Forged in Flames
by Mele (ktutt@earthlink.net)

Back in Angel Grove, at the Forest Service office, there came an call from a camper going through the nearby national forest. The caller reported a thick column of smoke was clearly visible from the road in the general area of a small campground. It appeared to be more smoke than could be attributed to a campfire. The forest ranger who took the call promised to send a unit to investigate, but personally, he thought it was probably just a campfire made by someone who felt they needed an inferno to cook over.

He radioed a couple of fellow rangers who were in the general area, they promised to check out the situation.

None of them were too worried.

Jason stood on the edge of Harper's Gorge, looking at the panoramic view in front of him. His friends stood on either side of him, all of them silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. For the time being, they forgot they were supposed to be in search of a monster, the girls forgot to tease the boys about the lack of any evidence of said monster. They had found themselves caught up in the simple experience of hiking in the woods, surrounded by beauty and majesty. They felt their history lessons coming to life when they pondered who had first explored these woods, they found their class on natural science coming in handy when they considered the evidence of the passing of time that was all around them. But mostly, they simply basked in the feeling of being young, healthy, together, and free.

"This looks like a good spot for lunch, what do you all say?" Jason asked the group.

"Good idea, lets eat!" was Zack's response. They had put off having lunch until they reached Harper's Gorge. Consequently, they were now famished.

Lunches were unpacked and unceremoniously wolfed down. The girls remembered why there were on this trek, and started to tease the boys, especially Zack.

"Hey, Zack, where is the monster you promised us?" Kim taunted him. "Maybe we should leave it a trail of bread crumbs so it can find us? Or maybe Reese's Pieces, like in ET?"

"Heck, it probably heard you coming and ran in fear!" Zack shot back at her with a gleam in his eye.

"Huh, it probably got a look at Jason and is hiding in terror!" Kim was quick to respond.

Trini and Jason were chuckling at the interplay between the two. Trini noticed that Billy seemed to be distracted and wasn't paying any attention to the others.

"Billy, is something wrong?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know. The sky looks a little funny back the way we came from," he said distractedly.

Trini scanned the sky to the north of them, where Billy had been looking. The sky did look a little off color, but it was hard to be sure. Was it clouding up? The other three noticed that Billy and Trini were both worried about something and joined them in observing the sky.

"It does look a bit odd. Maybe we should head back, there was that point a ways back where we had a good view to the north of us, I think. Let's go there and see if we can figure out what is happening," Jason suggested practically.

The five of them quickly picked up their lunch debris and headed back.

The two forest rangers who had been dispatched to check out the smoke near the small campground in the northern area of the forest were surprised and dismayed to find it was not a campfire, as they had thought it would be. The fire had already encompassed the small campground, and was rapidly spreading in the drought-dried forest. They called for the immediate dispatch of all available units to fight the fire, and requested additional out-of-the-area units be advised to stand by. This could be a bad one.

They also asked for more rangers to assist them in the evacuation of the other campgrounds. It was no longer considered safe to be anywhere within a fifteen-mile radius.

The five children from Angel Grove were seven miles from the fire's point of origin.

Jason set a quick pace back down the trail. He wanted to see what was going on, plus, they had lingered a little longer over lunch than they had intended to. They were going to have to hustle to make it to the pickup spot in time.

They couldn't get a decent look at the forest to the north of them, due to the large trees that surrounded them. The trail they were on wound it's way almost blindly through the thick foliage, but that which they found so beautiful on the hike up was now considered a hindrance.

Jason finally reached the spot he had remembered as having a view to the north, and stopped in shock. The others caught up with him, and joined him in his wordless scrutiny of the northern horizon.

"Oh, my God," Jason breathed. "We are in trouble now."

The sky to the north was now a weird tan/gray color due to the smoke put out by the fire. It appeared to be huge, and there was no doubt it was moving in their direction. It was clear that even if the campground where they started in the morning was okay now, it wouldn't be for long. There was no way they could go back the way they had come.

