“No,” she cried out, looking at me through her tears. She was so young, yet she had to experience this extreme horror.
“Good. Look. We’re going to continue and we won’t stop. Okay? Just a little bit more.”
I picked her up, knowing I wouldn’t do any damage, it would be faster this way.
I spoke calmly to her all the way down the stairs, looking all around us in extreme caution. Trent and Brian were on the floor below, having successfully extinguished the fire. I carried the girl outside and dropped her off at the EMT.
“She needs oxygen!” I yelled to them before running back inside to check for more people.
An hour later we finally managed to put the fire out, and there were no residents who remained in the building. Trent and I got outside, both breathing heavily from exhaustion, and I took off my mask, the smells of burned wood, walls, and furniture immediately hitting my nostrils. I was completely covered with sweat, and my adrenaline began dissipating slowly.
“We did it, man,” I told Trent, more than grateful that no one got injured.
I glanced at the ruined building, and an overwhelming peace and satisfaction filled my body, because despite the seriousness of this situation, everyone managed to come outside in one piece. The worst had passed.
“It feels good, bro,” he told me, slapping my shoulder lightly.
“Damn, right.” I smiled back at him. “Good job, Trent.”
“You, too. Good job.”
3
Trent
I was completely covered with sweat, still breathing unevenly after we managed to put out the fire. The adrenaline rush left me pretty exhausted, but it was worth it. It was always worth it, because we managed to save people, and there was nothing else that mattered more than helping others in need.
These people depended on us, and the satisfaction of being able to help them was the greatest reward for me, which was the reason why I became a firefighter after high school. I’d always dreamed about reaching out to the people in need, and I had no doubt this job was what I’d been made for. I was strong, I worked well under pressure, and so firefighting made sense. This was my purpose in life.
Then again, the bad side of my job was the aftermath—when we had to acknowledge the fact that we couldn’t help everyone or that their homes had been destroyed. There were no victims tonight, luckily, but I felt bad seeing all these people displaced. I wished there was something I could do about it.
All the residents of the building had gathered on the street. Many of them were still in shock, their sorrowful eyes set hard on the completely destroyed building, and it was a heartbreaking sight. The windows were all gone, and an eerie blackness in their place sent chills down my spine. The originally brown bricks were now charred, and there was this awful smell that was spreading everywhere—a cruel reminder that everything turned into ashes in a matter of minutes. Nature could be the deadliest at times.
The Red Cross had already begun to find the residents housing for the night, and they were busy trying to achieve some order among the terrified people. They had just lost their homes, and it was shitty to see them so lost and grief-stricken.
“This sucks,” Caleb muttered next to me, and I had to agree with him. This always sucked.
“I just wish there is something more we can do about it. Hopefully, they have the insurance and will be able to find new homes soon.”
We were standing on the side as we waited for other guys to get t
he equipment back to the trucks so we could get going. I scanned the crowd, feeling thankful no one had been killed, and my eyes settled on a gorgeous young woman speaking with a Red Cross volunteer.
For a good ten seconds I was stunned, my stare glued to her curvy form, and I actually had to remind myself to breathe. My heart was pounding, and I felt my cock waking up. She was beautiful, and I wanted her. I didn’t remember when the last time was that some girl had such a strong physical effect on me.
Her body was to die for, covered only with pajamas, and they did nothing to hide her alluring features. Damn, she was hot. Her long brown hair fell around her heart-shaped face, almost concealing how pale it was. Her bright hazel eyes reflected distress, and the urge to save her kicked in—like I was her knight in shining armor or some shit like that.
“Hey, bro,” I said to Caleb. “Do you see that girl?” I pointed subtly at her. Caleb glanced over and found her a moment later. His sharp intake of breath told me she had the same influence on him as she had on me.
“She is beautiful,” he told me, his eyes set hard on her.
I smiled, nodding. “Totally. She’s gorgeous, and I want her.”
Caleb groaned. “Same, man. She is too sexy. We have to get our hands on this girl.”
This was exactly what I wanted to say. “You took the words out of my mouth. We should go and introduce ourselves to her.”
“Right.”