BROTHERS
I can’t breathe. Taking a slow deep breath, he realized that the disorientation was from the explosion that had knocked him off of his feet and blown him several feet away from the hose and his support man. The smoke was thick and black; he couldn’t see a thing.
Where am I? Where’s Marco? His hands reached out in front of him, feeling as far as his arms would stretch. Getting up on his knees, he yelled, "MARCO!" Ouch, that hurt. A dull ache started behind his eyes. I sure won’t do that again. Listening for a moment; he heard nothing but the hiss of his air tank and the rage of the fire.
Sweeping his hand to the left, it hit something solid. At least it’s not thin air. He ran his hand up the wall, placing his shoulder against it; he felt better keeping grounded to reality. He crawled along it on his hands and knees until he came to a corner where it seemed to him to be cooler. He sat down and pulled his oxygen gage up to his face mask; 25 minutes of air left.
>>>51<<<
Marco ran out of the building, ripping his face mask off and yelled, "CAP!" Taking a quick look around he found his engine company, and saw Mike step away from the engine, and point at the squad. He followed Mike’s finger, saw Captain Stanley heading in his direction. He came to a halt as they met and bent over to catch his breath. Captain Stanley put his hand on Marco’s shoulder.
"Where’s Chet?" Johnny stepped up behind his Captain.
"I don’t know. One minute he was there, the next, he was gone!" He stood up still out of breath. "That last explosion knocked us off of our feet. I looked around for him…" He hesitated a moment. "I found the hose and made my way out."
"John, get Roy." Johnny nodded, returning to the squad to get his air tank.
“Roy we have to find Chet.” Roy came around the front of the squad with his tank already on, fastening his straps.
“I’m ready.”
Captain Stanley called a code I on the HT. He watched his younger paramedic grab two ropes out of the compartment bay, and toss the other at his partners’ feet.
>>>51<<<
Chet looked down at his gage again. 20 minutes of air left. I hate being alone. He was the second child, so there had always been someone around, always. He leaned his head back against the wall; the helmet and tank preventing him from getting comfortable. What’s taking them so long? His mind began to wander. That bill is due on Thursday, better get it made out tomorrow. Did Johnny say he’d pick up the brews for next week’s picnic? Have to ask him. I wonder what mom’s doing. Dad’s been sick lately. I hope she’s letting Erin help.
His sister had been 16 when he joined the Army, and she was working towards her master’s degree in nursing. He really missed his family. Cap’s like dad and Mike’s like mom. A smile spread across his face. Johnny’s like Erin and Roy’s like Mark. Marco is just like Dennis. A twinge of sadness dropped into his heart. The last conversation he had with his older brother hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Go west young squirt and find your place. You have a natural talent for movies and TV. I’ll always be here." The last words echoed in his mind… Kevin, Dennis’ partner, had witnessed his three story fall through a rotten floor at an abandoned building.
Chet floundered around LA for a while, after the funeral, trying to get work, not sure what he wanted to do. One day, on his way to an interview, a fire truck passed him with its lights and sirens going. That was the day Chet had decided to join the fire department.
>>>51<<<
"Engine 51, this is HT 51, do you copy?"
"Go ahead, HT 51,"
"Cap, we're here at the end of the hose. As far as we can see there’s no sign of him.” It had been 15 minutes since Marco had come out of the building.
"10-4, HT 51," he responded. "Keep looking, Roy."
"10-4, Cap.”
>>>51<<<
The heat was unbearable. Sliding down the wall, Chet lay on the floor thinking about his family, real and extended. The smoke cleared for several seconds, and he thought he could see the vague outline of a door in front of him, about 20 feet away. As he watched, a beautiful woman appeared, surrounded and bathed in a pale blue light. She began gesturing with her hands for him to follow.
"Squirt," Dennis' voice rolled around in his pounding head, "follow her, she'll get you out!"
Chet closed his eyes, and shook his head. His tank alarm was sounding. Only five minutes of air left. He switched the alarm off, and opened his eyes. "Too tired…"
"I’ll tell Johnny your nickname if you don’t get your butt up off of that stupid floor."
"Threaten all you want, Denny, but my butt isn’t what’s on the floor," he lay his head down.
"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Chet could hear Dennis’ playful giggle, and his anger began to rise. "Come on, Chet, don’t do this to mom."
"Tell her, I love her, okay?"
