He only had one thought.
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He only had one thought. And it was not a very nice thought. In fact, it made
him chuckle.
He glanced around to make sure he was alone then silently crept to the locker of
his "victim".
He opened the door and carefully sat the trap, then quickly left the scene of
the soon to be "crime".
The tones rang out, ahhh, it could wait.
Two hours later the men returned from a very long and very wasted effort. The
child had managed to "save" herself simply by jumping from the tree and landing
on a well placed matress, scarring the daylights out of the rescue crew.
The victim headed in to the locker room to get some clean socks and dry shoes.
Suddenly the cry filled the building; his fellow crewmates ran to see what had
happened.
There he stood, water dripping from his face. "Agh!" he cried, I'm gonna let you
clean the latrin for a week!"
"But!.." he cried, "I didn't do it! Honest!"
Captain Stanley glared at the happless fireman. "Chet!" he began, only to
suddenly stop in mid tirade.
Laughter filled the bay and a voice floated in from the other room.
"Wasn't him, Hank!"
The men stared in slack jawed appreciation at their sudden rescue. McConnike
strolled into the room still laughing.
"Sir? It was you?"
"Would I do a thing like that?" McConnike turned and left the silent men. His
laughter floated back as he left the building....
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“One Track Mind”
By Ross
He only had one thought. ‘I am not going to die here, today!’
L.A. County firefighter/paramedic, John Gage, had been performing a routine sweep of a burning apartment building’s ground floor, when the flaming structure’s second floor suffered a ‘lean to’ collapse.
When exposed to temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, steel beams can actually become weaker than wooden beams.
The intense heat had warped the steel beams beneath the second story’s floor, causing them to pull away from their outside support columns.
The second floor’s outside edge had fallen onto the first floor, effectively sealing off any access to the windows. Its inside edge remained attached to the support column that ran along the top of the hall wall…for now. The whole hallway was a complete inferno.
The sweeper found himself in a pitch-black, now burning apartment, cut off from escape—on all sides.
If the firefighter was going to live, he would have to leave.
Fortunately, John had remembered to grab a fire axe before heading into the building. He would use it to create an escape hatch where none existed.
The trapped fireman aimed the beam of his flashlight, about knee level, at the wall to the apartment next door, and went to work.
“I…” *thwack!* “am not…” *thwack!* “going to…” *thwack!* “die here…” *thwack!* “today!” John determinedly declared, between blows.
A half-dozen more ‘whacks’ with the axe, and a respectable opening had appeared in the wall.
The paramedic peered into the neighboring apartment.
No light meant no windows.
‘Damn!’
The floor collapse had extended to that apartment, too.
‘Oh well…’ He would just have to create another escape hatch.
The rescuer loosened the straps on his SCBA and slid its air tank under his left arm. He dropped his fire axe into the next apartment. Then he picked up his light and ducked into the dark void, himself.
The paramedic slid his air pack back in place and retrieved his tool. Then he crossed the pitch-black apartment, stepped up to the next adjoining wall, and repeated the entire process.
“I…” *thwack!* “am not…” *thwack!* “going to…” *thwack!* “die here…” *thwack!* “today!” the breathless rescuer confidently reiterated.
Unfortunately, the floor collapse had also managed to reach the next apartment, as well.
The paramedic stepped across the third blackened apartment and began ‘whacking’ away at yet another wall, repeating his staunch mantra the entire time. “I…” *thwack!* “am not…” *thwack!* “going to…” *thwack!* “die here…” *thwack!* “today!”
The fire was coming through the hall wall.
The question now was, would he be able to make it out from under the ‘lean to’ floor collapse before the hall wall entirely disintegrated?
John ducked down to take a little look through the newest ‘escape hatch’ he’d created. A grin filled his masked face. He’d finally reached the end of the floor collapse.
Light was streaming into the neighboring apartment—and windows meant a way out!
He ‘whacked’ away at the hole until it was large enough for him to duck through.
Just as John stepped into the next apartment, the hall wall that had been holding the second floor’s floor up crumbled, turning the ‘lean to’ collapse into a ‘pancake’ collapse.
‘Talk about cutting it close!’ the paramedic mused, on his way over to the windows.
His SCBA’s ‘low air’ alarm began to sound.
The fireman removed his facemask and quickly unclipped his air tank. Then he slipped it from his shoulders and tossed it through the nearest window. He used his axe to bust the remaining sharp shards of glass from the window’s frame and then climbed out of the burning building—before the rest of the second floor could come toppling down on him.
Hank Stanley stared in disbelief, as his missing crewman came climbing out of the apartment building and then collapsed, face first, onto the concrete walkway. “Roy! Over here!” he shouted out and went running up to the paramedic’s motionless partner.
