Earthquake
I don't own the men and women of Emergency! Thanks to the creators, writers and actors for bringing these great characters to life. And thanks to the real men and women who work as firefighters, paramedics and Emergency Room personnel.
I wrote this story several years ago and it has been posted elsewhere, but wanted to bring here for others to read. Hope you enjoy.
/
As they pulled into the school parking lot, they could see a large group of kids already gathered in the playground. When it was obvious that the kids had spotted them, they turned on the flashing lights on top of the fire engine and rescue squad. And the Captain pulled the lanyard to sound the air horn. The kids started to jump up and down in excitement. The teachers corralled the kids into two straight lines in an effort to calm them down and keep them all together.
The engine and squad pulled to a stop in front of the school and they exited the vehicles. Captain Hank Stanley stepped down from the high cab of the engine and waited as the school principal approached.
"Captain Stanley," she greeted him, "good morning. I'm so glad you could make it today."
"Thanks for inviting us, Mrs. Hawkins," he replied. "My men and I always enjoy teaching kids about the fire department and fire safety."
"So, where do you want to begin, Captain?"
"Well, why not just give the kids a chance to see the equipment up close. They usually enjoy that and it seems to make them more receptive the rest of the day."
"Sounds good," Mrs. Hawkins responded, and returned to the playground to get the kids organized.
Chet Kelly and Marco Lopez began to don their turnout gear and pulled down a length of hose from the truck, as Mike Stoker removed the Jaws of Life. The two paramedics, John Gage and Roy DeSoto opened up all the compartments on the Rescue Squad so that the kids could see the varied equipment that they carried.
They were ready when the kids descended on them, full of questions and eager to use the fire engine as a jungle gym.
Thirty minutes later, it seemed that many of the kids' questions had been answered. Most of them had been able to blow the horn and sound the siren and even tried on the fire helmets and turn out coats. A couple had even tried to walk around in Kelly's boots, which brought a laugh to everyone, since the boots were almost as tall as most of the children. The teachers had just as much fun. Mrs. Hawkins, in fact, had been the first to sound the horn and turn on the siren.
But it was time to return inside. Naturally the kids were disappointed. This was too much like recess, only with bigger and better toys. But they grudgingly headed back to their classrooms, prodded along by half a dozen teachers, who were equally sad to see the fun end. But there was a serious side to all of this, and it was time to get down to business.
They walked into the school, a two-story, brick building that had been on this site for over twenty-five years. As the kids entered their separate classrooms the firefighters split up, each taking a different class. Each firefighter would visit three classes that morning, teaching the children about fire safety, and explaining exactly what the fire department does.
John Gage had the most rambunctious class. The kids were continually up and down, asking questions, trying on his gear again. Stacy, a young redheaded girl in a dark green dress walked up to him, wearing his helmet, which came down over her eyes. She was followed by her best friend, Amanda, who had long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. Then Joey, and Elizabeth, and Barry and Matthew all came up with more questions. They were good questions and Johnny tried to answer them in a way they would understand.
Roy DeSoto was teaching his class how to "stop, drop and roll" if their clothes caught fire. And Mike Stoker had found another Michael who was curious to know what it was like to drive something as big as a fire engine. Chet Kelly's class thought he was too funny to be a fireman. And Hank Stanley tried to explain to his class that every fire station didn't have a pole. The kids sympathized when the Captain told him he didn't get to slide down the pole whenever he got called to a fire. And Marco Lopez explained in two languages what a porta-power was and how it was used.
Just before lunch, the lessons were finally done and the guys gathered up their gear. They waved goodbye to the kids in the classrooms and met in the hallway. Mrs. Hawkins approached to say goodbye.
It started as a quiet rumble, then turned into a jolt that knocked them off their feet. The building continued to shake as Chet & Marco got to their feet and ran to help the principal.
"Earthquake!" exclaimed Stanley. He turned to the others. "Each of you take a classroom and do what you can! Try to get everyone outside! Marco, Chet, that goes for you too. I'll take care her," indicating Mrs. Hawkins.
"Right Cap," yelled Marco, as he and his colleagues headed back to the classrooms, now beginning to hear the cries of frightened children. The lights flickered for several seconds, then went out completely, leaving only filtered sunshine to light the way. It was enough—for now. But it caused even more terror in already panicked youngsters.
Pieces began to fall from the ceiling as the shaking seemed to go on forever. The men tried to keep their feet as they quickly entered the different classrooms.
Roy entered one room to find the teacher trying to get as many kids as possible underneath her desk, as debris continued to rain down on him. He grabbed a little girl who had fallen at his feet, and gathered her in his arms just as a large chunk of ceiling came crashing down. It knocked him to his knees, but he managed to keep his grasp on the girl, his helmet deflecting the force of the blow. He cradled the girl in his arms until the room stopped shaking.
Across the hall, Gage had walked into a room that was now missing half of it's outside wall. A portion of the wall had collapsed, the bricks and glass bombarding the kids who had been sitting in the desks right next to it. The teacher, Ms. Spencer, was a short woman, with long dark hair, turned white by the dust and debris floating in the room. She was on her knees, trying to free the children buried under the collapsed wall. At the same time, she was trying to keep the other kids calm—and herself as well.