"Jason, what should we do?" Kimberly asked, turning to Jason as the leader without even thinking about it.

"Obviously, we will have to head south, but where will we get to? Billy, let's look at the map," Jason decided.

He and Billy looked at the map, trying to decipher what was to the south of them. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be considered civilization in that direction. Jason studied the map, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly, a blue circle on the map caught his attention.

"How far is it to this lake?" he asked Billy, knowing instinctively that Billy would be able to figure the distance more quickly and accurately than anyone else.

"About four miles, but mostly uphill," Billy answered.

"I can't think of anything else to do but head for there. We can take refuge in the water until the fire passes over us, then hike out. That might work. I just don't think we can go west or east fast enough to beat the fire. What do you guys think?" he asked, turning to the sily across, followed by Zack. While Kimberly was crossing, Jason told Zack he was going to scout ahead. When Kimberly got there, she decided to follow Jason, while Zack waited for Billy and Trini. Billy was just reaching the other side when they heard Kimberly scream in the distance.

"I'm gonna go check on her! Wait for Trini, okay? Then follow us on up the trail," Zack said as he darted on up the trail in the direction of Kimberly's cry.

"Okay," Billy responded to Zack's retreating form. He turned his attention to Trini on the far side. "Come on, Trini, we need to get going," he called out to her.

He noticed she was looking at the bridge, and the gorge, with an expression of fixed horror. Suddenly he realized what was wrong. Trini was afraid of heights. Billy looked up the trail in the direction Jason and the others had gone, then made up his mind. He crossed back to Trini's side.

"Trini," he said quietly, "we have to cross here. It is too far to the end of the gorge, and the fire will catch up with us before we get there."

"I can't," she whispered. "I can't cross on that bridge. I'll fall."

"No, you won't. None of us did. It is really quite safe," he tried to reassure her.

"I'll fall," she repeated, staring as if mesmerized at the gorge.

"I have an idea. Trini, look at me," he instructed, turning her face gently toward his. He remembered what he had read on hypnosis and decided it would be a good time to see if it worked. "You have to look at me, and only at me. We are going to cross together, and we... will... not... fall." He emphasized the last. "Trust me, Trini, we will be okay. I promise."

She looked at him closely, trying to believe. She understood that if she stayed on this side, she would most likely die. She didn't want that to happen, but her fear was almost overpowering. She felt her gaze drifting toward the gorge again.

"No! Look only at me. Come on, Trini, look at me," he kept her gaze on him by the force of his words. "Here, hold my hands, we are going across hand in hand, together, and we will be fine, we will not fall," he poured every ounce of confidence he could muster into his voice. As he spoke he walked backwards to the bridge, insisting Trini look only at him, bringing her with him.

He stepped up onto the bridge, slowly and gently drawing Trini up with him. She was almost paralyzed with fear, but she found she could not resist what Billy was doing. Her deep-seated survival instinct was what was responding to Billy's commands, overriding her fear, but just barely.

Billy kept crossing the bridge backwards, using extreme caution, feeling each step behind him before committing to another. It was a slow, laborious process, but at least he had Trini crossing to safety. He kept up a steady stream of encouragement. After a seeming eternity, he realized they had reached the other side. He assisted Trini off the bridge, watching as she seemed to come out of the almost dazed state she had been in.

Trini collapsed on the ground, her back to the side of the log bridge. She was pale, and now that it was over, trembling with a delayed reaction to her fear. Billy knelt beside her to offer comfort.

"You did it Trini. You got across okay. Everything will be alright now, but we have to get moving," he didn't know how long it had taken to get across, but looking northward, the fire was rapidly gaining on them.

Trini looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm so afraid of heights. You might have been hurt because of me," she felt terrible.

Billy reached out and patted her shoulder, "It's okay. Can we go on now?" he asked, not sure how to respond to her emotional state. Crying girls were something he had no experience with.

"Yes, I want to get far away from here," she agreed.

