The Chance

by Theresa Puckett

  Chapter 3

  The music continued on loudly. Thumping and bumping, the crash of the bass nearly breaking the speakers in half echoed out as the musical torrent and ballad of the band on the stage continued on, humming and thrumming as I could feel the energy all around me.

  The energy of life, of movement, and the music as the guitar solo rippled through the air like a wave, and people all around me stood and cheered, clapping their hands as several who were more adventurous than I and Cheyanna took to the dance floor to move. Heavy metal, Progressive rock, ballads and odes to both the past and the present echoed out in chorus.

  The band's time soon came to a stop, and the crowd all around us reared up on our feet to clap and celebrate the performance that went on as the band took their bows, and gave thanks for being a great audience that night as the din of passion and excitement started to peter out and become just a little bit more hollowed. The tinnitus now taking effect as a ringing sound echoed out, and wouldn’t go away. Almost like a little buzz.

  We filter out, laughing and stumbling a little bit as we moved from the exit of the club that was in downtown Fort Wayne, moving all along the ground as I felt her body lea in against me. The cool night’s air swallowing us up, soaking away the added heat and warmth we earned among a swarming crowd of people at the Club. Cheyanna’s laughter was infectious.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God. That was… just so fun!” she exclaimed, catching her breath as she patted my shoulder while we made our way towards my car; A large, older vehicle I’ve had since I was a kid with a racing spoiler on the back bolted to the frame. A thing I thought that would make me seem cooler to other people.

  It didn’t.

  But Cheyanna didn’t seem to mind or care as she continued to catch her breath. The low, blowing wind blowing her curly red hair from her face as her brow beaded in sweat from the excitement as I laughed with her, reaching for my keys.

  “Yea, right? That opening act? Holy shit!” I exclaimed my own excitement building within me, despite the loss of adrenaline I was feeling as the night started to wind down.

  “And that middle part with the bass and the drum solo?” she continued on as I unlocked the door, causing me to turn and agree.

  “OH man! Yea!” I replied, opening the door as the light within turned on. “Took me a while to get an idea, but eventually I think I pinned down what genre they were. Seemed more like ‘Melodic Grunge’ or something like that. Very mid 90’s feel.”

  Chey continued to laugh as she climbed into the faux leather seat, and I took my place beside her with a sigh. “Yea.” She panted, slowly relaxing now. “Kind of a mix of late Nirvana meets Def Leppard. Or something like that. They made it work.”

  “Whew… yea they did.” I agreed, leaning back in my seat for a moment to catch my breath as well.

  A moment or two passed, none of us talking. The accompanying sound of silence echoing in all around us as we both stared upwards towards the moon roof of the car, looking out to the large, white moon above, nearly full. No cloud in the sky, but the inky blackness above still obscured by the light of civilization.

  Suddenly, she turned to me, asking a sudden question. “You hungry?”

  “God yes.” I said, feeling my stomach growl at the mention of food. I turned to look at her, staring back towards those large blue eyes of her. “Want to get a burger?”

  “God yes.” She said and laughed.

  I smiled, sat back up, and started the car as the engine lightly roared with life. I slowly pulled out from the parking lot now that the mad rush of people to leave had abated.

  A half hour later, with burgers and fries and drinks in hand courtesy of a local fast food place, we were off behind a large park that was hidden behind a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by tree’s and a water tower off in the distance that nearly hid the view of the moon behind it.

  We sat there, on the back of my car using the spoiler as a table, eating and laughing and talking once more. The cold wind lessened by the trees, and the hiss of hydraulics from the freight trucks of the highway in the distance the only sound that we could hear. Not even the traffic to the Wal-Mart could penetrate into the little crevice that we had snuck ourselves into, dipping our fries into various different packets of mustard and ketchup as we nommed and talked.

  “God. Fast food. My guilty pleasure.” Cheyanna mused with a bite of her double bacon sandwich she had bought. Nomming it down like a hungry wolf as I merely watched with amusement.

