Page 2 of Where There's Smoke
Nothing new there, if I was honest. Animals didn’t run on a regular nine-to-five schedule. They were their own masters, so to speak.
I had been woken up many times by an early morning barking orchestra because the dogs decided they wanted to be chatty.
A smile spread across my face when I noticed the microwave burrito in the back of the freezer. I didn't want to think about how long it had been there, but it would do. Grabbing it, Iunwrapped the thing and placed it in the old microwave, turning on the timer and grinning as it hummed to life.
As my treat was turning in the microwave, barking grabbed my attention. The dogs could sometimes work each other up. If one of them started barking, they all would. So, I padded out of the kitchen and to the kennels.
Lilly, a sweet little cocker spaniel, who’d come to me through no fault of her own, was barking at her bed.
“Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?” I asked softly as I approached her pen. The closer I got, the more apparent the issue became. Her favorite chew toy was wedged under her bed, and she couldn't reach it.
Laughing lightly to myself, I wandered into her kennel and picked up the toy, handing it to her. She snatched it with her mouth, her tail going a mile a minute.
As I went to stand, the smell of smoke hit my nose. I looked around, wondering what the source of the smell was. Had I accidentally burned my burrito? That seemed a bit fast, didn’t it?
Softly closing Lilly’s kennel, I made my way toward the kitchen. As the smell of smoke only increased, panic rose in my chest.
With horror, I noted the smoke billowing out of the room.
Shit.
It took a moment for me to act, and then I rushed forward. “Crap, crap, crap!”
That was what I got for using old equipment.
With my heart in my throat, I looked around, quickly assessing the situation as the fire alarms started to ring out.
I needed to evacuate the animals.
The dogs needed leashes, and the cats needed carriers. With terror flooding my veins, I ran to the far wall, grabbed a variety of leashes, and headed straight to the kennels. The dogs, alreadysmelling the smoke, were going insane, barking wildly and jumping up and down in their kennels.
Thick, dark smoke choked me as I gathered up the residents in the dog room. They were all stressed, and getting a leash on a stressed dog was more than difficult. Once I had the first four, I ran to the other side of the building. I had no idea where I was going to put them, but I needed to get them out of the building somehow.
As I dashed out the door, I noticed several people standing outside, watching the smoke streaming out of the building. A small crowd was gathering, gaping at the scene and doing nothing to help.
“Take them!” I shouted, handing the leashes to a woman who was watching with intense worry.
She took the leashes without question, shouting at me over the sirens. “We called the fire department!”
I nodded, thanking her before turning back to the building.
The smoke was getting thicker, but I was able to wrangle the last four dogs into leashes and get them out of the building, handing them to the same woman, who had distributed the dogs among the small crowd, so each of them was held by an onlooker, keeping them safe.
It probably wasn't smart to run back into a burning building, but there was no way I was going to leave. With more animals in there, I couldn't. It would be downright cruel of me. They were scared and alone, and they needed help.
My help.
As I was turning back to the building, the fire engine pulled up, and several firefighters hopped out. Glancing over at the engine, I notice the large #17 on the side.
My friends worked for Station Sixteen, and part of me had been hoping that they would come. But help was help, right?
“You can’t go in there!” one of the firefighters shouted as he ran over to me.
“I haven't evacuated the cat room!” I explained over my shoulder as I barreled ahead, ignoring his warning.
Without a single thought about the firefighter, I dashed into the cat room, running to the far wall where we kept the carriers. There were a few cats that I could throw into the same carrier, but some that needed to be in their own.
“Stubborn woman!” the same voice echoed as he followed me, his large boots thundering on the floor so loudly I could hear it over the roaring flames.