They started up the trail, wondering what had happened to the other three, why they had not come back to check on them.

Zack had raced up the trail when he heard Kimberly scream. He found her standing still and white in the middle of the path. He noted absently that the trail was much harder to define on this side.

"Kim, what's the matter, why did you scream like that?" he was a little exasperated, he saw no reason for her actions.

"Because of that," she said fearfully. She pointed to a spot just off the trail, where a bear stood on its hind legs looking at them.

"What are we supposed to do if confronted by a bear?" Zack asked quietly. His mind was a complete blank and he felt his body tense up in fear.

"I don't know. It hasn't moved toward me, but it hasn't left either. If we move slowly on up the trail, maybe it will ignore us," she suggested. "Let's try it." With that, Kimberly started moving slowly up the path. "Zack, come on."

Zack found he couldn't move. He did not have a lot of experience in the woods, all he knew about bears came from old westerns and frontier shows his parents had exposed him to. In all of those, bears were depicted as being fearsome killers.

Kimberly didn't know anything about bears either, but she figured getting out of the general area of this one would be a good idea. Her scream had been equal parts surprise and fear, but for some reason as soon as Zack got there, the fear was almost completely gone. She grabbed Zack's hand and forced him to follow her. He went with her readily enough, if somewhat stiffly.

Once they were out of sight of the bear, they broke into a run, calling for Jason.

Jack Scott had been in court all day, testifying in a case he had worked on the previous month. It wasn't until he got back to the station late that afternoon that he was notified of the fire. By then it was raging out of control, moving rapidly south and east. The officer who informed Jack of the fire was astonished to see the lieutenant turn so pale.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Show me where the fire started, and where it is now," Jack said tersely.

The officer showed Jack what he needed to know on a map that hung on the back wall. Jack turned paler and leaned against the desk behind him for support.

"What is it?" the officer asked.

"My son and four of his friends are out there somewhere," Jack whispered.

Clayton Taylor left work at 4:30 to head out to pick up the kids. He had been working on some underground drainage pipes and hadn't heard any news broadcasts. He turned his Bronco toward the Angel Grove Forest and saw the horizon swathed in smoke.

Horrified and panic-stricken, he hurried toward the forest, hoping against hope the kids were out of danger.

He turned on the radio to listen for news updates on the situation. What he heard filled him with dread.

Far away from the inferno that was Angel Grove Forest, in a domed structure that mysteriously avoided detection, an ancient interdimensional being stirred from his state of suspended animation. He had the innate ability to immediately know what day and year it was, to remember what planet he was currently on, and what menace was most likely to appear. Something told him this was an unusual situation, and at present he was unsure why he had awakened.

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! Zordon, what are you doing awake?" Alpha-5 was programmed to activate whenever Zordon emerged from his suspended state.

"I am not sure, Alpha. Something of significance is happening, but I am not sure of what it is. Activate the viewing globe, perhaps we can discover what has disturbed me."

"Right away, Zordon," Alpha replied, suiting action to words. "Ay-yi-yi, it appears the forest is on fire," he noted.

"Indeed, but why would that cause me to awaken? We must observe more, until I have discovered what is so significant about this event." Zordon stated.

Both he and Alpha focused their attention on the events transpiring in Angel Grove Forest.

Jason was caught up in his effort to reach the summit ahead of him. The trail from the gorge had led almost straight uphill, and he wanted to reach the top so he could assess the situation before meeting with the others. He was almost there when he heard voices calling his name. He turned around to find Zack and Kimberly approaching in a stumbling run.

The two youngsters reached Jason, but found themselves unable to speak. They were gasping for breath, almost on the verge of passing out.

"What happened?! Are you guys okay? Where is Trini and Billy?" Jason's questions came rapid fire.

Zack tried to respond. "A... b..b..bear... we... saw... a .. bear.. ran... away...."

"What? Where? Is it following you?"

"I don't think so. I hope not. I haven't heard it." Kim kept her sentences short, but she could get the point across.

