When the wind blows
by Katy, Alice, Nifty, Starbuck,
Rick C, Sheryl, MJ, Rookie Dee, Cameron, Pat, Lisa D, Goober,
Robin W., Rhys, Kathy, Rookie Carol, Dee, Star
"JOHNNY!" Chet screamed, as he watched the building
fold in on it's self. "CAP, Johnny's inside!" He ran
toward the entrance that Johnny had used. Roy and Marco grabbed
him and pinned him to the ground.
"You can't do anything for him Chet!" Marco told him in
his ear.
"He's gone," Roy's voice cracked with emotion.
"NO! It's my fault," Chet could feel the tears rolling
down his face. "I shouldn't have said anything!" He lay
his head down on his hands and sobbed. Someone grabbed his
shoulder and pulled him around to face the sky.
"Chet!" Johnny called. Chet opened his eyes and saw
Johnny’s face. He quickly closed his eyes and took a deep
breath. "You okay?" Chet opened his eyes again, and
responded to the question.
"What?"
"You came in here to take a nap and I heard you crying, is
there a problem?"
"No." Chet rolled over and faced the brick partition.
"Go away."
"Whatever, just thought I'd help." Johnny turned and
left the sleeping quarters. Hearing Johnny leave, Chet slowly
rolled over to make sure he was alone. When the coast was clear,
he sat up and made his way into the locker room. Splashing cold
water on his face, he looked at his reflection. He had had some
wild dreams before, but this one seemed so real. He walked into
the day room and poured himself a cup of coffee. Gage looked up
from the table, where he'd been playing chess with DeSoto.
"So, Chester! Too many horror flicks? What's got you spooked?"
"I dreamed I was dating your sister," quipped Chet.
"And she looked just like you."
"Ha, ha," said Johnny, as Roy laughed. "Next time
I'll just let you sleep through your nightmare...try to do a guy
a favor." Moving his piece, Roy sat back in his chair and
announced.
"Checkmate."
"What?" John returned his attention to the board. Chet
shook his head and left the room, taking his coffee with him. He
needed some fresh air, so he stepped out the back door to the
small parking lot. He slowly walked over to his beat up Volvo
station wagon. He leaned on the fender, which creaked under his
weight, and took a slow sip of the hot liquid. He still couldn't
shake a sense of foreboding that the dream, or rather the
nightmare, had left him with. They were so real. His grandmother
had told him once that repeated dreams were a foreshadowing of
the future. He shuddered at the thought. He sipped his coffee and
warily glanced toward the station. He hoped he was wrong. They
were just bad dreams. Weren't they?
~*~
"Back in a minute," Johnny said to Roy as he left
the break room. Roy pushed his chair from the table and followed
his partner into the locker room. He watched as Johnny stood back
from his locker and looked at something that he held in his hand.
Marco came around the corner.
"Ah Johnny, what is that?" Marco asked, voicing Roy's
unspoken question.
"It's a dream catcher, and it's for Chet. And before you ask,
I just thought that this might help him with his bad dreams. We
use these in a corner of our room to catch the bad dreams,"
Johnny explained.
"Maybe I should get one for when my Mother-in-law comes to
stay," Roy snickered.
"Very funny, Roy. I’m serious. I think this may help Chet’s nightmares."
"I hope so, for Chet’s sake," Roy said. Johnny sighed as he left the locker room heading for the back parking lot. As he crossed the apparatus bay the tones sounded. He shook his head and put the dream catcher into his front pants pocket. He'd give it to Chet later. He opened the squad door and climbed in. He turned and watched Marco climb onto the engine, seeing Chet's helmet through the window. Chet wasn't such a bad guy. Annoying at times, but wasn't everybody? He heard both vehicles' engines start up and he felt the squad start to move. Roy handed him the response slip and he wrote it down in the report book. When the men of Station 51 returned to quarters, the tones sounded almost immediately.
"Engine 51, Rubbish fire, 1576 Tyson, 1-5-7-6 Tyson, Cross street Bell, Time out, 13:35," said the female voice.
"Engine 51, KMG 365," Captain Stanley responded. Soon after the Squad was toned out.
"Squad 51, woman down at Sundown park, time out 13:40."
"Squad 51, KMG 365," Roy replied. When they returned
from the hospital, they went into the day room to grab a cup of
coffee. Johnny poured himself a cup, and then filled a cup for
Roy. Mike Stoker was chopping onions for dinner.
