For those who may not know, the photo above are the new characters I introduce in this chapter
3rd person Pov
The 126 made the 3 and a half hour drive to San Angelo and it had been almost a week until they brought in more out of state teams including the 118 from Los Angeles.
Buck's Pov.
"Come on let's go!" I called out as I walked down the stairs of the station house. I picked up a few bags and headed over to the truck. "I've been on the list for special deployment ever since I joined the department. Never got a call before today." I said to Eddie as I placed the bags in the fire truck. "Okay we are ready to go" Eddie said and we closed the side doors after getting everything packed up. As Eddie and I were headed over to the front of the truck we were stopped by Hen. "Oh, no. I know how you guys are. Everyone, make sure you use the bathroom before we go. I don't care if you think you have to or not. We have a 20-hour drive, and we're gonna make good time." She said "I didn't know you were coming with us" Eddie said and I nodded in agreement. "I got two kids and med school bills to pay. I'll take all the emergency overtime I can get. Besides, it'll be fun. I've never been to Texas." Hen said, and with that we all got into the trucks. "Alright 118 let's move out".
Rachel's Pov. ( begins in the Morning)
I watched as Owen walked out of the tent from his two hour rest while one of the other paramedics from the San Angelo Fire Department helped me with my hair as I was struggling to keep it out of my face.
"There you go. That should help you out" she said "thank you so much" I replied and we returned to out separate teams waiting upon the arrival of the other out of state teams to arrive so we could discuss the wind shift that had happened within the past hour. As everyone gathered around Deputy Chief De Leon begun his little spiel. "I'm Deputy Chief De Leon of the San Angelo Fire Department. Acting incident commander. For those of you just joining the party, welcome." He said and TK turned to Marjan and I "I think that guy is starting at you two" he said and Marjan and I quickly looked in the direction TK nudged us "more like he's staring at you" I said to marjan before Chief De Leon begun speaking again. "I want to introduce I want to introduce my operations section chief, Captain Owen Strand out of Austin." Marjan then directed her focus back onto what was being said. "The thing we were praying wouldn't happen has happened. The wind has shifted. The fire's now on a collision course with the city of San Angelo. There's a possibility of wether coming in, but we can't rely on it , and we won't. We have one last shot to turn the tide. Here" Owen said pointing to Copper Ridge on a map. "On Copper Ridge. We cut a containment line here and we can stop this beast in it's tracks. I know you're exhausted. A lot of you haven't had more than a couple hours' sleep in days. But on behalf of the city of San Angelo and their 120,000 souls, we're gonna get you up in that fire like and you are going to cut as if you're life depends on it. Good luck and stay safe" Owen said before Molly called out to him "Captain!" She said as she followed him to one of the tented areas along with Chief De Leon. Judd noticed as well the two of us headed over with the rest of the 126 following close behind. "I thought all the evacuations had already happened" I overheard Chief De Leon say "that was before the wind shifted. How many kids are up their?" Owen said "8 kids and one councillor" Molly replied "and have we made contact?" Owen asked "not in at lease 8 hours. It's a camp for at risk teens so their kids aren't allowed cellphones" Molly replied "what's going on?" Marjan asked from beside me. "A bunch of kids are trapped up past the fire line" I said "hey umm pardon me capt. but you can get to it with ATV's easy enough. I used to ride around through woods just like these growing up and before Captain Marrie passed Rachel came along with us every now and then " Judd said and I nodded in agreement "yeah and Liam actually brought me out here a few times before things went..well..you know 'down hill' " I added Captain strand nodding knowing what I ment when I said 'down hill'. "You firefighter have just become strike team leader" Chief De Leon said to Judd who just nodded "alright. Eight man team and take a medic. You don't know what you will find up their" Owen said and Marjan, Paul and I gladly volunteered as well as some of the crew from the San Angelo fire department. "I'm a medic. Eddie Diaz with the 118 Los Angeles" a man's voice said "paramedic?" Marjan questioned "firefighter. But I was a medic in the army and I had more than a few missions that looked a lot like this" the man now know as Eddie said "well then what are you waiting for Hollywood. Get your bag and meet us down by the motor pool and we'll ride out." Judd said and with that Eddie