The world came back with a roar, a wall of sound and heat that shook the truck. It was happening again. Trapped in my vehicle, surrounded by a raging wildfire, I looked at Jessica, my wife, and Dylan, her lover.
This wasn't my first life, where I just died in the flames. This time, they didn't simply abandon me. As the inferno closed in, Jessica's eyes turned cold, calculating. "Block the hole," she commanded, throwing the fire shelter-the one I'd bought-over Dylan. They shoved me into the gap, turning me into a screaming, human shield.