JORDAN
I'm first through the door. My mask is sealed with the air on. The radio in my ear chatters callsigns and floor numbers. The hose team is six feet behind me. My hand is on the doorframe of the east stairwell and the heat is coming up through the metal like it's alive.
This is the moment I’ve trained for.
Teacher. Re-entered the building. Second floor.
That's all I need to know. From there I take the stairs two at a time with my axe in my off hand. Light cuts maybe four feet ahead of me before the smoke eats it. When I reach the second-floor landing the door pushes open and thick, dark air billows around me.
I go low and crawl the line of the floor lights.
I pass a trophy case I can feel but not see, followed by a water fountain.
I reach a stairwell when the radio says something about wind and I don't process it because there's a shape on the floor up ahead. It’s slumped at the base of the stairwell, not moving.
I get to her on my knees.
She’s got her sleeve pressed over her mouth and her glasses fogged so badly I can't see her eyes. Her hand is still curled around the fabric like she'd been holding it there when she went down.
I act on autopilot. This isn’t going to happen on my watch. I move to get an arm under her shoulders. The other slips under her knees and I lift her against my chest like she weighs nothing. I turn and go. We move low and fast and I talk to her the whole way.
"I've got you, sweetheart. Breathe shallow. Eyes open for me. That's it. Good girl."
I don't know if she can hear me and it doesn't matter. You talk to them. You keep talking. You give them a voice to follow when their eyes and lungs don't want to work. Somewhere down in the part of the brain that still functions when everything else has quit, a voice means, I’ve got you. I’m here and I won’t let you go.
I hit the stairwell and don't slow down. I make it out into a wall of cold air and noise. The crowd of kids is being herded back behind the tape. The red light pulses off every surface and the parking lot fills with the rigs, the cruisers, and the ambulance staged at the corner of the lot.
My crew is already moving toward me. Together they are a force to be reckoned with.
"Jesse, you got backup over there?” Zain’s voice is quiet and authoritative.
Jesse nods. “On it, Chief. No worries, I’ve got him covered.”
“Hey, grab the O2.” There’s a protective edge to Lance’s voice.
“Copy.” Brady gives him a nod and leaps into action as more questions and commands fly back and forth between the guys. I know that Whispering Pines is in good hands.
“You good, Jordan?” Gabriel is cool and collected as he opens his arms and offers to help.
But there’s no way I’m letting her go. "Thanks, but I’ve got her, brother. She’s right here with me. We’re going to EMS now."
“All good.” Gabriel gives me a nod as he forges a path for me to follow.
“Where’s the second team? Tell them the north stairwell is venting.” I hear Zain’s voice bellow in the distance.
The guys move around me the way men do when they've done it a thousand times together. Gabriel has the back of the rig open. Brady has a blanket, and Lance is already on the radio calling in her status. I set her down in the back of the rig like she's made of glass.
Her teeth chatter behind the sleeve she still hasn't let go of. Her whole body is shaking and it breaks something open in my chest. Her eyes are open now behind the fogged lenses. She's looking at me like she doesn't quite believe I'm real.
But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be and everything in me burns to protect her. I pull my coat off and wrap it around her shoulders. Then I get the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth because my hands are already there and I'm not ready to let somebody else do it.
I adjust the strap and double-check the seal. Then I press two fingers to the side of her neck the way you check a pulse you already know is there because you just need to feel it. I find it immediately. It’s faster than it should be, but it’s there and I relax.
"Stay with me," I say, my voice low. "You're out. You did it. You did the hard part. What’s your name?"
“Lana.” Her voice is soft. “Thank you.” She blinks at me and her gaze melts into mine. “Sorry, I was just really scared. I… Is Maya, my student, is she okay?” She sits upright, but I don’t break contact.
Heat bubbles under my palm where it rests on her arm. “Yes, everyone’s out. No casualties. You went back in for a student?”
“Yes, and I’m not a brave person. But I just, I don’t know. I just acted. I’m so happy she’s out.” Her eyes well with tears. “I was scared—”
“Hey, hey. I’ve got you, babe. You’re right here with me.
Look at me.” I pull slow deep breaths in and take in her delicate features.
The soft curve of her cheeks. The upturned nose.
The way her eyes communicate so much she isn’t willing to say.
I hold her there until her breathing slows to match mine.
“Good girl.” I nod as her heart rate comes back down.
“I’ve got you now, Lana, and you are the bravest person I’ve ever met. ”
And the most beautiful.
“Jordan.”
I turn at the sound of my name to find Dec, our fire investigator. He’s looking at me with that methodical, reserved stare that says everything without saying anything at all.
“Can we chat?” He nods over his shoulder.
“No, I’m in the middle of—”
But she holds up a shaking hand and stops me. “It’s okay. I’m fine, thank you.”
I hesitate at the thought of stepping away from her. But she’s nodding and Dec isn’t giving me any options. He’s the best in the business, and deeply protective of our town, so I follow him three feet away from the truck.
Still, I can’t help but look back over my shoulder one more time at the woman on my tailgate. She’s wrapped in my coat and still shaking under the oxygen mask. Something inside me locks down so hard it hurts. I don't have a word for it and I don't need one.
I give him a nod as soon as we are out of earshot. “What’s up, man?”
He shakes his head. "The point of origin is Room 207 with accelerant patterns on a textbook.”
"Okay." I nod my head as the implications of his statement settle in. “What are you telling me?”
"I think you already know… We’re dealing with arson."