Johnny hurried to her side and grabbed her arm.
"I'll take over here," he told her. "You gather up the other kids and get them outside. We need to get as many of you out of here as we can." She hesitated, not wanting to leave the youngsters under the debris. She was responsible for them and felt she should stay.
"Go on," Johnny gently pushed her toward the other kids. "Those kids need your help right now. I'll take care of the ones under here," he assured. She nodded and got to her feet, calling to the kids to hold hands and follow her outside. She was secretly grateful that she wouldn't have to be the one to look at those kids buried under there, certain that they had to be injured, maybe even dead. Knowing they were good hands, she led her class outside.
In the room next door, Mike Stoker walked into a scene from hell. Red flames licked the front wall, and he could feel the heat as he entered the room. Smoke was beginning to rise as well. Must have ruptured a gas line, thought Stoker, which added to the urgency. He needed to get everyone out of here, and quickly. He saw a woman trying to herd the kids toward the door, away from the fire. She was a woman about 40 years old, with short red hair, and a large cut over her left eye, a stream of blood flowing down her face. He hurried to her. She blinked rapidly, having trouble focusing on his face.
"We have to get out of here," he told her. "Are you okay?"
She just stared blankly at him and didn't answer, so he grabbed her hand to help lead her out. He looked down when he felt a tug on his pant leg. It was Michael, who had been so full of questions earlier. He looked scared, but when Stoker had talked to him before, he could tell the kid was smart.
"Fireman Mike," he asked, wide-eyed, "are we gonna be okay?"
Stoker crouched down next to the frightened boy, and several other kids gathered around them. As he looked at them, he saw that many had cuts and bruises, but none seemed seriously hurt.
"Yes, Michael, you're gonna be just fine," he assured the boy, "but I'm going to need your help. Ms. Spencer is hurt and I need you to help her outside. Can you do that?"
"Okay," the boy quietly replied. Stoker took Michael's hand and placed it in the teacher's hand.
"Take Ms. Spencer's hand and follow me, okay?"
Mike started rounding up the other children and headed out of the room, glancing back to be sure that everyone was following. He exited out the front door and out into the parking lot. He saw Stanley at the engine, with Mrs. Hawkins sitting on the step. The Captain was on the radio to dispatch, advising them of the situation at this school.
Stoker turned to Michael. "Michael, take Ms. Spencer and the other kids over to the playground area and keep everyone together, okay."
Michael nodded, less frightened now that he was out of the building and had been given something to do.
"Alright, everyone," Mike said to the other kids, "I want you all to follow Michael and Ms, Spencer. Michael is in charge, so listen to what he says, and everyone stay with him."
Michael took a firm grip on his teacher's hand, and led her and his classmates to the sandy area near the swingset and seesaws. Once Stoker was sure that they would be okay, he joined his captain and gave him a rundown of what was happening, making sure he was aware of the fire inside. At the same time, he started pulling out an airtank.
"Cap, I'm gonna head back in to be sure I didn't leave any kids behind in there," he informed Stanley. "I didn't get a chance to check the room completely."
"I'll start pulling a line," Stanley told him, as Stoker pulled the mask over his face and ran back into the building. Stanley got on the radio to dispatch with the update, and to ask them to contact the gas company to shut down the flow into the building.
Stanley watched Stoker enter the building, just as Kelly and Lopez came outside with another group of children and teachers. He pointed them toward the playground where Stoker's class had gathered, figuring it was a good safe distance from the school and the best place for them all to wait. Lopez turned to one of the teachers to explain what they were doing, while Kelly joined Stanley at the engine, and they began pulling a hose down and connecting it to the engine.
Stanley then walked over to where the principal still sat on the engine step, staring at her school.
"Mrs. Hawkins," he began, "can you start doing a roll call of your people? We're going to need to know how many are still in the building and where they might be located."
"Of course," she replied, "I'll get right on it." And she pushed herself up and walked over toward the playground.
Kelly and Lopez started into the building with the hose, which had been connected to the fire hydrant and tested, to be sure they had good water pressure. They passed DeSoto on his way out with yet another group of kids. Hank walked up to Roy as the teacher led her kids over to the playground.
"Where's Gage?" Stanley asked.
"Don't know, Cap, I haven't seen him." Roy answered. "But his class should be out here, I saw them heading out the other door as I left the building." They looked toward the left side of the building, where the other exit door was, just about the time another batch of youngsters exited the building.
"That must be them," Stanley said, watching as the students ran toward the others gathered in the sand around the jungle gym. The teacher followed behind them, but no Gage. Roy walked over to ask where his partner was, the teacher pointing him back into the building, explaining what happened.
Roy raced back to the squad, giving Stanley a quick update.
"Johnny's still inside. The wall collapsed on top of some of the kids and he's trying to dig them out. I'm gonna head back in and give him a hand." He pulled out some gloves and a crowbar and rushed back into the building.
Just then the radio squawked.
"Engine 51"
"LA, this is Engine 51," Stanley spoke into the mic.
"Engine 51, the gas company will have that main shut off within the next 5 minutes."
"10-4 LA. Also be advised we have several children injured at this location. Respond at least 4 ambulances and another squad if you have one available."