“John!” the Captain exclaimed, relief evident in his voice. “You okay, pal?!” he anxiously inquired and carefully rolled his fallen crewman over onto his back.
John was breathing too hard to speak. So he simply nodded.
The rest of 51’s concerned crew arrived, also at a run.
His Captain remained completely stymied. “How the hell did you ever manage to make it outta there?!”
Gage grinned and held up his fire axe. “The saw…that always…starts,” he breathlessly replied.
His fellow firefighters glanced at one another, and then returned his grin.
The End
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A five minute challenge and then some! :o)
A Partner in Trouble
He only had one thought. “Who would watch out for Joanne and the kids?”
Then he slipped into darkness.
~~~~~
“HT 51 to Engine . . . “ Protocol be damned. “Cap, I lost him! I lost him, Cap!!”
“Hang on, Johnny. We’re almost there!”
The terrified paramedic dropped the HT to the floor as he leaned farther over the edge, unaware that his captain had exact same thought about protocol.
The shaft was inky black, soaking up the rays of his flashlight.
“Roy!”
‘Roy, please be okay’.
Johnny tried to lean out a little more, peering down the tube, dreading what he’d see but anxious to find his partner.
“Roy. Please answer!”
There was no response, no indication that Roy had ever even been there. The maintenance worker’s safety line still dangled below them, his inert form pulling the rope taut. There had been no response from the man and Roy was preparing their lines for the rescue when the safety rail snapped. It was a normal rescue gone bad. In the worst way.
“Roy!”
Johnny new his voice had raised at least an octave, and his heart was pounding so hard it made his chest hurt. Leaning even farther out, he suddenly felt himself shifting too far forward and he scrambled for purchase. A tug on his coat along with a firm hand on his arm had him safely back in a vertical position.
“Easy, Johnny. We’ll get him.”
“He doesn’t have his safety line attached, Cap. We were just getting set up and this old railing just gave way.”
“Have you heard anything?”
“Nothing. “
Johnny was snapping belt onto line, slipping his gloves on trembling hands while he talked.
“Wait a minute. I think Chet here should make the-”
“No, Cap. I’m going.”
Johnny’s voice dropped, but not enough to be apologetic. His firm stance accompanied by the fire in his eyes conveyed everything else. And Stanley knew he was right. John was the rescue man, more experienced on ropes and able to assess the victim when he found them. Not to mention that Kelly had an easy twenty pounds on him.
“Okay, but go careful.”
Cap didn’t need to follow up with his thought that ‘one paramedic down is enough.’
Johnny worked hard to keep his breathing in check as he slid carefully over the edge and down into the darkness, knowing that he had good men up top to manage the ropes. Inch by inch he lowered himself into the shaft, carefully maneuvering around the metal walls, groping blindly as he struggled to find his missing partner. Twenty feet down, he found him.
A small platform had been built into the side of the wall, its edges jutting out far enough for a man to rest on while traversing the precarious ladder attached to the side. Draped across the narrow ledge was Johnny’s partner.
Heart in his throat, Johnny’s warning was more moan than words.
“Roy, don’t move. Please don’t move.”
The insensate paramedic didn’t acknowledge the advice one way or the other as Johnny inched closer.
“Slack. Give me some slack!”
The requested rope allowed him to reach Roy’s side where he immediately reached for his friend. It took a minute, as his own hand was shaking with emotion, but he finally dropped his head before giving his shift mates the news.
“He’s alive!”
“How bad?”
“Bad!”
“What do you need?” Came Cap’s quick reply.
“No room for a stokes, send me a harness. Hurry!”
The requested equipment was immediately lowered down to the waiting paramedic. He’d managed to get himself positioned next to the shelf, carefully pulling the belt around his unconscious partner, situating the rope so that Roy could be pulled up without further injury.
Even with the extra light Mike had rigged up, and his own handheld flashlight, it was hard to see, leaving Johnny wondering what all he was dealing with. He could tell from Roy’s shallow breathing that he was probably looking at broken ribs. He prayed that it wouldn’t result in a collapsed lung, at least until they got him safely to the hospital.
“Okay, Cap, bring us up.”
Without question, the men above began to pull. Slowly but carefully, the two paramedics were brought back to the main level. But the next minutes were frantic with activity. Roy being placed in a stokes, while Johnny noted the vitals, then the mad dash toward the door and a waiting ambulance. A quick relay from their HT to Rampart and back initiated a wrap-and-run status for their call, placing Chet at Johnny’s side while he started IV’s and monitored Roy’s progress in the ambulance.
