by Amy DeMeritt
“Help!”
“Help me!”
“We’re in here!”
There are screams from various parts of the second level, and one from the third.
“That’s very promising. Let’s move.”
The smoke and heat are thick like gravy being poured over them, making it hard to see. But they move as quickly as they dare over the compromised floors. When they reach the first open bedroom, they find two young kids clinging to each other on a bed that is surrounded by fire.
“Perez, get to that window and get a ladder up here.”
While he goes to the window and breaks it to wave to the crew below, Fields and Ashton put the flames out on the floor and test stepping over the scorch mark to get to the bed.
“The floor is very weak. I don’t think we can step across, Lieutenant.”
Ashton nods in agreement with Fields. “Okay, kids, I’m going need you to come to us. You’re just going to jump off of the bed and we’re going to catch you.”
“No, I’m scared.”
As softly as she can, given how urgent the situation is, Ashton assures them, “I know. But you’re going to be just fine. I promise. Do you like to go swimming?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, this is just like that. You’re just going to stand on the edge of the bed and jump like you jump into a swimming pool.”
They tentatively get up and walk to the edge of the bed. They’re shaking and crying and clinging to each other. As the fire spreads and the walls groan loudly, they scream and start shaking their heads.
“Close your eyes and squeeze your nose like you’re about to jump into the water and just jump. You have to trust us. We’re going to get you out of here.”
Whimpering and shaking terribly, they release each other. They tightly pinch their eyes closed and pinch their noses.
“On the count of three. Ready? One, two, three.”
The young boy and girl jump and Fields and Ashton each catch one a piece and immediately race to the window where a ladder is ready with two firefighters at the top. They pass the kids off through the window, then move out to the hallway.
The sound of the staircase crumbling causes Ashton to curse and she walks down the dark and smoky hallway to investigate. The staircase from the first level to the second has broken away and the landing looks and feels like it’s going to follow very soon.
“I have to go up before the support wall of this staircase is too compromised and we’re cut off from it. There are six kids – we saved four. There should be one left down here and one upstairs. You find the last kid down here and get the hell out of here. Page me to confirm you’re out.”
All three of them dodge to the left as a wall crashes down, nearly landing on them. They carefully shuffle sideways back to the hallway, but before Ashton can step off of the landing, it begins to break away. She slides towards the left and has to leap off of it as it begins to fall away completely. She just barely catches the handrail of the staircase leading to the third floor and pulls herself up.
“Lieutenant!”
“Go get that kid and get out of here, now!”
“That structure is not safe.”
“Fields, get your ass moving and save that kid. That is an order!”
Without waiting for a response, she starts climbing the wobbly staircase to the third floor, and Perez grips Fields by the arm and pulls him down the hall to find the other kid.
Only three steps up, the stairs shift and drop into a vertical hanging position. Ashton throws her axe into a board like an icepick to catch herself and groans with the effort to not plummet straight down to the raging fire that has completely consumed the first floor.
“Son of a bitch.”
With one hand holding the poles of the handrail, and one hand holding the axe, she alternates between swinging her weight to either hand to climb up. Holding on to her axe with every ounce of strength she has, she throws her other hand up to grip the next pole, then plunges her axe into a higher board to pull herself up. The pain in her shoulder is excruciating. Her muscles are beyond fatigued. The heat is unbearable.
“Jesus Christ, Lieutenant!”
Ashton closes her eyes in frustration, then growls as she slams her axe into another board and climbs up another couple of feet. She swings herself up and gets to the landing panting and gasping for air. As she looks down over the edge, the stairs fall away with a loud crash.
“Did you find that kid?”
“Not yet.”
“Then what the hell are you doing, Fields? Go, now!”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m perfect, now go. Do not make me come down there and kick your ass.”
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
He rushes off again and Ashton shakes her head with a small laugh. That was too close. She drags herself off of the floor and screams, “Hello! Anyone up here?”
A very weak and hoarse, “Help,” answers her back.
“Keep calling out to me so I can find you.”
The entire third level is filled with smoke, making it nearly impossible to see anything. She has to rely on her sense of hearing and touch to maneuver. The sound of the small choked voice guides her past two rooms, and as she enters the third, the darkness increases. There are no windows in this room.
“Hello?”
A pitiful cough and shuffling sound answers, then a weak, “I’m right here.”
She grabs the flashlight attached to her jacket and can just barely make out a huddled shape a few feet in front of her. This isn’t a room – it’s a walk-in closet. She squats down and picks up the young coughing boy.
“I can’t see or breathe. I’m scared.”
“I know. I’m going to get you out of here.”
Her radio crackles, and Perez’s voice comes over, saying, “We found the kid and we’re out. Everyone is out. The basement and first and second levels are clear.”
She pushes the button to respond, and confirms, “I have the last kid. We’re looking for a window now.”
“See you soon, Lieutenant.”
She walks across the hall to another bedroom and breaks out a window, causing the smoke to rush out like a tornado. She waves to her crew and speaks into her radio for a ladder to be moved to her window.
