MacGyver refused to accept that there was no way out, and kicked on the mare’s sides, urging it into action even though it was terrified – somehow, even though it hadn’t known him very long, there was a trust between them.

Riding hard around the edge of the fire, he finally found a gap large enough to ride through and waved for Jill to join him.

Jill’s horse, however, was less trusting of its master, and balked twice as she urged it to leap the small gap to freedom.

She tried again, praying to whatever god was listening to let the animal calm long enough to escape.

But today, no gods were listening.

At the very last moment, Jill’s horse screamed to a halt, throwing her over its head and straight into one of the larger boulders they’d hidden behind earlier.

Rider-less, the horse panicked more, and finally, and ironically sped through the gap in the blazing brush.

MacGyver slipped from his saddle and quickly secured his mare to another rock. Then he was at Jill’s side in a second. She was sitting up, holding a hand against her left shoulder as if she was in great pain.

Before he could even take a look, Jill told him what he’d already guessed. “I think it’s dislocated…”

Mac glanced back, checking on the spread of the blaze before gently probing her shoulder with his fingers to confirm both their suspicions. If Jill’s shoulder really was out of joint, they were in big trouble.

Jill winced, gritting her teeth as he came to a bulge under her skin – the top of her arm was definitely out of its socket.

Mac doubted she could ride, but as it happened, that was a moot point anyway.

The brown mare whinnied, making Mac and Jill look up just in time to see it pull free from the rock. It stared at them wildly, its reins hanging loose, before darting after its brethren through the gap in the flames.

“I don’t think I can ride anyway,” Jill mumbled honestly, the pain making her slur her words slightly.

MacGyver bit into his bottom lip. There was no easy way around it, they had to move and fast or be trapped by the brushfire.

And that meant they had to try and run.

He looked Jill square in the face, his deep eyes locking with hers. She was hurting, perhaps even not quite lucid, but he had to make her understand what he was going to do next.

“Jill, we have to move, and it has to be now.” He put a hand gently on her good arm. “I’m going to pull you up, and you’re gonna need to put your weight on me and try to walk as fast as you can.”

Jill nodded absently.

Maybe that’s a good thing; maybe she won’t feel this so bad…

Feeling guilty, Mac carefully drew Jill up, throwing her good arm over his shoulder.

She cried out, but then nodded blearily. “Let’s go,” she panted. “Before I decide to pass out…”

Mac nodded back and headed for the ever-decreasing hole in the fire, trying not to jolt Jill as he moved.

He could hear her chest heaving with the effort it was taking, and from the smoke swirling about them, filling their lungs.

It wasn’t so much walking as being dragged, but it was the best MacGyver could do to get them clear.

Once they were far enough from the burning brush, Mac slowed and looked back.

The fire was spreading rapidly over Billy’s unkempt land, and at the rate it was traveling it would soon find them again. For now though, he needed to catch his breath and tend to Jill’s shoulder.

Heading for a dip in the landscape, Mac did a mental calculation of how long he thought they had if no one came to their rescue. The odds he came back with didn’t exactly make him feel good, so he concentrated on the here and now.

Maybe there would be something he could do to change those odds, once he’d had time to rest and fix Jill up.

There were more boulders where he’d chosen to stop and literally take a breather, and they were handily the right size to drop Jill down onto rather than putting her through more agony lowering her to the ground.

Mac slid her arm from his shoulder and let her slip down onto the rock. “How you doing?” He hunkered down so he was level with her face, watching her reactions.

“I’ve been better.” Jill was gulping down air, but she seemed more coherent now they were away from the smoke and fumes.

“If we’re going to carry on – and trust me, we have to – then I need to immobilize that arm so we don’t keep jarring it.” MacGyver sifted through his jacket pocket while he waited for a reaction.

“And it’s going to hurt like hell.” Jill’s brow creased and she closed her eyes, preparing for the pain. “Just make it as quick as you can.”

“I’ll try,” Mac promised as he finally found his trusty duck tape and began to unroll the edge.

Jill’s eyes widened, probably surprised that he carried such a thing, but then as he began to strap her arm up with it, the surprise turned to agony and she bit into her lip not to yelp out in pain.

By the time he’d finished, Jill’s forehead was covered in beads of perspiration, and not from the fire. Mac felt bad that he’d had to hurt her to help her, but he’d been in such situations himself, and it was better in the long run to minimize any movement.

He glanced back the way they had come, and was alarmed to discover the brush near them was already smoldering. He checked his watch, but they’d only been stationary a couple of minutes.

It’s moving too fast…

“We have to get going.” Without waiting for a reply, he pulled Jill’s good arm back over his shoulder and urged her on.

Jill’s feet slid across the ground rather than walked, putting extra weight on MacGyver, slowing their progress even more.

