An Ounce of Prevention

The sun was sinking on the horizon as they came around the last mountain ridge before their camp. They both gasped when they saw the black smoke rising from the desert.

"I hope that's not the camp!" Carmen said in a tense voice.

"With all that black smoke, I'd guess it was the camper."

The camper? Were the children cooking…and were they okay? She felt the muscles tense along Alex's ribs and clamped her hands tight around him in anticipation of his next move.

"Hang on," he said as he kicked the horse into a run. They galloped through the desert, ignoring the battering they received by the brush.

Carmen held on to Alex and prayed the horse wouldn't trip or step into a hole. Alex finally slowed the horse as they approached the camp. The camper was little more than a shell and the children were nowhere in sight.

Alex stopped the horse and lowered Carmen to the ground. He slid off the horse and stood beside her. "Listen."