Page 4 of Packed in the Fire house

“Walker! I hear a child,” I shouted into my comms as I rushed toward the source of the sound.

“Are you sure?” Walker’s voice crackled through the speakers.

It wasn’t unusual to imagine things when you were running through a fire. Your mind played tricks on you. There was one call where Blaze was convinced he heard barking, but a thorough sweep of the building proved there were no dogs there.

“Certain!” I confirmed, looking around. “I think it’s apartment 304—send backup!”

Where there was a child, there was likely a family.

“I’m on my way!”

Blaze.

Gil must have been busy in another part of the building, so my pack mate was coming in.

I threw my body against the door, surprised when it didn't give way as easily as the others I had just been crashing through. Sometimes the material of a doorframe would swell in the extreme heat of a fire and essentially seal itself shut. I knew from one look that this place used cheap building materials, so thatwas the most likely probability. Taking a step back, I charged toward the door a few more times before it gave out.

Stepping over a bundle of fabric, I raised my brows.

Someone had bunched what looked like old clothing and used it to plug the crack under the door to help reduce the amount of smoke pouring into the apartment.

It was a smart move, but it also meant there were definitely people in there. Standing tall, I surveyed the small home, following the sound of crying into one of the back rooms.

It was hard to see where I was going, but thankfully, years of training were on my side.

There was another blocked doorway between me and the cries that were slowly getting louder. I didn’t hesitate, throwing my body weight against the door with all my considerable strength. It shattered with the force of the impact—I wasn’t exactly a small guy.

Even in the smoke, I could see that I was in a nursery. Running to the crib first, I grimaced when I saw that it was empty.

A bundle in the corner of the room caught my attention.

There, huddled in the corner, was a woman and the crying toddler.

Her eyes were closed, her head slumped. Her child was clutched to her chest, and she was pressing a cloth to his mouth, probably to reduce the amount of smoke he inhaled.

“I got a woman and child!” I shouted, ensuring my entire team heard it as I knelt in front of the pair.

The little boy’s face was blotchy as he cried, and all I wanted to do was reach out and comfort him, but I probably looked terrifying in all my gear. The woman was completely out of it, a waterfall of blonde hair falling in front of her face.

Taking a deep breath, I didn’t think before pulling my mask off. Removing my protective gear was a big no-no, but there wasno way in hell I was going to breathe clean air while there was a spluttering, crying child. His little lungs couldn’t handle much smoke, and his sobbing would only make the situation worse.

From what little I could gather from what was in front of me, the mother had done everything to protect the child before passing out from smoke inhalation. I would be getting her out of there ASAP, but her lungs were bigger, meaning she had an easier time coping with the smoke than her child.

When I pressed my mask against the boy's face, he swatted at my hands, trying to stop me, clearly distressed at having something pressed against his face, but I held firm. Even a few good mouthfuls of oxygen would be helpful to get him out of the building.

While he sucked in lungfuls of air, I reached out to the woman, ripping off my gloves and feeling for a pulse. Thankfully it was strong.

A smashing sound resounded behind me as Blaze entered the apartment, finding me with ease.

“Dude,” he said, gesturing to my lack of mask, before holding his hands out for toddler and reluctantly nodding.

He wasn’t going to say shit about me helping the child.

“You take the child, I take the girl?” I shouted.

Blaze nodded, unzipping his thick, fireproof jacket and holding out his hands for the boy who was fighting me, but he was tiny. I put my mask back on, grimacing as I did so. I hated taking it away from the child, but I needed it if I was going to carry the woman out of the building.

We could soothe him after we got him out of the burning building.

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