Fur and Claws (Race Games 4) - Page 33

THIRTY-TWO

“A wildfire,” Jo breathed at the realization, and looked over at Nic. “Can we withstand a fire?”

“We’re going to have to,” Nic answered, easing the car forward at a slower pace. Once inside the actual fire, they’d have to move fast or else they’d be in danger of overheating. Too long within the inferno and terrible things could happen, like heat stroke, heat sickness, or hell, the engine getting too hot.

“We don’t have an air conditioner to help with the internal temperature,” Jo warned, holding the tablet in her lap. “We best get through quick. There’s another five miles of this section.”

He rolled to a stop.

“What are you doing?” Jo asked, frowning. “We have to—”

But she was cut off by a kiss that rocked her world. Nic’s hand curled around the base of her neck and held her, directing the kiss, his lips moving over hers in a way that said more than any words could have done. He was showing her how he felt, giving everything, and she kissed him back with equal fervor. He broke the kiss first, caressed her cheek, before he settled back in his seat and started driving again.

“What was that for?” Jo asked, blinking at him.

He glanced at her as the orange and red glow grew brighter. “If something happens in here, if we don’t make it out, just know I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you.”

Moisture sprung to her eyes, but as the heat rose inside the car, it began to steal her breath and the moisture that threatened to fall. Still, she pushed out the words.

“I love you, too.”

He nodded, an understanding passing between them, as they both realized they may never finish the race or get a chance to say it again. Nic reached over and took her hand, squeezing it gently, his thumb caressing the back of hers before he released her and faced forward again.

There was no more time for words.

Nic gunned the engine, pushing Frankie forward, his own eyes bright and reflecting the glow of the wildfire as they entered what looked like literal Hell.

Jo had never been in a wildfire herself. She’d never lost everything she ever owned to the reaching tendrils of flame. She’d never had to evacuate her home, but she knew Nic had. The Hallow Falls pack had lost everything in a wildfire eight years prior. Jo had remembered hearing about it, had wondered if Nic had made it out, and had been relieved to see him on the news talking about the events. The pack had rebuilt, and they hadn’t lost anyone, but they’d been lucky. There’d been plenty of warning to get out, but the alpha and betas were the last to leave after making sure everyone got out. They’d had to drive through the flames.

With that trauma likely in his mind, Nic didn’t waver as he drove inside of the hellscape that met them. The trees were aflame here, burning, blackened. The asphalt was gooey, sticking to their tires, but at least the tires weren’t melting. They were rated for high heat, another splurge that Cricket had insisted on. The inside of the car got immediately hot the moment they began passing flames, sweltering to the point that sweat broke out on Jo’s skin within a few seconds. Wolves rarely sweated, let alone got hot, but the heat of the flames outside was hot enough to worry her as things inside the car began to react.

Not many people knew that in a wildfire such as this, the flames created their own wind. The fire generated its own wind that could be as much as ten times faster than the ambient wind. It could throw embers in the air, making the fire spread even faster. And the heat? The temperature could reach almost fifteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit. What they were driving into was a death trap, but it was one they’d have to survive. Jo refused to think they wouldn’t make it.

Water inside the car left over from the hurricane they’d driven through steamed at the heat and added to the humidity in the car, making Jo’s shirt and jumpsuit stick to her skin. She pushed her hair back and wiped some of the sweat from her brow, just before she realized the bottoms of her shoes were growing sticky.

“Your shoes,” she warned Nic. “Mine are melting.”

Nic cursed and pulled his foot away from the clutch, realizing that there were bits of rubber left there. “I don’t have much choice. I have to keep driving.”

“I know.”

The steel they’d used to reinforce Frankie would help keep the engine from catching on fire, but the metal began to fluctuate with colors, as it was super-heated from the flames licking at the sides. The glass made a noise, a tink, as it threatened to crack, but they somehow held it together. The glass was another thing Jo had splurged on, the best windows for the games money could buy. It was coming in handy now despite Jo having to put the purchase on a credit card already threatening to be maxed out.

The aluminum seats began to rise in temperature, another cause for trouble. Jo felt as if she were sitting on a heat pad that was slowly reaching dangerous levels. Nic had to be feeling it, too.

The tablet flashed brightly in Jo’s lap and shut down, falling into high heat mode as the temperature inside the car continued to rise. The cracks across the screen spread, splintering outward, creating more of a maze than before. Cursing, Jo tried to put it in her shirt to cool it down to her body temperature, but it was so hot, when it pressed against her skin, it scalded her, the skin there protesting the heat of the metal and glass. The sharp edges of the cracks scrapped her already sensitive skin, adding to the agony.

Jo grunted in pain but held the tablet there despite it, trying her best to keep it stable. If they lost the tablet. . .

And then Jo’s sweat suddenly stopped as if by magic, and goosebumps raised on her skin. She looked at Nic, seeing the same signs.

“We need to get out of the heat,” she rasped, the heat stealing the moisture in her mouth. Heat exposure was a threat, and while they were wolves, they weren’t immune to such intense heat. The edges of her vision went fuzzy for a moment before fixing itself. “Nic, now.”

“Grab the wheel.” His voice was barely a croak as she reached over and held the wheel steady. She glanced at him as he unzipped his jumpsuit and pulled his undershirt over his head. He quickly pressed it against the door, grunting when he burned himself on the hot medal as he tried to insulate himself from some of the worst heat. With so much bare metal, the threat was even worse. There was no insulation between them and the doors. He took the wheel again a moment later and pushed Frankie to her extremes. The longer they were in the fire, the more dangerous it would continue to get.

Outside, the great orange flames clung to the trees, climbed along them, flickered along the ground, reaching for the car. The wind generated by the fire swirled around them, tiny embers floating in the air like fireflies and spreading the fire faster.

“Do you think this is real or some trick of the mind?” Jo asked, but what she really meant was if this fire was going to leave consequences in its wake. Nic glanced at her but didn’t answer. They both already knew.

The council didn’t care what damage their games caused. Somewhere, a forest was being burned for real all so some people could get their jollies off for entertainment. The brakes began to fail, Nic’s feet pumping at them when the road curved, but the heat took that away as they grew too hot to function properly.

Without the tablet on, there was no way to know how much further they had to go, but it was obvious the moment they passed through into the fourth section. It went from hell, all fire and gloom, to the pristine white of snow and ice. The windows immediately fogged up and Nic slammed on his brakes in panic. Because of the extreme cold, when they’d been failing in the heat, they began to work again in the cold, though sporadically. Frankie was heavy, so she slid a bit as the brakes sporadically caught traction before they managed to come to a complete stop.

They both looked at each other, panting as the last vestiges of heat exposure faded away. Jo opened her door, the frigid air supercooling her skin, and scooped up a handful of the snow. It melted quickly with the heat of her skin. Once it was liquid, she sipped it, restoring some of the moisture in her mouth. Nic did the same, taking only a moment to do so before they closed their doors and prepared to move forward.

The tablet came back on.

“Welcome to Expedition Zero,” it announced.

Tags: Kendra Moreno Race Games Paranormal
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