Once they were out of the dip, it became apparent that the situation had become graver than they could have imagined.

Mac came to a stop as he realized the landscape ahead of them, as well as behind, was awash with angry orange and red flames that seemed to eat the very horizon.

While he’d been tending Jill’s shoulder, the fire had somehow encircled them. It had become so huge, in such a short while, that the troubleshooter suspected that it was no longer only their lives in peril.

This was now a very real brushfire that could endanger all the ranches in the area, and none of the locals knew it was coming to try and prepare for it.

And there’s no way to get out of here and warn them!

Jill saw the wall of flames and her body sagged in MacGyver’s arms, as if she had already given in.

He shook her lightly. “Hey, c’mon, I thought ranchers were made of tougher stuff?”

She swallowed and took down a long, tired breath. “There’s nowhere to go…” Jill’s voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

She’s right…but I’m not taking that for an answer. Not just yet.

“C’mon, we keep moving, and we think.” Mac tugged her forwards, and she reluctantly began to move again.

If anything, their progress was even slower than before, but while they moved, they were alive.

And while they were alive, there was still a chance MacGyver could reason a way out.

“Jill, are there any old properties out this way? Think, and think hard.” He was dragging her now, and soon he knew he would have to carry her completely or stop. And how long could he keep that up for? “Old barns, anything that might contain something I could use?”

“Use for what..?” Jill swayed, almost stumbling despite his grip.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell you that until I find it.”

Jill blinked as if his words were a puzzle. “I’m not even sure that makes sense….but, I think Billy’s original cabin was out here until he got the extra land off Baxter. I guess it might still be there.”

“Where?” Mac’s tone was urgent, as if he could will the answer out of her faster.

Jill’s exhausted brain didn’t have a hurry left in it, however. “I…I think it was somewhere over that rise…” With no good arm free to point, she bobbed her head in the direction she thought was correct.

Ironically, it was the only way they could go without getting dangerously close to the fire again anyway.

“Well what are we waiting for?” Mac tried to keep his voice sounding jovial. He had to keep Jill moving, keep her focused and keep her thinking that had a hope in Hades of surviving.

It took ten more minutes before they reached the brow of the small hill. But below it, sure enough were the remains of a very old cabin.

One side wall was completely gone, the chimney had crumbled into a pile of stone that now lay strewn across the brush, but there was still enough left to possible offer up some “MacGyver tools.”

Mac’s gait increased until he finally had to give in and throw Jill completely over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. He had to hurry.

Jill appeared oblivious anyway.

Once he was at the cabin, he found a clear spot outside and tenderly lowered her down.

“Thanks for the ride…bit on the bumpy side, though.”

MacGyver couldn’t resist a smile, but he also couldn’t waste time on banter. Pushing away the remnants of a door, he edged inside the cabin, being careful to test each floor board before putting his full weight on it.

Strangely, the timbers here seemed more solid than those of Billy’s newer home. They don’t build them like they used to…

There was still an old stove in the corner, covered in webs, dust and corrosion. An old picture hung on the wall, the corners curled and rotting with exposure to the elements.

But none of this was any use for Mac.

He continued to a heap of unwanted items that had been piled on the floor, probably when Billy had made the move. There was an old blue and white striped mattress, a rusted and dented frying pan, and an oil lamp that had seen better days.

Mac picked up the lamp and rolled it over in his hands.

These kind of lamps needed kerosene, but would Billy have taken it all with him?

Moving to the kitchen area of the cabin, MacGyver began to throw open the cupboards and delve into any contents that had been left.

There were old packets of food that had obviously been chewed on by rodents, a few cans and…

Mac’s heart almost missed a beat as he spotted a large, very rusted can of kerosene.

But would there be anything left in it? Or indeed, enough for what he had in mind?

He let his right hand slip around it and pull it from its tomb. It definitely had weight to it, and he could hear the contents swilling around as he moved it.

Taking off the lid, he peered inside and guessed it was almost full. Still not a lot for his plan, but he’d have to work with it.

He took his plunder back outside to Jill, because now he was going to need her local knowledge to aid his plan.

Mac kneeled beside her. “I think I have an idea that might stop or at least slow the fire, but I need your help. Are there any water sources around here? Or maybe a road? Even a dirt track would do.”

Jill considered it, although her expression said she was puzzled as to what he could be planning. She rubbed at her immobilized arm absently as her mind ticked over. “What good is a road or water to us?” She eventually asked, as if it would help bring something to mind.

“Because I’m hoping to create something called a backburn. If I can start small fires with this kerosene along the area in front of the blaze, anything flammable will already have been destroyed when the main fire reaches it. A road or water source is like a natural firebreak – there’s very little scrub there to start with, so it’ll help.”

