32. Jay
Jay
The alarm shatters the quiet of the station. Our momentary breath of calm ends abruptly. Captain was right when he said tonight must be a full moon, because we've been going non-stop.
"Structure fire. Multiple reports of occupants trapped."
Every firefighter in the room is moving before dispatch even finishes speaking.
Chairs scrape as the sound of boots pounding against concrete echoes through the firehouse.
Each of us quickly gets our gear and suits up before climbing into the rig.
The familiar rush of adrenaline floods my veins as I sprint toward the truck.
There’s nothing unusual about the call until the address comes through. And that’s all it takes to send my world spiraling. For half a second, I can't breathe. My ears must not be working. The address can’t be hers.
The radio crackles again, repeating it. My mouth falls open, and my chest tightens. A hand grips my arm so tightly I can feel it through my turnout coat. We’ve fucked up and waited too long. Her building is a death trap and it just may take her from us.
"Selena," Zeke mutters beside me and my eyes drop, seeing it’s his hand gripping me.
“She’s fine,” Eli says calmly, but the way his jaw’s clenched and his body’s rigid tells me he’s not confident in his words.
“You’re right. She’s going to be standing outside, safe when we get there.”
“Who’s Selena?” Samson, one of the firefighters riding in the back of the truck with us asks.
I don’t even think.
“Our girlfriend.” The words fly off my lips without a care of how they’re interpreted or what anyone thinks of the word ‘our’.
My knee starts to bounce nervously, and my head drops. I can’t think. Fear consumes me.
Please.
The truck roars to life and the sirens scream. In a matter of seconds, we're flying through the streets. But we’re not moving fast enough. All I can think about is Selena. If she’s okay. My eyes drift between my brothers, and I can see the same fears written across their faces.
All I can do is try not to picture her inside a blazing building as she fights for her life. Visions of her on the floor, while suffocating from smoke, explode in my mind.
I can hear my brothers, each of them whispering silent prayers.
"Hey guys, she’s going to be fine. I’m sure she’ll be outside waiting in the crowd." Samson’s words do little to comfort me. As much as I pray they’re true, something tells me they’re not.
I glance over at him, and he gives me a hopeful nod.
“Yeah, she’s safe,” I whisper.
“She is. I bet she led everyone to safety,” Eli adds. Zeke hasn’t said a word other than the muttered prayer. When my eyes lock on him he’s pale, all the blood drained from his face.
"She's stubborn." A shaky laugh escapes me.
"That's one word for it," Eli says, and I know he’s trying to keep our optimism up.
The truck turns a corner. And suddenly we can see it.
Flames. Massive flames. A mirage of orange and red swallowing the night sky.
I can feel the second my heart stops beating.
This isn’t going to end well. Even if Selena made it out safely, the dispatcher reports people trapped inside.
I already know there’s a chance someone isn’t going to make it out unscathed.
The apartment building looks like a torch. Fire pours from shattered windows while black clouds move upward in thick rolling clouds.
Residents and onlookers crowd the street below. Some of them are crying while others are screaming. My eyes scan the crowd looking for one person only, drifting over men and women wrapped in blankets, mouths dropped open in shock. But she’s not there. Which only means she’s inside.
The moment we stop, we're moving. Our training takes over even if our minds are consumed with worry.
Everything moves forward with muscle memory because I know I need to get inside the building. To find Selena and get her out safely. My biggest fear is with her weakened state she won’t have enough energy to save herself.
Sam. That fucker should be here with her. I know he’s not her boyfriend like she claims, but he is a friend. He should’ve thought about her health before a damn trip.
Our captain calls our orders and we all jump into motion. Water supplies are established, and I have to force myself to focus. One task at a time. My very own checklist that I go through.
Mask on. Check.
Air tank secure. Check.
Gloves donned. Check.
Helmet on and locked. Check.
"Let's go!" Eli shouts.
Our nozzle crew takes hold of the hose line and surges forward, aiming it right at the building as water bursts from it.
My brothers and I rush to the entrance, heading straight for the stairs. The lobby is already filled with smoke and visibility drops instantly.
“We’ve got the fourth floor,” I call out to the firefighters coming in behind us.
The fire crackles above us as it devours the building. My brothers and I advance carefully. The building groans around us, and I’m not sure how much more it can take before it collapses.
"Command to interior crews. Multiple occupants still unaccounted for on the fourth floor. Dropped call to EMS alerts to occupants being trapped inside," comes from our captain through our communication devices.
My chest tightens. Fourth floor. Her floor.
I know without confirmation that it’s her. She wasn’t able to make it out. Too weak perhaps to make the trek. As we near the fourth floor, we encounter fire in the stairwell. Zeke jumps forward, trying to put it out with the fire extinguisher he grabbed from the lobby.
The stairwell is a furnace but he manages to decrease the fire enough for us to pass.
“Fire in the stairwell. We need hoses,” Eli announces through our comms.
Moving down the hallway, we pound on doors, opening them and calling out if anyone needs help.
Nothing.
Flames and smoke fill the space.
"Her apartment!" Eli shouts, taking hold of the handle and turning the door. It opens easily.
Fire has already reached her apartment; flames dance in the kitchen as smoke fills her tiny space. “Selena!” I call out.
Nothing.
We move down the hallway and my heart breaks at the pictures that are ruined.
Passing the bathroom, we find it empty. Her bedroom door is shut, but it’s the only place she can be.
"Selena!" Eli shouts. But we’re only met with silence.
We rush forward. I get there first and take hold of the handle, pushing the door open. It’s met with a small amount of resistance at first and I fear that it’s her. I don’t want to hurt her, but we need to get inside so I shove harder.
That’s when I catch sight of her on the floor. But it’s not just her; it’s also the elderly woman who lives on her floor. Her feet were near the door.
Selena has her arm stretched out to her. One hand barely holding on to the older woman as if she was pulling her. A phone lays near her other hand.
My sweet Babygirl was protecting someone else the best she could. Even when she’s so sick.
I rush to Selena’s side, dropping to my knees. “Eli, check on the woman,” I order, trying to keep myself together.
Selena’s skin is pale beneath the soot. Her lips tinged blue, eyes closed, and she isn’t moving.
For one horrifying second, I think we're too late. I remove my gloves and let out a sigh of relief when I find her pulse. Faint but there.
“She’s alive,” I say loud enough for them to hear.
“So is this one,” Eli announces. “We need to get them out of here now.”
Zeke pushes me out of the way, scooping up Selena in his arms and rushes out of the room. Eli follows behind him with the older woman.
She’s safe. It’s all I can think as I follow them out into the hallway. My eyes drift to the wall, memories of Selena’s life destroyed.
All but one. I don’t know what takes over me, but I snatch the frame from the wall, cradling it tight to my body as we take our girl to safety.
The hallway is chaos as the fire advances again. The hose team continues knocking it down, creating a path. Every step feels like walking through an inferno and I watch as my brothers cradle the women closer to their bodies. Protecting them as best they can.
"Stay with me," I whisper. “Stay with us.”
She can't hear me. But I say it anyway. The stairs seem endless, each floor down seeming to take a lifetime, as Selena’s life lies in the balance.
We finally burst through the entrance to the outside. Paramedics rush forward instantly, taking Selena from my brother and placing her on a gurney.
Sanchez presses fingers against Selena’s neck while Henries places an oxygen mask on her.
"I've got a pulse," Sanchez announces.
The ambulance doors swing open as they load her inside.
“I’m going,” I announce, not caring if it costs me my job or not. Before the paramedic can shut the door I jump in behind him.
The last thing I see out the window as the ambulance pulls away from the scene is my brothers’ faces staring back at me.