  “Heh. I can only eat it sparingly. I got to stay in shape you know, don’t want to be the only chunky firefighter who can’t get into a door when I need to.”

  She leaned in and nudged me, nearly toppling my large soda over as she spoke through her chewing. “Oh come on. Not even soda?”

  I turned to her with a grin as I reached out toward my cup quickly to catch it before it fell, not wanting to let it go to waste. “Well.. the occasional Cola I guess… I can’t really ever stop drinking soda. I guess it’s my one major addiction.”

  “Nothing wrong with that you know. Got to have one thing you’re addicted to, to keep you grounded.” She replied as she continued to eat, reaching over to snag several of my fries.

  “Like you and music?” I asked, teasing.

  She smiled as she continued to munch. “Yea. Something like that.”

  And then all was silent again as we continued to eat in the mean. Just enjoying one another’s company as she scooted a little bit closer, her dangling legs brushing against mine to the point I could almost feel her black leggings brush against my jeans. “So what’s with the spoiler on the car here?”

  I sighed and then chuckled a bit, embarrassed at the mention of it. It was a Pontiac, which looked nothing like a race car, but I hadn’t been asked to take it off. “I put it on when I was in high school. Thought it would make me look cool.”

  “Did it work?”

  I shook my head as I took several more fries in hand. “Got me the opposite reaction. But I was stubborn, so I kept it on.” I shrugged. Truth was, it was mostly laziness that did it for me, and the fact I spent nearly $100 on the kit through the internet.

  “Well.. I think it’s pretty cool.” Cheyanna said, and I raised my brow towards her in response.

  “Really? You’re not messing with me or teasing me or anything right?”

  She turned with a grin before she dove into the last remnants of her sandwich. “Made a fine table for us right? Better than being cramped in the car and having it smell like stale burgers for a while, right?”

  I couldn’t help but agree as I turned my head and slowly leaned back in against the rear window to look at the sky above. The faint outline of the stars that were visible despite the lights of the city twinkling overhead as another hiss of freight hydraulics brought me back down to the earth below. The smell of burgers, the smell of pine, and the smell of the cold autumn wind keeping me grounded and tethered to the ground. I suppose she was right. Being out here, beneath the stars like this? A million times better than being inside the car cramped up and eating. But I turned towards Chey with a smile, shrugging one shoulder up.

  “Maybe. I mean, hey. We’d be closer in the car you know.”

  “Like this?” she asked, scooting ever closer towards me to the point I could feel her warmth enveloping me. The cold air being chased away, both by Cheyanna’s warmth and the warmth of my face as I felt the heat rising into a blush. The first time anyone has taken an interest in me at all.

  But this time, I didn’t shy away as I leaned in a bit more, emboldened by my actions. “Yea. Just like that.”

  “Still could have done that with the spoiler on here you know. I think it’s cool.”

  “Yea. Not half as cool as you.” I said, meaning my words, blurting them out faster than my brain could process. I nearly kicked myself for not thinking first but she blushed in return, and I hoped for the best with her reaction.

  “You are the one that took me out on this date
. No one else have you known? Or would everyone I know have been so busy. And yet here you are. A firefighter for the city, showing me things even the “cool kids” at college won’t show me because they’re too busy smoking pot in their dorms and playing video games.”

  “I guess I like to get out. You know?” Though in truth, it was mostly because I needed to know the layout of the city for my job, not wanting to rely on GPS devices.

  “Well should take me out more you know..” she said, leaning in close enough that I could almost feel her lips right on mine; and in that instant, I felt like she really saw me. I felt like I was one of the cool kids indeed. All my life I felt like the scrawny geek that no one looked twice towards. Everyone in school ignoring me, calling me names, or just outright not giving me the time of day.

  But now, I felt like someone important, here beside a pretty girl with fiery red curly hair and big blue eyes who took my breath away the moment I saw her. God, at that moment I was glad I literally bumped into her.

