Chapter Two
Ruby couldn’t believe she’d lost her phone. Man, that sucker was usually glued to her hand when she wasn’t at the firehouse, especially lately.
For some strange reason, the summonses were constant, and as a captain, they often called on her to work extra hours.
Mind you, she’d felt forced to take personal time that morning for her doctor’s appointment and still reeled from the verdict. Not that she wanted to even think about it right now. She had a job to do. She’d worry about her predicament later.
Of course, because God had a wicked sense of humor, the last job that day had been extreme, to say the least. Fighting fires was expected but the other types of calls could be anything from car accidents to work injuries. Unfortunately, on this call, the raging flames were a huge dilemma especially when the neighbor reported seeing a child on top of the old building, at the back of the roof.
“Tom, you okay to go up the ladder and see to her suspicions? If there is a kid, he’s not in view now.” Ruby turned to her firefighter and saw him trying to hold back a cough while he nodded.
“Never mind, I’ll go. Your cold is still hanging on, man. No way you should be in that environment with your sore throat.” She’d quickly geared up, grabbed her mask, and climbed the ladder they’d set up to where the woman had pointed.
Aware her crew was working the front and back of the old condo complex, she spoke into the mic and warned them she would be on the roof… that a kid had been sighted there a few minutes earlier.
By the time she arrived, she saw why the teen was no longer in view. About six feet away, he crouched low over a baby in his arms and was using his body to protect the child from the billowing smoke.
“Hi, there.” His jumpy reaction worried her. “No, don’t panic. Everything’s fine. I’m Ruby, and I’m here to get you down. What’s your name?”
His hoarse reply took time. “I’m Hec-tor. This is my sis-ter Ellie.”
“Look, Hector, I need your help. You’re lighter than me, and so it’s best if you can come this way to the ladder. Stick close to the ledge, hold the baby tight, and walk carefully as the fire might have done some damage to parts of the roof. I don’t want you to take any chances, okay?”
Ruby could see the blackening flat surface and how it was melting in places. She knew any amount of weight could mean a collapse. Their bodies would end up a floor below where the fire raged.
They only had a very few seconds to get this done. Slinging off her mask so he could see her eyes, she gestured with her hand out and watched as the terrified kid made a step forward and then stopped.
“I ca-can’t. I’m scared.”
“Me too, honey. But we need to hurry. Come on now. You’re almost within reach. Keep moving, son, keep coming. That’s it.”
Her words coaxed the fearful, skinny kid to trust her. Mesmerizing him with her tender voice, she yelled, “You’re wonderful, Hector. That’s it. Almost here. Keep coming.” Suddenly a huge jolt of the building gave warning before a blast erupted. From the voices on her mic, Ruby heard her people clearing the building only seconds before that happened, but no way could she leave these two stranded to die.
Seeing his reaction, she grabbed for his attention again. “Don’t listen to anything but my voice.” The dreadful noise terrified the boy. First, he jolted back and then crouched to his knees. His stranglehold on Ellie increased and made her wail in anger at the mistreatment. Needing to get his attention focused on her, she screamed in earnest. “You’re fine, Hector. Don’t worry. We’ll get through this together.”
Knowing she wouldn’t get any more from the terrified youngster, that he’d reached his limit of endurance, had frozen in fear… she latched her safety rope onto the ladder, crawled carefully over the narrow ledge, and crept along the skinny railing, clinging with her legs tightly crossed at the ankles. Inch by inch she moved until she could touch the boy’s hair.
“Here sweetheart, pass Ellie to me.” When he did, she sat up. Still with her legs straddled, she lay on her back, stretched her arms out behind her head, and passed the baby toward one of the other firefighters who she’d called to follow her up the ladder.
Then she lowered herself to go back for the boy. “Come on, dude. It’s you and me. Climb up here just like me, straddle the ledge and crawl toward me as I back up. Once we get to the ladder, we can both get down. You good?”
“Ye-s-s. But my hands hurt. I don’t know if they can work… they’re burned.”
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. But no matter how painful it is, your hands will heal if we can get you off this roof. You need to come to me, and I’ll help you down. We need to hurry. The roof could blow any second. You understand?”
Eyes swelling in his smoke-encrusted face, his tears cleared pathways to his chin, and his small body shook with emotion.
Considering the shape he was in, his words surprised her. “You figure I’m some kind of a superhero, Ruby.” His teasing made her lose her heart then and there.
“You’re my hero, honey. So yeah, Superman. Let’s flee this joint.” As he slowly swung his slight body onto the railing only a few feet away from where she waited, her hand never wavered.
Using his arms to hold on rather than his hands, he inched toward her. She could see the amount of courage it took for him to follow orders, and she wanted to hug him and never let go.
Suddenly, Ruby felt the ledge quivering. The building was going to collapse any second. She needed him to hurry.
Reaching forward as far as she dared, she grabbed for his arm and steadied him so he would feel safer when he moved. “That’s it, buddy. Keep coming. I’ve got you now. Just a few more inches.”
Before either of them expected, the wooden building shuddered, and it began to crumble. Ruby lunged for the kid and wrapping her arms around his small frame, she was able to clasp him to her as she swung out from the explosion.