went back towards the trucks and the rest of us went to find the ATV's. "Marwan and Strickland. Cho and Dayton. Jackson with me and Marrie. You're with Hollywood" Judd said as we got into our ATV's. I followed behind Marjan as we made our way to pick up Diaz and head up through the woods. I wasn't close enough to Marjan to catch what she said but whatever it was made one of the other crew mates from the 118 look at Diaz surprised. I pulled up and stopped the ATV "You conning Hollywood?" I said and with that he made his way over and hopped in beside me. "Rachel Marrie, Austin FD" I said extending my hand for him to shake, which he did, "Eddie Diaz, LAFD" he said as he hopped in "Meh I like Hollywood better" I replied which caused him to chuckle lightly as we drove off. "So tell me a bit about yourself Texas." Diaz said to me as we made our way up through the forest. "Texas?" I replied "well if you get to call me Hollywood it's only fair I get to call you Texas" He said. "well It's a long story." I said as we approached the camp "I've got time" Diaz said not knowing how close we were "no we really don't" I said and I stood up, still driving the ATV and did a head count of the kids. "Judd I only count 7" I called into the radio system and stopped the ATV quickley jumping out with Diaz close behind. "Hey everybody back up. We're gonna get y'all down the mountin but first Eddie and Marjan are gonna check you all out make sure youre okay" Judd said as everyone gathered tohgether. "who's missing?" I asked one of the older kids "Mr. Gomez, he left last night looking for JJ and he never came back." the boy replied "did JJ run away?" Paul questioned "No he was out doing his solo" the boy replied. "alright Cho, Dayton, Jackson. You three take these kids-" "hold up" Diaz said and we all directed our attention towards where he was looking. There approching us was a figure wrapped up in a blanket. Diaz and I were the first ones to reach the man and helped get him over to the camps picknick table but he colapsed a few steps in. "where's JJ?" Paul asked "I don't know I didn't find him." the man replied just before he stopped breathing. "He's not breathing" Diaz said looking up at Judd. "here help me get him onto the table" Diaz said and together the team got our Mr. Gomez onto the table "Marjan, grab the Ambu bag as well as the IV bag, I'm gonna run a line" Diaz said. "I don't hear any are excaping, his lungs are intact" Diaz muttered to himself " then why isn't his chest rising" Paul asked ovoubsly hearing what was said and with that Diaz cut open the mans shirt revealing his SERVRLEY burnt chest. "we need to do an escharotomy I-" "What is an escharotomy?" Marjan asked cutting Diaz off "its a surgical procedure used to treat circumferential burns" I replied and Marjan nodded her head. " hope youre not squeamish" Diaz said to Marjan as he cut through the burned tissue allowing Mr. Gomez's lungs to expand enabling him to catch a proper breath. I sat with a few of the younger kids trying to calm them down as well as the older boy I talked to earlier while Diaz did his thing. "is Mr. Gomez gonna die?" one of the little boys I was sitting with asked "I don't know but I do know they are doing everything they can to help keep him alive" I replied and as if on cue Mr. Gomez's lungs expanded alowing his to cath his breth and he became fully responsive again. The four younger kids I was with turned and hugged me causing me to fall over the rock I was sitting on earling a laugh from the older boy who eventualy helped me up. "Nicely done Diaz" I heard Marjan say "you too Firefox" he replied and it was then when I realized why the other guy from the 118 looked suprised, Marjan had gone viral at least twice for her crazy awsom stunts, he must be a fan. " alright Cho, Dayton, Jackson. You three take these kids and Mr. Gomez back down the mountin Marjan, Rachel, Eddie you stay here. Paul you're with me we." Judd said and everyone did what they were told to do. Judd and Paul headed out to search for JJ as Diaz called the medical tent letting them know we were sending kids their way. Marjan, Diaz and I were chatting for a bit before my phone started buzzing from inside my pant pocket. "Will you excuse me for a moment I have to take this" I said to Marjan and Diaz who both just nodded as I walked over to where the ATV's were once parked.
Phone call
(R-Rachel O-Owen)
R- Marrie
O- Hey Rachel. I'm going up in a helicopter to help Judd and Paul
R- EXCUSE ME! no. You're not serious right?
O- umm dead serious.
R- No. No. You are Not going up in weather like this
O- Rachel. I'm not asking for your permission I'm calling to ask that you make sure TK doesn't lash out if something happens.
R- you better have a medic going with you Owen
O- Rachel. You know it's too dangerous
R- IF ITS TOO DANGEROUS THEN WHY ARE YOU GOING?!
O- why are you acting like this?
