Page 25 of Phoenix Rising

She thought Ember would be making jokes or not taking this procedure seriously, but the firefighter was focused and steady, probably a result of Becky's parenting and leadership.

Focus, Lucinda.The next thirty minutes were full of endless work, bandages, and shouting, but it was going smoothly. Lucinda's procedures were going off without a hitch.

"Attention!" Lucinda's radio blared as she was wrapping a civilian's leg. "This is not part of the drill.We have an uncontained live fire in the southeast parking lot! One of our hoses is down."

What?

"Clear all civilians! All non-essential personnel, evacuate now!" Lucinda yelled over the commotion.

She pushed out of the tent, looking to the south forest where two plumes of smoke erupted.

"Doctor!" Becky's voice bellowed from behind her. "We have a situation?—"

"I'm caught up. My team is evacuating the civilians now."

Becky nodded, her radio buzzing with commands from her captains. "I'm going to send the drill team over now."

Lucinda placed her hand over Becky's radio before she could send the order. "Wait, you need to split your team up. Half to contain the drill and the other half to put out the live fire."

"The drill is in a controlled area."

"But one of the hoses isn't working. We need to ensure it stays under control." Lucinda looked into Becky's eyes, pleading. "Trust me. Please."

A thought crossed Becky's face before she lifted her radio. "Squad 1, stay at the drill site. Put out the controlled fire as quickly as possible. Squad 2, head to the live fire and set up a firebreak. I'll meet you there. Over!" Becky peeled off, jumping onto the back of one of the fire trucks, speeding toward the live fire.

Lucinda went back into the med tent, noticing anxiety simmering beneath everyone's breath. "Start prepping for real injuries now! This is not a part of a drill. A live fire is raging southeast, and we need to be ready to treat casualties."

A few pedestrians who happened to be near the scene hobbled in. Their injuries were not too bad, just a few scrapes, light burns, and a concussion. That was until Ember was wheeled in.

Leilani Silva put Ember on a cot. "We had an explosion. Ember was hit!"

No, not Ember.

I'm fucking terrified every day.The memory of Becky's voice wafted in her mind.

Lucinda pushed the resident who received Ember out of the way. "Report, Firefighter Silva.”

Leilani's brown eyes were wide with fear under her helmet. "A rack of fuel canisters got caught in the flames. They exploded, and Ember pushed me down but the shrapnel got her."

Ember's helmet and outer gear had already been pulled off. Her face was paler than the white sheets she was laying on. Her eyes drifted open lazily. A dark splotch darkened the side of her shirt.

"Thompson," Lucinda said as she lifted Ember's shirt to find a piece of metal embedded in her side. "Ember, can you hear me?"

"Hiya, Doc. Have you seen Josephine anywhere? I gotta tell her something." Ember coughed.

"She's in shock." Lucinda checked her ribs, seeing that the metal had not gone in too deep. It wasn’t serious. Thank god for that. "I can remove this now. Nurse, put her on oxygen."

Lucinda numbed the area and worked to ensure that all of the metal had been removed. She stitched up Ember's skin, and Ember passed out momentarily. Lucinda then moved on to treat a few minor burns before having her moved.

The radios pinged. "Fire has been cleared. Repeat: Controlled and live fires have been cleared."Lucinda's shoulders relaxed. "Let's get Firefighter Thompson and any other serious injuries moved to the hospital."

"Where is she?!" Becky tore through the tent flaps, looking wildly around. "Where's my daughter?"

"Here!" Lucinda waved her hand.

Becky ran over to her, pushing Leilani away from Ember's bedside. "Is she—?" Her hands shook over her sleeping daughter. The blood stains, the white sheets.

"She's okay, Becky," Lucinda said softly. "She'llneed to be out for a little bit so her stitches can heal, and she’ll need a tetanus shot, but she's okay."

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