Chapter 2 - Mason
“Nate, Carl, and Theo, you’re with me!” I roared, waving them over, as we faced down the burning building in front of us.
It was once the town library, and now it was up in flames, fire licking through every window, every panel of wood, and I could only imagine how much it escalated due to the books being practically free kindling.
“Got it!” Theo called back, running over with the other two to join me.
“We’re going inside to check for survivors,” I told them. “Make sure to check every pulse.”
“And if there’s no pulse?” Nate asked, worry pinching between his pale brows.
“Then we find the ones that do and get them out first. It’s tough but necessary to ensure we save as many lives as possible.” I pitched my voice higher. “All right, let’s go! Jackson, get that pump going faster.”
“Yes, sir,” he called back. Sir had been a mocking title back in high school when I’d started pulling rank, when my status as the pack’s future alpha had gotten to my head a little, and I’d been… well, an asshole, really. Now, I’d learned to balance that authority.
Jackson looked at me from across the front lawn of the library and nodded once. We were all ready.
“Team A, with me now,” I said, jogging to the building. I’d already wasted too much time. “Team B, you’re under Jackson!” They’d be the ones fighting the fire itself, while we entered and tried to get any collateral reduced.
I wanted everyone out of here alive.
Screams immediately echoed through the library, and I heard crashing from the floor above. Beams fell, flames licking through the wood quickly. Immediately, I was sweating in my uniform, but I pressed on.
My voice was hazy through my helmet as I began to direct. “Nate and Carl, you’re on this floor. Theo, you’re with me on the second floor. If you need anything, radio to the outside.”
“Got it,” they all chorused, and then we were off, moving as fast as our suits allowed.
My pack branched out, and I could feel the anticipation and anxiety of each of them.
Nate was eager to prove himself as the newest member of Honeycreek’s fire brigade, even though his brother and he had been part of my pack for years.
Theo, with his insistence to take over the rescue mission, even though he knew his place.
I reached out to Jackson, who was wound tight with anticipation and worry as he did his part outside. I was already sweating inside my helmet, my face utterly soaked. But I focused on my main task: getting the survivors out of here.
Gesturing for Theo to follow me, we headed up a blazing staircase.
“Run!” I called out as a falling beam crashed onto the staircase, severing us from each other.
Theo hadn’t made it in time and launched himself over the gap.
He was all bulk and muscle, a brick wall of a man, and the rickety, unsteady staircase shuddered beneath his weight. I led the way to the main hallway.
“You take left, I’ll go right. Let’s be quick. In, sweep the room, out. Any survivors, just get them out the quickest, safest way.”
“Got it, Mase.”
We broke off, and I let my instincts carry me through. The wolf inside me knew where to direct me. I darted into a room that had once been where librarians held reading afternoons for the kids of Honeycreek.
Seeing it in flames now, everything hazy and orange, flames growing up the walls, made my chest ache.
Growling, I checked every square inch. There was someone in here.
Debris had fallen, and furniture had toppled over.
I wrenched every chair, table, bookshelf, and book out of the way.
Most people had fled, but the second floor would have been harder to get out, even more so for a child.
“Help!” The call was weak, but I heard it. I spun around, seeing nobody. But then I spotted the closet that held all the craft supplies inside for arts and crafts nights. “In here!”
There was a thud, and I dashed over, wrenching the doors open. A little girl with jet-black hair looked up at me, her face smeared with ash. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, and she’d wrapped her arms around herself.
“Hey there,” I said softly, seeing how she trembled. “I’m going to get you out, all right?”
“Mmhmm,” she cried, her face streaked with tears. “My momma—she… She was calling for me, but I’d already hidden in here. I was scared.
Behind me, furniture was crackling, the fire spreading. I only had a handful of moments.
“What’s your name?” I asked her, my voice tight with urgency.
“Kadie,” she said.
“All right, Kadie, I need you to tuck your nose into your collar for me, all right? I’m going to lift you up and get you out. Is that okay with you?”
She nodded silently, and I scooped her up, checking she had her airways as clear as possible.