While she waits, she pulls her air respirator off and puts it to the boy’s mouth, saying, “Take a deep breath,” then coughs from the amount of smoke in the room. When she hears the sound of the ladder bumping against the exterior walls, she looks up and the blood drains from her face.
“Ashton. What?” Erin’s face pales and she shakes her head vigorously as she starts trembling in panic. “What are you doing in there? Ash, no, you’re not supposed to be here.”
“Take the boy, DeLuna.”
Ashton coughs as she takes the respirator back and holds him up to Erin, but Erin is frozen in panic.
“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be on medical leave. Is this because…?”
“Take the boy, DeLuna. Now!”
Erin’s eyes fill with tears, but she snaps into focus and reaches through the window to take the young boy from Ashton’s arms, then passes him to a firefighter standing below her. As Erin turns and offers Ashton her hand to help her climb out, the floor beneath her cracks and Ashton looks down as she spreads her stance.
“Ash, what are you…?” The floor caves in, and Ashton falls out of sight. “Ashton! No! Ashton!”
Erin tries to climb inside but arms wrap around her waist and pull her back. She fights and screams as she hysterically cries out Ashton’s name.
Chapter Nineteen
Dazed and in pain, Ashton rolls off of her back right into a blaze. She rolls back and pats at her arms and legs, putting out tiny flames all over her uniform. She stands and backs into a wall that’s not on fire and looks around to get her bearings.
She reaches for her radio, but it’s gone. There’s no sign of it among the broken and burning boards on the floor. She lo
oks up at the hole she fell through and sees it dangling from a sharp board, just out of reach.
She stumbles forward with her entire body hurting and reaches through some flames to grab her axe.
“Lieutenant, Hyland, what is your status?”
She growls in frustration as she lifts her axe to try to knock the radio free, but she can’t reach it from this angle. If she could get directly below it, she might have a shot, but to do that, she would have to step right into flames.
“Lieutenant Hyland, what is your status?”
“I hear you, Captain!” She growls. “My status fucking sucks. Goddamn irresponsible parents leaving fireworks where kids can find them.”
She kicks out at a board in anger and looks around the room. Two walls have collapsed in on each other with part of the ceiling bowing downward. She doesn’t have much time before the entire ceiling gives way and buries her. And that’s only if the floor doesn’t crumble first. She doesn’t have her fire extinguisher to put out the flames between her and the window.
Inspiration suddenly strikes like a match. She hooks her axe to her belt and grabs hold of a long board that’s on fire in its center. With a bit of force behind it, she thrusts it forward, breaking the window. She pulls back and thrusts forward again, over and over again till every piece of glass is broken. Then she puts the board down and waits.
“Come on. I know you had to see that.”
She watches the progress of the flames sounding her and her anxiety begins to grow. The flames are only inches away and the entire ceiling is ablaze. She closes her eyes and takes slow, deep breaths through her respirator. She can’t wait long. If they didn’t notice her break the window, she’ll have to force herself to find another way out. And the only ways out are either to walk through the fire in front of her and hang out the window and wait for a ladder to get to her. Or down into the heart of the fire. Either option guarantees she’ll be burned because she doesn’t have her extinguisher. But if she goes down, she probably won’t make it out of here alive.
As she makes up her mind and she’s about to walk through the fire to get to the window, she hears the familiar sound of the ladder bumping against the wall. She snaps her eyes open and looks through the flames with a relieved smirk.
“Lieutenant, we’re here.”
The firefighter aims a fire extinguisher down at the floor, as another tosses her a rope with a harness. While sidestepping a sudden burst of fire that springs up next to her right foot, she secures the harness around her waist and thighs, just in case the floor crumbles. And when the flames are low enough, she cautiously walks forward. The floor creaks and shudders under every step she takes, but she makes it to the window. She passes her axe through first, then they take her hands to offer her support to climb out the window.
As soon as she is on the ladder, the sounds of relieved cheers and clapping cut through the noise of the fire engines, hoses blasting water through the flames, and Ashton’s quiet groans of pain. With each labored step down the ladder she progresses, her pain continues to increase and her breathing becomes shallower. As soon as she’s on the ground again, she looks side to side for the nearest EMT, and as she spots them, Erin pushes through everyone and throws her arms around her, causing her to wince and stumble in pain.
Erin rips her helmet and respirator off and firmly kisses her lips, then slaps her chest, saying, “You stupid jerk. What were you thinking coming back to work early? Did you do this to get back at me?”
Ashton pushes her off, and while holding her trembling shoulders, she firmly but quietly says, “Stop. Get back to your post, DeLuna, and help put this fire out. If you can’t get your shit together and do that, then go home.”
She starts to walk away limping, but Erin steps in front of her and grabs her shoulders. “Ash, wait, please. Can we talk? Can I come over tonight?”
“I have plans tonight, if I’m still alive by then. Move, DeLuna.”
“Wait, what do you mean? What’s wrong?”
Erin looks her up and down, and Ashton gently pushes her aside as she sways on the spot, reiterating, “Get out of my way, DeLuna.”
She tries to take another step towards the EMTs, but she crumbles to the ground, falling unconscious.
“Ashton! Help! Someone!”
