Chapter 1 The Explosion #2
The teenager occasionally stayed late helping organize parts and clean workstations for extra money.
Deck's stomach dropped.
No.
No.
No.
He'd sent everyone home hours ago.
Hadn't he?
The answer arrived before the question finished forming.
Apparently not.
Another shout echoed from deeper inside the building.
Fear.
Pain.
Panic.
"Deck!"
The mechanic was already moving.
The phone slipped back into his pocket.
Instinct took over.
Pure instinct.
Because there wasn't a decision to make.
There never had been.
Someone was trapped.
Everything else became irrelevant.
The fire spread rapidly through the nearest work area.
Smoke thickened.
Visibility worsened.
The familiar layout of the garage began disappearing behind gray clouds.
"Tyler!"
Deck shouted into the haze.
A coughing fit answered him.
Then another yell.
"Back here!"
The voice came from the storage section.
Near the rear of the building.
The worst possible place.
The fire now occupied much of the space between them.
Wonderful.
Deck grabbed another extinguisher as he moved.
The heat intensified with every step.
Smoke burned his throat.
The fire crackled hungrily.
Metal popped and groaned overhead.
The building wasn't close to collapse.
Yet.
The word lingered unpleasantly.
Yet.
The mechanic pushed forward.
White foam blasted across flames blocking the main path.
Creating a temporary opening.
Not enough.
Good enough.
He moved through it.
Heat slammed into him immediately.
The sensation felt like opening an oven door and stepping inside.
Every breath became harder.
Every second more dangerous.
"Tyler!"
"Here!"
Another cough.
Closer this time.
Deck rounded a corner.
The scene appeared through the smoke.
The teenager sat on the floor near a shelving unit.
One leg trapped beneath several heavy containers.
A fallen storage rack pinned him in place.
Fear filled the kid's face.
Raw.
Terrified.
Human.
The sight made something protective surge inside Deck.
"Don't move."
The command emerged automatically.
Tyler laughed nervously.
"I wasn't planning on it."
Good.
At least the kid still possessed a sense of humor.
Deck reached him quickly.
The shelving unit had twisted during the collapse.
Heavy steel.
Awkward angle.
Not impossible.
The mechanic crouched beside it.
Pain immediately protested through his back and shoulder.
He ignored it.
Now wasn't the time.
Smoke thickened around them.
The fire continued spreading.
Fast.
Too fast.
Deck grabbed the twisted metal frame.
Braced himself.
Lifted.
Every muscle strained.
The damaged shoulder screamed.
The old injuries joined the protest.
The rack shifted.
Not enough.
The teenager looked terrified.
"Deck—"
"Quiet."
Another effort.
Harder.
The steel moved.
Several inches.
Then more.
Enough.
Tyler pulled his leg free immediately.
The relief on the teenager's face lasted only seconds.
Because another crash echoed through the building.
Louder.
Closer.
Everyone froze.
The fire was winning.
Deck grabbed the kid's arm.
"Can you walk?"
Tyler tested his weight.
Winced.
Then nodded.
"Yeah."
Good.
They started moving.
Quickly.
The path back toward the main bay looked dramatically different now.
Flames occupied sections of floor previously clear.
Smoke hung everywhere.
Visibility dropped further.
The garage felt unfamiliar.
Dangerous.
Alive.
The building seemed determined to consume itself.
Tyler stayed close.
Exactly where he should be.
The teenager's breathing sounded ragged.
Panicked.
Normal.
Most people didn't remain calm while trapped inside burning structures.
Frankly, Deck wasn't thrilled about it either.
Another loud crack sounded overhead.
The mechanic looked up instinctively.
Bad idea.
Very bad idea.
One of the ceiling supports glowed orange.
Heat damage.
Significant heat damage.
The realization accelerated everything.
They needed out.
Immediately.
No delays.
No mistakes.
The main exit appeared ahead.
Visible through smoke and fire.
Freedom.
Almost.
Then disaster struck again.
A burning section of roofing collapsed.
Directly between them and the door.
Flames exploded upward.
Blocking the route completely.
Tyler swore.
Deck considered joining him.
The situation had officially become complicated.
