"You're my miracle, Gabby. You're my miracle."
"I love you."
Everyone who was standing outside the factory downcasted their eyes to the ground as they overheard Casey and Dawson's final words to each other. Chief looked up to meet Dawson's eyes who is staring at him with tears streaming down her face.
"Chief, chief. We got to do something." Her voice broke halfway as she pleaded for her Chief to save her husband. They can't part this way.
"Severide, what's your location?" Chief voice crackled through the radio.
"I'm on the other side of the wall where Casey is trapped in, Chief! I need a sledgehammer to break the wall!"
Severide can feel the heat from the fire surrounding him getting through his turnout gear but he is determined to do all he can to save his best friend. Hearing Casey spoke to Gabby about her being his miracle spurred him on to find ways to bring them back together. Anna had been his saving grace but their time together was cut too short. He is not going to let his two best friends suffer the way he was suffering. Although time heals all wounds, the hole in his heart after the loss of Anna is still gaping wide.
Kannell, feeling the same way as Severide frantically searched around them for a tool to help them break into the wall to get to Casey. His eyes caught on something. He called out to Severide as he broke into a run towards a cylinder that stood at a corner of the room.
He swung his head around to have the light from his helmet shine onto the labeling of the cylinder. "Severide! We can carry this together and break the wall down!"
"Let's try it!"
Together they carried the half empty cylinder of carbon dioxide over to the wall where Casey was behind and started hitting the wall with it to create a hole big enough for one of them to get through.
"Chief, we can go in and help Severide get Casey out. Four men will be much faster." Capp said as he and Tony, both armed with sledgehammers got ready to go in and save one of their own.
Chief stared at the two Squad men before him. From their stance he knows they're going to defy him the moment he has his back turned. Without another moment of hesitation, he ordered them to go.
Turning to Cruz, he grabbed one end of the hose line and said, "Cruz, c'mon let's get to Hermann and Mouch."
Cruz nodded his head. He is more than ready to sacrifice his life for one of their own. Walking past Dawson, he gave her a little squeeze on her shoulders. His heart ripped a little at the frightful look on Dawson's face. Dawson who is like a little sister to him. Squeezing her shoulders once more, he decided to give her some hope. "Don't worry Dawson. They'll get Casey out."
He can feel himself slowly losing consciousness despite the constant banging on the wall somewhere towards the north-east corner from where he had parked himself. Casey had put his mask back on after his speech to Gabby but he is almost out of oxygen and the heat and the smoke is getting to him. He could feel the strength leaving his body as he took in shallow breaths to ration whatever oxygen he has left. He wasn't ready to give up but no matter how badly he search, he can't find a way out. The flames were roaring behind him despite managing to shift some of the bigger items closer to the flames to prevent himself from getting licked by the flame. He wanted to still look good in his coffin, he thought, amused by his own dry sense of humour as the gate to death looms nearer.
"Hermann! C'mon!"
"Grab his legs, Cruz!"
"Let's go!"
Hermann and Chief both had each of Mouch's arms while Cruz had his legs as they carried Mouch out the burning factory to the paramedics outside.
As they approached the entrance, fear resonated on all their faces as they saw big flames licking every inch of the entrance. There is no way they can get pass the entrance without getting themselves burn in the process.
"Chief? Cruz? Is that you?"
"Otis?"
"Yeah, it's me and Kidd! This way! We found an exit!"
Following Otis's voice, the three men made their way through the darkness. They were relieve to spot the small trail of light coming from Otis's helmet. Otis and Stella led the way to exit from behind the factory where the flames have yet to reach. As soon as they were out, they were met with the paramedics from Ambo 67 who took Mouch into their care.
"Let's put him on the monitor."
Hermann stared dumbly at his old friend. Helpless. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. Anything to bring his old pal back.
"He's on v-fib. Get ready to charge him."
"Ready."
"Clear!"
"Still on v-fib. Increase to 200. Clear!"
"C'mon Mouch. Don't give up on us." Hermann heard Cruz pleading beside him.
"Increase to 300. Clear!"
There was a deadly silence as the crowd around the gurney stared at the monitor. Suddenly the rhythm fromt the monitor changed.
"Steady rhythm! Got a pulse."
"Let's get him onto the rig."
Hermann could not help but let out a sigh of relief. There's still hope, he thought. It's worth clinging on to.
