Page 30 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters
I worry about them every time they go out on a call. I know it’s part of who they are. I should accept that, and I try to, I really do, but I still worry. Anything could go wrong. One or all of them could get hurt. And having just found them… well, losing them isn’t an option for me.
It’s why I’m keeping all of these secrets, even if it costs me their trust.
9
DAX
The flames eat away at the walls, devouring everything in their path. Wood, glass, cardboard, plastic—anything is up for grabs, and this fire is hungry. The structure will collapse unless we take the monster out quickly.
It’s an all-hands-on-deck type of situation, all twelve of us stretched thin across a rapidly degenerating battlefield. I’ve got Leo by my side while Beck and his fellow paramedic Dean wait for us outside.
“They evacuated everybody, right?” Leo shouts over the roar of flames and hissing water hoses.
The Engine crew is going heavy on the water, spraying the beast through every open window and door of the warehouse. It looks like something out of a horror movie. It feels like hell, too, the temperature rising to the point where I feel close to melting in my fire-retardant suit.
“That’s what the warehouse manager said,” I tell him, then ram my axe into one of the office doors and kick it wide open. “Fire department, call out!”
Nothing. Thank heavens.
“Clear. Moving up!” Leo announces.
We’ve got the radio channel open for the whole crew, and I can hear them calling out in a similar fashion from the other side of the warehouse. We’re in the middle of a systematic check before we pull back and aim the big cannons at the building. It’ll turn this whole place into an oven, but it will put the fire out before it spreads to any of the neighboring structures.
“That’s where it started,” Leo points at the end of the corridor.
The smoke is thicker in this sector, black and damn near impossible to see through.
“Isn’t that one of their storage rooms?” I ask.
Though we can’t smell anything through our face masks, I know instinctively that accelerant was used in this fire as well.” He glances down and points along the corridor wall. “Look at that line.”
The fire burns brighter along a dark line while the rest of the flames lick at the walls. At least part of this building was insulated with fireproofing, from what I can tell. Otherwise, the whole place would’ve turned into a tinderbox by now.
“It’s another arson,” I conclude.
“Got one guy out!” a voice shouts through the radio channel. It’s Hernandez, our Truck lieutenant. “East wing is clear, we’re ready to pull out! Dax, Leo! Where are you?”
“West wing, we’ve got a couple more rooms to check,” Leo replies through his helmet’s integrated comms system. “Three minutes max.”
“Hurry!” Hernandez warns us. “We ventilated the roof, but there’s something off about this smoke.”
“Will do,” I mutter and focus on the next door to our left. “Fire department, call out!” I shout before kicking the door in.
Flames lash out at me from inside. I cry out in a heated frenzy as Leo pulls me back.
“Dax!” Beck’s voice echoes in my ear.
“We’re good!” Leo replies. “Stand back.”
We’re not that good, though. We’re both on the sizzling floor, the fire trying to get at us from every possible direction. I want to get up, but the scorching temperature makes it close to impossible for me to see a way out. Leo manages to pull me back on my feet, and I give him a thankful nod before we proceed toward the last door.
“Come on, one more!” I shout.
“You have to clear out!” Beck yells through the comms system. “It’s out of control!”
“One more room,” I insist.
The closer we get to that last door, however, the clearer it becomes. The desperate thudding against the wood. The screams of despair reverberate from inside. My heart starts leaping frantically in my chest as I realize the gravity and the urgency of the situation ahead.
