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“Megan, the staircase is starting to go; get down here now.”
“On it,” she said before coming down the hall and heading for the stairs, blinded by the smoke in her eyes. A few sparks landed on her arm, but as usual they just felt warm. No pain. No marks. No burns.
Part of the door to the bathroom at the front of the hall broke away with the flames and landed on the carpet, blocking the path. She tried to nudge it out of the way with her boot, but it wouldn’t go, not because of weight since it looked hollow, but how it was awkwardly wedged in between the walls.
Muttering a curse under her breath, not that anyone could hear, she put the dog down right next to her.
“Don’t you move an inch,” she said, looking Levi in the eye.
Still shaking, the dog’s soulful eyes met her gaze and seemed to communicate obedience.
Megan turned back to the piece of the door and grabbed it through the flames with her bare hands, feeling only a little warmth. She couldn’t get burned, never had been able to, which was the whole reason she was here in the first place. Megan gave it a few good tugs. Nothing.
“Come on!” She threw her body against it, which was enough to cantilever it out of position, clearing the way.
“MEGAN. We’re almost out of water,” Buzz said in her ear.
“Path was blocked; cleared it and coming down now.”
She went to put her glove back on, but Levi squirmed away and barked. He had stayed put crouched and backed up against the wall, shaking.
“It’s okay. No one else can see, still me,” she said before putting on her oxygen mask, which was a welcome relief from the smoky air. She might not be able to get burned, but she could still asphyxiate from lack of oxygen, so she needed to be careful when she took off her mask, making sure not to leave it off for too long.
Megan fixed her helmet and glove too while she could, taking care that no one would see the breach in protocol. After she was all settled, she picked up the shaking dog and cradled him against her.
The sound of the hose streamed against the fire in the kitchen as Megan descended down below, taking care on the blackened steps now that she was approximately seventy-five pounds heavier.
The flames had died back away from the door, which was the standard fire attack strategy with two in two out. Keep the exit open to get the people out, which was exactly what Megan was doing now.
Nick and Buzz waved her down toward the door through the smoke and the steam, cranking down the water of the hose to let her pass through the door with the dog to step into the night, illuminated by the orange glow of the house behind them.
CHAPTER3
With everyone out of the building, Megan and her crew from Station Three moved into an exterior attack to keep the fire from spreading and save as much of the building as possible.
Laura and Jordan hadn’t been far behind with the ambulance and had been treating Levi and his owner with extra oxygen and an examination to rule out any other injuries from the smoke or flames. Judging by the way the man had been lying when she found him, Megan would bet he had scored himself a trip to the hospital, but then every patient could refuse treatment.
No doubt he was in excellent care. Especially with Laura and her special ability of being able to heal people or at least kickstart the healing process.
They had bonded over that, when Megan had seen Laura’s hands glow with a golden light as she healed an overdose call they had responded to about eight months ago. Before she had a chance to explain, Laura had panicked and tried to run to another town, fearing Megan would out her secret, which was hilarious considering Megan had a secret of her own. The two had sorted it all out at the teahouse downtown, when Megan had revealed her own ability. After that, they had gone from friends to secret sisters.
Laura had explained she had always acted when the patient was unconscious so they wouldn’t see, and she could be sure they needed the help. If they were conscious, that brought in a lot of sticky questions like consent and explaining that they weren’t hallucinating and she was actually helping.
For now, Megan could see Laura out of the corner of her eye, evaluating the man on the edge of the ambulance with a foil blanket around him and an oxygen mask on his face. It was a good sign that he was sitting up and conscious.
Levi was leaning against his leg with his golden fluffy tail wrapped around his shuddering body.
“Go ahead and check on them,” Buzz said, clapping a big, gloved hand on her shoulder. “Tank is empty. We’re going to stand by, but that’s all we can do.”
“Got it,” Megan said, but felt the sadness sink into her chest. There were no water pipes out here in the country, no water source to save the building. They had no choice but to let it burn, but it sucked to see the flames engulf a house slowly while you stood by and watched.
“Good job again. I don’t know how you do it, but I’m glad we have you,” Buzz said, turning to go.
“Thanks. I wish I could do more.”
“We all do, but all we can do is our best with the resources we have.”
Megan nodded but didn’t agree. It didn’t feel right to sit by and watch a home turn to charred wood. She was an optimist and a problem solver by nature and hated to give up and settle. As it was, her feet were already walking toward Levi to check on him.