It was one of the slowest trips to the hospital in Johnny’s estimation. Not so for the harried ambulance driver who pulled out a cigarette the moment his charge had crossed the Emergency Room threshold. He knew which runs were most critical, and this was one of the bad ones.
~~~~~
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
Roy recognized the teasing tone in Johnny’s voice, but also noted the tense shoulders and piercing gaze. His partner obviously hadn’t fully recovered from the emotional rescue. Not that Roy could remember much about it. In fact, the only thing that really stood out was that last thought he’d had, about Joanne and the kids. It was one thought he’d keep to himself. Johnny wouldn’t be receptive to hearing about Roy’s fears right now, so he kept his tone light.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Holding you to that, partner.”
Johnny shifted away from the window to settle in a chair by the hospital bed. Roy moved a little himself, trying to find a more comfortable position.
“Whatever happened to the maintenance man?”
“Didn’t make it.” Johnny mumbled.
Roy looked down, the two sharing typical thoughts of a failed rescue. They knew it wasn’t their fault; both had suspected from the beginning that they were too late. It made Roy’s situation all the more poignant. That realization probably inspired Johnny’s attempt to lighten the mood.
“So, when is Brackett letting you out of here?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
“With a concussion, three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a busted arm, and too many bruises to count, that sounds about right.”
Roy’s glare didn’t seem to dissuade Johnny, who only deepened his already fake authoritative tone.
“Besides, you know what they say.”
“What’s that?”
“The doctor knows best.”
Roy would’ve thrown something at his partner if he could’ve managed. Instead, he went for the threat.
“I’ll remember that next time.”
“Next time?”
“Yeah, next time you’re in here and Brackett won’t let you go home.”
“You got it.”
Johnny’s smile was nothing but sincere when he answered, and Roy knew there was a lot left unsaid between them. It didn’t matter. They understood each other. As hard as it was to deal with risks and injuries in their line of work, it was twice as hard to watch a partner in trouble.
The End!
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EDWARD THE STRANGE
By Wanda CH
As John Gage entered the station, he had only one thought. This day can’t go by quickly enough…I wonder who we’ll get this time! Gage and DeSoto had trained their share of paramedics, but neither enjoyed this part of the job. It seemed the paramedic-wanna-bes were slow in learning, but very quick to discover short cuts. The men were patient with their students. When they were away from the station, each often spoke of trainees, both agreed that the job would be more enjoyable if neither had to train another paramedic.
The first person Gage spotted when he arrived for his shift was a welcomed sight.
“Hey, Roy, have ya met him yet?”
“How was your time off, Johnny?” Roy wanted to talk to his partner about anything except what this day held.
“Oh, it was good. What do ya think? Have ya heard anything about this guy?”
“Well, Dixie mentioned that he’s from England and that he’s sort-of like Brice.”
“What? Roy, are ya kidding me? Like Brice? What? Okay, either you’re kidding me, or Dixie was messin’ with you! Nobody’s like Brice! Nobody.” John’s trademark sideways smile quickly turned to a pained frown.
“I just know what Dix said, and Johnny, she didn’t seem to be kidding at all. She even said that she felt for us and looked forward to seeing us this shift.”
“Wait, when did you talk to Dixie?”
“Yesterday…JoAnne has a friend who had a baby, so we went to the hospital and checked in on her. Dix was telling me and JoAnne about Edward. He knows the rule book, but his personality…well…it needs work. Dix is hoping that we’ll be able to loosen him up a bit.”
Johnny was frowning, but his eyes still held a twinkle. “So you’re tellin me that we’re getting an Englishman that has the personality of…of…this paper bag!” John held a bag that was in the back of the squad. “Roy, how do we end up with these characters?”
“You know the system…it’s the luck of the draw. I don’t know anything about this guy, but I do know that Dixie doesn’t really like him.”
“Oh, man, this is horrible. Roy, Dix likes everybody. Tell me, have you ever heard Dix say that she doesn’t like someone? I wonder if it’s too late to take the day off…Cap doesn’t even know I’m here. No one has seen me but you…unless someone saw my car in the lot.”
“Don’t go getting any ideas. I know you’re here, and you’re not leavin me to train this guy with someone else. You know you’re not gonna put that on me! Neither of us wants this job, but we’re stuck, so we need to make the best of it. Who knows…maybe this Edward will be okay.” Roy tended to look at situations positively, but this situation was difficult at best.
“Roy, I don’t want to…no, I don’t want to leave at all, but I’m tellin ya, I don’t think I can take this guy! Imagine…and Englishman…”
“I didn’t know you had anything against Englishman.”
