Page 100 of Enraged

“I want you to hear me clearly when I say this, Cass.”

She looked me in the eyes.

“Fuck you,” I told her.

With nothing else to say, I walked out of the café.

Dakota

Any man that tells you that the Top Gun scene where Goose dies – doesn’t get to him a little bit –is either lying to you or has no soul.

The six of us were hanging out in the station’s living room, watching the eighties classic and snacking on a vegetable tray.

“Wait, how did he die?” Dedric asked.

“His head hit the canopy when he ejected and it broke his neck,” I explained.

“Nah, man, fuck this movie.” He responded bitterly. “Y’all had me watchin’ this whole damn movie for that shit!”

Everyone except him laughed.

“One of the best parts of this movie is —riiiiiiing!

We all leapt to our feet.

“Battalion 1, engine 11 – respond to 4447 Waverly Mills Road – 4447 Waverly Mills Road in reference to a structure fire.

Goddamnit!

We dressed out and loaded up – Jace, Dedric, and I in one truck, Ben, Carter and Zeke in another.

Jace, who was driving our engine, laid on the horn at folks that wouldn’t pull over to make room for us to get through. “Move the fuck out the way!” he screamed.

Dedric grabbed ahold of the front seat, holding on as if his life depended on it.

“Easy, Jace,” I muttered. “Get us there alive, bud.”

“This is gonna be a bitch!” Jace yelled looking over at me. I nodded; my eyes fixed on the road ahead.

The air grew hazy as we neared the old papermill.

“Aight, Rook, this will be your biggest one yet so keep your eyes open and remember what you know!” I hollered over the siren.

He nodded; his eyes glazed over in fear.

We pulled up to the mill, the flames already blowing out of the side.

“Goddamn…”

We piled out in unison with the rest of our guys. “Zeke, hydrant, Rook, nozzle, the rest of you, primary. Everybody is goin’ home, repeat it!”

“Everybody is goin’ home!”

A group of teenagers were gathered near the entrance to the building, hollering and acting a fool. “Anybody inside?!”

One of the girls turned to us, screaming, “There’s five of our friends in there! Go get them!”

Grabbing my mic, I locked eyes with Jace.

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