"CHESTER BRENDAN KELLY, GET UP NOW!" Dennis’ voice screamed in his head.
"I hate it when you use my full name," His Irish ire was fully aroused now as he got up on his hands and knees. "You know how mad that makes me." His head was throbbing like it was about to explode.
"Then get your ass up off of that floor, and come do something about it!” Chet began crawling towards the door, the anger seething in his chest. Dennis had replaced the beautiful woman in the doorway. He was leaning against the door jamb, his arms crossed.
“I’m gonna tell mom,” Chet threatened.
"You go right ahead, squirt. I’ll just tell her what you did when you were 15." Chet stopped crawling, and stared at the apparition of his brother.
"You wouldn’t dare."
"What are you gonna do about it, squirt?" Dennis stood to his full height of six foot, and placed his hands on his hips.
"I’ll show you what I’m gonna do about it!" Chet stood and ran full out at his brother, screaming.
>>>51<<<
Johnny had worked his way down the hallway, calling in to each room. Roy was doing the same on the opposite side. Johnny stepped in front of one door only to be slammed into the opposite wall. Johnny, caught unaware by the flailing arms, did his best to ward off the striking blows. Chet continued to pummel away as they slid to the floor.
"CHET!" Johnny yelled. He tried pinning Chet’s arms to his sides, but he was totally out of control. Roy grabbed the shoulders of the flailing man and he went limp, falling across Johnny. Rolling him onto the floor, Johnny picked up Chet’s gauge. Shaking his head he pulled Chet into a sitting position, and then proceeded to lift him up on to his shoulder.
"Engine 51, this is HT 51, do you copy?"
"Go ahead, HT 51,"
"We have him and we’re on our way out!"
"10-4, HT 51. We’ll have your equipment ready." The two men began taking up the slack, as the paramedics started back.
>>>51<<<
"Rampart, this is County 51, do you read?" Johnny took Chet’s vitals and checked his pupils.
"This is Rampart, go ahead 51," Brackett’s voice responded.
"Rampart, we have a 30 year old firefighter, weight approximately 145 lbs. He is a victim of smoke inhalation, and an explosion. There are no obvious burns or contusions, no broken bones. He is on 10 liters of O2, and he’s unconscious, hold for vitals, Rampart."
"Will do, 51."
"Pupils are equal and reactive, respiration is 16, BP is 120/40, pulse is 75," Johnny told Roy.
"Rampart, victim’s pupils are equal and reactive, respiration is 16, BP is 120/40 pulse is 75."
"51, start IV, D5W, TKO, and transport as soon as the ambulance arrives."
"IV, D5W, TKO, and transport, 10-4 Rampart." Johnny started the IV. Captain Stanley stepped over to his men, and squatted down beside the senior paramedic.
"How’s he doing?"
"He’s doing well, Cap. He might miss a shift or two, but nothing serious." Chet’s eyes popped open, and his hands rose to take the oxygen mask off. Johnny grabbed one hand, Roy the other and Captain Stanley placed his hands on either shoulder.
"Chet, you’re okay, pal, relax."
>>>51<<<
Three shifts later Chet reported for duty. As he sat in his locker tying his shoes, Johnny strolled in, whistling. He watched as Johnny opened his locker.
"What?" Johnny asked. "Did you do something to my shirt?" He inspected the uniform shirt closely.
"No, I wanted to apologize for what I did at the fire." He paused, "Roy told me about it, and I wanted to let you know that I’m sorry."
"Its okay, Chet," Johnny said to reassure him.
"I saw her, John." Chet said, quietly.
"You saw who, Chet?"
"The blue lady," Chet looked up. "Have you ever seen the blue lady?"
"No," Johnny commented, as he buttoned his shirt.
"She was standing in the doorway wanting me to follow her."
“Are you starting back to work too soon?” Johnny asked.
"No."
"You know, we wouldn’t have found you, had you not jumped me like you did."
"I wasn’t worried. No hard feelings?" He stuck his hand out.
"No, Chet, no hard feelings," Johnny reached over and took Chet’s hand. The hand buzzer went off, startling the tall paramedic. Johnny yelled, "CHET!" Chet stood and shut his locker, giggling.
"You should have seen your face!” He started for the locker room door shaking his head. "You are such a pigeon, Gage."
THE END
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Guest Dispatchers Stories by Katy Sundberg