"10-4 Engine 51. Be advised we are now moving up units from other areas of the county. It may take awhile to get another squad to you, but we'll get the ambulances started your way."
"10-4, LA" he replied, then hung the microphone back on it's base. Sounds like the earthquake damage is pretty widespread, he thought. Even if they got extra help, it might take a while to get there. For now, they were on their own.
/
They finally got the fire knocked down, once the flow of gas stop feeding it. It meant they could begin concentrating on a search of the building. Stoker, Lopez and Kelly were beginning a room by room search, while Johnny and Roy finally removed the last of the debris from the kids buried under the wall.
Five children had been located in the debris, three of which had already been moved outside, having some broken bones, but nothing that appeared life threatening. The two still inside, however, were unconscious and not doing well. Johnny was checking vitals on them, while Roy brought in the rest of their equipment and set up the biophone.
"What do we have, Johnny?"
"Well, patient number one, Joey here, has a severe laceration on the back of the head. He's still unconscious and his respiration is sixteen, standby for pulse and BP. Patient number two is conscious, but groggy, and in a lot of pain. Looks like a back injury. Can't see any evidence of head trauma and his pupils are equal and reactive."
Roy transmitted this information to Rampart while Johnny got the blood pressure on both of his small patients. After Roy had relayed all the vitals, and Rampart had given instructions, the two paramedics began setting up IV's on the injured children.
Chet came in the room and squatted down next to Roy.
"Need any help, guys?" he asked.
"Yeah, Chet," Roy turned to him. "We need a backboard. Is the ambulance here, yet?"
"Don't know, but I'll check."
"How's the search going, Chet?" Johnny inquired.
We found a few more people, a couple of kids and a teacher…The kids are okay, some cuts and bruises…"
When Kelly didn't finish, they both looked at him. Kelly was biting his lower lip, glancing back and forth between them.
"And the teacher?" Roy asked, sure he already knew the answer.
Kelly just shook his head, and turned to get the equipment Roy requested. DeSoto and Gage just looked at each other, then went back to work, helping those they could.
/
By the time the paramedics had gotten their two patients ready for transport, more help had arrived. Two more paramedic squads were on scene, along with three ambulances. Several police officers were also there, trying to direct worried parents to their children. The school district had sent over several buses to take the children away from the immediate area. Those kids who hadn't been injured had been bussed a few miles away to a high school that hadn't been affected by the quake. And some of the kids with minor injuries were sent to a nearby medical clinic for treatment.
The helicopter was just landing at the other end of the parking lot, where the police had cleared an area to use as a landing zone. Johnny and Roy had bundled up their two patients and brought them outside. Squad 2 met them, and took the Stokes baskets from them. The other squad would go in the chopper with these kids, and two other children with broken bones who also needed to get to Rampart.
As Roy and Johnny relinquished the care of their patients, they turned back to the building, struck by the destruction that they saw. Neither of them had really taken the opportunity to check out the damage before then. There had simply been too much to do. But now, as they saw how much damage there was, they were amazed that there hadn't been more serious injuries.
The center of the building was basically intact, but on either end, sections of the second floor had collapsed down onto the floor below. Most of the injuries that had been sustained had been students and teachers in the end classrooms. That's also where the one teacher had died. Stanley and Mrs. Hawkins were still trying to get a complete accounting of who had been in the school. She had checked on the 4 students who were just leaving in the chopper, marking them from her list, then handing it to Stanley, who looked it over with a discouraged look on his face. He placed his hand on Mrs. Hawkins shoulder and spoke quietly to her. Johnny and Roy watched as she wiped her eyes and slowly walked away, looking back to gaze at the school before sitting down at a picnic table in the playground area.
Gage and DeSoto walked up to Stanley as he spoke to Vince Howard, the police sergeant in charge at the scene. "We still have four students missing and one teacher. So we'll continue to search the building," Stanley was saying. "I'm going to contact HQ and let them know what we've got, since we may be here past dark. We're going to need to get some lights set up inside and maybe get some more people out here to help in the search."
Vince nodded and walked back to his squad car, to update his own superiors. Captain Stanley looked at Roy and Johnny. "You heard?" he asked them.
"Yeah, Cap, we heard," answered Roy. "Do we know what part of the building they were in?"
"The teacher and two of the students, yes," he said as he pointed to the area of the building where the most damage had occurred. They all knew that chances of finding anyone alive in that part of the building were slim. A search would be conducted, on the chance that they had survived, but none of them held out much hope.
"What about the other two students, Cap?" asked Johnny.
"No idea. Their teacher said they left the room shortly before the earthquake to go to the bathroom. It's a couple of girls, both seven years old. Names of Amanda Gardner and Stacy Armitage."
"Oh, no," Johnny exclaimed. He remembered the two girls. Stacy was the cute little redhead who had look so cute in his helmet, and Amanda was the best friend, the beautiful blonde little girl. He looked at the building, trying hard not to picture what those two little bodies would look like after being buried underneath all that rubble.
/
The crew from Station 88 had joined them to help in the search. Captain Stanley sent them to the end of the building where the teacher and two students were last known to be. His crew would search for Amanda and Stacy at the other end of the building. When they got into the area where it was thought the girls were, they found a huge mound of debris. The entire second floor had landed on the first floor. The second story rooms at this end of the building were used for storage of extra desks and cabinets, and they all came crashing down when the floor gave way.
