Aspen Heat (Black Timber Peak Hotshots #5)

PROLOGUE

Aspen

I'm off to the side of the house where the fire isn't as intense. I can still hear the mother screaming about her missing son and my heart almost bursts with anguish for her and her little family. My squad leader, however, will not budge and no one is going into that house.

That's why I know I have to go in and find that boy. Even if my actions mean I'll be demoted after just becoming a full firefighter. A life is worth more than that. So I keep searching around the house and finally at the back I see a window I can break to get in.

With all my gear on it's an easy feat to break the window.

Once I'm in I start to feel the intense heat.

I scream my presence so that if the boy is somewhere near I can help him out.

I shout my name and that I'm here to help, but no other sound than the roar of the fire exists in this house right now.

I search methodically, the way I've been trained to do and start clearing rooms. The closer I come to the front of the house, the hotter the flames are and the thicker the smoke. Will I find this woman's son in time?

Time seems to have slowed down while I'm inside this inferno and the sound of the flames is eerie. I don't stop my search, though. I have to find this child. Then finally I hear a noise coming from what looks to be a closet.

I hurry to open the door, forgetting all of my training and am thrown back. I gather myself once again and see the young boy lying on the floor holding something in his arms. The smoke has increased in the room and I search for a towel or a bedsheet to cover the child in.

Luck is on my side, and I find a big towel and use it to cover the boy. He's not fully conscious and when I take him into my arms I see he's got a puppy in his embrace. I cover them both as well as I can and start making my way to the place where I entered the house.

The flames are blazing now and my back is getting the brunt of the heat. When I get close to the exit I see that my friend Bastian is already there waiting for me. He knows me better than anyone and probably figured out I went inside the house against the squad leader's orders.

"Give him to me."

I carefully transfer my delicate cargo into his arms and feel a sense of relief that I got him out. I should have known those seconds of relief were a bad omen, because the house starts to fall apart on top of me and all I can see is black.

When I wake up in the hospital the guys in the unit seem happy to see that I'm finally awake, but there's a sense of unease when they talk to me. Finally, my squad leader, Jace Barlowe, comes in with a stern look on his face.

I guess I'm being demoted to rookie firefighter after all.