  “You know it's okay to kiss me.” She said through heated breath, and I sighed as I did so, leaning in closer towards her.

  She tasted sweet as I felt my kiss pressing against hers. Not my first kiss, nor my second, but the least awkward of all the kisses I’ve had before. Our lips pressing against one another, her breath against mine as I tasted cherries, the sweet alcohol I bought her at the club, and… even the fast food we had eaten. I didn’t care, I delved more against her as we continued to make out. The only sound now is the sound of our affection before she pulled back with a small wet pop from my lips. Both of us panting from being breathless.

  “You know, I want to do this more often.” She said, and I smiled, genuinely happy for the way the evening ended.

  “I would to… I… really really would.”

  And she smiled and reached out to take the last of my fries. I didn’t care, I had gotten what I wanted that evening.

  Chapter 4

  Several months had passed. Autumn gave way to winter, which gave way to spring. Not much in my life had happened as I continued to be the best newbie to the Firefighters brigade that I could be. Moving up the ladder and social hierarchy from gopher boy, to weekend janitor, to trusted individual when it came to our jobs.

  But, unluckily, not much in the way of excitement happened. Which I suppose was a good thing. If there weren’t any fires, that meant that people’s homes and such weren’t destroyed, and if people’s homes and such weren’t destroyed, that meant that we didn’t have to expend taxpayer’s money every time we drove out of the precinct.

  Oh sure, we went out every so often. After all, car crashes happened, bushfires needed tending too, and we needed to show up for festivals and the like as backup just in case of accidents and catastrophes, but nothing much in the way of excitement that you’d hear about or see in movies. Life just continued on, I kept on my training for those months, wanting to remain in top shape, and continue on with my skill in the tools needed for my job.

  Until, one day sometime in the beginning of the spring season.

  The air was crisp, the smell of melting snow mingled with the warm breeze that blew from the north, and the roaring of fire crackled as it ate at wood, plaster, plastic, foam lining and more. The heavy sounds of bells, warning sirens, and more pierced through that crisp air to warn people all around that there was a fire, to make way, and to clear space required by law.

  We drove up, the call having been made not even 15 minutes before. A home on the outskirts of Fort Wayne in a small little town was first spotted with smoke rising from the second-floor windows, and then soon broke out into a fire. By the time we drove up, the upper section of the house was in flames, with the fire eating downward towards the base of the house. Neighbors, and other rubberneckers who wanted to see a travesty were out in the afternoon hours, looking to watch as the fire consumed one side of the house and collapsed down a porch into a pile of tinder and ash and burning oak.

  We pulled up and quickly began to work. Running to the fire hydrant, connecting the hose as we donned our protective jackets and helmets. Protection from fire paramount, and tantamount to our safety, and what we were trained to put on quickly and efficiently at the Station (my pride being I was the fastest, due to being short, but obsessive in being prepared as well).

  My boss, Kendrell Adamms, quickly yelled for us to get ready, and we started the job of fighting fire with water, hosing down the front of the house as one of the other veterans rushed forward and kicked in the front door. The inside of which was already covered in flicking fire as it fell from the ceiling above in sparks, like heated rain, covering the living room couch with a fine layer of heat as it flicked back and forth in a hypnotic wave. The heat meeting us face first as I felt the front of my helmet heat up.

  Just as we were about to move in though, we heard a cry from above. A call that pierced through the growling hunger of the fire. Young, scared, and calling for help. Crying out for anyone who would hear.

  Quickly, we all looked to one another, and we realized that there was someone in the house. The other family members who lived were all outside, but we didn’t pay them any mind; we couldn’t stop to talk, after all, we had a job to do and we needed to do it quickly. I realized though that their frantic yelling and calling out to us wasn’t because they were losing a home, but because there was still one of them missing.

  And it was a child.

  No one spoke or said anything as we pushed through the threshold of the front door. I wouldn’t have listened anyways. All my training, expectations of me, and everything else took over as instinct and training melded together and I quickly rushed forward towards the stairs as the fire ate a line down the banister.

