Page 34 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

A faint voice.

“In here!”

I haul myself through the broken window, crawling over broken glass to get inside the bedroom. Smoke fills the air, obscuring my vision, but I can make out enough to make my way around.

“Where are you?” I call out, checking under the bed and beneath the blankets piled on top of the small mattress.

I hear a faint rattle behind me, making me turn around to face a closet door. I stride over and yank it open, revealing a small boy in dinosaur themed pajamas huddled in the back corner.

“Hey, Jacob,” I say as I kneel down in front of him. “I’m Jax. I’m going to help you, okay?”

He sniffles and nods, hugging his legs to his chest. Tears glimmer in his big eyes. “I’m scared.”

“I know you are,” I reply before holding my hand out to him, moving slowly to not spook him. “But I can get you out of here. Just take my hand.”

Jacob stares down at my gloved hand for a few seconds before finally taking it.

I pull him closer and pick him up, holding him close to my chest as cracking and snapping noises sound above us. The damn roof is going to come down on us if we don’t get moving.

“Hold on, buddy,” I tell him before rushing to the window. “Got a package!”

I look down to see Ashton climbing up the ladder toward me. “I’m going to hand you off to my friend, okay? He’ll get you to your parents.”

Jacob clings to me, trembling.

Ashton stops outside of the window and holds his hands out. “Hey, Jacob. Ready to get out of there?”

Jacob looks at me, frowning in fear and uncertainty. He doesn’t know what’s safe or not. He’s just a kid.

“It’s okay,” I say as I pat his back. “All you have to do is let him carry you down.”

Jacob nods after a moment and releases me to wrap his arms around Ashton’s neck.

Ashton pulls Jacob to his chest and nods to me before carefully heading down the ladder.

I follow, my boots hitting the ground just as part of the roof caves in. Sparks shoot up into the sky, the flames continuing to devour what’s left.

Jacob gasps and buries his face in Ashton’s shoulder.

I grab the ladder with the others, pulling it away from the house before it gets lost in the destruction.

“Jacob!” the mom gasps as she and her husband run toward him and Ashton.

“We’ll have the paramedics check him out,” Ashton tells them, guiding them over to the ambulance that just parked nearby.

Another fire truck races down the street toward us with much-needed reinforcements, sirens wailing.

The mom looks around before her eyes land on me. She smiles, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Thank you.”

I smile back and nod to her, my pulse still racing. A job never feels done until the fire is out. We still have some work to do.

After putting up the ladder, I grab the hose with Britney and another fireman, joining forces with the other crew as they hop out of their truck to do the same. Together, we douse the fire with gallons of water until the house is black and burnt. There’s probably nothing salvageable, but at least everyone is okay.

They have each other. That’s what matters the most.

“Good job, guys,” Chief Ladner says as we trudge to the truck to go back to the station. He pats me on the back. “Good save.”

“Thank you, Chief,” I reply before getting into the truck, my skin still buzzing with adrenaline.