R-BECAUSE OWEN. I KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO LOOSE A FATHER. TK already had his father leave once. He doesn't need for you to die and leave him for good this time.
O- Just relax I'm not going to die
R- YOU DONT KNOW THAT. I know you think you're invincible but there will be a day when you won't be. I'd just hate for that day to be today
O- I know. But just like you said. I'm invincible and I'll be fine.
R- just please. Please. Be safe.
O- I will
R- and if the pilot says you should head back. You better come back right then and their.
O- okay I will. I promis
R- ugh. Just stay safe
O-okay. Bye Rachel
R- Bye.
End of phone call
I made my way back over to Marjan and Diaz knowing they could hear me yelling on the phone but when I approched them they didn't ask what was going on instead they just continued talking about each others Instagram photos. "Rachel come look at this" Marjan said as she waved me over "look. This is Eddie and his son. Isn't he adorable" she said and showed me a photo.
"Awww Diaz. He's adorable." I said "please call me Eddie and thank you. Christopher, h-he's my world" Di- Eddie said as I got a notification on my phone "really you want to follow me?" I said to Eddie "well yeah. You seem pretty cool" he said "okay but I must worn you I'm not very big on social media and haven't really posted anything in about three months" I said and followed him back. "What's this? A tattoo design?" Eddie asked turning his phone to show a photo I posted of tattoo design I got.
"Yeah. That's a tattoo I have on my right ankle with my parents birthdays written in roman numals" I said as Owen came over the radio system. "Strike team leader this is air support. Judd do you coppy?" Owen said "Capt. Is that you?" Judd said through the radio. "yeah I heard you could use a hand. whats your 20" Owen replied "a few clicks west of the camp. We haven't found this kid yet but we found his tent with no remains so we think he went further into the woods trying to get away from the fire" Judd replied " okay we see you" Owen said "Judd we got something under a grub of trees south by south-east of your position we're gonna try and get over top of it" he continued. "capt. we got him." Judd said "how does he look?" owen asked "not good his ankle is caught in a bear trap. were hooking him up to the life pack right now but it looks like he's lost a lot of blood" Judd said. Marjan Eddie and I sat together listening to the converstaion going on when a womens voice came through the radio as well. "Hey Judd this is paramedic Heniretta Wilson I'm up here with your captin" she said. "You have got to be kidding me" Eddie said and I groned in fustration. I know I told him to take a medic but I didn't think he would have taken a medic from the 118. "i'm pretty sure you firefighters are fully capable to handle this-" "no, no plese walk us through it" Judd interupted "alright, before you do anything I need you to place a tourniquet three inches above the wound but not over the knee. ok then you can remouve the trap BUT you must keep the wound elevated above the heart and wrap the wound as fast and as tight as you can" Heniretta said. I spaced out for a bit thinking about how much time Captin and Heniretta had been up in the helpcopter and it wasnt until Judd spoke that I was pulled back into reality. "Captain Strand, the winds have gotten stronger. If you stay up there much longer-" "Rachel we'll be back at base after we get this kid I promis just stop stressing" Owen said and there was a long pause before Owen spoke again "Hey Judd. can you get him out of there with the ATV?" he asked "Yeah. weve gotta pick up the girls and Diaz anyway" Judd replied "rogger that we'll meet you back at base" Owen said and I let out a small sigh of relif knowning if they were up their much longer they wouldnt make the trip back. Marjan, Eddie and I got up from where we were sitting and just when I thought things were going to be okay the helocopter's pilot called Mayday over the radio and their helocopter decended rappidly leaving a trail of black smoke in the sky. "Judd get back here as fast as you can. I've gotta have a chat with De Leon and don't want to have to wait for TK to find out" I said into the radio. "We're almost there don't worry. Two of y'all are gonna have to stand though for us all to fit" Judd said "Rachel and I will stand" Eddie said "alright then. We'll be there in 5 or less." Judd said and I sat back down on the log I was originally on and spaced out while my leg bounced uncontrollably. "Hey." Eddie said and placed a hand on my knee pushing my heel to the ground stopping my leg from bouncing. "What?" I asked him not turning my head. "Judd's here we gotta go" he said and helped me up and I stood in the floor beside Marjan's seat and held onto the inside of the ATV's roof while Eddie stood on the floor beside JJ and held onto the inside of the ATV's roof. As we got down the mountain I walked over to Deputy Chief De Leon. "Deputy Chief, Rachel Marrie, Austin FD. We need to talk" I said and he walked into a tent with me following close behind. "I'm guessing this is about your captain" De Leon said as he rolled a map out on the table infront of him. "yes. when can we prepare a team to go out and search for them we know whe-" "no one is going out" De Leon said cutting me off. "Excuse me?!" I said looking up at him "it is too dangerous Mis. Marrie I-" "so you're saying it's 'too dangerous' to save a captain as well as a paramedic who both have family and people who need them. If you don't want a larg team to go out thats fine i'll head up myself if I have to. I-" "NO! no one is going up I am not explaining to families that there children and loved ones died doing something so recless and-" "oh is that what your afraid of? having to explain to our families if something were to happen? Well then theres even more of a reason for me to go out B-" "Oh YEAH WHY IS THAT" " BECAUSE I DONT HAVE ANY AND IF I'M GONNA DIE I'D WANT IT TO BE TRYING TO HELP SOMEONE KEEP THEIRS SO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH WHAT I DID!" I finaly snapped back at De Leon after he and I went back and forth interupting each other. I made my way out of the tent only to see Judd, Marjan, Mateo, Eddie and another man who was also from the LAFD standing blocking my path. I hung my head when I made eye contact with Judd but I didn't see Paul or TK so that was a good thing knowing TK didn't here me lash out at the Depuity Chief.
