2. Charlie

CHAPTER 2

Charlie

T he mountains were on fire.

The summer after sixth grade was the hottest I could ever remember. The moment we were out of school, it was ninety degrees every single day. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun scorched the land. Nobody had seen a drop of rain in over a month, and all the grass had turned brown. Even the trees were starting to look like they wouldn't survive.

Wildfires weren't terribly uncommon in the Pacific Northwest, and people had grown sort of used to them in previous years. My little town of Creekside, thankfully, was located in a small valley that was usually too damp to let the fire spread through. But this year the small creek running through that gave the town its name had dried up completely and all the land was just as brown as the rest of the state. The adults kept an eye on news reports and fire updates, but they didn't stop Nix and I from spending our days outside. Our house didn't have air conditioning, so being out in the shade and hoping for a breeze was our only chance of staying cool .

I raced out of my house as soon as I could that morning. The fires were still a long way out and while our parents were nervous about it, they knew it would be harder to keep us inside than to just let us go. Besides, we knew what to watch for. If the smoke looked like it was getting closer, it was time to go home.

I pulled my bike up to his fence, pushed the back gate open, and walked around the rear of the house. There I dropped my bike, picked up a woodchip from the landscaping, and threw it at Nix's window on the second floor. It made a dull sort of thud before it dropped down and rolled into the gutter, probably trapped there forever. A moment later, a face popped up from below the sill and smiled. In less than a minute, Nix was standing on the back porch with a backpack slung over his shoulder and a sly grin on his face.

"Ready to go rock hunting?" Nix asked, his eyes lighting up.

I smiled in return, hopping back on my bike. "Hell yeah! Maybe we can find some obsidian or something!"

"Let's go then!" He ran across the yard, sweeping up his bike and following behind me. "If you want the good stuff, you better keep up this time!"

Keeping up with Nix was the thing I loved to do most. In the past two years, I'd done nothing but follow in his shadow. He might not have wanted to live in rural Oregon, but he didn't let that stop him from being wild . And I loved it.

Adventures were abundant with Nix. If there was something to discover or explore, he would find it. But if there was trouble to be found, why, he'd find that even faster. Trouble was his magnetic north. No matter what he did, he was drawn to it, despite the consequences. In fact, I'd come to believe that he truly couldn't help it. Even when he was trying to be on his best behavior and did everything to keep his nose clean, trouble came looking for him instead .

But I had no idea how much trouble we were going to get into that day when we set out on our bikes across town.

The creek was north of town. Well, it actually ran through town, but on the western side where it wound through several private backyards. The people who owned the land on its banks weren't the nicest people, and Mom had warned me to steer clear of them. Trespassing, as I was told, was technically against the law. Although I wasn't really sure what was so wrong about it. Walking along the edge of the creek or through someone's backyard didn't hurt anyone. But so many people had gone through the effort to put up fences that it forced the wilds of rural Oregon into neat little squares of parched grass and shitty lawn furniture. Even at the young age of twelve, I already despised such things.

However, I found I cared less when I realized that the north side of the creek was so secluded that nobody would even know we were there. Not to mention, we had the entire place to ourselves every time we went. For some reason, the other kids and adults in town didn't find it fascinating like we did. But then again, maybe they just didn't realize how cool such a place could be.

Our outings to the creek usually resulted in unique finds. The first summer Phoenix moved to town, we found a shed antler from an elk just sitting at the edge of the water. Nix strapped it to his back and took it home, sneaking it into his room before his mother saw it. Of course, she found it eventually and made him put it outside. It still sat in their landscaping, actually, bleached white by the sun.

Then there was that strangely hot October day last year when we found our first arrowhead. We'd found plenty of broken obsidian before and even a few tiny opals that I kept in a corked jar on my dresser. But when Nix pulled the shiny black arrowhead out of the water and held it up to the sun, the entire world seemed to stand still. In the span of a few seconds, we went from a couple amateur rock hunters to bona fide archeologists. Suddenly we were both Indiana Jones, finding artifacts of ancient civilizations that no longer existed.

Of course, it wasn't until we were doing research at the school library later that we found out the Kalapuya natives were most likely the makers of our found treasure. I tried to convince my mom to drive us up to Warm Springs Reservation so we could ask them about it. But she told me we couldn't just roll up on the reservation unannounced and demand information. So, when we didn't stop bothering her, she compromised and took us to a museum instead. We did not take the arrowhead with us, just in case the museum wanted to keep it. As much as we loved Indiana Jones, we couldn't part with our treasure.

Ever since that day, we'd been going down to the creek as much as possible in search of more treasure. So far, all we'd found were more obsidian chips, a couple tiny opal pebbles, big chunks of foggy quartz, and a few very round and smooth jasper stones. None of it was going to make us rich or famous, but it was just enough to keep us coming back for more.

We thought the creek drying up would make things easier to find. But now that the stones were dry, the entire riverbed had taken on a grayish, sunbaked appearance. If anything, it was even harder to find cool things now. We'd been searching for days and had yet to come up with anything exciting.