"How was the call, Mike?" Johnny asked. Mike shook his
head.
"I sure miss Sam. They must have a trainee on duty today.
We barely understood what that last run was for...and it took us
20 minutes to FIND the address. Anyway, luckily, it was only a
false alarm." Johnny shook his head, and wondered off to
find Chet. He located the Irishman doing latrine duty. Johnny
grinned,
"The nightmares must be bad, if you’re doing this now."
Chet frowned. He was embarrassed that Johnny had witnessed him
crying like a baby.
"What do you want Gage? I'm busy."
"I just wanted to give you this," he held up a circular
item with what looked like spider webbing in the center. A
beautiful feather dangled from a leather strap. Chet eyed it
suspiciously.
"What’s that, Gage? Something that’s suppose to
help you get a date?"
"No, Chet. It’s a dream catcher. It catches bad dreams
before they enter your sleep." Chet didn't realize the good
intentions behind the gift. He thought Johnny was making fun of
him.
"Oh, you're a real funny man, Gage. Thanks a lot. I have one nightmare and you have to rub it in."
"Chet..." Johnny began.
"I had a little nightmare. What’s the big deal?
Everybody has nightmares once and awhile. I think I’m
entitled. I work with you don’t I?" Chet’s voice
rose. "I don't need your help, your sympathy, or your pity,
it was only a dream!"
"But…" Johnny tried not to look hurt, only it wasn’t working. Chet felt badly for raising his voice.
"Look, Johnny," he took a deep breath before he
stood, and spoke. "I know you mean well, but I really don’t
want you to put yourself out on my account, okay?"
"Chet," he spoke softly. "I didn’t mean
anything by it, I only thought I could help."
"It was only a dream, Gage, I don’t need your help."
He turned back to the task at hand. Johnny didn’t understand
why Chet was so upset. He’d seen Chet worked up about a lot
of things, but this was strange. A thought crossed his mind.
"Hey Chet? Was your dream about me?" Chet froze. By
Chet’s reaction to his question, he knew the answer was
positive. Chet didn’t turn, but continued cleaning the
toilet.
"I’ve got better things to dream about than you."
"Yeah, right. I’m on to you now. You’re worrying about me aren’t you?" Chet turned and looked at him.
"Dream on, Gage," then tossed a rag at him. Johnny
dodged it, giggling all the way into the day room.
"What are you so happy about?" muttered Roy, glancing
up from the logbook. Johnny jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"You know, I think I just figured out why Chet's really spooked by these nightmares." He dropped into the chair next to Roy. Roy shoved a call slip in front of Johnny.
"Hey, what's that word?" Roy asked, pointing at the scribble with his pen. Johnny peered at the paper.
"Um...Looks like 'hard'...no, wait, it's 'hand'...yeah,
remember that guy broke his hand when his wife slammed the car
door on it?"
"Okay," Roy replied, doing his own study of the slip
and shaking his head as he made the entry into the logbook.
"You know what I think?" Johnny went on. "I think
Chet's dreaming about being rescued by someone other than yours
Truly," pointing dramatically to himself. "It's gotta
be scaring him silly." Roy stared at him, and then shook his
head.
"You're nuttier than he is." He resumed working on the logbook.
~*~
Chet had finished cleaning the toilets and had put his
cleaning things away. He sat down on his bunk and thought about
the dream catcher that Johnny had tried to give him. There was no
truth to what his grandmother had told him. How could there be? A
dream was only a dream, right? His introspection was interrupted
by the klaxon.
"Station 51, Engine 110, Engine 16, Structure Fire, 873 West
Dixon. 8-7-3 West Dixon. Time out 14:54." Chet hurried to
his seat on the engine, the thoughts of nightmares put to the
back of his mind, to worry about later.
~*~
The crew of Station 51 arrived at the scene of a burning
hardware store. Captain Stanley jumped from the cab of the engine
and began calling out orders to his men.
"Gage, DeSoto... do a sweep and make sure no one's in there...Kelly,
Lopez...grab an inch and a half and cover the Southwest entrance."
His paramedics nodded and quickly donned their SCBA. Chet
hurriedly caught up with Johnny as the two men neared the door,
and grabbed his arm. Johnny turned to the unexpected interruption.
"Chet, what’s wrong?"
"Johnny, you stay out here and help Marco on the line."
Johnny stared at Chet dumbfounded, about to make a smart comment,
but the seriousness on Chet's face left him momentarily
speechless.