TK's Pov (begins in the morning)
Mateo and I folowed along the others up the mountin to Copper Ridge and begun digging the containment line. It was quite the hike but it wasnt nearly as hard as the work we were doing once we arrived at Copper Ridge. everyone began either digging, cutting, or clering a road like path to stop the fire. Mateo and a guy out of Los Angeles got taking but I wasn't paying that much attention to what they were saying until the guy from Los Angeles begun talking about a call they went on. "I bet you get some pretty crazy calls out there." Mateo said "Oh you have no idea" the other guy said "we get our fair share in Texas." I butted in "TK" I said and exended my hand for him to shake which he did "Buck" he replied "you ever get a call at Disneyland?" Mateo asked "that's Orange County" Buck replied "yeah but LA right?" Mateo said. I expected Buck to just ignore us and continue working but he continued the conversation "you know, we did get a call to an amusement park once. I had to scale the loop of a roller coaster. Guy was hanging on by his bare hands." he siad "you saved a guy hanging from a guy hanging from a roller coaster?" Mateo said "Nah. he-he let go" Buck replied. "man that's rough. I had a women almost drown on me last year in less than a foot of water. She was trapped in a bus upside down in the middle of the street. It was wild man" I said as I threw a handfull of bush away behind us. "we had a bus rescue once. It wasn't upside down though. But it was sticking out the fifth floor of an office building." Buck replied "we just had an active volcano last week" I added "yeah, I think I saw something about that on my Twitter feed. " Buck replied. I looked up towards the top of the mountin as I thought I heard the sound of a car and sure enough there was a car, on fire, headded straight for us Buck hadn't noticed and just as the car came speading down the hill I managed to nock him down and out of the way of the car, me landing half on top of him before we both rolled enough so we woudn't get hit. Once the car had come to a stop Buck and I both got up and headed towards the car. "It looks like just the driver" Buck called out "Hey, we're gonna get you out of there" I said and ran to the passenger side "ugh, it's lockd" I heard Buck say and so I tossed hin the halligan tool I had in my hand "heads up" I called out and tossed it over the hood of the car which he caught with ease, broke the window, and oppened the door just to see a dog, yes A DOG, jump out and run over to Mateo. It wasn't too long after when we heard a man calling out the name Clyde and sure enough hes running in our direction. when he getus to us I just pointed at Mateo as the dog was still with him. " bad boy Clyde, bad boy. I am so sorry I left hin alone for, like, ten seconds. He must have unlocked the parking brake." the man said "your dod has a led foot" Mateo said to the man and Buck turned to me "so that was weird" he said "right?" I replied "nice moves by the way. Good reflexes" Buck added as he walked away "you too" I said although I dout he heard. We made our way back to base just as the sun had begun to set, "oh, glad to see strike team's already got their feet up. " I said as Mateo, Buck and I turned into view of the main base area. "oh you guys must be exhausyed. All that go-karting up and down the hill?" Buck Joked but as we looked clocer to the expresions on each of their faces I knew something wasn't right. "you guys didn't hear, did you?" Marjan said "hear what? what happened? and wheres Rachel?" I asked very confused " I'm suprised you can't hear her the other guy from the LAFD replied "Eddie whats going on?" Buck asked the other guy from the LAFD that I now know as Eddie "umm TK can I talk to you for a second?" Paul asked and I just nodded " we'll give you guys some space" Judd said as he and the others got up and walked away in the other direction"Paul what is going on?!" I asked "well umm. TK. Your dad went up in a helicopter along with a paramedic from the 118 to help us look for a boy and umm.." "just say it Paul" I said a bit annoyed "the helicopter crashed TK" Paul said and I just looked at him not knowing what to do next. "The rest of the team is in with De Leon right now. Do you want to over to them?" Paul asked and I nodded my head and he led the way to the tent they were in. I looked around the room and saw everyone except Rachel.
