We moved quietly through backyards. Everyone in town was on their front porch to watch the fire as it moved purposefully through the woods. Sam had decided his house was the best place for us to go for now. He lived with his mom, but she worked nights at the local ER, so no more questions we couldn’t answer. I knew the way like the back of my hand, but my ankle held me back, leaving Sam to lead the way with Megan slumped in his arms.

Megan’s friend dragged behind. He stared at the grass with knitted brows, even know, he looked so young. I waited for him to catch up to me and tried to talk to him.

“Hey.” I whispered hoarsely. He twitched a little at my words. After a long pause, he decided to speak.

“...Hi.” He went back to studying his shoes with each step. I tried again.

“ I’m Alex.” he was silent, “Uhm, what’s your name?” he slowly looked up at me.

“Isaiah.” He looked like a kicked puppy. The poor kid must’ve stil been reeling from what happened. I struggled to maintain conversation.

“ It’s nice to meet you, I wish it wasn’t like this, cause you seem like a nice kid.” he interrupted me.

“Hey, Alex?” I stuttered at his serious face.

“Yeah?” he looked back to Sam, who was carefully maneuvering between children’s toys and trying to balance Megan. I took a mental picture of his wobbly form.

“Are you sure Megan's going to be okay?”

“Yeah, of course!” I encouraged him. “Sam's really good at first aid, don't worry.” he smiled timidly, but looked worried again.

“How's your ankle?” he asked, watching me limp.

“I'm fine, just rolled it is all.” he looked confused.

“Are you sure? You couldn't even walk earlier and-” Isaiah was interrupted by Sam's loud cursing as he fumbled with the lock on his back door. I took the keys from him, opened the door, then propped it open with my foot.

I swept my arms open in a half curtsy, “My liege.” Sam grumbled and sidestepped his way inside.

Sam's house was admittedly shabby, but it made me feel more at home than my own house ever would. The floors creak familiarly under my feet, welcoming me back. We walked into the living room which contained one couch, an armchair, and a tiny T.V. that only played public access shows. Sam motioned wordlessly to the couch for Isaiah and vanished into the back room, Isaiah chose to pace instead. I scratched my neck uncomfortably.

“You want some water or something?” I said, finally breaking the silence. He nodded gently. “There’s a bathroom down the hallway too, if you want to wash up.” I added. His face was covered in soot and ash, all of us were.

I brought four glasses of water out to the living room, but Sam was still caring for Megan. Isaiah looked a little calmer after he cleaned up, a little more talkative, too. He thanked me for the water and half-collapsed into the armchair.

“What happened out there?” he said with an exhausted sigh.

“I don’t know, wildfires don’t just bust into existence like that. It seemed more like an explosion.” he looked at me quizzically.

“Do forest normally explode in Arizona?” I shook my head. He pondered again, but ended up just scratching his head. He changed the topic.

“So… how do you know my cousin?” I swallowed thickly, better choose my words wisely.

“We went to school together.”