As the men looked at that, they could only hope that, if the girls had died, it had been quick. But each man also hoped that they could still find Stacy and Amanda alive.
They decided to attack the pile from two angles. Chet, Mike and Stanley would begin the search from ground level. Johnny, Roy and Marco would come down from above. The second floor steps were still intact and the trio made their way to the upper level. As they got closer to the edge where the floor had given way, they stepped lightly, for fear they would cause a further collapse.
From the higher vantagepoint, they could see the rooms below. One was a small storage area next to the bathroom. But before they could reach those rooms, they had to make their way across another classroom, which had filled up with a large amount of rubble. Some portions of the second level floor were still intact and they discussed trying to make it across to the bathroom to check it first, since that was where the girls were thought to be.
At that moment Stanley called up on his portable radio.
"Engine 51 to Squad 51."
"Go ahead, Cap," called DeSoto.
"Roy, we've been looking at the situation down here and think we can make it into the bathroom area from below. What's it look like from up there?"
"Most of the floor is gone, but we could make it across to the restroom if we're careful."
"Forget it Roy. We'll check that room out. It'll be safer for us. You guys start searching that other room. The teacher that I talked to about the girls said they used to like to explore together. It's possible they wandered into one of the other rooms."
"Right, Cap," responded DeSoto. "That room has no entrances except the main door. So Johnny and I are going to rope up and go down."
"Okay, Roy. Be careful, though. That stuff is bound to be pretty unstable."
Roy tucked the radio into his shirt and joined Johnny in getting ready to lower themselves down into the room. Marco would stay up top and keep an eye out for any movement or sign of the girls as they moved debris off the pile.
/
They had been at it for an hour. Stanley and Stoker had checked the bathroom and found it clear. They were now checking the small storage room, while Chet continued to remove debris from the front of the room that Johnny and Roy had lowered themselves into. He was near the only ground level entrance into that room, and Gage and DeSoto were working from the opposite end of the same mountain of rubble. They moved desks, and pieces of desks. The struggled with heavy cabinets and bricks and chucks of ceiling tile. They moved slowly, careful not to touch anything until they were sure neither of the girls was underneath. Johnny reached for another cabinet, pulling a piece of ceiling tile out of the way in order to get to it. As he flung the tile into the corner, Marco shouted.
"Johnny, hold it! I think I see one of them!"
"Where, Marco?" Gage called to him. Roy started over to where Johnny was standing and they both looked at Marco, who was pointing to an area a few feet from the cabinet.
"Just a few feet to your left, Johnny," Marco said. "See if you can move that cabinet, and you should be able to get to her."
With renew energy, Roy and Johnny grabbed the cabinet and carefully removed it from the top of the pile. They set it on the floor against the wall, and hurried back to the spot. As they looked into the hole that had been opened up, they could see blue cloth. Amanda had been wearing a blue dress, Johnny remembered. He shined his flashlight into the hole, and could just see a wisp of blond hair.
"It looks like Amanda," he told DeSoto. "Help me get this other desk off and we'll be able to get to her."
They removed the desk and Johnny lowered himself into the small cleared area. He reached down and touched Amanda, but she didn't move. She was lying face down, and her face was covered with her blond hair. He gently moved the blonde hair from her face, and checked to see if she was breathing.
"Roy, she's alive!"
DeSoto let out the breath he had been holding since Gage had reached the girl. He pulled the radio from his shirt and called Captain Stanley.
"Cap, we found one of them."
"What can we do to help, Roy?"
"We'll need some equipment. It'll be easier, I think, to take her out from above. So if you can get the backboard, stokes, bio-phone and drug box and meet Marco on the upper level."
"On the way, Roy. Hang tight."
DeSoto set the radio aside and watched Gage check the girl over. He was checking her arms for breaks. Her legs were still under the debris and Johnny reached under to be sure they weren't trapped there.
Gage looked up. "She's real weak, Roy. She has a laceration on her forehead, and looks like a compound fracture of the left leg. But I won't be able to do much down here."
"Cap's bringing in the backboard and a stokes. How about we get her on the board and check her out once we can get her outside." Johnny agreed. They waited for the others to bring the equipment and then set about getting Amanda ready to be pulled from the collapse. They got her strapped to the backboard and began to pull her out. She didn't move or show any other signs of life. After they removed her from the hole, Roy checked her again to be sure she was still breathing and still had a pulse.
Johnny checked around to be sure he couldn't see Stacy. If the girls had entered the room together, they might have been close to each other when the quake hit. He shined his flashlight around, but didn't see any sign of Stacy. He climbed back out, being sure not to disturb anything else. He knew there was still another little girl down there somewhere and didn't want to cause something else to fall and maybe injure her more that she was already. He had more hope now that they would find Stacy alive, since Amanda had survived this long. Hang on Stacy he thought, just hang on. We'll find you.
He joined Roy next to the Stokes basket. DeSoto was getting her blood pressure and pulse, so Johnny set up the bio-phone. They relayed Amanda's vitals to Dr Brackett at Rampart, and he advised them to start an IV and get her to the hospital ASAP. As they got her settled for the trip up to the firemen waiting above, Johnny looked over at the still large pile of rubble.