"Where are Billy and Trini?" Jason asked again.

Kimberly and Zack exchanged guilty looks.

"Oh, gosh, I forgot about them! We were so scared the bear would follow, all I could think about was getting away," Kim was finally breathing easier, but now guilt overwhelmed her.

"They shouldn't have been far behind us. Billy was already across the bridge when I left to check on Kimberly when she screamed. They are probably just taking the hill slower." Zack suggested hopefully.

"Or the bear got them," Kimberly added grimly.

Jason blanched. "We better head back and see if we can find them," he decided. "I should never have let us get separated."

They started back down the hill, but hadn't gotten very far when they heard something approaching. It was the bear from the clearing lumbering up the trail. It wasn't running, but it was moving at a steady pace. The three children turned and ran as quickly as they could back up the grade. Jason didn't know what to do, if they should try to hide or if that would put them in more danger. Their adrenaline-fueled flight could not go on forever. He saw a fork in the trail ahead and made his decision.

"Turn to the left up ahead, then as soon as the path curves we will duck off it and hide in the bushes," he instructed the others in between gasps for breath.

Kim and Zack offered no objection, it was unlikely they could have gotten the message across even if they did object. They simply followed Jason's lead. When he ducked into the undergrowth, they followed on his heels and crouched beside him, trying to muffle their labored breathing.

None of them knew how long they crouched there, straining to hear the bear if it happened by. A seeming eternity later Jason decided the coast was clear and suggested they get back on the path. They saw no sign of the bear in any direction.

"Guess we lost it," Zack said.

"Must have, but unfortunately, we lost Trini and Billy as well," Jason said unhappily.

"What should we do?" Kim asked with a worried frown. She didn't want to admit it, but she was pretty freaked by the fire. But she was also worried about their two companions. She felt a closeness to Trini she had never experienced with a friend before, and the thought of abandoning her was unacceptable.

"Let's backtrack some and see if we can find them, and see where the fire is," Jason suggested. The proximity of the fire was now impossible to gauge from the smoke. A breeze from the north had sprung up, and the smoke was so thick overhead it blocked the sun much like a cloud cover would.

"I hope they are okay." Kimberly said quietly.

Jack Scott got on the radio to the firefighter's base camp as soon as he composed himself after hearing of the fire. He was connected with Todd James.

"Todd, this is Jack Scott, the police lieutenant. What is your situation there?"

"The fire is moving very quickly in a southern and eastern direction. We have evacuated the forest, at present no one is in any danger that we are aware of."

"Did you evacuate five children? Ten-year-olds, three boys and two girls?"

"We haven't seen any children, except those who were in campgrounds with their families. Are you saying we have five kids out there somewhere alone?" Todd's voice sounded stricken.

"God help us, I think so. My son and four of his friends started out from the lowest campground this morning. I think they were headed for Harper's Gorge. On bicycles." Jack kept the tremor out of his voice by sheer force of will. He felt his world crumbling around him with each passing moment.

"Damn! The fire is already to the gorge. It looks like it will cross it, thanks to the wind," suddenly Todd realized he was not just speaking to the police lieutenant, but to a distraught parent. "Look, I'm going to contact the 'copter pilot to be on the lookout, he can swing over that area, perhaps he will spot them. The kids probably saw the fire a long time ago and are well ahead of it. I'll have another 'copter dispatched to scout for them. We'll do all we can."

Jack appreciated Todd's reassurance, but he was a hard core realist. Those kids were in a world of trouble. Then the thought hit him.

Did any of the other parents know?

Eileen Hart had been showing houses to a prospective buyer all day. The man was one of those irritating people who had to be shown the same property time and again. Back and forth all day between four places. Then he decided he needs more time to reach a decision. Eileen was tired and grumpy, so say the least, when the receptionist told her she had a call.

"Hello, this is Eileen Hart."

"Mrs. Hart, this is Jack Scott, Jason Scott's dad."

"Hello, Mr. Scott, what can I do for you?"

