Thanks for reading and for the really great comments. Hugs, Ember
Chapter Thirty-six
"Drake, you're not going in there," Bear shouted, gripping a hold of Drake's arm as Drake tried to put on his facemask. "I promised John I wouldn't let you, an' I'm not about to break that promise to him."
"Le' go of me!" Drake jerked his arm free, and pushed the mask down over his face. He could feel his knees buckling, the heavy turnout gear making it extremely difficult to keep his balance as he added the weight of the oxygen tank onto his injured back. Gritting his teeth through the pain as the tank came to rest against the deep bruising marring his skin, he drew in a ragged breath, and held very still until he was fairly certain he wouldn't fall over or pass out cold.
"Listen, lil' man," Bear tried again, pointing toward one of the ambulances parked a safe distance away from the building, "you're mother's right over there – she's the reason you needed to be here – so take off that damn gear and go be with her!"
Drake glanced in his mother's direction, saw her golden blond hair blow across her face in the stiff breeze, and then looked back at his friend. "I'm going in – so you can either come in with me or I can go it alone, it doesn't make any difference to me." Without saying another word or waiting for his best friend to follow, Drake made for the entrance of the winery.
"Drake!" Gary shouted, hurried to catch up with him, and pulled him back from the entrance. "Don't forget your training – two in – two out . . . Me an' Bear will take the lead, you and Markus keep us a path clear."
"No." Drake shook his head, thinking of his mother waiting for them to bring her husband back to her, and knew he wouldn't be able to face her if he didn't do everything in his power to save his father. "My mom's out there waiting to see him again, an' I'm gonna bring him back to her."
Knowing precious moments were slipping by as they argued Gary gave a curt nod, and then shifted to look at Bear and Markus. "Stick together an' keep a path clear for us – let's go, Drake."
"You know you're putting all our lives at risk, right?" Gary shouted above the roar of flames and shattering wine bottles, and hastily reached out to grasp hold of Drake as he nearly stumbled over fallen debris. "If you weren't like a little brother to me, your ass would've been out of here – hell, the Chief's gonna have my hide when he finds out I let you talk your way into this place."
Concentrating on slowing his rapid breathing, Drake merely grunted a response, grateful the older firefighter had thought to talk about his father as if he were still alive. Every nerve in his body twitched and trembled, and he couldn't be certain if it were from fear or withdrawal, but either way he pushed himself forward through the maze of fallen timber, glass and debris, listening for any sound that might alert him to where his father might found.
Heat flushed his face, sweat trickling from his brow. "I can't freakin' breathe or see with this stupid thing on," he rasped, struggling to see through the mask.
"Keep it on!" Gary shouted the order, and at nearly the same time Drake heard Dean's voice telling him the same thing, but ignoring both of them and disregarding all his training, he still he clutched for the mask to rip it off. "I said keep it on!" Gripping hold of Drake's hand, Gary yanked it away from his face. "You'll be no help in saving your father if you're dead, Drake! So either do what I tell you to do or I swear to God, I'll haul your ass out of here!"
"I'm not going anywhere without my father!" Drake jerked his arm free, pushed past Gary and took the lead.
Choked with thick black smoke, the hellish blaze raged from all around them. The roar of the flames, punctuated by crashing timber, heated steel, and crunch of glass beneath his feet, echoed in Drake's ears making it almost impossible to hear a call for help, but still he craned his neck and strained to listen for his father's voice. His squinted, swollen eyes darted back and forth from mounds of fallen debris to outlying offices, searching for his father.
"We're going to find him," came Dean's strong reassuring voice from alongside Drake, and shoulder to shoulder they moved as one through the burning wreckage.
I don't know if I can do this, Dean, Drake worried silently, knowing Dean would hear his thoughts. The weight of the oxygen tank crushed down on his injured back, and his legs trembled with the effort of keeping himself upright and moving along the narrow winding path he'd cut through with his ax. Dad's in here somewhere dying and all I can think about is how I wish I was high – it would be a helluva lot easier if I was . . . .
