LONDON'S BURNING
Help!
He was surrounded by darkness. He lay still, unable to move and wondered if they would come for him. The sound of silence crept eerily around the blackness. He tried to call out, but there was nothing. He could make no sound. He could not lift his arms, he could not move his legs. He had no choice but to wait for them to rescue him.
"Is Bender Boy in yet?" Gerry asked as his Blue Watch arrived for work and met up in the appliance bay.
"What you askin' me for!" Jimmy replied. "I ain't no bum bandit!"
"I was just wondering if you'd seen him," Gerry pointed out. "He wants a transfer."
"Oh yeah?" Fish had interrupted the conversation. "Does that mean we don't have to hold on to our balls now!"
"If you see him, tell him I want a word," Gerry headed up the stairs towards his office.
"You wanna watch that," Jimmy called after him. "Being alone with a queer, he might try to crack on to you!"
"Somehow," Gerry answered. "I doubt it."
Jimmy and Fish also took to the stairs as Hyper emerged from the Watch Room.
Had he fallen asleep? It was hard to tell in this eternal darkness. He was still waiting. Waiting to see light at the end of this dark, lonely tunnel. For now, there was none.
Before roll call, he caught them laughing at one of Pricey's gay jokes. They didn't bother to hide their amusement at the punch line as they saw him approach the group.
"What's going on?" he tried asking.
"Keep your knickers on Roberta," Pricey replied, which earned him another laugh from his audience.
Hyper ignored them as he tried to take role call. This time, Jimmy Watson tried to crack a joke, which set Pricey off on his comedian routine once more.
"Shut up Price," Gerry warned, trying to restore some order.
The Sub Officer attempted to hide his own prejudices when he had to remain professional, every other time he was just as bad as the rest of them.
"Are you leaving us then?" Fish approached him later.
"What's that to you?" Hyper asked.
"I was just wondering if you were going to drop your anchor in someone else's port!"
"Would it upset you if I did?"
"No, I'd rather shag my own sister than become a..."
"Gay?"
"Bender."
Hyper shrugged. "Whatever you prefer."
Then he had moved on to overhear another conversation between Gerry and Jimmy.
"I ain't workin' with no bender," Jimmy was voicing his usual opinion for about the thousandth time.
"You'll just have to put up with it like the rest of us," Gerry repeated.
Jimmy seethed at the thought. "To think I used to be mates with him!"
What if they never came? Would they really leave him here to die? It was still dark, no progress had been made, not that he could see anyway. Again, he waited.
"Is he really queer then?" Andrew asked.
"I knew there was something about him," Fish muttered. "I mean, how many people do you know who kiss things for luck!"
"He's Irish," Andrew pointed out. "I thought they all did that!"
"You weren't here when he said it," Pricey reminded Andrew. "It was no joke."
They suddenly went quiet when he decided to walk into the mess. Even though he had only caught part of the conversation, he knew they were talking about him. He tried not to let their comments bother him, but he did wonder how long it would go on for.
"You don't have to sit next to him!" Jimmy was still pestering his boss. "I mean, what if he tries to ... you know... molest me!"
Gerry rolled his eyes, becoming increasingly bored of Jimmy's winging. "Then you can put in a claim of sexual harassment! No one is happy about it, but we have to get on with it, so stop moaning and get some work done!"
Where were they? He tried calling out again, but still there was nothing. He felt this was end.
A shout didn't make things any easier. If anything it was time for everyone to express their feelings. Feelings which most of them had already made clear to his face.
"House fire!" Sleepy jumped into action as the bells rang out, he grabbed the print out. "Persons reported!"
In the appliance, Jimmy tried to sit as far away from Hyper as he could.
"Do you mind!" Fish glared at him. "I would like to breathe you know!"
"You two," Gerry turned to Jimmy and Hyper. "Get your sets on and be ready to go inside as soon as we stop."
As they carried out the order and prepared to go into the fire, Jimmy suddenly stopped and cried out. Everyone looked at him, including Andrew who took his eyes off the road.
"You touched my leg!" Jimmy exclaimed, glaring at Hyper.
"I did not!"
"Yeah you did!"
The only order Gerry gave was to Andrew. "Keep your eyes on the road Andy."
"You touched my leg!" Jimmy wouldn't let it lie.
"You should be flattered," Fish cut in. "It's not as if anyone else is going to find you attractive is it!"
"Switch off. He touched me leg an' I ain't havin' it."
"You sure about that?" Fish grinned.
Jimmy glared at him.
On reaching the shout, Hyper had to lead the way into the blazing house to rescue two children who were trapped in an upstairs bedroom. Jimmy was far from happy at the arrangement.
"Keep your eyes off my arse and concentrate on the job!" he warned.
"I was not..." Hyper tried to insist. "You have a horrible arse anyway," he muttered.
They reached the bedroom and found the two children as Pricey climbed a ladder to the window. He took the kids to safety as Hyper and Jimmy continued to tackle the fire.
Suddenly there was an explosion from somewhere, which caused the ceiling to cave in, trapping Hyper. Jimmy looked on.
"Are you going to help me or not?" Hyper asked from under a pile of broken roof beams.
Jimmy didn't move.
He should have known that it was nothing like last time. Now he had found people who regarded him as a mate. They were people he knew he could depend on. They might not understand him, but he knew they were people he could trust. They would find him, he knew they were looking, they weren't people who would just leave him. Surely no one was that callous...
"I don't make a habit of this," Jimmy extended his hand.
"No, course not," Hyper grabbed it.
"And I don't want this spreadin' around!"
"Just get me out of here."
Jimmy pulled him to safety.
The roof had looked far from stable. Coleman had instructed Pearce to make it safe, but they had been too late. While the search for a missing person after a gas explosion in a block of flats, was going on, the roof had caved in, burying Hyper.
Blue Watch frantically searched the rubble for their friend. Thankfully, they found him alive and remarkably well.
"You know," Hyper commented as Sally and Adam pulled him clear of the debris. "I just had this really strange dream."
"Sleeping on the job were you?" Adam joked.
"It was weird."
"Well, don't worry," Adam punched him playfully. "You're still alive!"
"Yeah, I think I realised that!"
"Are you ok?" Sally asked, concerned.
He smiled to reassure her. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you guys."