by Susan Stoker
She hit the front door to the hospital and it slammed open. She ran outside and stopped dead in her tracks. It was as if sometime in the last hour, she’d been transported to another world.
The street outside the hospital was full of emergency vehicles and firefighters. The lights on top of the trucks were all spinning; even in the afternoon light, the blue and red strobes shone dizzyingly around the area. The men and women were shouting at each other and it was absolute chaos, at least to Sophie’s eyes.
But it was the black smoke and orange light of the flames from the building next door that held her attention. Making sure to stay out of the way of the firefighters scurrying about, Sophie walked with her mouth open, head up, staring at the beautiful yet deadly flames shooting from the top floor of the rundown building.
Shaking her head, trying to concentrate, she looked around. Spying a group of what could only be homeless men and women huddled off to one side, also staring at the flames, she made her way over to them.
“Tadd?” she asked loudly.
They either didn’t hear her, or were ignoring her. She tried again. “Has anyone s-seen Tadd? Or his dog, Charlie? What about Louise?”
“Sophie? Is that you?” a deep voice said from the group.
She sighed in relief when she saw Frank. “Frank! Yes! It’s m-me. Where’s S-Sam or Tadd? Have you s-seen them?”
The other man shook his head. “I was a couple of blocks over panhandling. I saw the smoke and came running.”
“But he’s been s-staying here…right?”
“Yeah. Him and Louise. She hasn’t been well.”
“S-Shit,” Sophie swore, then whipped her head back toward the building. “Who else is m-missing?” she asked.
“Not sure. You know as well as I do that there’s no way to know how many were inside.”
Sophie nodded, then turned and frantically looked for a firefighter. Seeing one, she dashed over to him and yanked on his sleeve. “Excuse m-me.” She didn’t recognize the man, but at this point it didn’t matter.
“Yeah?” the man said, not exactly patiently.
“There’s people inside,” Sophie told him breathlessly. “I’m not s-sure how m-many. I know of at least two, probably m-more.”
“We know,” the man said, not even looking at her. He was doing something with a bottle of oxygen, Sophie had no idea what. “We’re on it.”
“But you don’t understand, I know who—”
“I said, we know. We’re doing the best we can.”
Sophie stared at the man as he turned his back to her and ran toward one of the firetrucks that had just pulled into the area. She looked back at the building. There were flames coming out of the roof…but on the opposite side from where she thought Tadd and Louise usually stayed.
She took a step toward the building when someone touched her arm.
Startled, Sophie spun around to see who was there. For a moment, she hoped it was Chief or one of his friends, but it wasn’t. It was Blythe.
She’d only met the homeless woman once, but now, just as then, she thought to herself that Blythe did not look like she should be on the street. Sure, her clothes and skin were dirty, but she held herself with a confidence, an almost arrogance, that Sophie never saw from street people. It was as if she hadn’t lost all hope, as many on the streets had.
“Last I saw Tadd, he was running up the stairs. He was outside when the fire started. He said something about Louise not being able to walk and how he’d be right back.”
Sophie nodded. “I’m going up there.”
“Don’t,” Blythe said. “Let the firefighters do their job. Tadd wouldn’t want you risking your life for his.”
“I know,” Sophie said softly. “But I have to. He won’t leave her, and even though he hates m-me, I can’t not do anything.”
“He doesn’t hate you.”
Sophie stared at the other woman with wide eyes.
“He doesn’t. He only said that stuff to get you to stop worrying about him.”
Sophie felt her eyes fill with tears. She knew it. Damn the man. Then she straightened her shoulders, more determined than ever now to get him out. “The fire’s on the other s-side of the building. I can get up there and help Tadd get Louise out. Five m-minutes tops. If it gets bad, tell s-someone where we are…okay?”
She barely gave Blythe time to nod before she took off at a run toward a side door. It was on the far side of the building, facing an alley. She knew about it because she’d seen Tadd and the other men and women who lived in the building going in and out in the past. She shoved the board away from the entryway and took a deep breath before stepping inside.