The teenager's fear returned instantly.
"What do we do?"
The mechanic scanned the garage.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Options.
There.
A side access door near the parts warehouse.
Farther away.
Possible.
Not ideal.
Possible.
"Follow me."
The command left no room for argument.
Tyler obeyed immediately.
Smart kid.
They moved deeper into the building.
Away from the main exit.
Every instinct hated the choice.
Necessity rarely cared about instincts.
The side route proved worse than expected.
Heat intensified.
Smoke thickened.
Several workstations already burned.
The fire spread with frightening efficiency.
Years of oil residue and flammable materials created perfect conditions.
The garage had become a giant tinderbox.
Another explosion sounded somewhere nearby.
Small.
Contained.
Probably an aerosol can.
Hopefully.
Deck didn't have time to investigate.
The side door appeared ahead.
Relief surged.
Short-lived relief.
Because a new sound reached him.
A hiss.
Sharp.
Continuous.
The mechanic stopped immediately.
Every survival instinct he possessed activated.
Tyler nearly walked into him.
"What—"
"Quiet."
The word emerged harshly.
The teenager obeyed.
Deck listened.
The hiss continued.
Steady.
Dangerous.
Familiar.
His stomach dropped.
Fuel.
A lot of fuel.
The parts warehouse stored emergency reserves.
Gasoline.
Solvents.
Various chemicals.
The realization landed hard.
Very hard.
Because if the fire reached those supplies—
No.
He didn't allow the thought to finish.
The side door sat twenty feet away.
Maybe less.
Reachable.
Potentially.
The problem was timing.
The hissing intensified.
The situation deteriorated by the second.
Deck made a decision.
Instantly.
Without hesitation.
The same way he'd made thousands before.
He grabbed Tyler's jacket.
The teenager looked confused.
"Listen carefully."
Fear flashed across the kid's face.
Immediate.
Understandable.
"When I tell you, run."
"Deck—"
"Run."
The command cut through any argument.
Tyler swallowed.
Nodded.
Good.
The mechanic positioned himself between the teenager and the warehouse.
The hissing grew louder.
More violent.
Pressure building.
The realization became certainty.
Something inside was about to rupture.
The side door remained frustratingly close.
Not close enough.
"Go!"
Tyler ran.
Fast.
The teenager sprinted toward the exit.
Deck followed immediately behind him.
Every muscle pushed harder.
Faster.
Move.
Move.
Move.
The world exploded.
The blast hit like a freight train.
Sound vanished instantly.
Heat consumed everything.
Pressure slammed into him from behind.
Violent.
Unstoppable.
The shockwave lifted him completely off his feet.
One moment he was running.
The next he was flying.
Concrete.
Metal.
Fire.
Pain.
Everything blurred together.
Then came impact.
His body crashed across the garage floor.
Hard.
Something cracked.
Maybe several things.
The world spun violently.
A ringing noise filled his ears.
The ceiling disappeared behind smoke and fire.
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't move.
Pain arrived next.
Overwhelming.
Everywhere.
His chest.
His shoulder.
His back.
His arms.
His hands.
God.
His hands.
The agony stole what little air remained in his lungs.
The mechanic tried to push himself up.
Failed immediately.
Nothing responded correctly.
The garage ceiling rotated above him.
Distorted through smoke.
The distant sound of sirens reached him.
Or maybe imagined sirens.
Hard to tell.
Everything felt distant.
Unreal.
A shadow appeared nearby.
Tyler.
The teenager.
Alive.
Thank God.
The kid was shouting something.
Deck couldn't hear the words.
Only fragments.
Movement.
Panic.
Fear.
The apprentice stumbled toward him.
Someone grabbed Tyler before he reached the flames.
Firefighters.
Maybe.
The details blurred.
Good.
The kid was safe.
That mattered.
Most.
The realization settled through the haze.
He'd gotten him out.
The thought brought unexpected satisfaction.
Pain continued flooding every nerve.
Consciousness slipped.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
The last thing Deck saw before darkness swallowed him completely was Whitaker Auto & Salvage burning against the night sky.
And the distant realization that his life had just changed forever.
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