He knew the rules. He was no help to anybody if he succumbed to the smoke, so the mask stayed on his face.
It took him a few seconds to get out of his gear, and then he held the mask out to her. “Get a seal and take a few breaths. Then try to seal it on him for a few minutes as best you can.”
She shook her head. “You can’t get us out of here if you can’t breathe.”
“When I need to, I’ll put it back on for a minute, then you can. Then back to him.” She still didn’t move. “I won’t push it. I promise.”
She only took a few breaths before putting it over Hunter’s face. Gavin knew it wouldn’t be a good seal, but it was better than nothing. He listened to the chatter on the radio and could hear stuff happening outside. Occasionally they’d ask him questions he’d answer.
He and Cait each took a turn with the mask, and he gave her a reassuring smile. “I know his leg’s bad, but it won’t be long.”
“It’s not just the leg. I’m pretty sure there’s internal bleeding.” She paused and he watched her throat move as she swallowed hard. It was the only crack in her composure. “He doesn’t have a lot of time.”
Gavin heard what she didn’t say. Hunter was going to die before they were able to safely extricate them according to protocol and he felt a rush of panicked helplessness.
But he pushed it down and gave her a sharp nod to acknowledge that he understood. Then he looked around the small space, taking stock of the situation before making his decision. They couldn’t wait.
He dug his fingers into the cracked Sheetrock and pulled until a chunk broke off. He kept breaking off pieces until the insulation was exposed. After pulling that out and tossing it aside, he looked at the back side of the plywood sheathing.
It was either going to work, or he was going to find out the plywood was holding this corner of the room up. He looked over his shoulder at Cait and, after a few seconds, she nodded.
He didn’t have a lot of room, but he got down on his side and kicked hard at the center of the plywood. It didn’t give a lot, but he kicked again. There were voices outside and he heard the scratching sound of the melted vinyl siding being pulled free.
“We can’t use the saw,” Rick told him over the radio. “If we cut the studs, it’ll collapse.”
“We just need to cut out a big enough area to pass a board through. We’ll strap him the best we can and send him out sideways.”
“That’s not—”
“It’s his only chance,” Cait broke in.
“Get the reciprocating saw and make a vertical cut through where I knock,” Gavin said. “I’ll tell you where you can cut.”
It felt like a slow process, but he knew it was really only a couple of minutes before they had a rough cutout big enough to pass a board through the studs. And big enough to hand a little boy out.
“I’ll get his torso,” Cait said. “You get him behind the knees. Slow and smooth to the board.”
“His leg is—”
“He’s unconscious and the only thing we can do for that leg is get him to a surgeon.”
They strapped him to the board from his head to his ankles, and then slowly and carefully tipped him sideways and passed the board through the hole. As soon as the guys outside had his head, Cait let go and stripped off all her gear, including her boots.
She put her arms and head between the studs and told the guys to pull. Gavin had no choice but to lift her by the legs and support her until they had her.
He didn’t think he’d fit, so he tossed their gear through the hole and then had to wait while they figured out how to extract him.
“We can probably cut one of the studs out without jeopardizing the wall,” Rick said finally.
“Probably?”
The LT grinned at him through the hole. “Almost definitely.”
By the time they got him out, Cait was gone and he assumed she’d climbed in the ambulance with her patient. She would stay with them, relating what info she had and assisting the paramedic, until they handed the boy over to the doctors.
It was her partner, Tony, who snapped his attention away from her. “Let’s check you out.”
“I’m fine.”
