"Gotcha, Chief," Mike said as he prepped his gear and got ready to take the door while Danny and I hooked up the hose.
The heat of the fire had blown out the lower windows and the flames were climbing the building. I knew that the inside was getting hotter by the second, and that if we didn't get those people out, it was highly likely that the floors would collapse and send them tumbling down to their deaths.
"You ready, Kelly?" I hollered from behind my oxygen mask and got a nod as Mike raised his axe and busted in the front door. He leapt backwards as the flames shot out, and I hit them with a blast of the hose.
Above us, the guys from the truck were climbing the ladder as they waited for it to reach the edge of the building. As soon as it did, they began transferring people from the open window in a bucket brigade fashion that soon had the stranded residents down on the ground. The children stood huddled against their parents' legs as their tears left tracks in the soot on their cheeks.
Mike led us into the building and pointed toward the inferno raging in the corner.
"Hit it, guys!" he yelled as he began to vent the lower rooms calling out in case anyone had been left inside. It didn't take long for Danny and I to bring the flames under control on the ground floor, and the guys on the ladder worked it from above.
The problem came when Mike climbed up to the second floor yelling, "Fire department! Call out!" It was there, in a small studio apartment in the back corner, that he found what looked like the body of a young woman badly burned but still alive.
"MEDIC!" Mike screamed over and over until the paramedic climbed the stairs to check out what he'd found. They quickly assessed her injuries and loaded her up on a backboard carrying her down to the ambulance and whisking her off to the hospital. After canvassing the rest of the second floor, Mike came back down and helped us break up the walls.
"Hey, man," he said as he looked at me.
"Don't say a word," I said as I swung my axe. "Not a fucking word."
He nodded and we worked with only the sound of the water flowing from the hose outside and our axes hitting the walls as we tore the building apart.
#
Nobody said anything to me once we got back to the station when I took Tesla out to the yard to play ball. I stood there throwing the damn tennis ball thinking about what had happened and how close to home the situation had been. My eyes were dry, but my chest was tight, and I felt the weight of the world bearing down on my shoulders.
More than anything, I wanted to talk to Alex. I wanted to feel Alex's body pressed against mine and her lips moving under my own. I wanted Alex. I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen for a long time before I scrolled through and found her number. I debated whether I should call or not and then hit the dial button and waited.
"Hey, Cam, what's up?" she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
"Nothing much, just bored out of my skull," I said, smiling back.
"Oh, so I'm your fallback for mind-numbing boredom? Good to know." She laughed. I could hear noise in the background.
"You sure you're not busy?" I asked.
"No, I'm just helping Liz with a project she started but couldn't finish on her own." She laughed again as I heard running water in the background.
"Uh, okay?" I said as I picked up the ball that Tesla dropped at my feet and chucked it halfway across the yard. I watched as she tore off to find the ball in the dark yard and smiled when she did.
"Liz started dying her hair and got stuck because she couldn't reach the back strands," Alex explained. "So, now I'm here playing stylist as we try to even out the peacock blue highlights she attempted to put in. It's a mess!"
"You girls are nuts." I laughed as I imagined Alex trying to apply highlights to her friend's head.
"Indeed we are." She laughed with me. "Look, can I call you back? We're at a crucial point and -- Liz, sit down and wait! God, she's my best friend, but she's a major pain in the ass!"
"No problem, call me back if you have time," I said as Tesla wandered around holding the ball in her mouth, a sign that she'd had enough catch for one night. "And be careful!"
"I'm trying! Talk to you later!" Alex laughed before the line went dead.
I put the phone back in my pocket and wished I could be there to witness the chaos. I just wanted to be near Alex again. I shook my head and looked down at Tesla.
"I'm nuts, girl." I sighed. "Just flat out nuts. And I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that, so if you've got any ideas, throw them my way, would you?"
Tesla dropped the ball and barked once as she headed for the station door. I sighed as I picked up the ball and tossed it in the toy basket before heading inside.
"You okay?" Newsome asked quietly.
"Yeah, fine." I nodded as I grabbed a soda and sat down to watch television with the guys. My mind was a million miles away as I stared at the screen and thought about the past, present, and future.