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“Deacon!” Cam screams, tears running down her face.

I hurry to make sense of our situation. The crash and sea of smoke were the east wing collapsing, and Pauly was there.

“Please, don’t go,” Cam begs Deacon. “Please don’t leave me.”

Deacon says something to Cam before he turns and starts sprinting toward the inferno.

“Deacon, no!” Cam falls to her knees.

“Fuck!” I yell, grabbing the thermal camera.

Deacon’s body becomes smaller and more difficult to see through the thick smoke surrounding the building as he gets closer to the burning warehouse. Without thinking, I take off after Deacon. Tiny runs at my side.

We enter the warehouse, and Tiny points to the left. “East wing,” he yells.

The smoke is thick now, and I can’t see more than three feet in front of me as we inch across the concrete floor. I hold out the thermal camera, scanning the area for Deacon or Pauly.

“There.” I motion when bodies show on the camera.

We find Pauly lying lifeless on the hard floor. An enormous beam lay across his bottom half. Deacon screams into the darkness as he tries to lift the beam off his best friend.

“Hey.” I tap his shoulder, letting him know we’re here.

“I can’t.” His voice shakes, and he swallows hard. “I can’t move it. I don’t know if he’s breathing.” The pain in Deacon’s voice is visceral. Pauly has been his friend since they were young kids. “I don’t know if he’s breathing!” he yells again.

Sounds of the building’s demise bang all around us. We only have seconds until we’re all gone.

“Here,” Tiny shouts, wedging a dense iron railing under the beam. He grunts as he pushes down with everything he has. I join him, giving it everything I have left in me.

The beam lifts inches, but it’s enough for Deacon to pull Pauly out. The hiss of an impending explosion rings in my ear.

“We have to go, now!” I demand.

Deacon slides an arm under Pauly’s back and another under his head while Tiny scoops up his lower half. I run ahead, clearing the way. The second we’ve cleared the building, I yell for an ambulance. I don’t know if Pauly is still with us, but if he is, he only has minutes.

I look back. Pauly’s legs dangle over Tiny’s arms as if void of bones. “Ambulance,” I shout again.

Paramedics from another unit run up to us, and Tiny and Deacon place Pauly on the stretcher. Pauly is unresponsive as they pull the straps tight around his body, velcroing him in.

Victoria shrieks and runs up to Pauly. Deacon holds her back. “Let them do their work. They’re trying to save him.”

The paramedics have now taken over. Victoria screams and flails her arms as Deacon enfolds her in his strong embrace. He’s talking into her ear, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. They move the stretcher to the ambulance as they place a mask over his face while one of them prepares a syringe full of clear liquid. Pauly is lifted into the ambulance. The paramedics begin working on him as the doors close.

Captain orders us to pack it up. “It’s just a containment fire now. The other stations can handle it. We’re done here,” he says.

No words are spoken as we drive away from the fire. Stokes drives right past the firehouse and to the hospital. Our unit files into the waiting room. The air is solemn as we take a seat. Each of us processes the day in our own way.

Victoria rushes in. “Did you hear anything?”

“Not yet,” Cap answers. “He’s strong. He’ll be okay.”

“I…I yelled at him this morning before work,” she says through a strangled cry. “I told him I would leave him because he threw his dirty clothes on the floor. I mean, the hamper was right there, but he always just throws his clothes on the floor. I told him it was over. But I didn’t mean it!”

Deacon wraps an arm around Victoria. “Pauly knows you didn’t mean it. He knows you love him.”

“It’s so stupid. It’s just clothes. What does it matter! I don’t care if he misses the hamper every time. I love him,” she sobs.

“He knows.” Deacon rubs her back and repeats the sentiment.

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