“Ready as I can be.” I put my bag in my locker, then grabbed the lunch bag to put it in the refrigerator.
Once that was done, I went into the main room to hang out while we waited for the alarm to go off.
The first few hours of the day were quiet, but that rarely lasted. At some point, we got a call about an accident, but we were able to handle it fairly quickly.
Since it was nighttime, I rested on one of the beds in the sleeping quarters. As soon as I closed my eyes, the alarm rang. Immediately, I jumped up and sprang into action.
Darren and the other two guys who were on my squad were already near the truck. I quickly dressed in my gear, then we headed out.
The truck’s siren pierced the air as we rode through the quiet streets. There weren’t too many people out, but I noticed a few cars that had to pull over when we came by.
When we arrived at the location, Darren pulled the truck over, and we all jumped off and got to work.
It was a single-family home on fire. It was a good thing someone called as quickly as they did, or things could have gone way worse. The fire seemed to be confined to one spot, so as long as we moved fast, things would be okay.
Another truck pulled up behind us, and they got busy trying to put out the fire.
“Dom and Blake, you guys go around the back. D, we’ll go through the front.”
Some of the neighbors were outside, of course, recording shit. The police had arrived and controlled the small crowd. Sometimes people liked to get too close like they couldn’t get injured. Fires spread quickly, and they could occasionally blow someone’s windows out.
D and I entered the house through the front.
“Fire department, call out!” I made my way through the house to search for anyone.
I heard the guys yell out that it was clear as they made their way through all the rooms on the first floor.
I went upstairs and noticed a closed door. “Fire department, call out!” I shouted when I opened the door.
Nobody responded. The guys checked the other room and said they were clear. I spotted a car in the driveway when we arrived, so I was almost certain someone was in the house. I was very observant, so I always looked for vehicles in the driveway. It wasn’t a guarantee of someone being home, but I made sure we double-checked just in case. The room was full of smoke, so it was hard to see, but I looked down when my foot hit something.
It was a woman who had passed out. I bent down to lift her over my shoulder and headed toward the stairs.
With my free hand, I called out on the radio. “Darren, make sure ambo is standing by. I’m coming out with an unresponsive female.”
“Ten-four.”
As soon as I spotted the ambulance, I quickly made my way over. As I placed her on the gurney, something in my chest tightened. Although her eyes were closed, I couldn’t miss just how beautiful she was. The longer I committed her features to memory, the tightness in my chest eased away. It was the oddest fucking thing. I could hear Carl Thomas singing it was love at first sight. I had to shake it off because it wasn’t the right time to be lusting over someone who’d just experienced something so tragic.
“Is she gonna be okay?” I asked one of the medics.
“Her pulse is weak, but I’m sure she will,” she said. She put the oxygen mask on her, then she and her partner loaded her onto the back of the ambulance.
I watched for a few seconds after they closed the door, then snapped out of it.
We finished up at the scene, then headed back to the firehouse. The rest of the night went on without a hitch, but I couldn’t getherpretty ass out of my head. I made a mental note to check on her the next day at the hospital.
The next day
I heard voices and machines beeping, but I couldn’t open my eyes. I knew I wasn’t in my bed, but I wasn’t sure where I was or how I got there. I listened to my friends and my parents talking for a few minutes before I slowly peeled my eyes open.
“What happened?” My voice came out in a whisper. My throat felt like it was filled with sandpaper. I licked my dry lips, and my eyes landed on my mother first since she was the closest person to me.
My mother popped up from her seat and stood over the bed. “Hey, honey. You’re awake. How are you feeling?”
I looked around the room at my two best friends and my father as they waited for my answer.
The room was bright, and the beeping bothered me, so I tried to tune it out.