Jill nodded, finally understanding. “Well, there’s an old trail that might be clear enough of brush to help, but if we go that way we’re going to fry.”

Mac thought so too and nodded. “A backburn is exactly what it sounds like; the small fires are designed to burn backwards towards the main fire front. We’d be trapped between the two…”

Jill shrugged and then scowled when it made her shoulder twinge. “I can’t go on much further anyway, and without transport we’re never going to outrun this thing. Either way we die. At least with your plan we might stop the fire spreading.”

“It’s a long shot at best,” Mac conceded.

Jill gave him her good hand to hoist her up. “Then let’s try and change those odds.” She smiled. “Something tells me you’re the kind of guy that can.”

MacGyver wasn’t so sure about that anymore, but he was ready to try. Tugging Jill gently to her feet he picked up the kerosene with his free hand and they headed for the trail, one labored, pain-filled step at a time.

* * * *

The trail Jill had guided them too wasn’t quite as wide as Mac had hoped, and it definitely wasn’t used much anymore. That being said, there was still a definite line of terrain that was clear of shrubs and anything else that might burn.

He wiped his forearm across his soaked brow and assessed what he was about to do. There was too much land to cover with what oil he had in the can, and if he used it too sparingly then his “burn” simply wouldn’t happen.

There was no other choice but to try.

Pete, I thought you said this would be a nice easy one..?

Looking through his pockets, he tugged out his trusty book of matches and began to walk the length of the path, trickling the kerosene in just the right places to cause his “mini fires”.

Jill watched from a nearby boulder, her eyes dull with defeat.

When MacGyver was sure he’d done all he could to make things work, he walked back to her for one last word. But then, as he looked down at the injured rancher, he wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

He’d come to this town just to help save a few horses, he hadn’t expected to be saying any long, lamenting speeches about dying out here.

Jill appeared to sense his discomfort. “Just do it will you?” She sighed. “Just light the damn thing and get this over with…”

Mac opened his mouth, then thought better of replying and closed it again. He took the matches, struck one and walked to the first point he’d doused and lit it.

His breath caught in his throat as he watched and waited to see if it would catch.

There was a fizz, some smoke, and then eventually a small, glowing flame that flickered in the breeze began to grow and dance.

Mac moved to the next point, and the next until the whole line of the trail that he’d been able to prepare was smoldering and burning. As he turned to walk back to Jill, he could already feel the heat in the back of his neck, and knew they wouldn’t have long.

“We should maybe move?” Mac wasn’t sure where to, but just sitting here and dying seemed so wrong.

Jill had already accepted her fate. “Oh I don’t know, we have a good view here. Best seats in the house for the big show…”

Mac dropped down beside her and watched as his handiwork began to crackle and blaze towards the original fire. The direction of the breeze was a Godsend, helping it along its way.

The vibrant colors and waltzing tendrils were almost hypnotic to the point were he saw nothing else.

But then Mac’s ears detected a new sound. Was that thunder?

He tugged his gaze away from the backburn and looked in the direction of the sound.

It didn’t seem possible, and it certainly wasn’t rational – horses tended to run away from danger, and that included fires.

And yet, galloping towards them at ridiculous speed was the white mustang. Its hoofs were digging into the ground so hard that a cloud of spiraling dust was left in its wake.

It was Jill’s turn to open her mouth and then be dumbstruck.

“That’s not natural, right?” MacGyver looked at her and raised a brow.

Jill shook her head. “Not in the least. He should be going in the opposite direction…”

But the stallion didn’t seem to care. It ran up to them, pausing only a few feet away, its nostrils flaring and its large, wild eyes scrutinizing them.

It pawed the ground, snorted, and then trotted forwards.

Mac carefully stood up, slowly putting one foot in front of the other to meet it. He didn’t want to spook the horse because his mind was already considering a new option.

But that was all down to the stallion now.

Mac held out a hand, letting the animal get his scent. Would it remember him from Jill’s ranch? Did it already remember? Was that why it was here?

So many questions and so very little time for answers, and one wrong move, and it was all over.

The horse snorted again and then whinnied, but it didn’t bolt, like he’d expected. Instead, it shook its head, long mane flying wildly in the breeze, its eyes locked onto Mac.

“Easy there, fella…”

MacGyver took the ultimate risk and made a fast, but careful move to mount the stallion even though there was no saddle. He’d ridden this way before, but that had been a broken horse, not a mustang and he fully expected to be tossed to the ground.

The stallion didn’t move. It was so still, so indifferent to his presence that it could have been a rocky sentinel fixed on the landscape since the dawn of time.

Mac patted the horse’s neck, wondering if it actually sensed why he had come to this place.

But the game wasn’t over yet.

If he was to escape with Jill, he needed to climb back down and get her on the stallion too. Would it really allow that?

