitchen before looking back at me. “Dragon and Casper made sure anything that couldn’t be lost was packed up and moved into town, but there’s a ton of shit that couldn’t exactly be transported or stored anywhere else. Dragon said they’re gonna park the RV at Poet and Amy’s for a few days while we see how this plays out. They left last night.”

  “Grandpa and Grandma are fucked if it comes this way,” Curt said with a grimace. My mom’s parents lived in a tiny house on the club’s property. “But the clubhouse and garage are brick buildings,” Curt said. “That should make a difference, right?”

  “Sure,” my dad replied. “It could.”

  “This is fuckin’ weird,” I mumbled shaking my head. It was so surreal.

  We’d dealt with forest fires before. Wildfires on the west coast were actually pretty common—but there’d never been anything so close to home. The county was telling people that the firefighters were doing a good job at keeping the fires away from homes, but we knew a few people that had lost everything already, and the fires were moving quick. Truth was, firefighters couldn’t be everywhere at once.

  “What about Gramps Casper?” Curt asked my dad. “Do you know what his plan is?”

  My dad’s parents lived in an old farmhouse outside of town, about six or seven minutes from our place. It wasn’t a straight shot there by any means, but the fire lines were so wide that their place was in just as much danger as my parents’ house. More, maybe.

  “Charlie’s over there helpin’ pack,” my dad said, nodding. “Plus, they’ve got CeeCee and Woody next door.”

  “Saying next door sounds like they live fifty feet away,” I said with a huff.

  My dad laughed. “You know what I mean. Their place is close enough. If the oldies need help in a hurry, Woody’s right there.”

  “Wait, that generation is considered the oldies?” Curt joked. “I’ve been using it for you guys.”

  “Watch it,” my mom said, pointing at him as she tucked herself under my dad’s armpit. “I’m not old yet.”

  “What about Aunt Lily and Leo?” I asked. “They good?”

  “Their house should be fine,” my dad said.

  “We’ll probably all end up there before this shit is over,” my mom said with a sigh. “I’m sure as hell not staying in your apartment.”

  “I resent that,” Curtis shot back.

  “It’s clean,” I said with a shrug.

  “It’s tiny,” my mom replied. “And smells like funk.”

  “It doesn’t smell like funk,” I argued. “I got rid of the funk smell when I moved in.”

  “He did,” Curtis said with a nod. “Smells like lemon now.”

  “I mopped the floor.” I chuckled. “It wasn’t hard.”

  “I don’t even understand what you’re saying right now,” Curtis replied. “Womp womp womp.”

  “Slob,” I said, covering it with a fake cough.

  “Priss,” he replied, using the same cough trick.

  “You’re both right,” my dad interrupted with a grin. “Two sides of the same damn coin.”

  “I need to find some flashlights before it gets really dark in here,” my mom said, pulling away from my dad. “Are they still on the shelf in the garage?”

  “Yeah, but half the batteries are dead,” he said with a grimace. “I’ll help ya. I stocked up a couple weeks ago.”

  “I’m gonna head to the grandparents’ and make sure they don’t need anything,” Curtis announced. He looked at me. “You comin’?”

  “Sure. Unless you were plannin’ on walking?” I was the one who’d driven. Roxanne and Curt’s motorcycle were already parked safely at our cousin Tommy’s house in town.

  “Let me know where you’re at, alright?” my dad said.

  “Bye, love you!” my mom called out over her shoulder.

  With assurances that we’d text them, we left the house and climbed into my truck.

  “It fuckin’ stinks out here,” I bitched.

  “Like a campfire on crack,” Curtis agreed. “Wonder how this shit started.”

  “Probably some idiot that didn’t put out their campfire that they weren’t even supposed to have,” I grumbled.

  “Or tossed their cigarette out the window,” Curtis added.

  “Haven’t had any storms lately,” I said as I turned around in the driveway and headed toward the road. “It wouldn’t have been lightning.”

  “Maybe someone took out a power pole and it sparked,” Curt said. “Who knows? I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually. Doubt they’re too concerned with it at the moment.”

  We both stared at the road ahead of us, straining to see through the smoke. It was the strangest fucking thing. Like fog, almost, but thicker.

