“That’s a lot of smoke,” Dan added.
“Don’t let it intimidate you,” I growled. “We have a job to do.”
They nodded. As much as they got ahead of themselves sometimes, I did appreciate their enthusiasm.
The truck jerked to a halt. We poured out, bracing ourselves. With fifty pounds of gear strapped to my body and over a thousand degrees of heat blasting from the wreck, it was almost unbearable. I remember the first time I came face to face with my first real fire. I was cockier back then, but it sure as hell put me in my place.
“Let’s go!” I called.
We were out of the truck in seconds. I barely noticed the surrounding crowd of gawking people as I wrenched the side door open and pulled the hose out. I was already sweating bullets. Nick and Dan piled behind me to help lift the hose. I planted my feet and pulled back. Water exploded from the hose. The pressure would have knocked me back had I been a weaker man.
I grunted and adjusted the hose. The fire raged on. I already knew it was too late for the building – it was old, and old buildings were flammable. The best we could do was stop the fire before it spread. Thankfully the building was a single unit, not attached to anything else.
Still, I couldn’t help a nagging feeling in my gut that something was wrong.
An unfamiliar voice shouted over the roar of the flames. “Wait! Wait!”
I whipped toward the voice. An elderly woman was running towards me, waving her hands. Growling, I dropped the hose in Nick’s capable hands and ran to her.
“Ma’am, you can’t be here,” I shouted over the noise. “It’s too dangerous.”
Her eyes were wide with fear and she was trembling. She kept pointing to the smoldering building.
“What is it?” I pressed. “Is that your home? Is there someone inside?”
“No – yes!” she cried, clutching her chest. “Please, there’s a young man, I – I don’t know if he’s still inside, but - ”
I turned and bolted. Something like stomach sickness churned inside me. Iknewsomething was wrong. I barely heard Nick and the rest of the crew’s cries as I rushed past them. Snapping my goggles and mask on, I thanked god the doorframe was still in one piece. Based on my past experiences, I guessed I had about two minutes, tops, to find the guy and get out.
Blood and fire roared in my ears. My face twisted in my mask, squinting against heat and smoke. Flames licked at the building’s wooden frame, like bones stripped down by the fire.
A strange cry sounded from beyond the room. It was throaty and choked. It didn’t sound human. My heart skipped a beat. I braced myself and shouldered past the crumbling door frame, into what appeared to be a den. Or used to be.
I stopped dead in my tracks. Among the charred furniture and overturned table, there was something thrashing wildly. Smoke obscured my vision, but there was no way in hell it was a human. Was it a dog? No – I realized as it tossed its head again and roared – it was too big.
It was a bear.
What thefuckwas a bear doing in the middle of the city?
A jolt of realization hit me.Unless…
Something crackled and collapsed above my head. The building was falling apart, and I had to act fast. I trudged towards the bear and held up my hands.
“Do not panic!” I shouted over the noise. “I’m here to get you out!”
The bear either didn’t hear me or didn’t understand, but I wasn’t taking the latter chance. It was still trashing around in fear and confusion. Something rose in my throat; a feral, deep roar that I kept hidden inside.
“I need you to turn back!”
The bear stopped. It stared at me, and for a moment, I was afraid that I had made a huge mistake. But then its shape twisted and contorted in front of me, until the rush of smoke cleared and a young man stood before me, his eyes wild with panic.
I was right.
“I’m here to help!” I shouted.
Something flipped on inside the young man’s mind and he shot over to me. He was small and frail. I grabbed him without difficulty and carried him in my arms. It would be faster this way. If he had protests, he didn’t voice them.
I barged through the crumbling den frame and towards the main door. Thick black smoke choked the air, and the roar of the flames covered up any of my team’s voices from outside. The young man in my arms was clutching desperately to my heavy coat. I didn’t know how long he’d been inside, inhaling smoke, or if he even had any burns. I needed to get us both out of here, now.
