Chapter One
The alarm went off, red lights flashing, and I jumped up,
instantly awake. I wasn’t the only one in a rush, sliding down the shiny pole
that dropped into the lower level of the fire station. I raced to my locker and
began pulling on my equipment.
Years of training had the group of guys ready to go in
minutes. I hopped onto the back of the cherry-red fire truck, just as the
lights and sirens cut through the night air.
The thrill of the ride never got old for me. I loved it just
as much now, if not more, than I had the first time. Speeding off into a dark
night and into certain danger was never an easy thing to do. Add to that the
times where, despite your best efforts, people perished, and it wasn’t a job
for everybody.
The moment might burst the second the truck stopped but I
still loved the ride there.
We turned the corner, where the tall business buildings gave
way to up-scale apartment complexes. As we sped down the street, my heart
dropped.
The acidic scent of smoke hit my nose and the sky lightened
with that terrible orange glow. When the truck stopped abruptly, I leapt into
action.
I took in the scene in once quick glance—the crowd of
people, already being pushed back by other firefighters, to the tall apartment
complex, the top levels bursting with flames.
A woman stood too close to the building, screaming that her
daughter was still inside. A couple of police officers were holding her back
and I quickly grabbed the tools I would need to go inside.
“Ryker! Ready?” Travis, a fellow fireman and friend, called
as I jogged over to him.
“Yeah, good to go,” I yelled to be heard over the commotion.
Passing the sobbing woman, we headed to the front door. A
police officer grabbed my arm and I paused.
“A woman took off inside after the kid as we were pulling
up,” he told me with a shake of his head.
“Anyone else missing?” I demanded.
“No, just the woman and a kid inside. Everyone else is
accounted for.”
An untrained woman had to have a death wish to run into a
raging fire. The front door was open and Travis and I stared inside, assessing
our best way in. The lower levels still seemed to be intact but that could
change at any minute.
Nodding to Travis, I took a step inside and stopped dead in
my tracks. A woman with hair the color of flames came dashing toward us. In her
arms, clutched tightly to her chest, she carried a small girl with skin the
color of hot cocoa.
The woman had her head down and she was hunched over the
child, protecting as much of the little body as she could with her own. I
caught the woman in my arms as she reached us, lifting them both and carrying
them outside and to the nearest ambulance.
Their combined weight was slight and I had no trouble
getting them to help. The child’s mother met us at the ambulance, taking her
youngster who was now coughing deeply. Paramedics immediately descended on the
pair.
Light spilled from the open doors of the ambulance as I
glanced down at the woman still in my arms. She stared back at me unblinking,
her baby-blue eyes wide.
An instant of recognition nagged in the back of my mind but
Travis hollered for me right then and the moment disappeared.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
She nodded and her wide gaze had me wondering if she was in
shock. I knew one thing for sure though…she was beautiful.
“Can you stand?” I asked, raising my voice to hear over the
roar of the water hoses.
“Yes,” she croaked out, her voice rough from the smoke.
I set her on her feet, reluctant to release her. She barely
came to my shoulder and she wobbled a bit before finding her balance.
“Thank you,” she told me with a small smile before turning
away.
The next couple hours were a blur of activity. The fire
raged and we managed to keep it contained to the one building. As the sun began
rising, we extinguished the last of the flames.
I was exhausted by the time the sun was fully up and so glad
that my shift was ending. I
The alarm went off, red lights flashing, and I jumped up,
instantly awake. I wasn’t the only one in a rush, sliding down the shiny pole
that dropped into the lower level of the fire station. I raced to my locker and
began pulling on my equipment.
Years of training had the group of guys ready to go in
minutes. I hopped onto the back of the cherry-red fire truck, just as the
lights and sirens cut through the night air.
The thrill of the ride never got old for me. I loved it just
as much now, if not more, than I had the first time. Speeding off into a dark
night and into certain danger was never an easy thing to do. Add to that the
times where, despite your best efforts, people perished, and it wasn’t a job
for everybody.
The moment might burst the second the truck stopped but I
still loved the ride there.
We turned the corner, where the tall business buildings gave
way to up-scale apartment complexes. As we sped down the street, my heart
dropped.
The acidic scent of smoke hit my nose and the sky lightened
with that terrible orange glow. When the truck stopped abruptly, I leapt into
action.
I took in the scene in once quick glance—the crowd of
people, already being pushed back by other firefighters, to the tall apartment
complex, the top levels bursting with flames.
A woman stood too close to the building, screaming that her
daughter was still inside. A couple of police officers were holding her back
and I quickly grabbed the tools I would need to go inside.
“Ryker! Ready?” Travis, a fellow fireman and friend, called
as I jogged over to him.
“Yeah, good to go,” I yelled to be heard over the commotion.
Passing the sobbing woman, we headed to the front door. A
police officer grabbed my arm and I paused.
“A woman took off inside after the kid as we were pulling
up,” he told me with a shake of his head.
“Anyone else missing?” I demanded.
“No, just the woman and a kid inside. Everyone else is
accounted for.”
An untrained woman had to have a death wish to run into a
raging fire. The front door was open and Travis and I stared inside, assessing
our best way in. The lower levels still seemed to be intact but that could
change at any minute.
Nodding to Travis, I took a step inside and stopped dead in
my tracks. A woman with hair the color of flames came dashing toward us. In her
arms, clutched tightly to her chest, she carried a small girl with skin the
color of hot cocoa.
The woman had her head down and she was hunched over the
child, protecting as much of the little body as she could with her own. I
caught the woman in my arms as she reached us, lifting them both and carrying
them outside and to the nearest ambulance.
Their combined weight was slight and I had no trouble
getting them to help. The child’s mother met us at the ambulance, taking her
youngster who was now coughing deeply. Paramedics immediately descended on the
pair.
Light spilled from the open doors of the ambulance as I
glanced down at the woman still in my arms. She stared back at me unblinking,
her baby-blue eyes wide.
An instant of recognition nagged in the back of my mind but
Travis hollered for me right then and the moment disappeared.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
She nodded and her wide gaze had me wondering if she was in
shock. I knew one thing for sure though…she was beautiful.
“Can you stand?” I asked, raising my voice to hear over the
roar of the water hoses.
“Yes,” she croaked out, her voice rough from the smoke.
I set her on her feet, reluctant to release her. She barely
came to my shoulder and she wobbled a bit before finding her balance.
“Thank you,” she told me with a small smile before turning
away.
The next couple hours were a blur of activity. The fire
raged and we managed to keep it contained to the one building. As the sun began
rising, we extinguished the last of the flames.
I was exhausted by the time the sun was fully up and so glad
that my shift was ending. I
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