Chapter 1

RAYLAN

I dropped my things to the floor as I pulled my keys out of my back pocket and opened my locker.

My ears perked up as a few of my co-workers strolled into the locker room, chatting boisterously as usual.

They made eye contact with me and quieted down.

Ignoring their presence, I continued packing up my shit, ready for the long day ahead.

"Hey lieutenant, excited for tonight?" Kenzo, as usual, was the only one courageous enough to speak to me, much to my chagrin.

He was a great fireman.

He actually listened to instructions out on the field and was a pretty critical thinker in dire situations.

Outside of that though, a damn idiot.

He was a self-proclaimed 'ladies' man' and a complete pain in my ass.

Actually, if I'm being fair, they're all pains in my ass.

Kenzo talked too much, lacked a filter and above all, he was the only person in this station that didn't understand the concept of leaving me the hell alone.

"What am I supposed to be excited for?

A building to catch on fire?

Some drunk idiot to slam into a utility pole?"

This was another problem.

Not only did he talk too much, but he never thinks about the things that come out of his mouth.

It was one of my biggest pet peeves; an ignorant speaker.

The other men laughed at his expense as he coughed in embarrassment.

I slammed my locker shut, tired of this mind-numbing conversation.

For the next hour or so, I occupied myself with a few case reports in my office, until the sharp sounding of the alarm threw me off guard.

Immediately, I sprung into action, rushing to the ground floor.

I caught up with chief on my way and we simply nodded at each other, part of our ongoing mutha agreement.

He stays out of my way, I don't leave his station.

My squad and the EMT were already at the garage, putting on their uniform and PPE.

I followed their lead quickly.

We piled into the engine and I sat at the furthest end of the bench as usual.

I fixed my glove on my hands as we drove off, wondering what kind of fire we were about to face.

"Dudes, what if the fire is on the top floor or something.

You think the chief will let me use the ladder?" I overheard one of the new ELF's say and I couldn't stop myself from scrunching up my face.

What kind of immature assholes was I working with?

We pulled up to the apartment building twenty minutes later and mentally, I was already assessing the possible damage, the structure of the building and the extent of the fire.

You could clearly see the smoke coming from about the sixth floor and I just hoped everyone below and above had already evacuated the building.

The tenants of the building had all gathered right outside and the chief directed a few men to move the crowd to the other side of the street.

He stopped a pudgy, balding man who, by the look of things, was probably the owner of the building.

"Sir, do you know which unit the fire is coming from," he asked him, cutting right to the chase.

"It's coming from the sixth floor and I think it's apartment 136."

From where I stood, he looked more annoyed than shaken and I realized that his concern was more with the money side of things than the possible loss of life.

"Is there anyone still on that floor or in the apartment?"

"I think the entire floor is clear but I'm not sure whether there's someone in that apartment.

The guy who lives there is really private."

Chief nodded and sent him to stand with the rest of the crowd.

He turned towards us just as an explosion went off and I knew that the longer we stayed down here, the possibility for loss of life increased.

"Porter," Chief called and I turned to him, awaiting instruction.

"Take Kenzo, Omar, Noa and Ridge and do a primary search on the sixth floor." I nodded and motioned for the men to follow me.

Our gas masks were already on as we darted into the building, running up all six flights of stairs.

When we got to the sixth floor, I ordered Noa and Ridge to make sure there was no one else on the floor and the rest of them to come with me to apartment 136, at the end of the hall.

I pressed my ear close to the door and could literally hear the fire raging behind it.

"Fire Department, call out if you're in there!" I shouted and waited for a response.

When I received none, I called again but it was the same result.

I readied myself to kick the door in when Kenzo held my shoulder.

"Lieutenant, there is no one in there.

Don't waste your time."

I felt my eye twitch.

"And how the fuck would you know that Kenzo?" I asked calmly, awaiting his idiotic response.

"I don't have time for this shit.

If you're too pussy, get the fuck downstairs and let me do my job.

Stay out of my way."

I counted to three in my head and kicked the door hard, the entire thing giving away.

The heat hit me at full blast and I leaped to the side to avoid the brunt of it.

I walked in hesitantly, keeping my eyes peeled for any object that could possibly fall.

It was hard to see with all the flames and the smoke was thick, but my gut was telling me not to give up.

I wandered further, into what looked like a living room area, and pieces of the puzzle started fitting in place when I saw the number of alcohol bottles littered across the floor.

My stomach turned when I saw the body on the couch.

All these years and I still feel like I'm going to vomit every time I come close to a dead body.

"Dispatch, we have a 10-45, code 2.

Deploy engine 2, over."

As I waited for dispatch to acknowledge my message, I found myself standing there staring at the body.

It's not every day you get to see someone burn right before your eyes and I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"We have to put out the fire, Lieutenant," Omar said.

I nodded and he went towards a window and signaled dispatch to bring the ladder there.

I took a step towards him and felt something squeak under my boots.

I looked down and it was a soot-covered, brown teddy bear.

Someone else was here.

"Hello!

Is anybody there?

Can you hear me?" I shouted, walking right through the flames.

The apartment was small and they weren't many places for someone to hide, so by the time I saw a door over by the kitchen, I marched towards it and kicked it down.

I heard Omar shout for me but I was already in the room.

The room was completely blackened from the amount of smoke in there but I couldn't have missed the crumpled body on the floor.

I rushed to her and kneeled down next to her body.

I pressed two fingers to her neck, looking for a pulse and whilst I did find one, it was very faint.

"Dispatch, we've got a 10-37 here.

I need a paramedic waiting when I get down, over," I called it in as I rushed around the room, looking for a blanket.

The fire clearly didn't start in this room so the victim most likely passed out from the smoke.

By the amount of smoke in here, she probably wouldn't have lasted much longer.

I found a bathroom and turned on the tap, trying to soak the blanket as much as I could.

I started to internally panic at this point but told myself to calm the fuck down.

Me panicking wasn't helping anyone.

I wrapped her up in the blanket and lifted her in my arms.

She was as light as a feather and made it easy to maneuver her in my arms so I removed my gas mask and put it on her face.

The wind was knocked right out of me as I breathed in the thick, black smoke.

We needed to get the hell out of here.

I coughed and held the small body close to me as I walked back to the main area.

I moved quickly, barely taking notice of my men beginning to hose the flames.

I ran down the stairs faster than I'd run up and my mind was swarming with negative thoughts.

Please let her be okay.

The moment I burst threw the main doors and saw daylight again, I breathed in deeply, welcoming the clean air (as clean as Gulltown air can get) into my lungs.

My main focus was the girl in my arms and as I looked down at her, it was as though the wind got knocked out of me again.

The mask had fallen off her face and my mind went blank.

"Sir, we need to treat her." The paramedic's words didn't register in my brain and as he kept calling out to me I realized what was going on.

I placed her on the awaiting stretcher and hesitantly stepped back, letting the paramedics do their jobs.

I didn't understand it.

I couldn't believe what I'd just seen.

She was anangel.