Burning Desire

Unity

The traffic was moving sluggishly by now as people began to head home from their days at the office. Stores were starting to close, their lights being turned off, plunging the interior into darkness, and their signs switching to 'closed'. I breathed a sigh of relief at having managed to time my last minute trip to the shop perfectly. Leaving with my purchase in hand, I heard the door lock behind me and was halfway back to my car when my phone began to ring, and fished it out of my pocket.

"Sam, what's up?" I asked.

"Hey man, we gotta go now. Alex called in back up, that shout took a turn for the worse."

Panic, fear, dread. They all hit me with the force of a truck as my heart felt like it stopped as one person swam in my mind.... Lacey.

"On my way." I said, pocketing my phone and reaching for the car door.

Before I opened it, I glanced at the road. Traffic was worsening, cars piling up nose to tail. There was no way that I'd be able to get there by car. I looked up and spotted the station up ahead. Deciding there was nothing else for it, I pocketed my keys, took a breath, and ran.

People dove out of the way as I raced along the pavements, faster than I think I'd ever ran in my life. The air that I gulped in, seared my lungs, but I didn't care, pumping my arms harder needing to speed up. My footfalls thudded in my ears, each hard slam of my feet against the ground rocking through my body. As I got nearer, I saw the shutters opening, and heard the siren begin to wail. I gave myself one last push as I glanced both ways and dove across the road, narrowly missing a car that was beginning to pull away, and sliding over the bonnet of another, landing promptly in front of the appliance as Sam began to pull out. He stopped it there whilst the cars began to part, and I flew for the door, yanking it open and jumping inside.

Jax playfully shoved me as I took my seat next to him, and the truck overtook the row of cars that had previously been in the way.

"Any news?" I panted from the back, dragging on my uniform.

"No, control didn't give much." He shouted back over the siren.

I closed my eyes as I tried to catch my breath, and in that moment, I prayed. I prayed that when we got there, they'd all be okay, and that I wouldn't be too late.

When we finally arrived on scene, there were four other appliances already there. Crews from Shaxbury and Wilsdon were there, along with our other Farwood members. Paramedics were on standby, thankfully free of casualties as everyone appeared to have escaped without harm, from what looked like an ablaze, Bed and Breakfast. Seeing the severity of the fire did nothing to calm my rising concern for the others. I scanned the area, and saw no sign of any of our own, which could only mean one thing.

Wasting no time, me, Sam and Jax ran to the Incident Commander to get our orders, and to attempt for some answers too.

"Ma'am?" I called on approach, coming to a stop before a familiar middle aged woman.

Her sharp features were elegant, yet fierce, and she exuded authority. Soot marks covered her uniform, and marked her dark skin, showing that she'd been in the thick of action here. She turned her attention to us, a flash of relief on her face for all of a second before the professionalism snapped back.

"Farwood?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am, Firefighters Knight, Tate and Jackson." I replied.

"Where do you need us?" Sam asked.

"You two, on the ALP. We need this under control asap, so when I give you the clear, get that water on it from above, let's see if we can tame this beast." She said clearly and to the point, indicating to me and Sam. "And Jackson, you're with me, I need your assistance with another task."