Sophie knew what she was doing was stupid, but she had to. There was no way she could just stand on the sidewalk and watch as her friends burned to death.
Whispering, “Please let m-me find them quickly,” she disappeared from sight of the people standing around on the sidewalk.
Chapter 16
“That’s the third alarm,” Taco said as they heard the dispatcher call for more assistance for the large fire that had broken out downtown. Station 7 wasn’t the closest to it, so they hadn’t been called…yet. But the three firefighters standing in the great room knew it was only a matter of time.
“Isn’t that address near the hospital?” Driftwood asked.
“Yeah, I think so. Hang on, let me check,” Sledge said, pulling up the app on the computer in the corner of the room. Every call that came into the nine-one-one center and was dispatched was tracked on an app. The firefighters could get details about the call and where it was when they were at home, in their trucks on the way to a call, or waiting in the station.
Sledge’s fingers flew over the keyboard and he swore softly when he pulled up the map. He turned to his friends and said, “It’s that old, abandoned piece-of-shit building right next to the hospital.”
“Fuck. I thought they caught the arsonists?” Driftwood said.
“They did. Maybe it wasn’t deliberate,” Taco replied, although everyone could tell he didn’t really believe what he was saying.
“Should we tell Chief?” Sledge asked.
“Tell Chief what?” Crash asked as he entered the room from a back office.
“There’s a three-alarm fire in that empty building next to the hospital where Sophie works.”
Crash stared at his friend for a long moment. “Bad?”
“Bad,” Sledge confirmed.
“They gonna make it a four-alarm?” Crash asked.
“Probably within the next half hour, if I had to guess,” Driftwood said. “From the chatter on the radios, there’s already fire showing on the roof and it’s quickly spreading downward through the walls.”
“Go and get dressed. We’re gonna roll,” Crash decided. “I’ll get Chief.” He spun on his heel and headed back down the hall.
He pounded on a door as he made his way down the hallway, waking up Squirrel, who was inside taking a nap. “Get up. We’re rollin’ in two.”
Then Crash went straight for the small workout room at the back of the station. Chief, Moose, and Penelope were inside working out.
He threw open the door and stuck his head in. He didn’t beat around the bush. “Grab your gear. Three-alarm downtown, quickly gonna turn to a four and maybe a five. They’re gonna call in every available unit. Taco, Driftwood, and Sledge are getting the trucks ready.
All three firefighters immediately put down the weights they were using and headed for the door. When Chief went to pass Crash, he stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“It’s that empty building next to the hospital,” Crash told him quietly. “No word on anyone trapped inside.”
“Fuck,” Chief swore, then shook free of Crash’s hold and jogged down the hall toward the room with their bunker gear.
Squirrel stumbled out of a room, rubbing his eyes. “What’s up?” he asked Crash.
“Fire. Grab your shit, let’s go. And if I had to guess, if you want to be on t
he truck, you have about five seconds before Chief is gone.”
That got Squirrel moving. He ran down the hall. And Crash was right; Squirrel had just enough time to grab his gear and hop into Engine 44 before it was pulling out of the station, lights and sirens blazing.
Squirrel was in the back with Chief. Sledge and Driftwood were in the front.
Struggling to change into his bunker gear as they raced down San Antonio’s streets to get to the fire, Squirrel asked through the headphones, “What do we know?”
“Not much,” Sledge said from the front passenger seat. “It’s complete chaos down there, as you can imagine. I can’t even tell who’s in charge as of right now. We’ll check it out when we arrive.”
“I’m going in,” Chief said in a calm voice.
Sledge turned to his friend. “No, you aren’t.”
“I am.”
“Call Sophie,” Sledge ordered. “Before you get all crazy, call her. She’s probably inside the hospital helping with injured or something.”