"I don't want to frighten you unnecessarily, but you may have noticed the smoke to the east. There is a fire burning out of control in Angel Grove Forest. Our children are still unaccounted for."

Eileen dropped weakly into her chair, her legs would no longer support her. She found she was unable to speak.

"Mrs. Hart? Mrs. Hart? Eileen? Are you there? Hello?" Jack's voice was sounding increasingly desperate.

Eileen finally found her voice. "I'm here. Are you sure? They are still out there?"

"I spoke to the firefighter's base camp, to the man in charge. They have not evacuated five children. However, they have started a search for them. My wife and I will be heading up to the base camp in a little while. Would you and your husband like to come with us?"

"Thank you, no. I have to contact my husband, he is working in the city today, and I'll wait for him to get home then head up there. Where exactly is the base?"

Jack Scott gave her directions, and got her cell phone number so he could contact her at any time.

Eileen realized dimly that she was in shock. She had experienced emergency situations before, and knew the shock could be useful. She started calling around to locate her husband, and to get friends to look after Kenny.

She had everything arranged, and was just pulling into her driveway when the dam burst inside her, and she broke down in hysterics.

Clayton Taylor had reached the roadblock the firefighters had put up to keep motorists out of Angel Grove Forest. The Highway Patrol was assisting by directing the vehicles to turn around and leave the area. When Clayton finally reached the officer, he was beyond frustrated by the gawkers and sightseers.

"I'm sorry, sir, but no one is allowed past this point," the young officer said in an almost mechanical voice that properly hid his irritation with the people who came to the site of a disaster to just watch. "You need to turn around and leave this area. We need it clear for emergency vehicles."

"Please! My son and some of his friends were up there. I dropped them off this morning. I have to know if they have gotten out safely." Clayton pleaded with the officer.

The younger man's demeanor changed suddenly. "I heard about the kids on the radio transmissions between the base and the helicopter." It occurred to the young patrolman that this man in the Bronco could have also heard that transmission, and decided to use the information to get in closer to the action. But a closer look at the man's frantic expression relieved the officer's doubts.

"Pull over there please. I'm going to radio to the base and get an escort for you. Sit tight, we'll have you to the base in a few minutes, and you can find out what is going on."

Clayton gratefully pulled over where indicated and waited for his escort.

Russell Kwan was getting more frustrated by the minute. He had been trying for over thirty minutes to reach someone who could tell him what was going on with the fire. He had heard about the blaze when the radio interrupted their usual programming with a news report about it, and had immediately started trying to get more information.

He was still at his desk, looking at his phone and trying to figure out whom to call, when it rang.

"Russell Kwan, to whom am I speaking, please?"

"This is Jack Scott, Jason's dad. Are you Trini's father?"

"Yes! What is going on with the fire? Are the children safe?"

"I'm afraid they are not accounted for right now. The firefighters are searching for them, they are hopeful the kids are well ahead of the fire and they can be picked up without incident. But as yet, they have not been seen. I have just heard from Todd James, he's in charge of the fire base camp, that Clayton Taylor is already there. He said any of us that want to go to the base camp will be allowed to get past the roadblocks. My wife and I will be going up there in a little while. If you want to come up with us, you would be welcome."

"I need to get home and tell my family what is happening, and be sure my other daughter is safe with friends. We will drive ourselves up there as soon as we can. Thank you for the offer and for calling me." Russell found himself mouthing the correct responses, while inside he felt like screaming in anger and dismay. His little girl was in danger, and he couldn't think of a thing to do to help her.

He abruptly headed out the door for home. He needed to get to the base camp as soon as possible.

Wallace Cranston was sitting at his desk staring blankly at his computer screen. He was supposed to be working on the financial statements for the firm's biggest client, but he couldn't concentrate. Something was bothering him, keeping him on edge, but he couldn't figure out what it was. His gaze fell on his desktop calendar, and he finally realized what was wrong today.