  “If I get rear ended I’m gonna be pissed,” I said, turning on my hazard lights to give anyone behind us more notice that we were there. “But I’m not goin’ any faster.”

  “Yeah, I’d be just as pissed if you hit someone else,” Curt said leaning forward a little. “I’m a delicate flower,” he joked. “Probably your best bet to go slow.”

  It took us twice as long to get to my grandparents’ house as it would’ve on a normal day, and I was oddly relieved to see that it was unscathed, even though I’d known that everything was fine before I’d left my parents’ house.

  “Gramps shouldn’t be on the bike in this shit,” I said to Curt as I shut off the pickup.

  “I’ll offer to move it if it comes to that,” he agreed, nodding.

  We hurried toward the house and I didn’t even pause, knocking as I opened the front door.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Charlie called from the top of the stairs. “Did your parents’ power go out, too? Never mind, I don’t care. Come help me.”

  “Yeah, power’s out at their place, too. What are you doin’?” I asked as I took the stairs two at a time.

  “The parents decided we’re leaving. There’s some stuff in the spare room that my mom wants to take with us,” Charlie replied as she led us into a bedroom. “Old school shit and baby books and stuff. I brought your dad’s down already—”

  “Dad had one?” Curtis asked in surprise.

  “Of course he did,” my Gram replied, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as she came into the room. She was dressed in full out seventies gear with a bandana folded in half covering the top of her head like a kerchief, and I was pretty sure it was all vintage. God, I loved her. She was the coolest woman I’d ever known.

  “I mean,” she continued, “he didn’t have a baby book for obvious reasons.” My grandparents had adopted my dad when he was already half-grown. “But we kept all of his school stuff and birthday cards and shit.”

  “They had him for only half his childhood,” Charlie said, raising her eyebrows. “Yet his box was the biggest.”

  “That’s because he’s my favorite,” Gram replied instantly. “Obviously.”

  “Well, I’m Dad’s favorite,” Charlie huffed.

  “Lily is your dad’s favorite,” the three of us replied at the same time.

  “Nice,” Charlie said, throwing a stuffed animal at me. “Thanks for having my back!”

  “Lies don’t make friends, Charlie,” Curt reminded her, ducking as she threw something at him. “Hey, don’t throw shit at me! It’s not my fault that Lily is everyone’s favorite!”

  “You’re not making it better,” Charlie snapped, looking around for something else to throw.

  “Knock it off and get this stuff packed into the car, would you?” Gram asked, giving my shoulder a squeeze as she turned to leave. “I’m going to pack the rest of my suitcase so we can get out of here.”

  “Where are you guys going?” I asked Charlie as we reached for the neatly stacked boxes against the wall.

  “We’re going to stay at Aunt Callie’s in town,” she replied with a grunt as she lifted a box.

  “The people in town are the smart ones,” Curtis said as we carried shit down the stairs. “Random houses in the middle of nowhere are no big deal, but they’re not gonna let the fire get into the residential neighborhoods.”

  “I’d rather have the space outside of town for the ninety-nine percent of time that we don’t have to worry about natural disasters,” I countered. “Too many people in town.”

  “You live in our apartment complex,” Charlie pointed out.

  “That’s not town,” I argued as we stuffed boxes into the back of Gram’s SUV. The smoke in the air was making my eyes and nose burn. “It’s…town adjacent.”

  “I’ll give you that one,” Curtis said with a laugh as we rushed back into the house. “Definitely quieter than any of the other places I’ve lived.”

  “Whatever,” Charlie said with a wave of her hand. “The apartments should still be out of the danger zone.”

  “Probably,” Curtis agreed.

  There was something in her voice that had me searching her face. “She’s still there, isn’t she?” I asked, cursing inwardly.

  Charlie didn’t insult either of our intelligence by pretending she didn’t know who I was talking about.

  “She’ll go to her parents’ house if it gets bad,” she replied. “She wanted to stay at the apartment.”

  “Why?” Curtis asked.

  “Would you want to spend an undetermined amount of time with your parents?” Charlie replied. “She’ll go if things start going sideways. She’s fine where she’s at.”