"I know you think getting high is the answer, just like I always thought getting drunk out of my mind would make the pain go away, but it's taking everything from you . . . from us, so I'll be damned if I let you ruin our life." Wrapping a firm arm around Drake, Dean kept him steady on his feet, pushing him forward toward an office that wasn't engulfed in flames.
What if he's already dead? Swallowing hard, Drake looked to the older version of himself, and saw the same fears in Dean's eyes that he knew were mirrored in his own. I can't take losing my father . . . when John died . . . when we burned his body . . . .
"It killed me inside," Dean uttered, lowering his head.
Gary threw out an arm and grasped hold of Drake, stopping him in his tracks, and then bobbed his head in the direction of the office they were heading toward. "Do you hear that? It sounds like someone shouting for help."
Craning his neck, Drake stood as still as he could possibly manage, and strained his ears to listen. At first all he could detect were the sounds of fiery destruction, but slowly he focused in on the raspy sound of his father's voice. "He's alive!"
Spurred on by his father's voice, Drake hacked away the burning timber blocking his path, and once cleared he rushed forward, mindless of all else except for saving his father. His father's voice grew louder, and hope rekindled, he pushed aside fallen debris blocking the doorway. With Gary close behind, he entered the office, and frantically searched for his dad, but couldn't find him.
"Drake!" Dean grabbed hold of his arm, trying to pull him back out of the room, but Drake held rooted to his spot. "You've gotta get out of here! NOW!" he shouted, eyes locked on the ceiling.
"Dr-Dra . . . ." came his father's weakened voice again, and locating the direction in which it was coming from, Drake's head fell back on his shoulders, and he, too, looked to where Dean was looking.
"DAD!" Drake screamed, tears blurring his vision as he watched his father's blood drip to splatter on the floor below. His father opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could utter a word, fire exploded across the ceiling, engulfing him within its hellish flames. "NO!" Rushing forward, Drake frantically searched for a way to reach his dad, but before he made it halfway across the room, Gary grabbed hold of him and yanked him backward.
"We can't save him, Drake!" Widened eyes locked on Drake's father, Gary pulled Drake back out of the room.
"Le'go!" Drake squirmed and fought against the older firefighter's hold on him. "I have to save him, Gary!"
"He's gone!" Gary shouted in Drake's ear, wrapping both arms around Drake and yanking him further away from the now completely engulfed office. "We have to get out of here – you can't help him, Drake . . . he's already gone."
"No, he was right there – you saw him . . . he called out to me. We have to go back – W-we have to save him," Drake pleaded, eyes burning with unshed tears.
"If we go back, we're all dead, an' your father wouldn't want that!"
As Gary struggled to drag him backward through the fiery maze, Drake kept his sights locked on the room, waiting for his father to somehow miraculously appear in the doorway, but all hope faded as flames burst through the darkened opening.
"I can't leave him." With a shake of his head, Drake redoubled his efforts, fighting desperately to break free of his friend's hold on him, but just as he broke free, Bear gripped hold of him, arms tightening viselike, hauled him over his shoulder and rushed toward the entrance of the building.
Once at a safe distance away from the winery, Bear set him on the ground and pulled him into a bone crushing embrace. "I'm so sorry, Drake," he murmured against Drake's ear. "I'm so damn sorry."
"You have to help me, Bear," Drake pleaded, pulling away from the bigger man, "my dad's still in there, we have to get him out!"
"We can't," Bear sadly shook his head, "the whole place is coming down. We'd never make it out of there."
"I don't care, I have to save him!" Staunchly refusing to believe his father was dead, Drake pushed away from his friend, and raced back toward the crumbling inferno, but once again another pair of strong arms gripped hold of him, lifted him off the ground, and within a matter of moments set him down lightly inside of the Impala.
"I know you wanted to save him, Drake, but you can't," John softly uttered, placing a hand on Drake's shoulder to keep him in his spot. "He wouldn't want you to die this way – I don't want you to die this way."
"I don't care what you want, John. He's my father!" Tears cascading unchecked, Drake opened his mouth to argue further, but hearing a deep rumble followed by the building collapsing in upon itself, he fell silent.