It had been a year. Twelve months to the day since the accident that forever changed his life, and Billy's life, and ended Marie's life. He had blocked the significance of the date from his mind, but now the memories and feelings came flooding back.

He realized he didn't give a hoot if the client never got his financial statements-he had to get out of the office. Without a word to anyone, he headed out the door.

Five minutes later his phone rang. And rang. And rang.

Billy and Trini had started quickly up the path Zack had taken in search of Kimberly. Trini was still somewhat unsettled by the experience at the bridge, and Billy was paying more attention to encouraging her than to the trail. They didn't notice the intersection where Jason, Kimberly, and Zack had veered left. Trini and Billy veered right.

The trail got progressively worse. They were going steeply uphill; the ground was rocky and uneven. The condition of the trail, and the fact that the smoke was getting thicker, slowed their progress. When they reached the summit they looked back toward the gorge.

The fire was at the far side of the gorge, and a couple of small blazes were already ignited on the near side.

The gorge was not going to stop the fire.

Jason, Kimberly and Zack had a fair view down the hill they had climbed in such haste ahead of the bear. They could see the fire had started to cross the gorge, and would soon enough be hurrying up the hill behind them.

"We have to go on," Jason said slowly. "If we try to get down the hill again, we will never get back up it in time. There were a lot of forks in the trail, they may have gone a different direction. We have to find the lake before it is too late."

Kimberly and Zack looked at Jason solemnly. They understood why they had to go on, but they liked it no better than Jason did.

For the first time in a long time, Kimberly found herself praying.

"Please, God, let all of us get through this. Please."

Wallace Cranston was walking aimlessly along a side street in downtown Angel Grove when a car pulled up beside him. He looked up in annoyance, only to recognize Gabrielle, the receptionist at the accounting firm where he worked.

"Wallace, we have been looking all over for you! Jack Scott, the police lieutenant, has been trying to reach you. Something about the fire in Angel Grove Forest, and your son being there. Here, I'll call him on my cell phone, just a second."

She punched in the number, then handed the phone to him.

"Hello? Mr. Cranston, are you there?"

"I'm here," his voice was little more than a whisper.

Jack quickly explained about the fire, and the efforts being taken to find the children. Wallace remained mute, barely able to process what he was being told.

"Are you saying my boy is somewhere in a forest that is burning?" He finally found his voice.

"Unfortunately, that is the situation at the moment. You should come to the base camp, that is where the kids will be brought when they are found. Will you be okay to drive up there? My wife and I can give you a lift if you would like."

"I'm okay to drive. Just tell me where to go."

Far away in their camouflaged command center, Zordon and Alpha watched events unfold in the forest. They had seen Kimberly and Zack's flight from the bear, Trini and Billy's crossing of the bridge, how the one group became two groups, lost from each other.

Alpha had shown Zordon an aerial view of the section of the forest where the five children were. Zordon realized they needed to reach the lake if they were to have a chance to survive. Unfortunately, it appeared they were all off course-Jason, Zack and Kimberly to the east, Trini and Billy to the west.

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! Zordon, they are on the wrong trails. What can we do?" Alpha had no idea who the children might be, but the desire to help those in trouble was programmed into him.

Zordon considered the situation. He needed to herd Jason, Zack and Kimberly to the right, Billy and Trini to the left. He looked for something to utilize in order to encourage the children to change direction.

He spotted the bear that had so frightened Jason's group earlier.

"Alpha, please check the data banks for information on how to communicate with a black bear. I believe we can use him to force the group on the left to move right, toward the lake. We must do so quickly, or they will be past the lake without even realizing it was there."

"The information you want is coming through to you now," Alpha replied a moment later.

Zordon quickly processed the information, then asked Alpha to open a communications link to a point near the large animal. After the link was in place, Zordon made his transmission.

They both watched as the bear immediately changed direction and headed toward the three children.

Jason, Zack and Kimberly were getting increasingly frightened. As far as Jason could remember from the map, they should have reached the lake by now. They all kept looking back over their shoulders, expecting to see the flames gaining on them.

