Dirt poured onto Parker as he stretched his arm out to Carol. He could hear someone descending the slope over the roar of the fire and battle. The woman’s face turned up to his and he could see where tears had streaked the dust and dirt on her face.

Why she cried, Parker could only guess, and it was a distraction. He focused his attention on saving the woman and getting the other two away from the fire. They had to move fast or the forest fire would block the way to the cars.

The woman hesitated, a gap of only a foot separating their hands.

“Jump.”

Carol looked past the hand of her rescuer and saw someone descending the slope at a pace that made her think the man was falling.

Instinctively, she jumped, feeling her shoes press John’s shoulders down and reached for the hand that was so tantalizingly close.

The hand grasped her arm in a reassuringly tight clasp, her body swinging free of the bush.

Parker pulled the woman up and helped her gain purchase on the slope. He pointed to the next shrub protruding from the slope. “Go to that one. Get to the end of the ravine as fast as you can. I will be right behind you.”

Without a word, the woman worked her way to the bush and follow the prints from Parker’s climb to the midpoint of the ravine.

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When he looked down, Parker was looking directly at the soldier from the house. The man had used his boots to stop, digging deep parallel gouges in the slope. Somehow, Casey had worked his way to a point directly above the stranded actors and was pulling Lia from the heat.

It was simple now that Casey was helping. Lia followed Carol within a minute, immediately followed by John.

“We have to hurry,” Parker pulled Casey as they followed the others.

“You got that right,” Casey gritting his teeth against the pain of his leg and ribs.

They reached a point well away from the fire and slid to the bottom of the ravine.

Parker pushed past the others and hurried to the gully.

Another explosion shook the night as he climbed the short distance to the entrance of the gully.

The UFO passed overhead a short distance away, and a second explosion rocked the woods.

“Your guys aren’t doing very well,” Parker helped Casey to the gully.

“Good.” the soldier sat nearby and tried to regain his breath. “Get up there and look for the women,” he pointed John to the top of the gully. “They should be at the edge of the ravine and the woods.”

John climbed the short height to the woods, favoring his right arm. His fingers and wrist were still numb from the Lia’s grip, making the effort painful. It seemed like he had been climbing in and out of this damn trench all night. He used a sapling to pull to the top and stood unsteadily as he regained his breath.

The women were a short distance away and hiding in the boughs of a pine tree. They watched him approach as if they expected him to slough off his skin and reveal an alien, their eyes wide and terror-stricken.

“Hi,” John waved as he spoke, feeling like a fool for the gesture. “Do you girls want to get out of here?”

“Hell yes,” Marie ran the short distance to John and embraced him in a hug.