"Yeah. But what we need to do is get containment in here, here, or if I make it myself-" "Is this a joke?! We know exactly where the chopper went down. So why haven't you sent out a rescue team?" I said cutting De Leon off. "Ugh not you too." I heard him mutter before he spoke again. I'm not quite sure what he ment by that but I'm guessing it had something to do with Rachel "As I said. The beacon is coming two miles inside an active burn zone. It is not safe to send anyone up there in the dark." De Leon said aloud. "Go get Rachel" Judd whispered to Paul and he just nodded walking out of the tent "with all due respect Commander. We accept the risk and we ain't asking anybody else to go" Judd said "you know I can't authorize that" De Leon replied when all of the sudden Rachel is pushed into the tent falling hard onto her back. But she was quick to get back up and right in front of Paul before Eddie went up to her and whispered something in her ear that made her stand down. It was odd to see Rachel come down so fast and I know it shocked Paul and Judd as well by the look on their faces which they quickly shook off as Rachel made her way in between Eddie and I and the conversation began once again "But still. Those are our people out there" buck said "they could be blessing out right now. Dying" I added "son we haven't had any call or radio at all since the Mayday" De Leon said "Nobody. And I mean Nobody" De Leon said pointing a finger at Rachel who just glared at him "is risking their lives tonight. And you fathers would be the first ones to agree with me" De Leon finished now pointing to both me and Rachel and that's when she broke. "No! You do NOT get to talk to me like you know my father. You know nothing about him and you haven't got the slightest clue of what happened that night. I was 14 when my father left for his shift that night. FOURTEEN. He told be that night that no matter what anyone said he was gonna try and get everyone who needed them out alive and if people told him no he'd just live by his motto 'oh really? Just watch me'. So no Commander. My father would not be the first or even the last person to agree with you" Rachel said. As I looked around at everyone's expressions I noticed that they were all either shocked or sad. Rachel turned and started making her way out of the tent with me following close behind. The two of us made our way over to the large table what sat all the different teams out here for breakfast but since it was around 8 o'clock at night no one was there except for Rachel and I. "I'm calling someone" Rachel said out of no where as she got up and walked down to the end of the 30 foot table and got out her phone.
Rachel's Pov (Evening)
"I'm calling someone" I said to TK out of the blue and walked to the furthest end of the table away from him. I pulled out my phone and found Nancy's contact and pressed Face-Time. It rang twice before she picked up
**Call begins**
"Hey Nancy. How you holding up?" I asked "been better but the funeral was nicely done. I miss you so much though. It's not the same here without having you to hand out with" " That's good i wish I could have been there. I miss you too I hope we can come home soon. Capt and a paramedic from LA crashed in a helicopter and De Leon is saying we can't go out and search for them so it's kinda stressful here" "Rach. That's awful. Are you really gonna listen to De Leon though. You do have 'oh really? Just watch me' tattooed above your heart so who are you gonna listen to. Your dad or De Leon?" "I don't know but I'll figure it out later. Right now I just wanna have fun even though it's gonna be pretty hard considering both our days." "Yeah. OH! are there any cute guys working with you?" "Umm" "there is isn't there!!" "Maybe.." "ooo girl spill" " well there is this one fireman named Eddie Diaz and he works for station house 118 out in LA and he do me kinda cute but LA is like 20 hours away so I don't wanna fall too hard cuz I'm probably never going to see him again" "girl no you fall as hard as you want. Imma look this guy up on Instagram and you never know, if he like you too maybe y'all can work something out and if not. Like you said. You'll probably never have to see him again" "true. But still. Ugh I can't wait until I get back so we can have a proper girls night" "ugh same. And maybe one day could we do it with Captain Vega and her girls. They are so sweet" "yeah of course!! We'll set up a time once I get back." "Ugh. You're like the best jock ever" "haha thank you for your jock vs nerd reference." "Haha anytime" "hey Rachel I think TK and Buck have done something that you're gonna want part in" "Rachel who is that?" "That would be Eddie Diaz" "ohhh ok, ok. Well then I'll let you go. Call me once you know how captain strand is doing as well as the LA paramedic" "ok will do. Bye" "bye"
**Call ends**
"Let's go" I said to Eddie and he grabbed a hold of my hand leading me to where the rest of the team was. As we ran I could see the fire truck light up the back door was still open so I let go of Eddie's hand and sprinted towards it before it fully closed "I think you forgot something" I said as I hopped in and held the door for Eddie. "Okay not that we're all here let's move out" Judd said as he started up the truck.
