When Faust returned to the truck, the crew were all focused on their lieutenant.
Faust filled them in as quickly as possible. "Two cars tried to beat the train. They smashed the barriers and before they could clear the tracks both of the cars were struck.
"The car in front has back-end damage. Rock? Reese? Take that car and check on the people inside."
The two crew members ran off to cross the tracks.
"The train personnel are okay. They can wait for the EMTs to come. Everyone else, there are bodies in the front seat, they can wait for recovery. We have two adults in the back and a child in between."
Kaleo's breath caught in his chest.
"All three are alive, but the child seems to be in the best condition." Faust looked at the group, his face set in a maskof calm. "Let's get them out. We have buses on route to this location. I want them to be able to transport as soon as possible."
With a simple exhale, Kaleo started to move.
Together with Halo, they worked on one door while Greco and Faust worked on the other.
Part of the window on Kaleo's side of the car had been broken, but the child looked untouched by broken glass or debris. Stripping off his coat, Kaleo reached in and covered the young child with it to prevent any glass from reaching her during the extrication process.
He felt a scrape along the underside of his arm, but he could care less. He picked up the
The hydraulic jaws of life pried the door from the frame. There was already a gap created by the accident when the impact bent the frame.
The sound of the metal door being wrenched from the frame didn't normally have an impact for Kaleo, it was just a part of the job, but hearing the screams of the little girl in the backseat at the same time...
He swallowed down the bile in the back of his throat and concentrated on his job.
They had to get in and save her as soon as possible.
The door gave a loud groan and swung open once they managed to separate the most twisted parts of the door from the body of the car.
"Lieutenant!" Kaleo looked over the top of the car. "Our door is open!"
Faust looked up from the other side of the car and nodded. "Check the man for a pulse. If it'll be a difficult extraction, get the child out first."
"Yes, sir."
He leaned in and got a good look at the passenger closest to him.
The greyish tint of the man's skin spoke volumes. So did the blue tinge of the man's lips.
He didn't look good, but he still had to check.
Kaleo already had his gloves off, so he reached in and touched the carotid artery along his neck. Nothing but skin that was quickly going cold. Then he reached down the man's arm and touched the pulse point in his wrist. Even though he moved his fingers a second and third time, he couldn't find anything.
Kaleo looked back over his shoulder and shook his head.
Halo nodded and lowered the hydraulic device to the ground. "I'll go and see if anyone else needs help."
Kaleo nodded and focused his attention on the child.
He lifted his bunker coat off of her and a little bit of his heart died when she turned her tear-streaked and red-eyed face toward his.
Her wails intensified and her arms reached out for him, her fingers grasping at the air.
"Hold on a second, 'kay? Let me unbuckle you."
He had no idea if she'd heard him, but he felt better telling her what he was doing.
