Into the Fire Read Online Free Page B

and coloured boxes. E.D. had spent hours poring over them, and secretly suspected his two elder brothers had too.
    But how to get them into the car? It was going to take at least half a dozen trips and he was supposed to be on the roof. And then he had an idea. E.D. bolted outside, only vaguely aware of his mother’s shout from the kitchen.
    Antonio was already mowing the long grass along the driveway as E.D. raced to the garage and grabbed the largest of the wheelie bins. Fortunately, it was virtually empty, the recycling truck having been only a few days ago.
    ‘What the—?’ Mario called, stepping aside as E.D. rushed back into the house. On his way past the kitchen, E.D. caught a glimpse of his parents listening intently to the radio. The bin clattered noisily over the wooden floorboards but neither parent looked up. Had something happened? Had the wind changed? Was the fire heading for them now?
    E.D. picked up the albums three at a time, and carefully placed them into the wheelie bin. When all the albums were in, he took the first box. Leaning into the bin as far as he could, he gingerly placed the box on top of the albums.
    ‘Go and get Tony,’ his father called from the doorway.
    ‘I just wanted to pack the family albums. ForMum,’ E.D. added. Mr De Lugio looked at his youngest son kindly.
    ‘For all of us,’ he said, ruffling the boy’s hair. ‘But especially your mother. Now hurry. It looks like the fire front is turning.’
    E.D. dragged the now much heavier wheelie bin back outside and loaded its contents into the car. As he finished, he saw Antonio talking to a woman dressed in a bright orange uniform down at the front gate. E.D. raced over to join them.
    ‘I’m telling everyone in the street to get out,’ the woman said, glancing in E.D.’s direction. ‘Have you got any livestock? Pets?’
    ‘We’ve got one of these,’ Antonio said, patting E.D. on the shoulder. ‘But he’s not tamed yet.’
    ‘Is everyone that lives on the property actually here at the moment?’ the young woman asked, ignoring Tony’s attempt at humour. Antonio nodded. ‘Okay.’ She wrote something down on a clipboard. ‘How many?’
    ‘Um, there’s five of us,’ Antonio replied, shifting his weight onto his good leg.
    ‘Right, get back inside and tell your parents what I said. One of the trucks will be coming by soon with further announcements.’ The woman made a note then, with a snap of her clipboard, headed back to her vehicle.
    ‘We’ve got a fire on our doorstep and you’re out here chatting up a woman in an orange uniform,’ E.D. groaned.
    ‘She was cute,’ Antonio grinned, giving his younger brother a gentle shove. Their banter quickly dissolved as they entered the kitchen.
    ‘Might be a change of plans, boys,’ Mario said.
    ‘What?’
    ‘We’re leaving,’ Mrs De Lugio said, her eyes meeting her husband’s. ‘There’s been a wind change. We just heard it on the radio.’
    ‘I know,’ Tony interrupted. ‘An SES worker is telling everyone in the street to leave.’
    ‘We could stay and fight this, Dad,’ Mario said. ‘If we clear that muck out in the back garden there’s nothing for the fire to latch onto. We can save our house. We’ve done the preparation.’
    ‘No!’ his mother said sharply.
    ‘Mum. You’ve lived in this house for 30 years. You don’t want it to burn to the ground—everything gone. We can save it! We’ve got water pressure, we’ve got the tanks. Mum and E.D. can take the car and the trailer with the bikes.’
    ‘No way,’ E.D. said. ‘I’m staying too.’
    ‘Quiet!’ his parents said together.
    ‘We should all leave,’ Mrs De Lugio said, glaring at her husband. ‘This is not some fight you can win, Mario, just by saying so. You think our flimsy little hoses and cleared patch of garden there can stop this monster?’
    ‘People do save their homes, Mum. People have a choice.’
    ‘It is not your choice, Mario.’
    ‘Silence!’ Mr De Lugio snapped.