Fireworks by Linda2

“Aw, Dad, why can’t I get fireworks?” Chris moaned.

“Because, I said you couldn’t,” Roy replied. “They’re too dangerous.” Before Chris could respond the doorbell chimed. Roy breathed a sigh of relief as he went to answer the door. He and Chris had been arguing about the fireworks all morning. Chris had recently discovered fireworks and had been fascinated by them. He wanted to get some fireworks to set off on the Fourth. Roy could understand his fascination with the fireworks, but he had worked too many fires started by fireworks and treated too many injuries caused by them to want to have anything to do with them personally. He had tried to convey his feelings to Chris but had not had much luck. He opened the door to find his partner and friend standing on the doorstep.

“Hey, Roy,” John said brightly as Roy stood aside for him to enter the house.

“Hey, John,” Roy responded, wondering what had brought John to visit.

“Hi, Uncle Johnny!” Chris greeted John enthusiastically, hoping he had found an ally.

“Hi, Chris,” John responded.

“Uncle Johnny, I need your help,” Chris said hopefully.

“Oh? With what?” John asked warily. He glanced at Roy and knew there was something wrong. Chris’ words confirmed this.

“I need you to help me convince Dad to let me get some fireworks,” Chris told him.

“What does your dad say about it?” John asked knowing full well what the response would be. He had fought many of the same fires and treated many of the same injuries as Roy.

“He says no,” Chris said frowning, knowing he had little chance of enlisting John’s help. Still he had to try. “He thinks they’re too dangerous,” Chris said, then before John could respond, continued, his voice pleading: “I would be really, really careful.”

“I’m sorry, Chris, but I have to agree with your dad on this one,” John replied, glancing at his partner. The two were close enough that John could almost read Roy’s mind. “They are too dangerous.”

“Aw, Uncle John.” Chris said, beginning to pout.

“Chris, stop it. Now!” Roy said sternly.

“I do have a suggestion that might help,” John said brightly. Both Roy and Chris looked at him expectantly. “The local park is having a professional fireworks display on the Fourth. We could go to that.”

“That’s a good idea, John,” Roy agreed enthusiastically. “How about it, Chris? Want to go to that?”

“I guess so,” Chris said reluctantly, still pouting. He had had his heart set on a fireworks display of his own. He knew, however, without his mother’s or John’s backing, he would never convince his father to allow it. Going to the display in the park would be better than doing nothing. Maybe he could sit close enough to the display to watch the fireworks being set off.

Watching the boy wander despondently off, both paramedics were thinking about the same thing. Just the day before they had been called out on a run involving a young boy whose hand had been severely burned. He had been holding a firecracker, which he had thought was a dud, when it had exploded. The boy’s father was beside himself with remorse. He had been supervising the boy’s activities when the firecracker had gone off. Luckily the only injuries the boy had sustained were severe burns. Roy and John had looked at each other then as they were now and knew what the other was thinking. The boy resembled Chris closely enough they could have been brothers.

The Fourth dawned clear and hot. John arrived at the DeSoto’s early in the afternoon as anxious as Chris to get to the park early enough to get a good position. JoAnne packed a picnic supper for them to take to the park. When they arrived, Chris led the way to a place as close as he could get to the display area.

Only the framework for the display had been set up. None of the fireworks was in place as of yet.

Spreading their blanket they weighed it down with the picnic basket. The five of them played Frisbee until the park became too crowded for the game. They then sat on the blanket and watched the people taking up positions around them. As they watched, they ate their supper. Chris watched intently as two men arrived and began to set up the fireworks display.

The fireworks display was somewhat elaborate and relied heavily on chain reactions. The men worked with precision to set up the fireworks so they would go off as planned. Chris watched them work, fascinated with every aspect of the process. He would have liked to get a closer look. Roy told him no in no uncertain terms. The men finished their work as dusk began to fall.

As dusk faded into true night the scream of a rocket could be heard. A light flashed as a loud pop sounded overhead. Everyone’s attention turned to the fireworks display. Another scream followed the first and for several minutes rockets filled the night sky one after another in quick succession, flashing and popping loudly. Then overhead a ball of gold sparks burst across the sky, spreading out and fading into the night sky. Blue followed gold, which was followed by green, and then red.

Suddenly the oohs and ahhs of the spectators turned to gasps of disbelief and then cries of fear as all the fireworks seemed to go up at once. The cries of the spectators as they dove for cover were drowned out by the sound of explosions as the fireworks went off in a mad frenzy of light and sound. Luckily most of the display had been set up to go overhead. None of the spectators was seriously injured. A few were hit by flying sparks, but were not seriously burned. When the fireworks stopped several people got up and stomped out small fires that had been started by the flying sparks.

Chris, who had been watching as the two men set off the fireworks, saw what most of the other spectators did not. He saw one of the men, who had been lighting fire works, trip and fall. His fall set off everything at once. It took only minutes for a display that was designed to last for more than an hour to go off. Because he had fallen to the ground he was relatively uninjured as most of the sparks flew over him. His partner, who had been standing nearby, however, was not so lucky. Caught by low flying incendiaries he had been badly burned. He lay writhing on the ground.

“Dad, that man,” Chris cried, “he’s hurt bad!”

“What man?” Roy asked as he propped himself up to look where his son was pointing. As the last of the fireworks exploded, he saw the man writhing on the ground. He called to John to come with him as he stood and ran towards the writhing man. The man who had tripped and fallen stood, and ran to his friend at the same time.

“Matt, Matt,” he cried, “someone help!”

“Stop him rolling around,” Roy yelled as he and John reached the man, with Chris close behind them. Matt was rolling back and forth on the ground screaming in pain. Roy and John practically had to sit on him to stop his rolling. Without access to their paramedic gear or a burn pack, it was all they could do. Someone had called the paramedics and soon they arrived and took over. The man’s face, hands, and arms were black with burns. His shirt was riddled with large holes through which dark patches of burned skin could be seen. The paramedics cut away the remainder of the shirt and applied a burn pack as instructed by the doctor on the other end of the biophone.

Chris watched as they loaded the man into the ambulance. What he had seen turned his stomach. He began to understand why his dad was so set against fireworks. It was a long time before Chris had any desire for fireworks again. He never again saw a fireworks display without seeing again in his mind the man lying on the ground, writhing, covered with burns, and screaming in pain.

Roy, seeing his son’s stunned expression, understood what he was going through. He did not say anything, he knew there was no need.

“That’s why,” Chris said, it was statement not a question, “that’s why you wouldn’t let me get any fireworks.”

“Yes,” Roy said reaching out to his son and drawing him close. “That’s why.”

The End