"Chet, Cap told me to go," he informed him. He placed
his hand on Chet's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Don’t
worry, I’ll be fine." Chet’s hand dropped from his
arm. Johnny put on his face mask and followed Roy into the
building.
"I hope so, Gage," Chet whispered, as he took his place behind Marco, trying to shake the feeling of impending disaster. He watched the two paramedics rush inside.
~*~
"Hey, Mister," the little boy said, as he tugged on
Captain Stanley’s coat. Captain Stanley looked down into a
soot-covered, tear-streaked little face. He knelt down, putting
his hands on the child’s shoulders. The coughing from the
little lungs ripped Hank’s heart out. The child couldn’t
catch his breath.
"Let’s get you some oxygen," he stood and led
the boy over to the grass by the squad.
"I'm okay, but I think my brother is still in there,"
he coughed, pointing toward the burning structure. Hank opened
the compartment where the oxygen tank was stored and pulled the
equipment out, setting it on the ground between his feet. Taking
the mask, he placed it on the little boy’s face. He turned
the valve to full. The boy placed his hands on the mask and
sucked in the much-needed oxygen. Stanley took a deep breath and
pulled out his handi-talkie.
"If your brother's inside, we'll find him," he comforted the little boy with a pat on the shoulder. Lifting the handi-talkie up to his mouth, he pushed the button for transmission to his paramedics inside the building. "Squad 51, this is Engine 51, do you copy?" There was a long pause as he waited for their response.
"Squad 51," it was Johnny’s voice floating through the air.
"We have a young man out here that says his brother is inside somewhere, you think you could find him?" Hank smiled at the boy, and the boy smiled back though the mask.
"Sure Cap, Squad 51 out."
"See, my guys will find him."
"If he’s in there," the boy commented.
"If he’s in there, they’ll find him." He intently watched the entryway, waiting for his two men. They were rapidly losing the battle with the flames, and he hoped they were on their way out. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he watched as one of his paramedics exited the hardware store, empty-handed. He looked at the young boy, "You stay here," he told him. "I'll be right back!" He ran over to Roy. "The boy is over there on oxygen," he said, gesturing toward the boy.
"Johnny had one last room to check and it’s right there at the entrance. He was right behind me, with the boy." Roy explained.
"I’ll go in, you go take care of the boy," Stanley told him. Roy nodded and ran over to the oxygen deprived little boy. Hank started towards the entrance.
~*~
After his captain’s call, Roy had tapped his shoulder. He turned towards his partner.
"We’ve gotta get out of here, this thing is gonna go."
"Cap says there’s a kid in here. I’ve got one more room to check and then I’ll follow you."
"I can’t leave you in here by yourself."
"It’s right by the front door. It’s my last room. I’ll be right out with the child if it’s in here." Roy watched Johnny drop to his knees in the murky darkness. He stood at the doorway of the room and saw Johnny crawl over to a cash register in the back. The light from the flames distorted the appearance of the tools and shelves. He saw Johnny pull his helmet off and place his oxygen mask over a limp tiny form. He had the boy. Roy turned and went out the front door.
~*~
Johnny re-fastened his helmet and started to crawl towards the
store entrance.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the building. Johnny dove for cover,
shielding his small victim. Loose nails, screws, and other odds
and ends became projectiles, flying around the room. Johnny
flinched as the objects pelted him, piercing his turnout coat. He
prayed for a quick end to the onslaught. He felt the boy stir
beneath him, before losing consciousness.
~*~
Chet turned panicked eyes at the door as the explosion ripped through the building. He tried to call out but his mouth was dry, no sound would spring from his lips, not even a scream. He watched his captain fly through the air backward. He had to do something before his nightmare became a reality. He dropped the hose he was holding and ran towards his Captain.
"Cap, you okay?" He asked, placing a concerned hand on Stanley’s shoulder.
"Stunned but I think I’m okay. I think my backside is going to be hurting tonight, though." Stanley said as he sat up.
"Probably, you’re sure you’re okay?"
"Yeah," his Captain told him. Chet nodded and headed into the building. He ignored Marco's calls the entire way in.
~*~
Roy picked himself up off of the ground after falling and saw his
Captain laying on the ground next to the building. He watched
Chet run over to him, and then disappear into the billows of
smoke pouring out of the entrance. Then heard a series of
horrific explosions and felt the impact shake the ground beneath
him.
"No," he cried.
