MIKE GETS LOST
By Demi Elliott May 13, 2007
As picnics go, this one was one of the best. Station 51's A-Shift appreciated the opportunity to spend a day together having fun away from the fire station. A soft breeze in the air carried just a hint of barbecued chicken from the grills on the other side of the ball field and the sound of children's laughter could be heard coming from the nearby playground. And to make the day perfect, Team 51 had won the baseball game. Mike Stoker, the station's engineer and pitcher extraordinaire had almost pitched a no hitter. Everyone had a great time and after the game, they got together for a nice leisurely meal of barbecued chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, and sweet tea.
When they finished eating, Roy went with his wife and kids over to the playground with Johnny following along behind them after somehow managing to eat three additional pieces of chicken in less then five minutes. Cap lay down under a nearby tree for an afternoon nap and Marco and Chet wandered over and joined in a game of Volleyball. Mike was not tired, but didn't feel like participating in another active game either, so he decided to go for a walk.
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Strolling along through the woods, stopping every so often to examine a flower here, a spider web there, he felt himself start to relax. Following along the hiker's path that ran alongside the river, he felt soothed by the music of nature. Taking a moment and closing his eyes, he let the scent of wildflowers and fresh air alleviate all his stress. Reveling in the peace, he took in the sounds of birds singing, crickets chirping, and the wind softly blowing through the trees. As he listened, he was surprised by another noise, one that didn't belong out here, it sounded like a baby crying. Carefully peering around and remaining as still as possible, he zeroed in on the noise. It was a tiny kitten.
Mike, being the old softie that he was, couldn't stop himself from approaching the kitten which seemed so small to be alone in the woods. How would it survive on its own? Of course, the small bit of fluff chose to run from him, but since it was such a little thing, it wasn't too difficult for him to follow and soon enough, he caught up to it and picked up the tiny ball of fur. Protectively placing the baby cat under his shirt, he turned to head on back to the picnic. At that moment, he realized that he had a problem.
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Ice water coursed through his veins as he realized that he had absolutely no idea where he was. Forcing himself to calm down, Mike considered his options. He was in the middle of the woods, no one knew where he'd gone, and it was very unlikely that anyone would come looking for him. He'd just have to find his own way back. Listening intently, he thought he could hear the faint noise of the river so he started walking in that direction.
After walking for about an hour, he crested a hill and looked down to see a highway and a small truck stop; he had managed to find civilization (sort of) and now all he'd needed to do was hitch a ride back to the picnic area. Carefully descending the hill, he walked into the truck stop restaurant and looked around. A man was sitting in one of the booths eating. Mike went up and asked the man if he could help him out and give him a ride over to the picnic area. Fortunately for Mike, the guy said yes.
Mike waited another twenty minutes while the man finished his meal; the man bought him a bowl of chili, as well. Then they walked out to the parking lot. To Mike's consternation, the man headed over to a green tractor and motioned Mike to climb into the attached hay cart. Finally they were on their way, (very, very, slowly) creeping down the road. Mike figured, he could almost have walked faster then this, but forced himself to sit back and tried not to feel frustrated.
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In the meantime, the picnic was wrapping up. Marco was the first to become aware that Mike was nowhere to be found. When he voiced his concern, Cap had them search all the obvious places, including the latrines, but they had no luck. When Johnny returned from the parking lot with the news that Mike's jeep was still in the lot, and Chet found his wallet and keys in the picnic basket, their concern grew. They split up and searched the hiking trails, each of them walking for five miles and looking for signs of Mike. Two hours later, when they regrouped, Cap decided that they needed a little help.
Once Chief McKonike was apprised of the situation, he took charge. Soon they had a full grid search going, and several of the firefighters, upon hearing that Mike was missing, volunteered to help search. For the better part of an hour, they crews searched the woods looking for Mike. Finally, the decision was made to begin searching the river.
Exhausted and upset, Cap, Roy, and the guys could only stand and watch as recovery teams launched their rubber rafts and donned their scuba gear. How was it possible that Mike had just disappeared and no one noticed? Cap was blaming himself and he wasn't alone. As they watched the divers start searching, Marco began to quietly pray and Johnny drove them all crazy as he ranted and paced back and forth until Cap sent him to his car to man the radio.
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Thanking the tractor driver, Mike jumped off at the turn-off to the picnic area, which was just another ½ mile down the road. Strolling up to the parking lot, he was dismayed to see Emergency vehicles parked haphazardly, filling the parking lot, not to mention blocking his jeep in as well. Walking up to a group of highway patrol officers, he asked what was going on. "Some firefighter got himself lost" was the response.
His stomach lurched into his boots, and Mike asked if they knew the name of the firefighter, hoping it wasn't anyone from his crew. When he heard their response, he paled. "Some guy named Mike" reverberated over and over in his brain and he had to sit down. "Hey man, you OK?" one of them asked and Mike nodded. "Give me a minute", he said. "I've got to find my captain."
Oh, this was bad. This was really bad. All these people had apparently been looking for him for some time now, and what had he been doing. Rescuing a kitten and eating chili; this was not going to end well. Mike knew he was in trouble, but there was nothing he could do except go face the music. Slowly and calmly and with some trepidition, Mike approached the river bank where he could see Cap and the guys.
He would never forget the look on Cap's face when he turned from the river and saw him approach. Joy, shock, anger, and confusion; it looked like Cap didn't know what to think. Anger won out and everyone within earshot must have turned at the loud bellow "'MIKE!!! WHAT THE? YOU'D BETTER START EXPLAINING AND FAST!"
Anyone within a thirty mile radius had likely heard Cap's yell and many of them started walking towards 51's crew. Word was quickly passed on to those who hadn't heard and the search crews were recalled before Mike had time to tell anyone what had happened. Being surrounded by so many, many, many people felt very disconcerting and the fact that Mike could see McKonike approaching out of the corner of his eye did nothing to calm his nerves.
With the way his day had gone, Mike shouldn't have been surprised when just as McKonike approached him and started to speak, his new kitten decided to wake up and make its displeasure known. The loud yowls could be heard even over the noise of everyone asking questions and yelling at him. As he cradled the mewling, shaking, ball of fur, Mike knew he would never be able to live this day down. Mike, the responsible, dependable engineer of Fire station 51 had gotten lost in the woods and all because of a kitten half the size of his hand.
"That's enough!!!!" When McKonike yelled, everyone got quiet and the only sounds to be heard were the kitten's mewling, and the rippling of river water. McKonike looked at Mike and asked: "Son, would you care to explain to us just what happened today? For that question, there was only one possible answer. Feeling his face getting hot, Mike simply said, "No sir."
McKonike's mouth opened, closed, opened again, but no sound came out. He took a visible, deep breath and looked directly at Mike. "Son, I think you had better say something. Everyone here is very interested in where you've been today and it would be best if you satisfied their curiosity." "Now, do I make myself clear?"
There was nothing to do but respond. He had no choice and so, For about half a second, he considered making up a story like Johnny would, but it just wasn't in him. So, Mike did what he did best. Aware of what felt like the entire fire department looking at him, and knowing that he would be the laughing stock of departmental jokes for some time to come, he settled his gaze on the face of his captain and cradling his kitten closer, winced, then opened his mouth and said truthfully and honestly: "I found a kitten."