Bradford Fire

Chapter 4

A/N: Votes and comments are really appreciated! Hope you all are liking it so far! 

Interview #2, Scene 1

Interviewer: What’s your biggest fear when you go on calls?

Louis Tomlinson, Firefighter #155: Oh jeez. Uh… I mean, I don’t mean to sound like an arse but I mostly don’t think when I’m on calls. Just sort of go into survival mode.

Liam Payne, Firefighter #156: My biggest fear is totally not having my pack screwed on tight enough and then walking into a poisonous gas leak. I don’t know why that particularly, but I always readjust my mask like seven times before going in…

LT: (Laughing) That’s why you do that? I had no idea.

 ---

Scene 2 switch

Captain Zayn Malik: I think my biggest fear is… just not completing the job to the best of my ability.

Interviewer: You’re not worried about the men you’re in charge of?

CZM: Oh, of course I am. But what good does that do, you know? Fear… fear is dangerous if you let it control you.

---

            Zayn felt his whole body becoming heavier with exhaustion as he finally pealed off his gear and stepped under the hot water of the firehouse shower. He let the water pound down on his head for a while, as he thought back to the incident with Hale and Niall. He knew he was more harsh than necessary with her – but something about her kept gnawing at his nerves. He disliked how she seemed unafraid of him and that he had to put in serious effort to achieve emotions of fear from her.

            Her fearlessness reminded him of someone he had known all to well, and he was doing his best lately to bite back that memory. Not only that, but he especially loathed how when he looked at her in her turnout gear, he had felt blood rushing between his legs. That was absolutely no way to feel about a probie – they were all just naïve, arrogant pieces of shit that needed to be whipped into shape. They all thought becoming a fireman was some glory ride that made you a hero – and it was nothing of the sort. It was a dark, and mostly grotesque profession.

            And that was his job; he was merely teaching her a lesson and aiding her in conforming to the ways of the service. At least, that was what he told himself… After scrubbing down his tattooed torso and the rest of his muscular body, he shut the water off. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he used another to shake out the moisture in his hair as he moved to his locker. Louis had also finished showering only minutes before.

            “Hey mate, how’s it going?” Louis’s almond shaped eyes showed true concern as Zayn threw back a puzzled look, “S’going fine… Why…?” He replied, fumbling with his lock. He wished Louis to go away – in fact, he wished for all of the members of the truck to quit pitying him as if he should be lying inert on the floor in despair all the time.

            “Zayn. Listen, he’s been asking for you,” Louis finally said, causing Zayn to mess up his locker combination, unable to open his locker. He bit his lower lip, refusing to make eye contact with Louis. “Yeah, mate, you know what – I gotta work on this paperwork and I’m totally shot,” he lied, which Louis could easily read – they had known each other before either of them had decided to join the firehouse.

            Louis persisted, “Zayn, you’ve been saying that for the past three months,” he again miscalculated the turns on his combination lock, now growing aggravated, “Yeah and for the past few months, we have been loaded with paperwork,” he spat, reentering his combination for the third time.