So when we tossed our bikes on the ground at the edge of the creek that day, I wasn't expecting much.

"You start on this side and I'll go over there," Nix said, pointing to the opposite side of the creek some twenty feet away. "Let's stay near the middle this time, and maybe we'll find something good."

"Alright," I nodded, happy to follow Nix's lead wherever it took me.

"And if you find something good, don't show me."

I furrowed my brows, concerned by the mischievous smirk on his face. "Why?"

"Because it's a competition," he grinned. "We'll show each other what we found when we get back home and see who wins."

"And who's going to judge this contest?" I asked. "You?"

"Obviously." He straightened himself up, grabbing at an imaginary hat and whip. "I'm the expert around here. And I'm a doctor. Dr. Jones, professor of archaeology."

I rolled my eyes. He was always so full of himself.

"If you're Indiana, then who am I?"

"Short Round," he nodded. "Or Willie."

"I'm not that useless!"

"Short Round wasn't useless! He saved Indy so many times! He's the only reason Indy survived the Kali Ma!" He cocked an eyebrow in my direction. "But you're right. Willie was absolutely useless. I'm not sure you're quite that bad. Although you are really bad at finding cool artifacts."

I tried to feign anger, but I couldn't do it. His reasoning was sound. While Short Round wasn't the quintessential good guy of the film, he was the unsung hero sidekick. Phoenix was like Indy, big, bombastic, and always the main character. And I was happy to play his companion. That was exciting enough for me.

Also, he was right. I was bad at finding cool stuff.

"Fine," I huffed at last, feigning annoyance. "I'll be Short Round. But next time I get to be Indy, okay?"

He patted me on the shoulder, a look of solace on his face. "Of course. "

I didn't believe him for a second, and he knew I wouldn't fight him for it.

"Now get to work! We have to beat Belloq to the artifacts!"

"Wrong movie," I grumbled, rolling my eyes again.

But the moment Nix flashed that bright smile in my direction, I forgot all about being annoyed or offended by his comments. He had a magic about him that made it impossible to resist his charms. The only problem was, he knew it. And he exercised that power well and often.

Nix skipped his way across the creek bed until he reached the other shore. With a stiff nod, the pair of us turned our heads toward the dirt banks and started to search. Neither of us looked up to check the mountains or the wildfire burning in the distance. We were so preoccupied with our little game that nothing else seemed to matter.

A few minutes in, I found the perfect stick for poking through the gravel and sand. I turned over quite a few interesting looking stones, only to realize they were exceptionally ordinary. I couldn't help sneaking glances across the creek at Nix, who seemed to be doing the same thing. More than once, I watched him bend down and pick something up before tucking it secretly away into a pocket. I also watched him fish things out of his pockets and chuck them back into the dirt before he gave me a mischievous grin and kept searching.

He was playing games with me. I was certain of it. Psychological warfare was half the battle when we were hunting for treasure like this. So, I did my best to feed it right back to him. Although, I'm pretty sure he never fell for my tricks. Still, I had to try.

We'd both completely lost track of time and it wasn't until the sun suddenly stopped shining that I finally looked up.

Dark smoke filled the sky. The wind shifted and I caught the scent of burning wood on the breeze. Here and there I saw ashes fluttering downward. A glance at the mountain showed that the fire was descending on the valley on the northern side. My blood turned cold with fear as I realized it was heading right for us, carried by the wind.

"Nix!" I yelled across the creek. "We need to go!"

He turned to look at me, but his gaze was pulled toward the giant column of smoke just to the north of us. His jaw dropped open as he stared, an expression of awe and wonder filling his face.

"Nix! Come on!" I shouted again.

That seemed to pull him out of his stupor. In a flash, he'd bounded across the creek and was at my side. Together we ran north, toward the wildfire , to get our bikes. It felt incredibly stupid to run directly into danger, but without our bikes, it would take far too long to make it back to town. Besides, it was downhill the entire way from the creek, so we could use the speed to our advantage.

By the time we reached them, we were both coughing from the smoke. Ashes and hot cinders rained down around us, coating everything in a fine gray powder. The moment we hefted our bikes up, ash slaked off them. I threw my leg over the seat and looked back, only to find Nix standing there with his back to me, staring at the approaching wildfire.

"Let's go look at it," he whispered.

"What?! Are you fucking crazy?!" I didn't usually swear like that, even as a twelve-year-old boy. But I needed him to know how serious I was. "You can't go toward it!"

"How often do you see something like this, Charlie?" he asked, the same wild look in his eyes that I saw every time he was about to get us in trouble. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"The mountains catch on fire every summer!"

"Yeah. And our parents aren't here right now." Pulling his bike alongside him, he headed for the fire. "Come on. It's easy to just turn around. What could go wrong?"

I coughed again, the smoke stinging my eyes. For a moment I hesitated, my heart pounding in my chest, and fear threatened to consume me. But as I watched my best friend in the entire world walk toward the burning forest, I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn't follow him. Besides, Nix had never gotten me hurt before. He wouldn't do that. I trusted him.

