Fire
Cezille07
Fire breaks loose on the Barrymore house. The job falls into Big Burg's fire department, who unfortunately cannot rescue Zick's family.
Disclaimer: Monster Allergy is not mine. I just write fics.
Mark sat on the driver's seat of his truck, puffing a cigarette. He was losing the game. After several draws, it was clear he had to start a new Solitaire Game.
He threw out the cigarette butt and began shuffling his old set of cards. As he did this, he heard the other firemen's voices echoing in his ears:
"Hey Brad, how's your pretty girlfriend?"
"Coffee anyone?"
"I hear Carl bought himself a small property just outside the city!"
"What's today's foreign exchange rate?"
Mark finished dealing the cards and looked at the current hand. An open ace in the seventh pile, how lucky! He brought it up to the home stack and drew three cards. A king. Next a seven. Still no available moves. Two more rounds. It looked like this game wasn't as lucky after all.
The fire alarm sounded, and much to his disappointment his colleagues flooded into his truck, fully suited and ready for action.
"Let's go, Sir Mark," the one named Carl began. "It's a house in Old Mill."
"The weirdoes' place? I hope they finally move outta there," remarked Brad. Carl hit him behind his head. "Hey, what'd I do?"
"I'm sick of hearing you badmouth that family. Can we please go now?" Carl shot Mark a look, but the latter already adjusted the gears and hit the gas pedal.
They arrived at the scene in less than ten minutes. They witnessed large wooden beams crumbling into ash, and portions of the roof collapsing into the house.
"Let's do what we came here to do," Mark said in his usual gruff voice and motioned the team to start blasting water into the flames. "How many people live here?"
Brad got out of the truck with Mark and beheld the burning residence. "Two, the last time I checked. A weirdo kid and his mother," he replied in disgust. "Last time I checked, you know boss, was a year ago," he added with a smirk.
Mark didn't seem to hear the last statement. "Someone inside yet?" he barked at the nearest running fireman.
The man rushed his answer, "They broke down the door and went inside with hoses! Carl and Gunter are trying to locate the family."
"Thank you. Now move! All of you!" Mark stood watching the men scramble to do his orders, and he smiled for the first time when they brought out an unconscious woman and a struggling man.
"Please, please let me go back inside!" cried the oddly blue-haired man.
"No, sir. That would be too risky and against our protocol," Brad quickly replied. He motioned for the men to lead him to the fire truck. "Your name, sir?"
"Zobedja, Zobedja Zick!" The man tried to shake himself free of the men holding him in place. "Please, they're still inside!"
Mark approached them. "Mr. Zick, our men our on it. Whoever else is in there will safely be rescued. Leave it to us." He shot Brad a questioning look to mean, "I thought there were only two people?"
The man didn't stop wriggling. "I have to save them! They're in the cellar with my son Zick! He has the key."
"I'll call my men to get them," Mark said, and he radioed for the men inside to scout in the cellar. "This is your wife?" he inquired, pointing to the woman who was coming to.
Zob nodded. "Greta. Now look, it's me who has to go back, they won't survive—"
"Don't worry, sir. We'll find them."
"No, they won't! You don't understand, only I can help them now!"
Mark looked at his colleagues. Before he had the chance to answer, he was knocked down by some strange force (and a bright light, if anyone dared believe). The next thing he knew, the man had run back inside while the other firemen lay wondering what hit them.
They battled the raging fire for a full two hours, but what remained resembled the house in no way. Greta bit her nails as she waited in the fire truck; her husband did not emerge even until the fire was put out. What was left of her once beautiful home lay in ruins, little by little being blown away by the wind.
Mark approached her. He took off his hat and shook her hand. "Mrs. Zick, I'm very sorry. We'll take you to the hospital, but that's the most we can do."
Greta sobbed quietly. He wondered if she wanted to be left alone or if it were alright to comfort her. "Don't worry, I'm fine," she answered, her voice calm and motherly. "But I'd like to stay here for a while. To look at the house and all. You know my family has lived here for so many generations—I never thought I'd be the one to change that."
Mark said nothing more. The most terrible thing about his profession was anyone's loss. He looked at his mates filing into the truck. Carl nodded towards Greta on the way. Brad whispered something as he passed, "I told ya these guys were weird." At this, Carl grabbed his buddy's collar and dragged him off to the truck. With a final nod, Mark hopped into the driver's seat and drove back to the station, to wait for more activity for the night before their shift was over.
Greta stood motionless where they left her, looking after the truck's shadow as it shrank in the distance. Once they were gone, she ran for the once beautiful house and rummaged for the cellar door. It was on the floor among other debris, several feet where it used to stand. Near the handle was a clear shoe-mark. They did try to get in, but of course they didn't find anyone.
"Zob! Zob!" she called, "Zob! Where are you?!"
There was no answer. She let herself collapse. With the door removed, the link to the Tamers' cellar was gone. How would she know if they're safe? What if they were never able to get out?
Sounds of coal being displaced at her feet disrupted her thoughts. She sat up. The empty doorway glowed blue for a moment, and out came Zick, Zob, and the monsters, swarming to her for a hug.
"How—how did you...?" she mumbled.
"Zick herded the monsters into the cellar and used the Enviro Dom to protect them," Zob explained. "I found them there and helped keep them safe."
"Mom, Bombo was distracting me with his incurable shoe-addiction," complained Zick, looking exhausted. "It's hard to focus and he had to remember it was dinner time! Lucky dad was there to help."
"But me hungry!" wailed Bombo. The other monsters chuckled among themselves and patted Bombo's back.
Greta sighed in relief. "I'm so glad you're all okay." And they were. She looked at each of their faces and saw the same relief etched on each one. "Let's go now."
"Where? What do we do?" asked Zick, peering up at her.
"I don't know. We'll find something on the way to wherever."
==END==