The Ridge Path

Text 1: Ash Line, by Nia Harcourt

An original novel extract.

At first, the smoke was no more than a bruise on the western sky. Elena watched it darken beyond the pines while the walkers folded maps and passed round a bottle of water. Ten minutes ago, the afternoon had been bright and windless. Now the sun hung above them like a dull copper coin, and the birds had stopped calling.

A flake of ash settled on Elena’s sleeve. Then another. The wind rose suddenly, pushing hot air through the trees and whipping the branches into a frenzy. Somewhere below, the fire gave a deep, hungry roar. It was no longer hidden by the ridge. Orange light leapt between the trunks, testing the dry undergrowth, finding every twig and needle.

‘Back to the track,’ Elena ordered. The group turned. For one minute they hurried in silence; then the first walker stopped so sharply that the others collided with him. Ahead, flames had crossed the path and were climbing both sides of it. Their safe route had become a narrowing corridor of smoke. Elena looked uphill. Loose stones, thorn bushes, no path. Behind them, the roar grew louder.

‘Run.’

How does Nia Harcourt use language and structure to show the danger of the fire?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.