"I'm going with him." Hermann didn't bother to wait for Chief to respond before he dropped his oxygen tank on the ground and climbed onto the rig with his best friend.
"That's enough! I can fit in through the hole and get to Casey!" Severide called out behind him to Kannell to stop breaking the wall.
Using whatever carbon dioxide that is left in the cylinder, they released it through the hole to put out the fire that is in their path.
"I see him! Casey! Can you hear me? I'm going in!"
Casey fought the urge to fall back in a daze trying to focus on the voice that he assumed belong to Severide's. Help's here. He's not giving up. Trying to shake himself, he propped both hands in front of him and crawled out from his hiding spot towards the voice.
"Casey! C'mon man!" Severide crawled his way through the room and strained his ears for any sounds that Casey might have made but whatever sounds Casey was making is buried under the explosions and hissing of the flames around them.
"Severide?!" Casey tried to call out but his energy was quickly dissipating out from his body especially when he is channeling most of his strength towards crawling to where he hoped Severide was.
Reaching his hand blindly in front of him, Severide tried to grab an arm or a leg of the form that is in front of him. The first time he grabbed what felt like an arm caused his heart to drop. The arm that he grabbed was definitely lifeless. After a moment did realisation hit him that if the lifeless body belongs to a firefighter, he would have heard the PASS go off. The fact that he has not heard any alarm means Casey is alive and moving.
"Casey! If you can hear me, move towards the north corner of the room!"
Using the burned victim as a marker, Severide tried to position himself in Casey's shoes. Though Severide likes to think Squad is better than Truck, he admits that Casey is a hell of a firefighter. He would have done exactly what they've been trained. He looked up and found the items that have been pushed around to create a path and slow down the spread of the fire.
Hope turned into adrenaline rush for Severide as he crawled faster towards the paved way. Not far from him he saw a beam of light.
"I got you, Casey!"
"Severide?"
"Ya man. Stop sleeping on the job."
Grabbing Casey on the arm, Severide provided some help guiding them back through the hole he had created. By the time they reached, the hole had gotten big enough for them to crawl through easily thanks to Capp and Tony.
Casey was out of breath by the time they reach the hole. His tank was completely by then.
"Casey, you OK?"
"My tank's empty."
"I'll swap with you."
"No! Let's go!"
Severide tried to argue back but he figured not to waste anymore time as Casey will definitely not budge. He took the rear and Tony took the lead as the firefighters in a single file made their way to the nearest exit. He tried to keep a lookout for Casey but couldn't see much through the smoke.
Gabby had her hand held in a prayer. She prayed for her husband to come out from the fire safe and sound. Silent tears was streaming down her cheeks.
"Dear God, protect my husband and keep him in your graces. Let him come out of the fire alive."
As if a miracle had happened, black forms can be seen emerging from the one of the entrances that is filled with smoke.
"Matt! Matt!"
Casey had held his breath for as long as he could as they made their way out from the building. He had tears running down his cheeks and his face was as red as the summer sunset sun from the lack of oxygen. He heard someone calling his name the moment he stepped out from the building but before he could look up to see who it was, his feet gave way and he collapsed on the ground.
"Matt, baby!" Reaching out towards him, Gabby felt her heart beating fast. Upon pulling his mask off his face, she noticed how pale and red Matt's face was. She also noticed the tears mixed with sweat covered his face as she placed two finger by the side of his neck for a pulse.
"Pulse's weak and thready. Brett!"
"Here you go, Dawson." Gabby tried to control her composure and her trembling hands as she grabbed the oxygen mask from her partner and put it around her husband's nose and mouth.
Cradling his head in her hands, she looked on as some of the members helped to strip Casey off his remaining gear and pulled him further away from the burning building.
Severide watched silently as Gabby expertly inserted an IV fluid into the back of her husband's hand. Feeling for a pulse again, Gabby then called for the guys to carry the gurney into the ambo to bring Casey to Med for treatment.
Gabby stood up from the ground and searched around for another familiar pair of blue eyes. The pair of eyes that can make women drop their panties with a blink of an eye except hers. Stepping towards him, she gave a tight squeeze, slightly relieved that Casey had someone in there who had fought to keep him alive. "Thank you, Kelly."
Severide returned her hug and gave another small squeeze before watching her jumped into the back of the ambo. He turned around when he felt someone placing a hand on his shoulders.
"He's going to be fine, thanks to you."
"No one gets left behind, Chief."