Owen's Pov (mid day)
"I need reinforcements on that line. Tell Tulsa com[any to take Houston's engine up there." I called out as I headed towards where all our maps were layed out. "Yes sir" Molly replied "Captain Strand, Henrietta Wilson, 118, Los Angeles" A women said as she approched me "what can I do for you?" I asked "you can approve a chopper, equipped with a rescue winch and infrated FLIR tech to search the hillside before it gets dark" she said "the search for what?" I asked "A missing boy from Great Oaks. The strike team was able to evacuate everyone except for one boy who's still missing" she replied. "that is right on the edge of the fire line. That wind's blowing 20 knots. I don't feel good about sending anybody up there." I said looking at one of the maps before turning towrds Henrietta "All right, tell Commander De Leon I had to take a run up the mountain" I said before turning and walking towards the ATV's. As I was halfway to the helocopter I called Rachel.
Phone call
(R-Rachel O-Owen)
R- Marrie
O- Hey Rachel. I'm going up in a helicopter to help Judd and Paul
R- EXCUSE ME! no. You're not serious right?
O- umm dead serious.
R- No. No. You are Not going up in weather like this
O- Rachel. I'm not asking for your permission I'm calling to ask that you make sure TK doesn't lash out if something happens.
R- you better have a medic going with you Owen
O- Rachel. You know it's two dangerous
R- IF ITS TOO DANGEROUS THEN WHY ARE YOU GOING?!
O- why are you acting like this?
R-BECAUSE OWEN. I KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO LOOSE A FATHER. TK already had his father leave once. He doesn't need for you to die and leave him for good this time.
O- Just relax I'm not going to die
R- YOU DONT KNOW THAT. I know you think you're invincible but there will be a day when you won't be. I'd just hate for that day to be today
O- I know. But just like you said. I'm invincible and I'll be fine.
R- just please. Please. Be safe.
O- I will
R- and if the pilot says you should head back. You better come back right then and their.
O- okay I will. I promis
R- ugh. Just stay safe
O-okay. Bye Rachel
R- Bye.
End of phone call
I hung up the phone and hopped into the helocopter. The pilot and I were about to take off when Henrietta Wilson hopped in beside the pilot. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked her "I'm coming with you" she replied. "No you're not. It's too dangerous" I told her "yeah cuz it's too dangerous for you to go into this without a medic" she said back "I'm not crazy about this Henrietta" I said "me neither. Call me Hen. " she replied as she buckled into her seat and we took off. "Strike team leader this is air support. Judd do you coppy?" I said "Capt. Is that you?" Judd said back through the radio. "yeah I heard you could use a hand. whats your 20" I replied "a few clicks west of the camp. We haven't found this kid yet but we found his tent with no remains so we think he went further into the woods trying to get away from the fire" Judd replied " okay we see you" I said. "Captain Strand I think we got something" Hen said to me and pointed to the ultraviolet camera. "Judd we got something under a grub of trees south by south-east of your position we're gonna try and get over top of it" I continued. "capt. we got him." Judd said "how does he look?" I asked "not good his ankle is caught in a bear trap. were hooking him up to the life pack right now but it looks like he's lost a lot of blood" Judd said. "Hey Judd this is paramedic Heniretta Wilson I'm up here with your captin" Hen said. "i'm pretty sure you firefighters are fully capable to handle this-" "no, no plese walk us through it" Judd interupted "alright, before you do anything I need you to place a tourniquet three inches above the wound but not over the knee. ok then you can remouve the trap BUT you must keep the wound elevated above the heart and wrap the wound as fast and as tight as you can" Hen said. "Captain Strand, the winds have gotten stronger. If you stay up there much longer-" "Rachel we'll be back at base after we get this kid I promis just stop stressing" I said cutting Rachel off "actually she's right. The gusts have gotten very strong we should head back" our pilot said. "Hey Judd. can you guys get him out of there with the ATV?" I asked "Yeah. we've gotta pick up the girls and Diaz anyway" Judd replied "rogger that we'll meet you back at base" I said and with that we turned around. Just as I thought things would be fine, they weren't. Something happened, I don't know exactly what but I know something happened because one second we were flying back to base and the next we crashed. I tried calling either Judd or the base over the radio but it was dead so I made my way over to Hen and our pilot.