“It’s not Sophie I’m worried about,” Chief told him. “It’s all the homeless men and women she’s befriended. They’re like her family. If something happened to them, I’m not sure she’d ever get over it. They live in that building, Sledge. I have to make sure they’re all out.”
“And we will. When we get there, we’ll talk to whoever’s in charge and assess the situation. We do not rush into any burning structure without making sure it’s safe for us to be in there, and you know it. It sucks, man, but you know as well I do that if the fire is too big, it’ll be too late for anyone who goes inside. You, me, or anyone already trapped.”
The two men looked at each other for a long moment. Chief’s jaw ticked as he gritted his teeth. Finally, his chin dipped a fraction of an inch.
Sledge nodded back, acknowledging Chief’s acquiescence, and he turned to face the front once more. The tension in the truck was thick enough to choke on, but no one said a word as they neared the downtown area and saw the huge black plumes of smoke rising from the skyline. It was a bad omen, and the four firefighters knew it.
The skin on the back of Chief’s neck itched as if he had a thousand bee stings. Something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but he somehow knew it had to do with Sophie.
He thought back to that morning and making love with her. He’d never been as content as he was with her in his arms. Taking her without a condom had been life changing. It was silly, he was a grown man, but filling her with his come had somehow seemed to solidify their connection. As if painting her womb with his essence had somehow made her belong to him more. But it also meant that he belonged to her as well.
He was hers, lock, stock, and barrel. He’d move heaven and earth to make Sophie happy. Chief didn’t give a shit if she knew how whipped he was either. She made him happy, inside and out.
Maybe it was the connection they’d forged that morning that made Chief hyper alert now. Sophie was connected to the fire somehow, just as he was. He didn’t know how, and he hoped like fuck she wasn’t inside the inferno. She shouldn’t be, she should be safe at the hospital or lab, but the fire was way too close to both for his comfort.
Driftwood got their truck as close to the area as possible, and all four firemen hopped out. Sledge had a radio up to his ear, listening to what was happening. After a moment, he turned to his friends. “The fire is zero-percent contained on the northeast side. Because of all the broken windows and combustible fuel inside, it’s spreading sideways fast. They can’t get any more aerial ladders close enough to do any good.”
“Victims inside?” Chief asked curtly.
Slowly, as if he didn’t want to admit it, Sledge nodded. “There are reports of an unknown number of persons trapped on the south end. They’re sending in personnel now.”
“I want to go in,” Chief told Sledge, not sure why he was so sure he needed to be there. But he knew without a doubt he was destined to be inside that building.
“I know, but we need to wait. See how many people are inside. The last thing we want to do is put more firefighters in danger if we don’t have to.”
Just then, a woman ran up to their group. She was out of breath and obviously one of the homeless in the area.
“Inside. My friends are inside.”
“It’s okay, ma’am. What’s your name?” Squirrel asked calmly.
“Blythe. But they’re inside. Please, you have to go help them!”
Chief’s back went ramrod straight. “Blythe? You’re Blythe?”
“Yeah.”
“Who’s inside?” he asked curtly.
“Tadd and Louise. And Sophie went in to get them, but that was forever ago.”
“Where?” Chief barked. “Where did she go?”
The woman turned away from Chief and faced the building. “Tadd and Louise usually stay on the second floor. In the corner. There.” She pointed to a window on the south side of the building. It was the farthest away from the raging flames, but all the firefighters knew it would only be a matter of time before the smoke overcame anyone who was in that part of the building. The smoke would kill them long before the flames got to them.
“I’m going in,” Chief informed Sledge.
Sledge didn’t bother to protest this time. He simply looked at Driftwood. “Don’t leave his side. If his alarm goes off, get him the fuck out of there no matter what he says. Hear me?”
“Of course,” Driftwood said immediately.
“Your radio on?” Sledge asked Chief.
“Channel?”
“Let’s do forty-seven. The command channel is nineteen, so we won’t interfere with them.”