"Roy, are you going to need me?"
Roy looked at Johnny and noticed what he was staring at. Glancing over his shoulder, he understood what Johnny was getting at. Gage didn't want to leave until they found Stacy. He didn't blame him. Now that they had found Amanda alive, the chances for find Stacy increased. He glanced back at Gage and shook his head.
"No, I think I'll be okay. Why don't you stay here and keep searching."
"Thanks, Roy."
"Just find her, Johnny."
"I will."
He signaled to Stanley and the men up top began to raise the Stokes basket carrying little Amanda. Roy followed her up, and as he got to the top, the Captain reached out a hand to help him up. Marco and Stoker were carrying the Stokes toward the steps.
"Dispatch was able to get us chopper to transport her, it should be here in about two minutes. Any luck with the other one?"
"No, not yet, Cap. Johnny's gonna stay here and continue the search. You might want to send somebody down there to help him. Some of that debris is too heavy for one guy."
"I'll send Marco down as soon as he gets back."
"What about the other three, Cap?"
"We found them, but they were all dead, Roy. From what the guys on Squad 88 said, they didn't have a chance."
DeSoto closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, Cap."
/
After Roy left with Amanda, Johnny set about searching for Stacy. Marco joined him and they began moving debris again, concentrating on the area where they found Amanda, hoping Stacy would be in the vicinity.
Chet Kelly was still moving stuff from the other side of the room, with help from the other firemen who had earlier been looking for the others that had been found dead. So the work was going more quickly now, both because of the extra help, and because of the renewed hope that Stacy could also be found alive.
After about thirty minutes, Kelly and Sean McGregor, a firefighter from Station 22, moved a large desk. Kelly pulled his flashlight from his pocket and shined it into the space that opened up when desk was removed. He shined it around, disappointed that he didn't see her. Time was running out. They had to find her soon. Just as he was reaching his thumb to flick off the flashlight, he thought he saw a bit of color. He looked again. Sure enough, it was a swatch of green cloth. My God! he thought. That has to be her!
"Johnny, Johnny I think I see her!"
"Can you reach her?" Johnny asked, excitement in his voice.
"No, not from here, not without moving a lot of stuff out of the way. I can just barely see a little bit of green cloth."
"Stacy was wearing a green dress, Chet! Is she moving?"
"No, but she's about twelve or thirteen feet in, so…"
"Can I reach her from this side?"
Kelly looked around, trying to gauge where Johnny was.
"I don't think so Johnny, not without moving half this rubble out of the way."
"Okay, Chet, hang tight, I'm going to haul myself out of here and join you. Talk to her, see if you can get any reaction from her. Anything to indicate she might still be alive!"
Stanley had heard the discussion and had the men with him ready to pull Johnny up out of the hole. As soon as Gage was pulled up, he raced to the steps and went to join Kelly.
"Where is she, Chet?" he asked.
Chet shined his flashlight into the opening, through a narrow tunnel of debris. About a dozen feet in, Johnny caught a glimpse of green. His heart jumped into his throat.
We found her! Thank God!
Stanley joined them, and they talked about the best way to get to her. They agreed that it would take another hour to remove all the debris from atop the little girl. As they discussed options, Roy DeSoto joined them. He had just returned from the hospital and was elated when he heard they had located Stacy. He gave them a quick rundown on Amanda's condition. She was critical, but her vital signs had stabilized before he left the hospital and her parents were with her.
Johnny was looking into the tunnel formed by the rubble. It was narrow, but he thought he could navigate it. He suggested this to the captain, who crouched down to checked it out himself. "I don't know Johnny, it's gonna be awful tight. What if you get caught up on something? It could bring the whole thing down on top of you…and her."
"Cap, we need to check her out. I can't see her moving. I'd like to get in there and at least see if she's alive."
Stanley saw the look of quiet insistence on Gage's face, then glanced at DeSoto.
"What do you think, Roy?"
DeSoto, who had been looking into the narrow opening himself, looked up at his captain.
"Well, Cap, I don't like the idea of anyone going in there, but if one of us does go, Johnny's about the only one who'll fit. And he's right, we do need to find out if she's still alive. If she's not, we can take our time getting her out of there."
"C'mon Cap," urge Gage. "Just long enough to check and see if she's breathing."
Stanley hesitated for just a moment, then thought about Amanda. They couldn't take the chance of Stacy still being alive too, and not try to get to her.
"Okay," he agreed. "But you be extra careful in there, Gage. You hear me?"
"Yeah, Cap, I hear ya."
He turned to Roy. "When I get in there, " he began, "I'll check around and see if I can spot a better way to reach her. She looks likes she might be closer to the back part of the room, but to the left," he said, gesturing in the direction he meant. "Maybe you and Marco could start checking it out from that area."
"Okay, I'll head back up. Johnny…"
"Don't worry, Roy. I'll be careful. Now that we've found her, I'm not gonna let anything happen to her."
DeSoto slapped Johnny on the shoulder and headed back out the door. Johnny got down on all fours and started into the narrow opening, placing a small flashlight between his teeth to light his way.