***
Gloria runs down the hall and shoves Fields and Perez aside to get into the hospital room. She places a hand on Ashton’s face, and as she starts crying, she bends down and kisses her lips and closed eyes.
“Ashton, baby, I’m here. Open your eyes. Please, open your eyes.”
“The nurses said it could be a little while before she comes out of the anesthesia.”
She snaps her head around to look at Erin, who’s standing on the other side of the bed, and demands, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Erin blushes as her eyes fill with tears, and she looks down in shame. “I’m in love with her, Gloria. I want to be here to make sure she’s okay.”
“No, she’s not ok! You broke her heart – again! Then she fell through a fucking floor and broke her ribs, sprained an ankle, and had to have emergency surgery to repair a tear in her spleen. She is far from ok! And then I find out you were at the top of that ladder and watched her fall through that floor. Did you even try to help her?”
“Yes! I… I was in shock to see her. It took me like three seconds to come to my senses. But I took the boy, then I reached my hand in to help her climb out. But she didn’t take my hand.” She starts crying hard. “She looked down. She looked down and then the next thing I knew, she was gone. She fell and I couldn’t even see her because of the smoke.” She cries as she holds up her hand. “I had my hand in there. She didn’t take it. If she had just grabbed my hand instead of looking down…”
“Why were you even there? Why weren’t you at your clinic?”
“I took the day off.”
“Maybe you should have taken the day off from this as well.”
“This isn’t my fault. You can hate me all you want, but you can’t blame me for this.”
Ashton suddenly groans and her eyes flutter open and closed as her head tilts side to side. Gloria places a hand on her cheek, turning her face to focus on her.
“Shh, I’ve got you, baby.”
Her throat is raw and hoarse as she tries to say, “Gloria.”
“Yes, it’s me. I’m here. You’re going to be okay, baby.”
“I’m alive?”
Gloria nods and kisses her dry lips, and as she answers, “Yes, you’re alive,” her voice trembles. “You’re a bit busted up though, honey. Your fractured ribs broke clean through. You sprained your right ankle, and you had to have surgery to repair a tear in your spleen.”
“Shit. When can I go home?”
“Not for a few days, at least.”
“The kids?”
“They’re all safe and alive. You did really good, baby. I heard you were a real hero today. I heard about the stairs. You are one serious badass. But I have to tell you, if you let one more staircase almost take you out of my life, I am going to kick your ass. Do you hear me, Ashton Maria Hyland?”
“Loud and clear, babe. Where’s DeLuna?”
“I’m right here.” Erin steps forward, taking one of Ashton’s hands in hers. “I’ve been here the whole time.”
“You asked me…” She clears her throat and tries to swallow as her throat closes from lack of moisture and being so raw from the breathing tube inserted during surgery. “You asked if I did this to get back at you.”
“I’m sorry. That was stupid of me to say. I was just in shock. I wasn’t expecting to see you there. I was on the last truck to arrive and I was told to get up the ladder. I didn’t know who was inside or who was leading the crew. I just ran up the ladder as it swung into position. And then, there you were. Ash, that fire was so bad when I got there. I couldn’t believe anyone was inside, and then… Ash, why did you go back early?”
“My injuries have nothing to do wit
h what happened today. This just happened. This is the nature of the job. This is why you said it’s over.”
Fields and Perez share a glance and look on with anger and sympathy. They have watched this back and forth with Ashton and Erin for three years and both of them are of the same feeling as Gloria – Erin doesn’t deserve Ashton, but they’ve never told Ashton that.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s nothing left to say. We’re friends, that’s it. But listen to me. If you pull anything like you did today ever again, you will not be a firefighter any more. I am your Lieutenant, first and foremost. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, I’m sorry.” Erin looks down in shame and embarrassment. Then she darts forward and kisses Ashton’s lips. She thrusts her tongue forward, giving Ashton a sloppy, emotional kiss. “I love you. I’m so sorry this happened. Is this my fault?”
“No.”
Captain Hunt walks into the room and clears his throat. “Can I have the room, please?”
Perez and Fields nod and tell Ashton they’re glad she’s okay then walk out. Erin bends down to kiss Ashton’s lips, then follows them, but Gloria doesn’t budge.
“Ms. Sanchez, I would like a word with Ashton alone, please.”
“I’m not moving.”
“Very well.” He walks over to stand on Ashton’s other side. “First day back and…”
“Captain, before you blame this on my ribs or…”
“Quiet, Hyland.”
She closes her mouth with a sharp exhale through her nose. Her head still feels fuzzy from the anesthesia, but the seriousness of the situation has her feeling alert.
“Fields and Perez told me everything that happened in that house. Fields told me how you had to jump onto that staircase and climb it with your hands and axe just to get to that last kid. I am damn proud of the way you handled the crew and the decisions you made today. Now, I know this is going to piss you off, but this is my final say on the matter and you will not be able to change my mind. You are back on medical leave, effective immediately, and you are not coming back to work till your ribs fully heal. Take the next six to eight weeks to heal and rest. We need you in top physical condition as soon as possible, so don’t do anything stupid to slow your recovery. Do we have an understanding?”