“Huh? I don’t, I don’t, Roy, but this guy sounds like a nightmare!” Gage rubbed his forehead as he felt the tension mounting. Edward had not made his entrance and John already felt the man’s presence. “I’m gettin a headache. Roy, maybe both of us could go home. Yeah, we could just call in and take a day. It’s gonna be a nice one…we could go to the lake. Let’s leave this trainee to someone else.”
Just as John Gage finished his sentence, Edward walked into the area. Both paramedics looked at him in disbelief. Edward had arrived. Johnny and Roy both had very creative minds, but neither could have imagined the true Edward. He was approximately 25-years old with dark hair, a suit, and bowtie; even his appearance baffled the men. Both John and Roy had disbelief on their faces. Each man looked at Edward again, taking in his appearance and hoping this man was a figment of his imagination.
Roy was the first to recover from the initial shock. “Hi, you must be Edward. Nice to meet you, I’m Roy DeSoto, and this is my partner, John Gage.”
Johnny realized that he was supposed to speak at this point, but the young man could not find the proper words. Finally, after locking eyes with Edward, Gage smiled and extended his hand.
“Uh, nice to meet ya, Edward, uh, we were just, uh, we were...” Roy stared at Johnny as he also extended his hand to the “new guy.”
In typical fashion, Edward extended his hand and gave each paramedic a friendly hello. “The pleasure is mine, I’m sure. Could one of you chaps show me the way to the captain’s office?”
Silence filled the air as the men who saved lives daily and who were heroes to many took in the heavy accent. Roy shook Edward’s hand, and then managed to quickly nudge Johnny, shocking his friend back into the reality of the moment.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, pleased to meet ya.” John’s first statement to the aspiring paramedic was awkward and the young man’s expression was even more awkward. As Edward turned, the guys gave each other a look of both puzzlement and disbelief. They followed the stranger into the locker area as if Edward was leading them with harnesses or leashes. These men had worked closely together a few years and each knew the other’s thoughts.
When Edward was out of earshot, Johnny whispered, “It’s gonna be a long shift.”
Roy’s reply was short and classic…”It’s gonna be a long year!”
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A five minute challenge and then some! As in A LOT of 'then some'. The skeleton of the story was in five minutes, the rest took awhile to pull together.
Man’s Best Friend
By Audrey W.
He only had one thought.
Man’s best friend. . .ha!
He flicked on his flashlight and looked at the brown mutt lying a few feet away, now staring at him.
The mutt that was the reason why he was trapped in the collapse of an old mine to begin with. For what seemed like forever, too, though it had only been hours.
John Gage shifted slightly in his seated position against a dirt wall, in a section still held in place by aged wooden beams. He’d barely escaped being buried alive when a portion of the mine’s low ceiling had come down. But he hadn’t made it clear without injury. An old beam caught him on the left shoulder as it came crashing down with the falling dirt when some of the framework used to shore up the place broke apart. His shoulder was severely bruised at the very least. Another portion of the frame had caught him on the back of his right leg, which sent him tumbling to the ground. He then had been pinned just free of the dirt and debris that closed up the entrance. It had taken much of his energy to work his lower right leg out and pull himself free with his one good arm. It had taken even more to get to the side of the mine, where he could lean against the wall and gather his senses on what happened.
He’d suddenly heard a rumble, felt movement in the ground under his feet, dirt began to fall; in seconds it was over, and here he was.
Fine time to get a tremor. . .
Fortunately there’d only been a couple more since, and marginally smaller at that.
Gage shivered slightly against the cool underground air as he once again eyed the mutt. Rocky was his name. Two young boys he and his partner Roy had been sent out to after one took a serious tumble down an embankment on a bike had told them so.
When the injured boy’s friend said his dog was still in the mine they’d been exploring, Johnny volunteered to go in search of it. He’d found Rocky, but the dog wasn’t willing to come to him. It was that stubbornness which caused the delay that put them where they were now. The same stubbornness that apparently had the boys distracted as they peddled away with worry about their furry buddy who'd stayed behind.
Damn dog!
Johnny noticed it looked like the ‘damn dog’ was almost pouting now. . .between pants anyway. The paramedic wasn't the only one who could use a drink of water at the moment.
Maybe the appearance of a pout was an effect from the flashlight beam. Or maybe Rocky knew he’d made a mistake.
Or maybe the I'm imagining things now.
No, he decided he needed to give the dog more credit than his last thought allowed; Rocky seemed pretty smart. Just stubborn.
Having sensed all was not well with him, he’d already come over to Johnny a few times, sniffing to check him out. Each time Johnny assured him he was okay, the dog appeared content to lay a few feet away, but always facing him. Apparently he didn’t totally trust the paramedic’s definition of ‘okay’ anymore than Roy did most of the time.
