Man-instinct

I was drawn to my bike. Some people were nearby but no one was too close. I sniffed the air. Something told me I was safe to shift. I dressed out of habit. I slid on the heavy yellow jacket that identified me as someone helping to combat the fire.

There were noises, words. I knew what they meant. I headed over. Someone had been hurt using a chainsaw. I picked it up. It was easy to spot the man in charge, yelling directions to various workers.

"Where?" Again, my voice came out using wolf sounds to make human words.

"You know what you're doing with that saw?" He had his hand on my arm as he yelled the question over the noise around us.

I nodded.

He pointed me in the right direction. There was a line of men cutting down a row of trees. The idea was to keep the fire from jumping from treetop to treetop, so it wouldn't spread further.

I worked with the men a few hours before we pulled out. Someone took the chainsaw from me. I went back to my bike. I could picture Derrick in my mind. I kne