3rd person Pov (evening)
As Owen and Hen searched for some sort of shelter the 126 as well as Eddie and Buck piled into the fire truck and headed up the mountain on the search for the two missing crew members. The darkness of the night made their search twice as hard but the young adults didn't care they weren't leaving without the rest of their team. As they pulled up to the helicopter Rachel, TK, and Buck were the first ones out of the truck. Rachel and Buck pulled themselves up on top of the helicopter as TK entered through the underside. Once they realized they had gotten out the 126 as well as Buck and Eddie split up into three teams to search. Judd went with Marjan and Mateo while Rachel went with Eddie and Buck leaving TK and Paul together. After half an hour of searching Marjan spotted two fire shirts belonging to both Hen and Owen. The team gathered together and begun uncovering the fallen shelter in hopes of finding Hen and Owen still alive. They all got working on opening up the collapsed structure and once there was enough space TK and Rachel jumped down in as they had the smallest frames and were willing to go down first. Without hesitation Rachel went straight for Hen and checked her pulse while TK checked Owens. "I've got a pulse. It's low but it's there" Rachel called out as the rest of the team cleared enough debris to be able to get everyone out. Rachel helped Buck support Hen while Eddie went in to care for the pilot along with Marjan and Mateo leaving Paul, Judd and TK to care for Owen. Once everyone was in the truck Judd drove them all back to base.
Hen's Pov (next morning)
Beep, Beep, Beep
I slowly awoke to sunlight as well as Buck and Eddie asleep on one another in chairs beside one of the medical beds I was laying on. I poked the two men until they woke up. "Morning" I said "morning" they replied tiredly at the same time "where is the girl who helped me?" I asked "oh Rachel. Umm I'll go get her" Eddie said and he got up and walked out of the tent we were in. "So umm how are you feeling?" Buck asked "I'm feeling a lot better that's for sure." I replied remembering all the events of the night before. "Oh we can go home today. A bunch of rain came in last night and helped put out a lot of the fire as well as the containment line we dug" buck added as I stood up. "That's great-" "Oh thank goodness you're okay" I female voice said as Eddie and another person walked into the tent. Buck went to place a hand on her shoulder but she held her hand up and stopped "do not touch me" she said and I let out a little laugh. "She's only gotten two hours of sleep total in the past 62 hours" Eddie said explaining to Buck why she didn't want him to touch her. "Guys. Why don't you two go and start getting the truck ready. We're gonna chat for a bit then I'll meet you out there" I said and the boys nodded and walked out of the tent. "Hen. 118 paramedic" I said extending my had "Rachel. 126 firefighter" she replied shaking my hand. "Nice to meet you. I'd just like to thank you for helping me out last night." I begun "don't even worry about it. It's my job and besides there's something about you that made me feel like I needed to get you out more than Owen." Rachel replied. "I am a mother of two so that may have been it" I replied "probably." She replied laughing slightly "is your captain awake?" I asked. "Yeah. He was just going to get up and look for you. I can take you to him if you'd like" she replied and I just nodded my head. Rachel let me out of the tent we were just in and into another one a few tents down and sure enough there was Owen walking around. "I'll let you two catch up." Rachel said as her phone started ringing and she picked it up as she was walking out of the tent. "I'd say I'm glad to see you back on your feet, but you really shouldn't be on your feet" I said " I heard you were shipping out and I wanted to be sure I caught you" he replied . "I'm still amazed we made it you there alive" I said "like I said. I'm invincible" he said and I laughed a bit. "Is that really you're take away from all this?" I asked "I cannot think of a more logical explanation for how we survived what we did and still walked out of there alive" he answered "well actually I can think of two teams of explanations and we did not walk out we were carried" I corrected "who knew you could get so stoned on oxygen" Owen joked "in O2 verticals pure oxygen can give you a rise" I said and we both laughed "it was a pleasure to share a foxhole with you captain" I said shaking Owen's hand. "Please call me Owen." He replied "take care of yourself Owen. Even if you are invincible" I said and made my way out to the truck.
