Chapter 38 #2
I do what I can to navigate the room when I feel the floor start to give way.
A rumble of rubble hitting the floor followed by another scream comes from the next floor up.
My heart races as I sprint up the stairs to try and find the source of the screams. Through the shattered windows, water shoots in and I know my team is doing everything they can to put this monster of a fire out as fast as possible.
When I reach the top of the stairs, something waving in the opposite corner catches my eye.
“Help! Help us!” a woman screams. She’s cowering in the corner and waving her arms frantically to get my attention. Drywall and smoldering pieces of wood have fallen around her. “Help, he tried to get me out but we got stuck.”
When I reach her, my heart sinks in my chest and I’m almost sick.
Lying next to her is Carter, completely passed out and stuck under a massive wooden beam that’s lying across his legs.
The woman’s white hair is covered in soot and dirt and from the looks of her clothes, I wonder if she was squatting in the building when it caught fire.
She has his breathing mask over her face with tears streaking her cheeks as she tries to take in clean air.
My mind bounces between wanting to rescue her and needing to get Carter out of here.
If I don’t, he’ll die of smoke inhalation before the flames even get to him.
“It’s going to be okay, ma’am, I’m here to help,” I speak calmly through my mask.
“Help—help him, he gave me his mask. Here, take it back.” She tries to put it over his face but I pull it from her hands and strap it to her face.
“Keep this on until we’re outside. I’m going to move this beam off my friend and get us out of here. Can you walk?” I ask hastily. Carter doesn’t have a lot of time and I still need to get him out from under the beam and down two flights of stairs.
“Yes, I can walk.”
“Good. Then when I say to, you’re going to stand up and hold onto my hand and I’m going to walk us out of here, okay?” The woman nods, panic-stricken.
Moving away from her, I bend at my knees and work to lift the beam. It doesn’t seem to budge at first but then a second pair of hands appear next to mine, helping to lift it up and freeing Carter from its possession. Looking over, I see Brooks staring back at me, eyes steady yet determined.
“We have to get them out of here! I’ve got Carter, you take her!
” I shout over the fire at him. He gives me a thumbs up and moves quickly towards the older woman.
He undoes Carter’s oxygen tank from his body and holds it in his hand.
Then, he carefully lifts the older woman into his arms and takes off down the stairwell.
I feel the building starting to buckle under the intense heat of the fire and know that if I don’t move now, I may not get the chance again.
“Alright, brother, we’re getting the hell outta here,” I say even though I know he can’t hear me.
Now that the beam is moved, I can see the damage it’s done to his legs but that’s not my main concern right now.
Black smoke is filling up the room and if I don’t get us out of here, I won’t be able to see clearly enough to escape.
Leaning down over his body, I bend in half and flip him over, lifting him up into a fireman’s carry.
Once he’s on, I hurry towards the stairwell and run down the flight of stairs.
When I’m a flight lower, I take my mask off my face and force it over his, trying to get him fresh oxygen as quickly as I can.
There’s no telling how long he’s been breathing in the toxic smoke from the fire and while it’s not good for me either, I’ll survive long enough to get us outside into the fresh air.
My lungs burn as I carry him on my back, retracing my steps back to the entrance of the building.
Glass shatters behind me and I flinch, nearly dropping him.
I will not lose another person. Not tonight. Not ever.
And especially not Carter.
I blink hard through the smoke but continue to push forward until the sight of the night sky through the threshold pulls me forward.
I feel my legs pick up steam as I run towards it.
When we hit the outside air, I don’t stop running until we’re a solid hundred feet away from the structure.
I cough violently as clean air mixes with the toxic smoke that’s filling my lungs and blink hard as my eyes water profusely.
Carefully, I roll him onto the ground and kneel beside him.
“Carter, Carter, wake up!” I scream, shaking his chest and attempting to get him to respond.
His eyes remain closed under the mask that I strapped to his face.
A thin layer of soot coats his face and the freckles that normally dot his cheeks are completely lost in the darkness.
His skin is pale and lifeless and no amount of shaking I do seems to be doing any good.
“Carter! Dammit, wake up!” I scream again.
Footsteps hurry up behind me and someone shouts, “We need a medic over here!”
A couple of the members of my crew kneel next to us, watching as I try to get my brother to wake up and look at me.
My eyes scan over his body and when I see his legs I nearly hurl.
Bright red burns are starting to blister his skin and I can see where his protective gear couldn’t withstand the heat of the fire.
Exposed flesh and muscle are open to the air and I’m almost confident the white bit I can see on his leg is bone.
“Sir, you need to move out of the way,” a stern voice comes from behind me. I turn over my shoulder to find two people wearing emergency medical squad uniforms staring back at me. They hurry in, pushing me out of the way so they can take care of Carter. A third one comes to check on me.
“How much smoke did you breathe in?” they ask, flashing a light in my eyes. They’re squatting in front of me and taking my pulse with their fingers.
“Not that much, I’m fine. Please, save my brother, he needs you more than I do.” When they try to put an oxygen mask over my face I push it out of the way so I can keep my eyes on him.
“My people are going to take good care of him. Do you know how long he was without oxygen?”
I shake my head and fall into another coughing fit. The two paramedics helping Carter are quick to strap him into a gurney, pulling off my breathing mask and replacing it with one of their own.
“His heart rate is low but it’s there. We need to get him to the hospital if he’s going to survive,” one of them hurries out.
“Please, you can’t let him die,” I cry, feeling my heart nearly crack into two as I beg for them to save him.
“We’re going to do everything we can, I promise,” one of them says. “Are you up to drive in with us?”
I push to my feet and nod. I glance at Trevor who’s been standing close by ever since we came out of the building.
“We’ve got this, go,” he demands. “Keep us updated.”
“I will.” I nod quickly before hurrying off for the ambulance with the paramedics.
I rush alongside them as they push Carter towards the back of the truck and load him in.
When it’s my turn, I pull myself into the truck and slam the door shut.
I hear someone slap the back doors twice, signaling that we’re ready to go.
When the sirens on the top of the truck start to wail, I lean over Carter’s body and whisper.
“Please. Please don’t leave. You’re the only brother I’ve ever had. The only brother I’ve ever wanted. I can’t lose you too. You’re stronger than this, I know you are. Please. Please.”
The EMT riding in the back with me lays a strong hand on my shoulder to console me but it doesn’t do much.
I blink my eyes a few times and feel fresh tears collecting in them.
Reaching for my phone, I call the one and only person I know is going to be able to bring me hope in what feels like the darkest moment of my entire life.
“Hanna, there’s been an accident. It’s Carter.” I try to say more but the welt forming in my throat makes it impossible. Then, the dam breaks behind my eyes and I feel the tears run down my face as the thought of losing another person I love breaks me completely.