Everyone synced their radios.
“Talk to me when you’re in there, Chief. I get that you know what you’re doing, but don’t do anything stupid. Today is not the day I want to lose my friend. Get out of there if it gets too bad.”
Chief took a moment to look at Sledge. “If it was Beth inside, would you leave her there?” It was a rhetorical question. There was no way Sledge would leave his fiancée inside to die. And neither would Chief. He’d get Sophie out or die trying. It was that simple.
“Chief, Chief, Chief!” Mark said as he ran up to the group. “There’s a fire!” he told them unnecessarily.
“I see that, Mark,” Chief said softly. “I need to go and help now, yeah?”
“The lights are so neat,” he exclaimed. “Where’s Tadd and Charlie? And S-Sophie?” he asked, looking around.
“They’re inside. I need to go get them,” Chief told Mark.
Mark’s expression went from happy and excited about all the firefighters and trucks to horrified. “Inside?” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Chief said.
“Fire’s bad. They shouldn’t be in there,” he stated.
“That’s why Chief and Driftwood are going to go in and get them out,” Sledge said, ending the conversation. “You stay here, right by the truck, okay? You can see them when they come out.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be right here,” Mark echoed, wringing his hands, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Let’s go,” Driftwood said, hitching his air pack higher on his back and adjusting his helmet and face mask.
“Good luck,” Sledge told them.
“Good luck,” Mark repeated.
Chief headed for the burning building, and the woman who was the other half of his soul.
Squirrel reached out and touched the woman who’d said her name was Blythe on the arm. His brows turned down in concern. “You’re freezing,” he told her. “Hang on.”
Without waiting for a response, he ran to the backseat of the firetruck. He grabbed his sweatshirt and jogged back to where she, Mark, and Sledge were standing.
“Here.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“You’re cold. You can wear that for now.”
“You’re giving me your sweatshirt?”
“Yeah. You’re cold,” Squirrel repeated. “Why wouldn’t I?”
/>
“Because you don’t know me. Because I’m homeless. Because I stink to high heaven. I could go on and on.”
“I don’t give a shit about that stuff. Just put it on, Blythe.”
He could’ve sworn he saw tears in her eyes, but she ducked her head before he could be sure.
“Thanks,” she mumbled before pulling the way-too-big sweatshirt over her head.
“You’re welcome.”
Before Squirrel could say or do anything else to reassure the woman, and Mark, that Chief would find Sophie and the others, Taco, Moose, Crash, and Penelope trotted up. They’d arrived in one of the other trucks from the station.
“What’s the situation?” Moose asked Sledge.
Squirrel listened as Sledge explained that Chief and Driftwood had gone inside the building to look for Sophie and the others, and that they luckily were probably on the extreme south side of the building.
“Think we can get a ladder up there?” Penelope asked.
“We can sure try,” Moose said. “Come on, let’s go set it up. Sledge, you’ll let Chief know?”
But Sledge was already speaking into his radio, telling Chief and Driftwood where the ladder would be waiting.
Squirrel turned back to Blythe to tell her she could wait inside their firetruck to stay warm, but she was gone. He spun in a complete circle and couldn’t see her anywhere. She’d simply disappeared into thin air.
“Damn,” he murmured. But just then, Moose, Penelope, and Crash came running back to where he was standing, a long ladder in their grasps. They’d gotten it off the station’s other truck. Forgetting about Blythe for the moment, Squirrel assisted with the ladder and they all headed for the side of the building where they hoped their teammates would appear with Sophie.
* * *
Sophie coughed as she stumbled over debris in her path. She’d only been inside the building once, and had been ratted on by Blythe and chewed out by Tadd afterward, but she had a fairly good idea of where she was going. The issue was that, though dim when she’d first entered through the side door, she could still see where she was going. Though slowly but surely, the air had gotten smokier and smokier, and now she could barely see two feet in front of her.
