“No cheating,” Beck warned, peering at Ash beside me. “I’m watching you in particular.”
“One time I did something by accident, and now he won’t let me live it down,” Ash said to me, shaking his head as if he were disappointed. “I simply continue to hope that one day, he’ll forgive me.”
“Never,” Beck said, though I could hear the joking tone in his voice.
We took our positions, and I got my head in the game. I already had my strategy planned out; all Ash had to do was follow my lead.
But unfortunately, fate was not going to let them see my foosball greatness that night.
As we were preparing for kick-off, sirens began to scream and red lights flashed overhead, filling the whole room with an eerie atmosphere. I jumped and my heart rate immediately spiked. Nobody else reacted in that way; instead, the guys all sighed.
“Call,” Calder yelled above the noise, already halfway across the room as he did so. Most of the team stayed seated, aside from two guys who followed Calder.
“Come on,” Beck said to me, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me along after him. Ash hurried after us, too, while I was still trying to process what was going on. We reached the pole, where I was assisted onto it by Beck and Ash without a chance to question whether or not I should be sliding down like that.
It was surprisingly smooth sailing on the way down, but I was glad that I was wearing jeans and not a dress.
Ash and Beck were already running after Calder to the gear room as soon as we landed. I followed awkwardly, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Most likely, I would simply have to go home and try to sleep again.
“Let her come,” I heard Beck say as I watched them pull on their bulky outfits. “Chief won’t be mad at a ride-along if we do it right.”
“You can’t be serious,” Calder answered as he clicked his suspenders into place. “It’s dangerous, Beck.”
“She’ll stay out of the way,” Ash insisted, and I was surprised that he was on Beck’s side on this one. “Anything goes wrong, all three of us will be there. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.”
“Fine,” Calder growled, his voice a little muffled. “But you two are babysitting. I have to lead the call.”
24
~
Rhea
Within less than two minutes, all five men were dressed and ready to go. I heard radios crackle and voices mix, but I couldn’t make anything out. It made me wonder how on earth they could ever figure out what was going on in their calls.
“Follow me,” Ash said to me as the others all ran up to the fire engine. I did so, still confused and in awe at what I was witnessing. Everything was happening so fast that my mind couldn’t really keep up with all of it. Guys were grabbing equipment and talking over the radios, each leaping up into either the front of the engine or a backseat that I never knew existed.
Ash bundled me into said backseat between Beck and another of the guys. Calder and the fifth were in the front, and as the door closed, I heard more sirens, this time from the engine.
“Where are we going?” I yelled over the noise to Beck, who answered in a normal voice that I just couldn’t make out. I pretended that I’d heard anyway, and nodded.
The engine tore out of the station, and the ride wasn’t exactly smooth. It felt as if we were hitting bumps all the way, though that was probably because the backseat of a fire engine wasn’t particularly designed for comfort. The men around me all sat like stones, but I felt as if I was flying all over the place.
Suddenly, Calder stopped the engine again, and I almost tumbled forward. Luckily, Ash’s arm shot out to catch me just in time. The drive had been surprisingly short, and when Beck threw the door open, I realized that we were only a block away from my own house and the station.
“Stay in the truck,” Ash said to me before he followed the others out the door. I shifted out of the way as they grabbed equipment around me and leapt down from the engine.
From here, I could actually feel the heat of the fire. I stared out at it with wide eyes, finding it hard to believe that anyone would want to gotowardsomething like that. But none of the men had a single shred of hesitation. They were moving like a well-oiled machine as the flames licked at the sky above the house.
From here, I could see that most of the building was on fire already. I had no idea whether there were people inside or not, but given the time of night, it was highly possible.
I couldn’t see much aside from the house on fire, but I imagined that neighbors were likely outside watching what was going on.
There were several trees and plants outside that quite clearly were in danger of being set alight. If the guys didn’t get this fire under control, it would certainly spread much further and a lot of people could get hurt.
I realized that my own adrenaline was pumping and my heart was racing, just from sitting where I was. My hands were even shaking from the force of it. I wondered how long it had taken for that feeling to fade for the guys, or if they still had it with every call they took.
From where I was, I couldn’t really hear much of what they were yelling to each other. Their movements seemed chaotic and everything was overwhelming, but I had the sense that theyknew exactly what they were doing. They worked with a heroic confidence, like they could take on the entire world without breaking a sweat.