  “Fuckin’ stubborn,” I muttered as my gramps came down the stairs with bags in each hand.

  “I’ll get those,” I said, reaching for the bags.

  Gramps scoffed. “I think I can manage,” he said with a grin. “But you can head up and grab the rest from your gram.” He raised his voice. “She packed the whole damn bathroom.”

  “I heard that,” Gram screeched.

  “Wasn’t tryin’ to hide it, Ladybug!” he called back.

  “Dad,” Charlie scolded as he reached the front door. She hurried toward him and pulled the bandana tied around his neck up and over his mouth and nose.

  “Thanks, baby girl,” he said as she opened the front door for him. “You make sure you have everything you want to take?”

  Charlie nodded. As soon as he was out the door she turned to us and rolled her eyes. “He’s the sentimental one,” she told us. “Me and mom would let it all burn.”

  I was seriously doubting her pronouncement a minute later as I carried one of Gram’s heavy ass bags down the stairs.

  “Jesus Christ,” I said as I stumbled down a step. “What the hell did she pack?”

  “You know that saying, everything but the kitchen sink?” Curt replied as he followed me. “I think she packed the kitchen sink.”

  “Quit your bitching,” Gram said, passing us on the stairs. “It’s not that bad.”

  My mouth snapped shut as Curt started to snicker.

  “Is this a dead body?” Curt yelled after her. “Am I helping you hide a dead body?”

  “If you were, you wouldn’t be packing it into my car,” Gram replied without missing a beat. She strode out of sight.

  As soon as everything was packed and ready to go, we found ourselves sitting around the gloomy living room. Even with all of the curtains pulled wide, there was barely enough sunshine making it through the smoke to lighten the room.

  “Your mom and dad still planning on waiting it out?” Gramps asked, patting Gram’s thigh. She was sitting on his lap and I wasn’t sure what it said about any of us that the scene was perfectly normal.

  “That’s what they’re sayin’,” I replied. “But Mom’s strung tight as a wire.”

  “She’s always been like that,” Gram said with a grin. “If your dad is staying, she will, too.”

  “I’d stay here if it was just me,” Gramps added. “But she’d insist on stayin’, too, and drive me up the fuckin’ wall with her worryin’.”

  “There’s no reason to stay if we don’t have to,” Gram said easily, shaking her head. “There’s nothing we can do if the fire gets close enough to burn our shit, and I don’t want to get stuck in it.”

  “Are Aunt Cecilia and Mark stayin’ home?” Curtis asked.

  “I think they’re just waiting for us to leave,” Gram said with an indulgent smile. “They’ll probably head down south for a little while and visit their people in San Diego until the smoke clears. You know how Olive’s allergies are. She’s miserable with this smoke. Poor thing.”

  As we sat around talking, the room grew darker and darker. No one said anything and I wasn’t even sure if they noticed until my Gramps looked out the window and sighed. “Alright, Ladybug. We better get on the road.”

  “I’m going to look outside and see if I can see anything,” Charlie said quietly to me.

  “Like what?” I asked. “Flames?”

  “The smoke is thick as fuck,” she replied grimly. “It has to be getting closer.”

  I followed her outside and pulled my shirt up over my mouth and nose. The smoke was thicker.

  “I don’t see any flames or anything,” I said, glancing her way. “Do you?”

  “Nah,” she shook her head but kept staring in the direction of the fire. “But it looks different, doesn’t it?”

  It did look different. Not brighter or darker, but maybe the color was off? I couldn’t tell, but I agreed with her. Something was different.

  As we went back inside, I got another notification on my phone.

  “Is that the emergency notification thing?” Charlie asked, craning her neck to see the screen. “I haven’t gotten any.”

  “Yeah,” I replied. It was another message reminding us that we were in the level two evacuation zone. Be ready.

  Charlie pulled out her phone. “I’m going to see if the zone lines have changed,” she said, tapping at the screen. She was quiet for a few moments. “Oh, shit.”

  “What’s up?” I asked peering over her shoulder.

  “Look how much it’s moved,” she said quietly, scrolling to a screenshot from earlier in the day. “Its way closer.”