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He was glad they'd been able to get the poor guy out of his car without taking too much time. From the concerned looks on the nursing staff’s faces, it appeared time was of the essence.
When he and Joe returned to the emergency department, he saw Lindsey across the room taking care of the passenger of the motor vehicle crash. As much as he wanted to talk to her, now wasn't the time. She saw him, though, and acknowledged him with a nod and a smile.
His heart lifted. Had she gotten over being mad at him? Maybe she wasn't the type to hold a grudge for long. Too bad they didn't have time to talk. But maybe tomorrow, after his twenty-four-hour shift was over, there would be time to make amends.
The rest of his day remained busy. He'd thought about calling Lindsey at least a dozen times but managed to talk himself out of it. He knew it was better to have their next conversation in person, rather than over the phone. He wanted to be able to read her expression, there had already been enough miscommunication between them.
That night, as he stared up at the ceiling over his bunk in the fire station, he relived those moments at the pool. The fun they'd had playing in the water, and then the kiss that had morphed into instant explosive desire.
He was dreaming of Lindsey when the fire bells went off. The alarm had him jumping out of bed and sliding down the fire pole before he was fully awake. He stepped into his gear, drew it on and was seated in the fire truck in less than two minutes. He wished there had been time for coffee to help clear the cobwebs of sleep from his mind, but no such luck.
“Three alarm blaze in an apartment building on Hickory Ave,” Big Joe informed him.
He nodded indicating he understood. Their siren wailed as they flew through the streets. Apartment building fires were not good—too many potential victims.
The ride to the blaze didn't take long as there was very little traffic at four-thirty in the morning. He jumped out of the truck, taking the point position of going in first.
He was somewhat relieved to see there were almost a dozen people huddled together outside. Maybe they all had smoke detectors.
The fire chief was on scene, giving orders. “There's a family of five unaccounted for in apartment number 318, and an elderly couple in unit number 314 located on either side of the burning unit. We suspect the fire has already begun to spread into the roof. Monroe, you and Joe going after the family of five—there's a five-year old boy and a six-year old girl. The youngest child is just an infant. Hanks and Bishop, take the elderly couple. I have more responders on the way if you need help. Let’s go!”
He didn't need to be told twice. The thought of kids being trapped in a burning apartment was horrifying. He took a moment to send up a prayer that God would watch over them before he took the stairs up to the third-floor apartment.
Smoke thicker than pea soup hung in the hallway when he reached the tap. Keeping his breathing even through the face mask he made his way down the hall to the apartment housing the family of five. He tested the door with his gloved hand, gauging the level of warmth before kicking it in.
The smoke was slightly less inside, but he wasn’t reassured by that. Especially if the roof of the building was already compromised.
He and Joe searched the main apartment for victims before making their way down the hall to the bedrooms. They found the kid’s bedroom first, but there was only one child in bed, the little girl. The other bed was empty. He motioned for Big Joe to grab the six-year-old while he continued making his way down to the second bedroom. The parents were there, with a small infant in a cradle at the foot of the bed.
He couldn't believe they were all sleeping despite the thick smoke. If they had smoke alarms, they obviously weren't working. He picked up the baby and then woke the parents. The couple moved slowly, as if they were drugged. The smoke had already robbed their brains of oxygen. Ignoring them for the moment, he ran with the infant outside, using his radio to let the ground crew know they'd found survivors.
After handing the kids over to the paramedic crew he and Joe hurried back inside to assist the parents. And where was the third child? The parents were having trouble walking under their own power, so he and Big Joe carried them down the stairs to the fresh air outside.
“We lost the roof. I need every firefighter to get out of the building—now!” His Fire Chief shouted.
“We’re missing a child,” Austin said. “I need to go back in.”
His boss glanced up at the building where flames could be seen shooting from the roof. “It's too dangerous.”
“I'll be quick. He's only five.” Austin turned and ran back inside before his boss could order him to stand down. He knew the kid was in there somewhere. Hiding under the bed? Or maybe in the bathroom? He didn't know for sure but he wouldn't rest until he'd found him.
He checked the bathroom first, but it was empty. Searching the kid’s bedroom next, he crawled on the floor, peering under the bed. Sure enough, he saw the small shape of a child curled in the corner furthest from the edge of the bed.
“Come on, we need to get outside.” He reached his arm under the bed, groping for the boy. When he touched the child’s arm, the kid screamed.
He snatched his arm back. What in the world? Was the boy hurt? He didn't want to make things worse, so he stood, grabbed the headboard and tipped the entire frame up on its end so he could see the child.
The little boy was coughing and crying hysterically, but there were no other signs of injury. Lifting his face mask off, he placed it on the young boy for a few minutes. He knew it was protocol to keep his mask on at all times, but the way the kid was coughing and crying, and the boy needed oxygen more than he did.
“Come on, buddy, we need to get you out of here.” He placed his face mask back on, picked the child up and made his way back to the hallway. He'd reached the living room, when a loud crack echoed through the room and parts of the ceiling came crashing down on his head.
Pressing the child's head to his chest, he hunched his shoulders, protecting the boy as best he could as he continued pushing toward the door. The entire apartment was on fire now, and he knew they didn't have much time. Debris from the ceiling hit him on the back, and he stumbled to his knees, barely hanging on to the child with one arm as he used the other to brace himself from falling on his face.
Just when Austin was beginning to fear he wouldn't make it out of there after all, Big Joe loomed in the doorway. “Monroe?”
“Here.” Giving a last gigantic push, he stood and stumbled toward his partner. For a moment Sam's face swam before him. He blinked and saw Big Joe, who hauled him and the little boy toward the stairwell.
“Your back is smoking. What happened?” Big Joe asked as they stepped over debris lying on the floor.