This all had to be some weird fluke, and Mac wasn’t sure how long it would last.

He clambered down anyway, thinking the horse would finally realize there was a brush fire approaching and canter off.

It still didn’t move. It just watched them, snorting once in awhile as if it was urging them to hurry.

MacGyver tried to scoop Jill up off the ground, but it was a difficult move with her arm, and because she was staring incredulously at the horse. “I’m delirious right? Wild mustangs don’t behave this way…no way. No way…”

“Well I’m not going to look the gift horse in the mouth, so to speak,” Mac half-joked as he used all of his strength to lift Jill up and onto the stallion’s back.

It moved, warily, but didn’t buck or bolt.

“Easy there, fella,” Mac soothed as he climbed up behind Jill and tried to steady her as she lolled forwards.

The horse ignored MacGyver and started to trot in the direction it wanted.

Mac thought about trying to direct it using small tugs on its mane, but at the end of the day he had no idea where to go to avoid the fire.

Either the horse did know a way, or it was trapped here too with them.

Apparently, it was the former.

The stallion picked up more speed, and it was all Mac could do to keep on its back and hold Jill there too.

It raced along the edge of the raging fire until finally it reached an area where the blaze was less intense.

MacGyver realized instantly what the mustang intended – it was going to jump the fire here, where the flames were smaller in height.

“Hang on..!” He tried to warn Jill what was about to happen, but before the words even left his mouth they were soaring through the air as the horse took a gigantic leap.

They landed hard the other side, and Jill bounced to the left, almost sliding off onto the scrub below.

Mac caught her at the last minute, struggling to keep his own balance as the stallion abruptly came to a halt.

The horse snorted and craned its neck to look at the humans sitting on its back.

MacGyver took its mane, and wrapped his free arm tightly around Jill to keep her seated.

He needed to get her help, and the closest place he knew of was Troy Baxter’s.

Would the stallion follow his prompts? Would it even know how?

And more to the point, can we even trust Baxter? He wondered silently.

Looking back once to check on the fire, MacGyver was relieved to see that his backburn seemed to at least be slowing the growth of the flames.

Now it was time to try and get help for Jill, and help to put out the fire for good. He kicked his heels lightly on the stallion and tugged lightly to the left on its mane.

The horse seemed to consider what to do, then settled into a light canter in the direction of Baxter’s ranch.

* * * *

MacGyver wasn’t a fan of Troy Baxter, and probably never would agree with his reasoning, but as the stallion cleared a ridge and Baxter’s place came into view, the troubleshooter couldn’t have been more relieved.

Baxter was out instructing some of his hands near a corral, and as Mac approached on the stallion Baxter couldn’t help but stop and gape at the spectacle. “Well I’ll be…”

He stared for a moment longer until he saw Jill’s lolling form, and then ran forwards, shouting a couple of his men to give a hand.

They gently took Jill from MacGyver’s grasp and took her inside Baxter’s home.

Baxter remained in the yard with an expression that said he was about to demand answers. “Just what the hell is going on?”

“It’s a long story, but Roy Massey killed Billy and then tried to cover it all up with a brush fire. We caught him in the act, but he got away.” Mac stayed perched on the stallion. It was strange, but he felt like even now he had to protect it from Baxter. “You might want to call the fire department – I tried to stop the fire but I don’t know how much good I’ve done.”

“Now why would Roy want to hurt anyone?” Baxter put his hands on his hips defensively. He seemed to ignore the news of the fire altogether.

“Because his wife and her lover are both buried on Billy’s land. We caught him digging up the remains. You must know that he was accused of it years ago?”

Baxter took off his Stetson and rubbed at his grey hair. His face said he did know. He seemed to think for a moment, and then called over another ranch hand. “Mark, get the fire department on the phone and tell them we have an out of control fire between my place and Billy’s. And you better call the sheriff too.”

When he’d finished giving instructions, he turned back to the troubleshooter. “Roy was here not fifteen minutes ago. He grabbed all his gear and sped off in his truck in one almighty hurry.”

MacGyver looked at the entrance to Baxter’s place. There was a left or a right turn. “Which way did he go?”

Troy slid his hat back on and tipped his head to the left. “He was headed towards the main highway, and there’s only one road out to that.”

Mac took a breath and let his mind tick over. Massey had a fifteen minute head start – there was no way to catch him even if Baxter had a truck he could borrow. Heck, it wouldn’t work even if Baxter had a Ferrari at this point.

And yet there had to be a way.

If Massey made it to the highway he was the type of man that could melt into his surroundings and not be caught. He was an old man people would feel sorry for. Someone people would trust.

Mac couldn’t let a man who had escaped justice for so many years, do it again, not after Billy’s death.

The question now, was how could he catch Massey without a miracle?

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