Gage patted his left leg. “C’mere, Rocky. C’mon, boy.”
Rocky got to his feet and made his way to Gage, then sat while the paramedic patted his head. But it wasn’t long before Johnny noticed the dog’s ears twitch and his attention go to the sealed off exit.
“You hear somethin’?”
Johnny listened intently. He sure couldn’t hear anything. He hoped like hell the dog wasn't sensing another tremor.
Rocky cocked his head to one side, then in the other direction as he kept his focus on the dirt. He once again got to his feet and trotted over to the blocked exit.
Gage hoped it was what they needed most; their rescuers close to finding them. The paramedic licked his dry lips and called out, “Roy!”
Rocky glanced his way, then again eyed the wall of dirt. He started to whimper and pace as he grew anxious.
Johnny pushed himself till he was sitting straight up. He leaned forward slightly to listen again. He still couldn’t hear anything, but obviously the dog’s greater range for hearing was the explanation.
Several minutes later the dark-haired paramedic could hear a distant sound of scraping, like a shovel against a surface.
“Hey! We’re here!”
Rocky’s whimpering increased and he sniffed at the blocked opening. His anxiousness grew and his whimpers turned to barks.
Johnny winced as he scooted forward, careful to keep his right leg extended.
“Tell ‘um, boy . . . keep it up!”
Finally the rescuers broke through, a small hole to start. Once they saw Rocky about ready to climb through and heard Johnny in the background, the men hurried to clear a passageway for them to get to the other side.
As soon as the hole was big enough, Rocky squeezed through and took off in a run toward the exit.
Roy was the first to reach Johnny; Chet Kelly and three other men from another station followed. Roy contacted Captain Stanley.
“Engine 51, HT 51.”
“Go ahead, Roy.”
“Cap, we found ‘em.”
“Great! Are they okay? Can they make it out on their own? Strike ‘they’,” he quickly quipped. “I see one just did.”
Roy smiled at the comment, then looked to his partner for the answer.
Johnny shook his head. “My leg took a beam.”
“That’s a negative on getting out on his own, Cap. We’re gonna need a stokes. Better include a splint."
It was a given a blanket would be sent down with the stokes as well.
“10-4.”
A grimy sweat soaked Chet squatted down beside the wounded paramedic and handed him a canteen of water. “Of all the times for a small earthquake, huh?”
Gage took a gulp, then wiped the back of his right hand across his lips. “Tell me about it. . .man. . .never thought I’d say this, but am I glad to see you.”
Chet nodded, a small grin barely visible under his mustache. He had the same sentiments exactly.
“You hurt anywhere else?” Roy asked as he gently checked Johnny’s injured leg for the possible fracture he expected. It would take an x-ray at Rampart to be certain.
“My left shoulder. Took a pretty good hit.”
Johnny winced when Roy carefully examined that as well.
“Doesn’t appear to be fractured.”
“I didn’t think so, either.”
While they waited for the stokes, Roy took and gave Johnny’s vitals to the captain so he could relay them to Rampart. As soon as they were topside, the senior paramedic would be able to carry out any instructions.
Johnny glanced around at the surroundings still only illuminated by flashlights. He wasn’t going to miss the place.
~*~*~
Once they were out, Johnny saw Rocky with his young owner and the boy’s parents who had arrived on scene during the rescue efforts. Both the kid and dog were obviously happy to be reunited.
Despite his ordeal and injuries, a crooked grin spread across Gage’s face as he had one thought.
Man’s best friend. . .well. . .maybe.
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NEW! 09/12/10
Don't
Even....
by Purry
He only had one thought, revenge.
Slowly, careful not to draw attention to himself he sneaked into the latrine. He
looked around, Chet had done a great job cleaning which wasn't a surprise. A
soft snorted escaped, the hapless fireman was an expert.
I make my way over to a stall and gaze upon the world's fanciest water bowl.
Just as I stick my head in the toilet to get a drink, I hear the door open. I
knew who it was by smell alone, my best friend.
"Henry, what do you think you're doing? Stop that! You know better then to drink
out of the toilet. Now get." Chet yells.
I didn't take to kindly to the tone he was using, so I did what any dog would
do, I got another drink.
"Henry," Chet yells again.
I turn around and look at my master slash friend with a defiant glare. He
breathes a sigh thinking I'm giving in but I have a surprise for him. I lift up
my left hind leg and take aim at the shining porcelain throne.
My eyes say don't even.
But he does. "HENRY, don't you dare!"
Well that did it, I dared and he sweared.
That will teach him to hog my couch, my throne.
Revenge is sweet.
The END
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