They rounded a curve in the trail and came face to face with the bear. All three screamed and turned to run the other direction. The bear charged, but did not attack the children. Instead it passed close by their right side, forcing them to turn to the left. The children reversed direction again, going back the direction they were in the first place, and the bear passed them on their left, forcing them to the right. Jason took the hint and abandoned the trail, running across country in a westerly direction, closely followed by Zack and Kim. They topped a small rise and stopped dead, disregarding the bear that might be behind them.

In front of them was the lake.

Zordon and Alpha watched with some satisfaction as Jason, Kimberly and Zack waded into the lake. Those three were safe for now.

Todd James looked over to the group gathered at the edge of the camp. He wished he could give them some good news, but all he had was no news. The second helicopter had been looking over the area beyond the fire's front, but had not spotted anything. And they would be out of daylight soon. He knew there was something else he should do. He waved over Mike Nelson, a veteran forest ranger.

"Mike, I hate to give you this assignment, but someone has to do it. And you know these woods better than anyone. It should be cool enough behind the fire to try to follow the probable path the five kids took this morning. I need you to take a couple of men and do that. You know what you are looking for."

Mike looked unhappy, but he knew this job was necessary. "Yeah, bodies," he said quietly.

"If you find anything, use a secured frequency on the radio. I don't want anyone else hearing before I have a chance to talk to the families."

"Will do," Mike agreed. He looked over to where the nine parents were sitting, standing or pacing. "I feel for those folks. This has got to be hell for them." Mike was the father of four, and grandfather of two. He waved over a couple of younger rangers and they headed out in a jeep to the place where the five children had started out that morning.

He really hoped he didn't find anything.

Zordon and Alpha's relief was short-lived. Jason, Zack and Kimberly were safe, that was true, but Billy and Trini were still in peril. And there was no bear, or other wild creature, nearby to use to herd the children in the right direction.

Zordon realized he would have to be less subtle with these two. "Alpha, please power up the defense system. We are going to have to use firepower to convince these two children to move to their left."

A few moments later Alpha reported the systems were up and ready.

"Target the large tree ahead and to the right of them. Then fire at its base." Zordon ordered.

Billy and Trini had been hurrying, hoping against hope they were heading in the right direction. They realized they must have taken a different turn than the other three had, or they would have caught up with them by now. They were worried about their friends, but knew there was nothing they could do about finding them. They were in enough trouble as it was. They knew the fire was rapidly gaining on them, they had little time left to find somewhere where they would be safe.

Suddenly they sensed, rather than saw, a burst of light, and the base of a tree not far in front of them exploded.

"What! What happened? Was it lightening?" Billy was completely confused by this event.

"There aren't any clouds. It couldn't be lightening." Trini replied.

Suddenly, it happened again, this time to a tree to their right. Both children moved instinctively to their left.

"I've read of cases where lightening struck out of a cloudless sky, but this is too weird," Billy said breathlessly. "And that didn't look like lightening."

Another blast to the right of the trail they had been on convinced them to move away from the area. Since ahead had been subject to the mysterious explosions, as had the right, and the fire was coming from the rear, the only direction that was safe for them to go was to the left.

They ran off the trail to their left as another explosion occurred. They ran faster, panic setting in. Suddenly, Billy stumbled and fell.

"Billy, come on, you have to get up! We have to get out of here," Trini pulled on his arm to help him to his feet.

He reached his feet, then gasped in pain. "Ow! I twisted the same ankle I sprained last week," he cried.

"Lean on me, we have to keep moving," Trini said, pulling his arm over her shoulder so she could take some of his weight. With Trini supporting Billy, the two continued as quickly as possible.

They almost fell into the lake before they realized they had reached it.

"Good shooting, Alpha," Zordon intoned solemnly.

Alpha searched his memory banks for a correct response. "Ah, shucks, twern't nothin'," he said in a passable imitation of an old time movie cowboy.

Zordon just gave him a strange look.