The road was steep and the smoke made it hard to breathe, but we headed toward the fire, anyway. A tower of black smoke, dark and menacing as if it held the darkest evil in all the land, reached up into the sky, blotting out the sun. But Nix didn't stop. Not until we could feel the heat from the burning woods on both sides of the road. The fire had jumped thanks to the wind, and it didn't look like it was slowing down.

"Wow…" Nix whispered, staring up at the trees turned bright orange as they were consumed by the blaze.

I was still straggling a few feet behind him, unable to bring myself to get any closer. I lifted my arm, trying to wipe the ash out of my eyes. It mixed with my sweat, stinging everything it came into contact with. I tried to speak but choked as tears streamed down my face. But I didn't want to back down. Not when Nix was being so brave.

There was a rush of heat from the fire as a harsh, burning wind full of ash and embers kicked up around us. It swirled through the trees like a fiery tornado, engulfing everything in its path. The moment I saw it, I took a step back. But Nix… he took a step forward .

"Nix!" I cried. "Let's go!"

He didn't react.

"NIX! "

As if I'd broken some magic spell over him, Nix shook it off and glanced back. I had to stare in wonder for a moment as the tornado flared in front of him, flames shooting up on either side of the road, silhouetting his body. For just a brief moment, he looked like his namesake, a mythological creature wreathed in flame. It made his green eyes glow even brighter as the embers swirled around him.

"Come on!" I yelled again, the fire moving toward us at a rapid pace. "We have to go!"

He finally nodded, throwing a leg over the seat of his bike. At the same moment, there was a thunderous crack, and a tree crashed onto the road only a few feet behind him. Fire erupted in all directions as he took off. And I was right there beside him, my heart pounding so hard I thought I would die.

We didn't look back as we pedaled for our lives. If not for the steepness of the road lending us speed, I'm not sure we would've made it. By the time we got back into Creekside, both sets of our parents were standing in the road with terrified expressions on their faces. The moment they saw us, relief and anger washed over them. I knew, whatever happened, we were in big trouble.

"Where have you been?!" my mother yelled, dragging me toward the car before I even had a chance to get off my bike. "I was worried sick!"

She practically threw me in the back before sliding into the driver's seat. But as she slammed the key into the ignition and turned it over, the car sputtered, but didn't start.

"Dammit!" she cried, hitting the steering wheel with her open palms. "This fucking car!"

My mother never swore like that. We both knew the car was unreliable, but it falling to pieces in the face of a wildfire was the last straw .

"We've got plenty of room in the van, Diana," Mrs. McKean called as she hauled Nix into their vehicle. "Just come with us."

Grabbing our emergency bags, my mother left her car with the keys still in the ignition. The fire was nearing the edge of town, and there wasn't time to dawdle. She tossed our bags in the neighbor's van and made sure I was securely in the back with Nix before she got in herself. A single glance showed me the tears in her eyes, and I was sure they were my fault.

As the van began to roll down the road away from the fire, I jabbed Nix hard in the ribs with my elbow.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he hissed, rubbing his side.

"You almost got us killed ," I snapped. "And now my mom is crying!"

I crossed my arms over my chest, turning away from him. I was furious with him. Not only had he convinced me to go look at the wildfire, but then he nearly died when that tree fell because he wouldn't stop gawking. What was so interesting about a wildfire, anyway? Yes, I loved a bonfire. They were great for roasting marshmallows and hanging out with friends. But wildfire was different. It was destructive, all-consuming, and unbiased. Whatever got in its path was destroyed. And had we been another five feet up the road, it would've been the pair of us that were consumed by it.

"Hey," Nix said, putting a soft hand on my shoulder. "Look… I'm sorry."

I pulled my shoulder away.

"I mean it, Charlie." He let out a long sigh. "I just… it was mesmerizing , you know? But you're right. I shouldn't have gone up there."

"No. You shouldn't have."

"I'm sorry. I really am. "

His tone was genuine. But I was still angry.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." He shifted next to me as he rustled in his pockets. "In fact, I think you should have the treasure I found today."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something sparkle. Turning back to Nix, I saw a shiny object sitting in the palm of his hand. It was a milky blue color, but all the facets seemed to shimmer like a rainbow as they caught the light. I'd seen enough small stones in the river to know it was an opal. Apart from being the biggest one I'd ever seen, it was also shaped into an arrowhead.

"You… You mean it?" I said, staring at the object with open admiration. It truly was treasure in every sense of the word.

"Yeah," Nix smiled. "You should have it. Then you can use it to remind me not to do anything stupid again."

I took the arrowhead, a big smile spreading over my face. "It's gonna get a lot of use."

He chuckled at that. "You're probably right."

I glanced out the window just in time to see the rain begin to fall. With all the smoke in the air, we hadn't noticed the storm clouds rolling in. Nix glanced at me, his grin widening.

"See? When you're around, everything always works out just right."

I don't know why, but those words stuck with me, imprinting themselves on my mind forever.