April by Ryleigh Sloan

Author:Ryleigh Sloan [Sloan, Ryleigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ryleigh Sloan
Published: 2024-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The bells sound. Building collapse on the corner of Wabash and Lake, Truck fifty-one. Ambo number fifteen dispatch.

We all jump into our gear and are in the truck in under a minute. I’ve been a firefighter since I left school, and there isn’t a single time the bells go off that my stomach isn’t in knots, and I feel the bile rise. It’s fucking ironic that I always wanted to be a firefighter, and yet my mother died in a fire, and I couldn’t save her. And like my dad keeps reiterating, if I’d been at home instead of sitting my candidacy exams, I could have saved her. That’s why saving lives is so much more to me. Maybe when I save a life, someone doesn’t have to lose a mother or brother, or friend or pet. No one should go through this at all.

When we arrive at the scene, it is chaotic as usual, but weirdly enough, it’s also the only time the chaos in my brain stills. Chief is shouting orders, and I scan the scene. The team disperses, and Chief sends me over to the sinkhole to see if there’s anyone under there. The closer I get, the more I can hear cries for help. I race over to the rubble and lie on my stomach. It’s chilly in Chicago, but the asphalt around the hole is still hot from the fall sun beating down on it. As soon as I poke my head over the side of the sinkhole, a heavily pregnant woman covered in dust and small piles of debris looks up at me. Her tear-stained face clearly showcases her panic.

“Chief, we have someone trapped down here. Her leg is caught under a large rock. I’m going in.” Chief looks over from where he’s delegating to the guys. “Greene, hang fire. I want safety to make sure it’s secure before we go in.”

“Sir, with all due respect, we’ve got a pregnant woman down there.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if there are sixteen infants down there. Unless the area is given the all clear, you are to stand down. Are we clear?” He glares at me from six feet away.

A scream pierces the air, and I snap my attention back to the trapped woman. She’s yanking on her leg. Blood is streaming from the wound, but she doesn’t let up.

“Hey, ma’am, hey,” Fuck, this is not good. “You can’t do that. I’ve got you. You’ll be out in no time. You have to calm down.”

“Please, you have to help me. Please.”

My words haven’t penetrated her panic because she’s still frantically trying to yank her leg free.

“Chief. I need to get in there. She’s panicking really badly.”

“Please, you have to help my baby. I haven’t felt her move in a while.” Another scream drives my point home.

“Walters, get safety on the line and find out what the holdup is. Greene, I’m not telling you again.”

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to cover your eyes.

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