Page 6 of Scorched Hearts

Two ambulances arrived at the parking lot and the paramedics hastily spilled out of them, setting up equipment and scanning the crowd.

“This man’s about to pass out,” Hunter commanded them in passing, then went over to the fire truck to instruct Team 2.

Elle and O’Malley kept Montgomery in the middle as they moved into the building. The heat produced in Elle a familiar sensation. This was go time. This was what they trained for. Her muscles screamed, protesting each step farther into the blazing inferno.

“Staircase intact,” she communicated via radio to Hunter.

“Ascend.”

The old stone-carved stairs felt steady beneath their feet, carrying the weight of their gear. The first floor past them. Elle tapped Montgomery’s shoulder. “Not so fast. We stay together.” Kaia slowed down again, evenly in step with the other two. The terrifying sight of melting metal welcomed them on the second floor. Windows twisted into nightmare-like shapes and flames licked the walls like a pack of starved animals hunting for food, swarming insects devouring the building.

The three firefighters looked for the staircase, but a part of the wall had fallen, obscuring the path. Elle took out her axe and with a monstrous effort raised it to break through the wall. The other two carefully stepped back as she tore the piece of wood to shreds. They moved through, testing the floor’s integrity as they went.

Third floor.

“Team 2 on the third floor,” Elle barked into her radio.

“Got it, Elle. Go West.”

The heat-resistant compass wavered a little before establishing the direction. To the right.

To the right. The sentence kept burning into the inside of Elle’s mind. It was impossible to see through the smoke. The only thing that mattered—go to the right, rescue, descend. At the moment, nothing existed for her besides these three tasks. Nothing would exist at all if she didn’t focus all her strength on finding the three people and bringing them out.

“RODRIGUEZ, HERE! Flat 34.” O’Malley waved them over to the door frame.

Elle and Kaia ran to assess the structure. Someone inside was faintly crying. They had to pull open the door, grab the victims, and get out. Elle could hear Team 1 fighting the fire. O’Malley used a hook to pull on the wavering metal, and it gave in after a few seconds. In the oven-hot shambles of the room, an elderly woman lay unconscious together with a small boy. Next to them, a barely awake boy cried, stuck to his wheelchair. Swiftly and efficiently, they dragged the woman down the stairs. Elle moved backward with her grip tight around the woman’s chest. She felt nothing but pulsing pain in her muscles, ringing in her ears, and the determination to look ahead, look ahead, look ahead. O’Malley and Montgomery carried one child each and they lead her out. At least the stairs were clear of fire, and there was some visibility. It was a quick, efficient exit. Would the woman and the children survive? Elle desperately hoped so. this aspect of the job never got easier.

They reached the exit. Cold air outside embraced all three heroes, and the medics crowded about them, securing the victims on the stretchers, shouting to each other things Elle had no strength to decipher. Elle pulled her helmet and mask off and breathed the cool night air. Captain Hunter ran up to congratulate her and her two other teammates, but the words seemed to Elle out of sync with her mouth. They twisted and bent in strange ways around Elle’s ears. Everyone seemed as if they were behind a thick glass barrier, dull and blurry, and when she opened her mouth to say something, her voice sounded removed from her body. Elle wasn’t feeling right. She needed help.

Captain Hunter took hold of her just before she collapsed, “Rodriguez? Oh for Christ’s sake, why are there only two ambulances around?”

She waved a paramedic over while taking Elle by her shoulders, removing her breathing apparatus, loosening her fire jacket and gently laying her down.

“Don’t worry, they’ll help you in a second.” She nodded encouragingly. “You did a great job, saving those three. You guys were smooth and quick. It wasn’t an easy task.”

But the words only wobbled around Elle’s mind in abstract shapes. Soon, a medic ran up to her carrying a spray bottle and some cloth. Her figure seemed very familiar, the way her hips moved in a hurry, the way she kneeled on the grass taking over supporting Elle’s legs. As she got closer, the earthy scent of her body mixed with the same perfume she’d been using for decades raised goosebumps on Elle’s skin. She tried focusing her vision more, but her doubt was useless—it was Dr. Maya Monroe kneeling right next to her, her straw-blond hair tied as neatly as it always had been.

“Breathe in deep, please.” The voice sounded as cold as the compress that landed on Elle’s forehead.

“You still haven’t changed your perfume?” Elle tried laughing, but a wave of nausea overcame her.

Maya didn’t react besides coldly unzipping Elle’s jacket in one professional motion.

“Oh, you’re undressing me now?”

“You have heat exhaustion, and we need to get out of your jacket so we can cool you down.”

Maya was clearly not in the mood for a warm reunion, though Elle considered it might also be due to the circumstances. She looked toward the ambulances. One had already departed, and in another there seemed to be a commotion. The building was still being extinguished, but there was no risk of the fire spreading. She weakly wriggled out of the jacket.

“Raise your shirt.”

Elle did just that, this time without any comments, though many crossed her mind. Immediately, she felt cool water sprinkled on her skin, causing shivers to ripple through her body. This made her feel better immediately, the fire of her skin finally dwindling down.

Maya handed her a bottle of cold water.

“Drink up. I’ll stay with you until another ambulance arrives and a paramedic can actually take care of you if something happens.”

Elle frowned.

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