~*~
"Johnny!" Chet yelled, dropping to his knees as
explosions rocked the building. The thick, acrid smoke was making
it difficult to see and he tentatively placed one hand in front
of the other as he crawled deeper into the building.
"Johnny!" he paused, straining, hoping, to hear a
response. A small whimper nearby caught his attention and he
reached out, encountering a large booted foot. He quickly crawled
up next to the prone paramedic and gently shook his shoulder,
grimacing when he cut his hand on a piece of glass imbedded in
the heavy turnout coat.
"Johnny," he called again, getting no response. "C'mon
Gage...don't do this to me pal." A whimper came from beneath
Johnny’s prone body. It caught Chet's attention and he felt
around Johnny’s sides, finding the small boy. He rolled
Johnny off of the boy and lifted the child into his arms. The
child began to cough as Chet stood up and headed for the entrance.
What seemed like an eternity later, but was in reality only
moments, Chet awkwardly ran through the door, clinging tightly to
the child. Chet was coughing as hard as the child was.
"Chet..." Marco yelled. Chet tried to focus his burning
eyes on the voice. He tossed the child at Marco and turned back
towards the building. Chet, not able to go any farther, stopped
and began coughing violently. He leaned forward, and placed his
hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Another, more
violent explosion ripped through the building.
"Johnny!" Chet yelled between ragged coughs. He watched
in horror as the building began to fold in on itself. He tried to
run toward the entrance, but was tackled by Marco, who held him
pinned to the ground.
"You can't go back in there, Chet!" Marco told him, as he heard Cap shouting out orders. The explosions stopped. Now, only thick smoke and flames filled the space that used to be the hardware store. Captain Stanley's sharp, quick orders rang through the air as each firefighter accepted their assigned tasks.
Stanley set his eyes forward, ignoring the scene behind him. He heard nothing; he saw nothing. The Captain-mode of his training kicked in, and the only thing he knew that he had to do, was keep it contained. He had to gain control of this beast before it spred. The chances that Johnny survived were small, and he would not, could not, endanger more men.
Chet stepped up to his captain and looked up into his face. Stanley looked down into his man’s soot-covered face. Chet coughed and spit black phlegm onto the wet pavement.
"Cap, he’s right there at the front door, I can get
him I know I can!"
"Not another word, Kelley! I mean it!" He lifted the HT
to his mouth. "Engine 110 and 16, what is your status?"
"Engine 51, this is 110. No go at this point. Will keep you
advised. Engine 110 out."
"Same here, Hank. Engine 16 out."
"LA this is Engine 51. I need a second and third alarm at our location. We also have a Code I."
"10-4, 51." Hank heard the tones sounded for the
next group of men called out. He heard the Chief’s tones and
sighed; glad he wouldn’t be in charge when the Chief arrived.
He looked at Chet and then turned to Roy. What could he say? He
had to stay focused on the job. He turned his attention back to
the blaze.
The second and third alarm units starting rolling in. Now, maybe
they would have enough manpower to get this monster under control.
The Chief’s car pulled up beside the engine.
"He's dead, and it's all my fault." Chet whispered, as
he fastened his SCBA gear. Marco was doing the same beside him.
"I shouldn't have been so mean to him."
"What’s that, Chet?" Marco asked.
"Nothing, Marco. Just reprimanding myself for not being nicer to Johnny that’s all."
"He’ll be fine, don’t’ worry. You know he’s got nine lives. He’ll be fine." Marco crossed himself.
"Yeah, right. I think he’s used up eight of those nine though."
"Nah, not a chance." Marco quietly said a prayer. This really didn’t look good.
"Okay, Cap, when do we do this?" Chet asked.
"Now," his Captain told him.
"He’s right by the door, I found him real easy." Roy ran over to the men waiting at the door.
"I let Brice and Bellingham take care of the two little
guys. They should be okay."
"Thanks to Johnny," Marco said softly, as he looked at
the burning building. Hank patted Marco's shoulder and nodded.
"We'll get him out." Everyone knew what that meant.
Dead or alive Johnny would make it out. The guys crouched low as
they entered the still-burning building, under a spray of water.
The inside of it was a complete wasteland.
"Oh God," whispered Chet. Each man felt the same way.
Chet took a deep breath of his oxygen and closed his eyes, trying
to remember the direction he went when he found Johnny the first
time. He began walking, and when he arrived at the spot where he
had last seen Johnny, only found rubble instead of a boot.
"He has to be here, guys. This is where I saw him last."
"Let's start digging," Hank said.
Continued in Part 2