Jack Scott looked around at the other parents. He and Marjorie had been the last to arrive, they had picked up Sheryl Taylor to bring her up to meet her husband. The Taylors sat with their arms around each other, Sheryl's head resting on Clayton's shoulder. That had been in that position for over an hour, not speaking. The Kwans were sitting side-by-side, holding hands. They rarely spoke, but when they did it sounded like they were reassuring each other. Eileen Hart was sitting alone in a plastic chair, as opposed to the benches the others occupied. Her husband, Robert, was pacing behind her, pausing now and again to knead Eileen's shoulders and mutter some sort of encouragement. As a police officer, Jack knew the Harts' marriage was shaky at best. The police had been dispatched to their residence due to their shouting at each other a few times. At least there had never been any indication of physical violence that he was aware of. For now, at least, they were united in their fears for their daughter. Wallace Cranston sat alone, slumped over, apparently lost in thought. He had not spoken to any of the others.

Marjorie looked at Jack, then glanced over at Wallace. "I'm going to go over and at least introduce myself to him. All the rest of us at least have our spouses to lend us support, that poor man has no one. It's not right." She got up an approached the lonely figure.

"Mr. Cranston? I'm Marjorie Scott, this is my husband, Jack," she indicated her husband, who had followed her over.

Wallace looked up with haunted eyes. Marjorie could see a hint of the son in the father, and fleetingly wondered what the mother had looked like. "Jason's parents?" he asked in a soft voice. "I can see where he gets his looks and build."

"Billy takes after you, too," Marjorie said with a smile. "He's a great kid."

"Thank you. I think so as well. Jason's great, too, though right now I want so much to be able to hate him," came the somewhat unexpected reply.

"Why do you want to hate our son?" Jack asked in astonishment.

"If Billy had never met Jason, he'd probably be safe at home right now. But, I can't hate him, no matter how much I want to."

"Why not?" Marjorie was puzzled by the man's attitude, though as soon as she asked the question she realized how odd it sounded.

"Because, he has made Billy happy and I have seen my son smiling and laughing for the first time in a year. Ever since he first met Jason, then Zack, he has been happy, there is really no other way to put it. He comes to the breakfast table bursting with energy, rattling on about their plans for the day, compared with the way he used to kind of slump in his chair and give monosyllable answers to my questions. And, he hasn't been beaten up since they met, that is a new record, believe me. So, even if it would make me feel better to be able to blame this all on your son, and hate him, I cannot, because of the changes he has caused in Billy."

Jack and Marjorie considered the man's words in silence. They had noticed a definite lightening in Billy's attitude since the first time they had met him, they had not considered the fact that their son was responsible for it.

Wallace had been watching their reaction to his words. "I'm sorry if I have caused offense. I should not have spoken."

"You haven't offended us, we just hadn't considered our son's effect on your son. I guess I can see your point. This kind of occurrence would be a little more tolerable if there is someone to blame, not just a random event, caused by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, we can't give up hope, the kids are all bright, and Jason has had a lot of experience in the woods. They have probably found a safe place to wait out the fire." Jack said.

"Do you really think so? Are there caves, or lakes, or something where they could be safe while the fire passes by?" asked Russell Kwan, who had wandered over with his wife and overheard the last comment.

"There are several lakes, as well as some caves, though those are not really in the area the kids were headed for. But there are at least three or four lakes they could reach, as well as some rocky outcroppings where they could take refuge," Jack reassured them.

"I know Billy took a map of the forest, so they do have a way of figuring where they are and where a safe area would be," Wallace added, looking a little more optimistic.

The Harts and Taylors had joined the group and they also seemed to take heart from the comments they had just heard. The ice finally was broken among them, and they all quietly began to introduce themselves. They felt a drawing together, and none of them resisted it. They all seemed to realize that this ordeal would be a little easier if they all shared the burden, so, though it seemed incongruous, they began the social ritual of getting to know each other.

It occurred to more than one of them that this was one hell of a way to get acquainted.