“It’s important you don’t breathe in too much smoke, you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” she mumbled.
“Anyone else with you today?”
She nodded. “My papa. He was over there when I last saw him.”
Her wide eyes pointed at the corner of the room where I’d already cleared and checked, finding nobody. I could only hope she’d already made it out.
“Let’s get you out of here, all right, Kadie?
” I threw her over my shoulder and ran down the hallway, leaping over the split in the staircase.
Everywhere crackled, and the fire roared.
The little girl’s face stayed pressed to her dress.
Around me, burning debris fell, and even though I’d been doing this job straight out of college, I still had some fear for parts of the job.
Finally, I broke through into the front lawn and dropped Kadie off.
“Jackson!” I yelled. “Come find her family! I’m going back in.”
I passed Theo, who had two adults slung over his back.
“There are more in the far room. One of the women I already got out said it’s the storage room for old books that can’t be put out on shelves, but they’re not sure what to do with them.
They’re blocked off with a bunch of broken walls and furniture. ”
“Shit,” I muttered. “I’ll start clearing the path. That room’ll go up like wildfire if we’re not careful. Get Nate to assist you here and have all children locate their parents if they can. I don’t want any kid left alone. Get answers, names, as much as you can. I’ll grab Carl to help me out—”
“I can help you—”
“I need you here with Nate. He’s still new.”
“But I’m the strongest, Mase. I—”
“You want to stand around arguing, or do you want to do something helpful?” I growled at him. “We don’t have time for this, unless you want some deaths on your hands today.”
Theo breathed heavily, almost snarling me down. But soon, he stood down before backing away. “Nate, come help me!”
I left them to it before flagging down Jackson.
“I’m going to need a ladder for the far storage room. It’s at the back of the library on the right. Can you have that set up for me?”
He jerked a nod, and I nodded back before running back into the burning library.
I’d trust Jackson Calloway with my whole damn life.
I’d do another sweep of every room once I was done with the second floor.
I ran up, quickly checking every other room, listening to any noises.
Then I got to that storage room, finding five people, maybe three adults, one child, and a teenager, all huddled together, blocked off from me by the furniture and a wall of fire.
“I’m coming over!” I called out. “Clear a space.”
They parted, leaving enough room for me to leap through the flames. As I landed, I bit back a pained noise, the flames catching on a thinner part of my uniform.
“Everyone okay?” I called out. Around them, they all nodded.
One woman pushed forward, and I recognized her as Mrs. Thomson, the librarian. “The room’s going to go up—”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll need to get you all out of the window while I check the last rooms.”
“I—I have a fear of heights,” the teenager mumbled.
Before I could say anything, another woman nudged her. “It’s either get over that in the next two minutes or die.”
At the stark realization, the group fell silent. I could only blink before a crash behind me in the hallway jolted me back into action. “Okay, let’s go!”
I hoisted the child over my shoulder, my heart pounding with adrenaline as smoke poured into the room.
The adults were already protecting their noses and mouths, and I’d have the kid out in a second.
The teenager was white with fear as she looked towards the window.
Whoever the adult had been was right. It was too dangerous for me to carry her out through the building.
Outside, the ladder was waiting for me, with Jackson’s sub-team set up, Jackson leading them. He met my eyes from the ground.
“We’re ready for them!” he called out. “Let’s go, c’mon!”
Holding onto the child, I climbed out of the window. I hovered there, looking at the rest of the adults. “Are you guys all right climbing down alone?”
“Got it,” Mrs. Thomson called. “I’ll oversee everyone makes it out.” Even with the fear in her eyes, she took charge. I glanced at the teenager.
“I’ll come back for you, if that’s easier,” I told her, and she nodded.
Quickly, I had the child set down on the ground, where Nate and Theo were waiting to group everyone and find relatives and friends, anyone they could be around, so nobody was left alone.
I dashed back up the ladder, where the adults had the teenager ready to be lifted through the window. She looked uncomfortable, but it was this or… or nothing. I had her over my shoulder in a second, and she trembled as I carried her down. She immediately went over to Nate and Theo, quaking.