Stanley sent McGregor outside to let the other units know what was going on and to check with the helicopter pilot, to be sure he could stick around until they could get Stacy out. He knew if she was still alive, she would need to be rushed to the hospital, and wanted to be sure the chopper could stay on scene. The Captain followed Johnny's progress, keeping an eye on the light that Gage had with him, watching it bob up and down as he moved.
After a few minutes the light stopped moving. Johnny had reached the girl. He reached out to touch her. When he laid his on her arm, preparing to take her pulse, she groaned. He almost burst into tears. "Roy, can you hear me?" he called.
Roy's muffled voice answered him. "Yeah, did you get to her? Is she alive, Johnny?"
He was afraid of what the answer might be. He had a daughter himself, just a few years younger than Stacy and Amanda, and couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose her.
"Roy, she's alive. She's very weak, but alive."
"Yes! What's it look like Johnny? Can we get her out of there?" Roy asked, as Marco moved up next to him, a smile on his face, and placed a hand on Roy's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"I don't know Roy. If I can get some equipment in here, so I can move her without hurting her more. At the very least I need a backboard. That way I can at least move her out from under this pile, to where we can get a better look at her. Roy, we need to move her as fast as possible. Any chance we can find a way out from your end?"
"We're working on that Johnny. I'm gonna shine my flashlight around, tell me when you see the light."
After just a few seconds, Gage told him he saw his light. DeSoto and Lopez started looking for the best way to get to him from that spot. In the meantime, Johnny started talking to Stacy, hoping to get through to her. He wanted to see her open her eyes and look at him. Johnny checked her as best he could, but he only had access to the upper part of her body. He wasn't able to see or feel her legs without moving some debris and he didn't want to do that yet. So after doing everything he could, he contented himself with talking to her, softly, to reassure her that someone was with her.
He reached out his index finger and stroked her hand. "Stacy, can you hear me? Open your eyes, honey. Open your eyes and look at me. C'mon Stacy, I want to see those beautiful green eyes of yours."
McGregor came back into the room and informed Stanley that the chopper was standing by and also told him that the girl's parents were outside. He hadn't told them that they had found the girl. Stanley took a moment to collect his thoughts, then crouched down in the mouth of the opening.
"Gage, what's her condition? Her parents are outside and I want to let them know that we found her alive. Any idea how long before we can get her out?"
"Not sure Cap," Gage told him. "She's semi-conscious, her breathing is pretty ragged, her pulse is weak, but it's steady. Roy and Marco are trying to find a quicker way out. In the meantime, I will eventually need a backboard, so if you can make sure we've got one nearby, I'd appreciate it."
"You got it Johnny," he replied. Stanley headed out to talk to Stacy's parents and sent Chet to round up a backboard. The one from Squad 51 was still with Amanda at the hospital.
Stanley walked out of the building, surprised to see that the sun was beginning to set. He hadn't realized it was getting that late. He rolled his head around, trying to get some of the kinks out. Glancing around, he spotted Vince Howard speaking with a young couple who were sitting at the picnic table. He noticed that Mrs. Hawkins was still here, sitting with the couple. That must be Stacey's parents, he thought, as he headed their direction.
Vince acknowledged his arrival. "Hank," he said, nodding to the Captain.
"Hey, Vince," Stanley replied. Then looking at the couple, he addressed them. "You must be Stacey's mom and dad. I'm Captain Stanley." They were scared, and they had every right to be. Mrs. Armitage was a slender, red headed woman, whose eyes were red and puffy from crying. Mr. Armitage sat next to his wife, holding her hand, with an arm around her shoulders. He, too, had been crying. They both looked at Stanley with dread.
He sat down on the across the table from them, and placed his hands over their intertwined hands. "We've found Stacy. She's hurt, but alive."
Mrs. Armitage began to cry again, closing her eyes and placing a hand to her mouth. Her husband placed his head on her shoulder in relief and gave her shoulder a squeeze. He then looked at Stanley. "How bad is it? When will you be bringing her out?"
"We're working on getting her out now. She's buried under some rubble, in a spot that's difficult to reach. One of my men managed to crawl in to her. He's with her now, trying to find the best way to bring her out. I promise you, we are doing everything we can. The man that's in there with her is a paramedic. He told me that Stacy is semi-conscious, she's having a little trouble breathing, but that her pulse is steady, even though it is a bit weak."
"Trouble breathing," Mrs. Armitage managed to say between her tears.
"Yes. Now that could mean she has some broken ribs, or collapsed lung. Or it could simply be that she's breathed in a little too much dust from the debris. We won't know that until she gets to the hospital." He pointed toward the chopper across the parking lot. "As soon as we get her out, she'll be flown to Rampart Hospital in that helicopter over there. So she's close to the best help she can get. And the men I have in with her are some of the tops in this state at what they do. So rest assured that your daughter is getting the very best of care."
"Thank you…" Mr. Armitage said, grateful to Stanley for taking the time to explain the situation.
Stanley stood up to leave when he felt the ground shake. Aftershock! Damn! He ran back inside the building, falling once as the shaking earth knocked his feet out from under him. He vaguely registered the sound of Mrs. Armitage screaming.
"Johnny!" he heard Roy yelling as he got close to the scene of the rescue. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?…Johnny, answer me, damn it!"
Stanley raced up behind Kelly, who turned with a horrified look on his face. "It all came down on top of him…on top of both of them!" he cried.
