Page 83 of Ink and Ashes
It can’t be a coincidence that this was the location he picked.
We hop off the trucks, and Chief Whitlock immediately begins calling out orders.
“Madison, Ace, Hart—sweep the top floor, make sure there isn’t anyone hanging out up there. Caldwell, Finnegan, Sharpe—you do the same on the bottom floor, and vent the windows while you’re at it. I want you in and out in ninety seconds. Any longer and this thing is going to blow. Got it?”
“Got it, Chief,” Beau says, and the six of us get into our full gear to head inside.
“Keep an eye on Sharpe,” I mutter to Finn as we make our way inside behind Beau’s team. He shoots me a confused glance through his oxygen mask, but jerks his head.
The flames roar as we enter, the smoke so thick I can’t see a thing. With Finn’s hand on my shoulder and Ollie’s hand on Finn’s, I lead them toward the first window. Finn vents it with his Pulaski while Ollie and I search the pews for any bodies. We come up empty, then continue on to the next.
“Fire department, call out!” we repeat over and over, hoping it’ll get the attention of anyone inside. No one responds, which gives me hope there’s no one injured here.
“Upstairs is clear, Chief,” Beau’s voice says through our walkies. “We’re heading out.”
“Great. Caldwell, how’s it looking downstairs?”
I pause in front of another window, nodding at Finn to vent that one too. “Clear so far. Got three more windows.”
“Make it quick,” Chief says, and we continue, the flames getting hotter the deeper we get.
We vent another window, and I catch sight of something in the pews.
“You two keep venting. I’m gonna check that out,” I tell the men behind me.
They do as I say. As I approach the silhouette hidden under the pew, I notice it’s a body.
I rush over, pulling them out from under it. Except when I flipit over, it isn’t a human looking up at me—it’s a practice dummy.
Themissingpractice dummy that Ace mentioned before we left.
Fuck. If this doesn’t confirm Holland’s firefighter theory, nothing will.
The building groans, a warning that it’s coming down any minute.
“Ollie, Finn, where are you?” I call into my walkie as another croak sounds over the flames.
“Finishing up the last window,” Ollie replies.
“Leave it. We gotta go.”
I start to make my way out of the church, knowing they’ll be right behind me. Except before I make it, the flames spark, and there’s a flashover.
“Ollie, look out!” I faintly hear Finn call. The next minute, there’s a crash, and I’m thrown across the room from the force of the explosion.
I land with a thud at the end of the aisle, and it takes me a minute to find my surroundings. When I come to, I pull myself to my feet as the flames get hotter, calling out for Ollie and Finn.
But neither of them respond.
No.
“Caldwell, what was that?” Chief’s voice cuts through my walkie, but I don’t respond.
“Ollie! Finn!” I shout, making my way deeper into the fire again. “Call out!”
That’s when I hear a PASS device start to blare. I follow the sound, still calling out for them when a second one starts up, and heart drops into my stomach.
After a few more steps, I catch sight of Ollie lying in the middle of the aisle, unconscious. A few feet away from him is a beam that fell, with Finn’s body stuck underneath it.