3rd persons Pov
As the 118 and the 126 were packing their things up the two teams took their time to say their goodbyes to one another. "Hey. If y'all get hungry there's a great barbecue place in Fort Stockton called Ruby's Ribs." Judd said to Eddie "thanks but I think we're gonna stop at my parents in El Paso to eat" he replied "Judd. You're alright. Even if you were a Bulldog" Eddie said shaking hands with Judd "well it only makes de ce that a firefighter as good as you was raised in Texas." Judd said "oh and Rachel is an amazing person. Just promise me you'll behave." Judd added smiling as walked over to the 126 fire truck. Eddie saw Paul, Marjan, and Rachel getting out of the one ATV and made his way over to them. "Good work brother" "You too brother" Paul and Eddie said to one another as the pulled the other into a bro-hug. "Umm Marjan. Can I get a photo for insta?" Eddie asked hopping into the passenger seat where Paul once was "I thought you weren't very active on social media?" Marjan questioned "yeah but it's not every day when you get to hand out with #Firefox and her crazy adorable friend" Eddie said making Rachel blush lightly "common Rachel get in the photo" Eddie said and Rachel leaned against the center of the two seats so she would be in the middle of them both. Rachel hopped out after the photo was taken and made her way over to Buck. "Hey Rachel" Buck said and Rachel just hugged him in response which he returned. "Check your insta" she said and he did just that "you want to follow me?" He asked "yeah why not. You seem really cool. I'd like to keep in touch." She replied as he hugged her again. " go see Eddie before we leave ok?" He said and she nodded. "Nice working with you Rachel" " you too Buck" she replied and headed off to find Eddie. Luckily it didn't take long and he was alone. "Hey Hollywood" she greeted "how's it going Texas" Eddie replied "Buck said I should come see you" Rachel said "yeah. So look. I know you probably don't feel the same but I like you. The things is with us being 20 hours apart I think we could start by becoming close friends and seeing what happens from there?" Eddie said more like a question than a statement. "I like you too Eddie. But yeah. I'd love to be friends." Rachel replied. "That's great! Umm could I get your number?" Eddie asked "yeah of course" Rachel replied and entered her number into Eddies phone before giving it back to him. "Nice working with you Hollywood" Rachel said after saying their goodbyes. Rachel made her way back to the tents to check for Captain Strand only to be greeted by Captain Vega.
Tommy (captain) Vega's Pov
Nancy and I had driven to Dan Angelo early this morning to be there when Captain strand woke up because Nancy told me that he had gotten into a helicopter crash the night before. Nancy, Owen and I had been chatting for a while when Rachel comes up behind us. "Hey capt. I think we're almost ready but...oh. Captain Vega. I didn't except you to be here" she said obviously tired. "Hey Rachel. How much sleep have you had? Umm like two hours or something like that." She replied "yeah two hours two and a half days ago" Owen corrected. "Rachel that's not good" Nancy sais catching Rachel's attention "NANCY!!" She said excitedly as she ran over to Nancy and hugged her. Causing Owen and I to laugh. "Here have some coffee" Nancy said and handed Rachel a fresh cup from the thermos she had prepared prior to our departure. "Do you want to take Rachel back with you guys?" Owen asked "I think they'd like that" I replied smiling at the two girls. Nancy was currently taking Rachel's up do out and loosely braiding it for her. "Rachel. I'm gonna get the team together and begin the drive home you're gonna go with Vega though ok?" Owen said and she nodded hugging him.
"Can I sleep on the way back captain Vega?" Rachel asked. "Of course you can Rachel. That's not even a question you had to ask" I said as we approached the car. Rachel hopped in the back seat while Nancy hopped in the passenger heat and I in the drivers. "You ready Rachel?" I asked. There was no reply so I turned around and was met with an already sleeping Rachel. I smiled and turned to Nancy. "Ready?" I asked "ready" she replied and with that we headed back to Austin.
Hey y'all. So sorry for the late post but this is a long chapter and I've had a few days where I just couldn't care to write but here it is. It's a long one I know. The next won't be as long hopefully. No promises though.