Stanley called out, "Everyone be quiet for a minute!" The men shut up and listened. Nothing happened for about 30 seconds. Then Roy heard Johnny from under the rubble.
"Roy, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, Johnny, I hear you. Are you okay? What about Stacy?"
"I'm okay. Stacy too, for now. But we can't wait any longer, Roy. We have to get her out of here now, before another aftershock hits!"
"Hang on, Johnny, we're looking for a way in."
"Make it quick, Roy. I'm kinda holding up a huge piece of something here, right above her. And I'm not sure how long I can keep it from falling."
"Cap," Roy yelled, "I need more help in here!"
"On the way Roy," Stanley answered, motioning for Kelly and McGregor to make their way to Roy's position. Enough of the rubble had been cleared away by then to allow them to get around the rubble without having to come in from above.
Fifteen minutes later they broke through. They could hear Johnny still talking to Stacy, trying to reassure her that everything would be okay. Maybe even trying to reassure himself a little. When they lifted off a four-foot piece of ceiling tile, they were rewarding with a look from Johnny, peering up at them from the middle of the destruction. He was bent over Stacy. The piece he had been holding up had been laying across his back, and he had been using his body to shield Stacy, her eyes wide opened and watching Johnny.
"Johnny…" Roy began.
"Roy, get me a backboard and neck brace," Johnny said, before Roy could ask anything. Chet ran to get the requested equipment, back in just seconds. He handed the neck brace in first and Johnny placed it around Stacy's neck. He then took the backboard and lay it on the ground near her tiny body. He moved a few small pieces of debris out of the way in order to place the backboard in a better position.
By the time he was ready to move her onto the backboard, the others had managed to move more of the rubble, allowing Roy to move in next to Gage and assist in getting Stacy onto the board. Once they had her secured, they lifted her up and handed her out to Marco and Chet, then climbed out of the debris and followed them out the door. As they passed Stanley, he reached out to grab Gage's arm. Looking at him, noticing the blood on his neck and arm, he started to ask if he was okay, but Johnny stopped him with a raised hand.
"I'm fine, Cap, just some small cuts."
"Okay, but you go in with her and get checked out."
"I will, Cap," he started to walk away, but Stanley kept hold of his arm for another moment. "Johnny, her folks are outside, waiting."
"Understood," he said.
He walked away from his Captain, hurrying after his partner and his patient. As he got outside, he saw Roy headed toward the chopper with Stacy and two people he assumed were Stacy's parents, followed by Stoker and McGregor carrying their paramedic equipment.
She was lifted into the back of the helicopter, Roy climbing in behind her. Johnny started to climb in as well, when he was grabbed from behind by Stacy's mother.
"I want to ride with her!" she cried.
Johnny looked at Roy, then turned back to face the mother.
"Ma'am, I promise you we'll take good care of her. There just isn't room for you in the chopper. We need to be able to move around in there, so we can work on her while we're on the way. We'll be going to Rampart Hospital, do you know where that is?"
At that moment, Vince came up behind them. "Don't worry, Johnny, I'll get them there."
"Thanks, Vince," he said, grateful to the officer for showing up when he did. Johnny turned to step into the helicopter when Stacy's dad stopped him.
"Don't let her die," he pleaded. "Please, don't let her die."
Johnny reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "I won't, believe me, I won't." He climbed on board as Vince moved the Armitages away from the rotating blades, and watched them as the chopper lifted off. Then he turned his attention to Stacy. Roy was on the line with Rampart and getting instructions for treatment. Gage reached for the IV equipment. He looked down at Stacy who was still awake. He smiled at her and rubbed his thumb across her forehead to brush stray hairs back.
"Hi Stacy," he said.
"Hi," she answered quietly. "Where's my mom?"
"Your mom's gonna meet us at the hospital. She's pretty worried about you. Can you tell me where you hurt, sweetheart?"
"My head hurts and my leg. And it's kinda hard to breathe."
She closed her eyes then. Johnny checked her pulse again, and her respiration. He inserted the needle to start the IV while Roy checked her BP. They were only 10 minutes from the hospital, but it seemed like an hour. Stacy's breathing was still labored, so Johnny checked her constantly. He glanced at his partner, both of them worried about their small patient.
"Hang in there, honey," he whispered, watching the little girl closely, caressing her head. "You're gonna be fine, just hang in there."
He felt the chopper begin to descend and looked out the window to see the hospital landing pad. An ambulance was waiting and he could see Dr Brackett and Dixie McCall standing nearby. The helicopter touched down a moment later, followed by Dr Brackett opening up the door. They pulled the stretcher out of the aircraft and carried it to the ambulance, which then sped off to the Emergency Room entrance.
They wheeled her into treatment room two, where Dr Early was waiting with an x-ray technician and another nurse to begin treatment. Johnny and Roy transferred Stacy on the examining table, then began to move away so that the doctors could check her out. But she grabbed Johnny's hand, stopping him. He looked down at her, and saw her crying.
"It's okay Stacy. The doctor's are going to take real good care of you. And your mom and dad will be here soon."
"No! Please don't leave!" she cried.