  The heat started to build up the more I moved on upwards, and I saw the inferno for myself. I had trained to be in situations like this before; since the training involved being in plywood homes and withstanding heat in full gear, but not like this. Those training sessions were controlled, meant to give us a simulation of what was to happen, to give us a means of understanding what it felt like to be in this sort of danger. It was never life threatening though, but here? Here it was, and it was more dangerous than I imagined. My actual first test as a firefighter with resolve.

  I pushed on, fighting through the smoke as I felt it all around me, and the floor beneath me crackled. The sound of crying was still heard, calling for help. Luckily the home wasn’t too big; a standard 2 story home with 5 beds and probably three baths. Just up the stairs, and down the hallway. I fought through the smoke as I felt the fire in the other rooms. Getting all the way to the end where the crying was as I heard my comrades behind me call out for my name. All of them trying to either see if I was alright or to claim the fire was too much and to turn back.

  I didn’t listen, instead, I was compelled forward towards the door as I rushed forward and kicked it in with a flying boot, hoping that the person on the other end wasn’t behind it as it flew off of its hinges and crashed to the side, nearly broken off as it tumbled to the floor.

  Luckily, no one else was behind the door, and the room itself wasn’t on fire unlike the others behind me that raged in a halo of infernal rage. The back draft of smoke rushed in towards the open window though as a child, barely 7 years old and already dressed in her pajamas stood there crying, ready to climb out.

  I quickly rushed over towards her, kneeling down on the hot floor as she moved back, but realized quickly I was there to help. I spoke, loud and clear as I could through the muffled tune of my mask.

  “I’m a firefighter! I’m here to help! Are you injured?”

  She shook her head no.

  I nodded in understanding and continued to speak. “I’m getting you out of here! Grab on!”

  She nodded her head that time and reached out with trembling arms to wrap around my neckline. I felt her squeeze, and I wrapped a large arm around her and lifted. Surprisingly, a child of that size and age didn’t weigh too much to me, though that might have
been the adrenaline rushing through me. I peeked down, past the window and was glad I got here in time; Looking down there was no support for her to stand on. It was a straight drop down to the concrete below and at this height, her weight and size the drop would have more than likely shattered her leg.

  Though I didn’t have much time to stand and gawk as I turned around and quickly made my way down the hallway as the crack of wood beneath me propelled me onward. The fire was below the flooring, and I could hear the shout of the fire team below as they made their way upwards now to the second floor since the first floor was more than likely secured.

  I didn’t stop, even as the others made their way to the side to let me pass. It was in our training that when carrying a civilian to safety to defer and let the other pass as I quickly made my way down the stairs, down into the living room as the wet squelch of soggy and waterlogged carpeting echoed off of my boots, and out of the house into daylight. The interior of the burning house a dark grey haze of smoke and heat, the outside by contrast a bright glow of blue and beauty compared to the smoky interior.

  The adrenaline soon was dissipating within me as I stumbled out from the house. I could hear the family that lived there screaming as they rushed out towards me, but I couldn’t make out the words that they said as I moved towards the Ambulance where the paramedics rushed on over to me. One burly man with dark tanned skin grabbed at her, picking her up from my arms as he turned to carry the crying child to the awaiting vehicle. The other, a smaller, rounder woman turned on me and motioned for me to follow as she sat me down in front of the other ambulance, pulling at my mask.

  I pulled it off, knowing the procedure as I tried to focus on her. I felt my arms and shoulders shaking somewhat as I realized what I did; I ran straight into the fire, without thinking. Normally, that was bad, but I ignored the questions the paramedic was asking me as I looked to the other ambulance and realized that it didn’t matter, in the end, I probably saved that kid and that I did the right thing. Or at least I felt that way. I turned back, now that everything was finally catching up; my mind slingshotting back to reality as my senses caught up with time.