Part II
Roy began coming back around with several sensations vying for his attention - all of which only increased his disorientation. There was something important but a buzzing in his head was making concentration even more difficult. Then the pain started to pierce through the fog and he realized that the buzzing wasn't in his head, it was all around him.
A semi-familiar voice that Roy couldn't quite place spoke up not too far away.
"That's not good. That's not good at all."
The more familiar voice of Cap came next.
"How 'not good' are we talking?"
"I'm not sure how much not good, but that alarm means the temperature in those buildings is up over fifty degrees."
The semi-familiar voice spoke again in just over a mutter as Roy heard movement and attempted to sit up.
"Hell with this, You boys are on your own."
Roy couldn't make it up to a fully seated position, but he had himself partially up and braced with his elbows as he caught sight of the watchman heading off as quickly as he could. There wasn't anything he could do about that and he wasn't sure if Cap and the others knew about the danger. His voice was rough when he spoke, but Roy managed to be loud enough to be heard.
"If either of those other buildings has the ethylene oxide inside, that's real bad, Captain. I don't remember the exact temperature, but somewhere over the fifty degree mark, that stuff goes from a liquid to a gas."
Johnny was back over by his partner's side in an instant.
"Roy, you need to lay back down, pally. You're going to agg-"
The hard grip Roy took on his arm stopped Johnny from talking. The intense look in the blue eyes made him shift to supporting his partner. Roy's voice may have been rough, but it was firm with urgency.
"Remember that hazardous material course I took last time I was on limited duty? This stuff was one that we covered. It's heavier than air - it can travel along the ground a pretty long distance looking for an ignition point. And it's toxic. We need to make sure everyone is up off the ground. Stuff's not visible and by the time the scent warns the people who are standing, the folks on the ground could be in distress."
"You're right - stuff's too dangerous to take chances. I didn't take the course yet, but I sure remember you talking about some of it after. Cap? Let's get Chet and Marco up in the cab, then let's get Roy up in the back of the squad."
"Is it going to be safe to move them around like that, John?"
"Safer than letting them stay where they are, Cap. Hey - what happened to the guy that works here?"
"He said we were on our own, Junior - he can't be having too many problems breathing at the rate he was leaving."
"Cap! The watchman's left the area. Fast."
"Great - just great. John - you stay with Roy while Mike and I get Marco and Chet moved. Easy, Chet. Just let me do most of the work here, pal."
From where he was mostly on the ground still, Roy could see underneath the engine and saw the danger, but his voice choked on him. He grabbed Johnny's arm and squeezed in time for Johnny to shift his eyes to follow the direction Roy was looking in. He could see that flames had started to flicker among the remains of the first storage house. Then his own breath caught as he saw what looked like the ground catching ablaze as the tongue of flame headed straight for one of the other buildings.
"Everybody take cover!"
Johnny did his best to get himself between Roy and the building - he couldn't just cover him without driving the metal that was already in his partner in deeper. For a moment, there was silence and Johnny wondered for a second if he had over-reacted. The explosion that shook the area like an earthquake answered that for him almost immediately.
Mike had been closing the cab door after helping Marco inside at the same time as Johnny had yelled and had missed the warning. He was on the side facing the structures, though fortunately he was still facing the engine when the blast went off. Mike felt himself being thrown hard into the side of the cab before he lost consciousness.
On the other side, Cap had just finished getting Chet inside when Johnny's warning came. To him, it seemed that Gage's words had barely registered before the entire engine rocked hard. Captain Stanley had a feeling of helplessness as he lost his foothold on the engine stair and felt himself start to fall backwards. That is, until a jerk on his turnout coat pulled him back toward the cab. Chet looked near ready to pass out from the effort, but he had reacted instinctively and reached out to grab hold of Stanley's turnout and pull. In Chet's current condition, the wonder was that he hadn't been drug out of the cab himself instead. And while Hank did end up in an awkward position, he preferred that to the thought that his alternative might have been hitting the concrete below with the back of his head leading the way. Helmet or not, he couldn't imagine that would have been pleasant.
Cap started to move, but found Chet still had a death grip on his turnout coat.
"Hey, you can let go now, Kelly. Thanks, pal, but I need to go check on Mike."
Mike's name was the trigger that made Chet's grip loosen enough for Cap to pull free. Hank was relieved - he certainly didn't want to have to be rough with Kelly, but there was the chance that another explosion could happen any minute - he had to get to Mike and time wasn't on his side. He could see Johnny moving beside Roy, but he didn't look like he was moving very steadily. Hank would need to check on them as well, but Mike was on the wrong side of the engine. He was Hank's first priority.