Joe Early came up behind Johnny and put his hand on Johnny's arm. "It's okay, Johnny. Stay here, it'll keep her calm." Gage glanced at Dr Early, with a grateful nod, then smiled at Stacy, gripping her hand.
"Okay, Stacy, the doctor says I can stay with you. You just relax, everything's going to be just fine."
"Johnny," Roy called out, "I'll go outside and wait for her parents."
"Thanks, Roy."
DeSoto walked out the door and headed to the nurse's station. Picking up the coffeepot always on the burner there, he poured himself a cup. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling all the tension of the last few hours catch up with him. He was exhausted, as much from the emotional stress, as the physical work. Roy couldn't help but think about Stacy and Amanda, and his own daughter, Jennifer. He needed to call his family, to check that they were okay, but he wanted to wait a few minutes. He needed to catch his breath and calm his emotions.
He opened his eyes again, just as Vince and the Armitages walked up in front of him.
"Stacy, how is she?" asked her mom.
"The doctors are checking her now. She was awake when we brought her in though, and was asking for you. Dr. Early and Dr. Brackett will be out in a little while to give you an update."
"The other paramedic," began Mr. Armitage, looking around, "where is he?"
Roy smiled. "Johnny's in with Stacy. She asked him to stay with her. I think she's a little scared and Johnny's been keeping her calm." Roy set down the coffee cup. "Vince," he said, "why don't you take them into the doctor's lounge, and I'll let Brackett know they're here."
Mrs. Armitage placed her hand on Roy's arm, looking up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you both for taking such good care of our daughter. I can't tell you how worried we've been. But when your captain told us that you found her and someone was staying with her, I felt I little better. Knowing that she wasn't alone, you know? Thank you for that."
"Actually, it was my partner who crawled in to be with her. But we were all pretty anxious to get her out quickly. I'm glad we found her. I'm sure she'll be okay. The doctor's here are the best."
She smiled and nodded, feeling better than she had in the last few hours, allowing her husband to lead her down the hall with Vince Howard.
/
Two days later, DeSoto and Gage entered the hospital to pick up supplies. As they neared the nurse's station, Dixie walked up to Gage and gave him a hug and kiss. He hugged her back, surprised at the affection.
"That is from Stacy," she told Johnny. "She made me promise to give you a big hug and kiss as soon as I saw you."
Johnny laughed. "Well, I can't think of a better way to be greeted. How is Stacy? I brought a present for her."
"She's doing great! They moved her out of ICU this morning. She's in room 220."
"Great. Ah, Roy…" Johnny began.
"Go on, see your girlfriend, I'll get the supplies and meet you up there."
"Thanks, Roy. And thanks, Dix."
Roy and Dixie watched him head to the elevator, shaking their heads and smiling at their friend, chuckling at the fact that he would be that anxious to see a girl that wasn't a nurse.
He slowly opened the door and poked his head inside. Stacy was sitting in the bed, her mom and dad on either side of her. Stacy saw the door open and her face broke into a huge grin, causing her parents to turn and see what she was looking at.
"Hi, Johnny," Stacy squealed.
"Hi, sweetheart. How's my favorite patient doing today?"
"I'm fine. Did you see Dixie?'
"I sure did, honey, and she gave me your present. And I brought one for you too," he said as he pulled his arm out from behind him. He was holding a Teddy Bear. But not just any ordinary Teddy Bear. This one was dressed in a fireman's uniform.
He placed it in her arms and she hugged it tight. "Oh, Johnny's he so cute!" she cried. She reached up to hug Gage, who carefully hugged her back, careful not to hurt her or disturb her IV. "I'm gonna name him Johnny so that I never forget you."
The door opened again, and Roy and Dixie entered the room, hearing the last part of Stacy's comment. "That'll be the day," Roy commented, "when anybody who's ever met John Gage, forgets who he is."
"Well, young lady," Dixie said, approaching Stacy's bed. "You are going to get some company in a couple of days. Think you can handle that?"
"Who?" Stacy asked.
"Your friend, Amanda. The doctors think she'll be well enough to move out of ICU in a few days, and we think we should move her in with you."
"Mom, did you hear?" Stacy asked her mother. "Amanda's gonna be here in my room."
"Yeah, honey, I heard," Mrs. Armitage assured her daughter. She then turned to Dixie and the two paramedics. "It's wonderful news. I'll bet her parents are as thankful as Ted and I are. You people work miracles. I, for one, will be eternally grateful to you all." She got up from her chair and hugged them all. "You people are very special—I hope you know that."
Ted Armitage also approached the trio, shaking their hands and thanking them for the umpteenth time. He would never be able to thank them enough.
As he shook Gage's hand, he chuckled. "You know, Mr. Gage..."
"John, it's John," Gage told him.
"John…it's a good thing we're getting on a first name basis, because my daughter informs me we'll be related in the future."
"Related?"
"Stacy plans to marry you, as soon as she's old enough," he explained. Everyone laughed at that notion.
And Roy couldn't help but add. "Well, maybe by then, Johnny will actually be ready to settle down." Which just made them all laugh harder.
This was what it was all about. Being able to see the results of all the hard work, to see it all come out so well. Yes, some of the students and teachers had died. But two little girls were alive because of the efforts of a group of firefighters and two very dedicated paramedics. Life didn't get any better than this.
/ THE END /