Disclaimer: All recognisable character belong to Mattel. All OCs belong to me.
Chapter 33
Two months later – March 1987
It was now a week after I'd completed my leading fireman's course at the Cardiff Fire Academy. While I was still awaiting the results of my final exam, I returned to duty with White Watch at the Cardiff Central Fire Station. That course had done me a lot of good. It had been a real eye-opener to the realities of my chosen career, and therefore I returned to my colleagues with a much more mature and professional attitude.
But six weeks of study weren't enough to completely quash my playful side, and so within minutes of me starting me first shift back at the fire station, I had successfully completed a practical joke on Station Officer Michaels. When the bell sounded for roll call, I waited in the hallway until I saw Station Officer Michaels leave his office to head downstairs. Moving quickly, I entered his office where I placed an inflated whoopie cushion down on his desk chair. Then, I darted downstairs so I wouldn't be late. I made it to roll call just in time, where I quickly fell into the formation.
"Nice of you to join us, Fireman Jones," Station Officer Michaels said.
"Sorry, sir." I apologised.
Station Officer Michaels glanced at his clipboard. "I want to see you in my office immediately after roll call."
"Yes, sir." I dropped my gaze, hoping he wouldn't see me smirk. I couldn't wait to witness his reaction to the whoopie cushion.
Luckily, I didn't have that long to wait. Roll call was over in less than five minutes. I was allocated to driving one of the pump-ladder appliances, since I couldn't be a leading fireman until my paperwork had been sorted out. I followed Station Officer Michaels back upstairs to his office.
"Now, Sam," Station Officer Michaels began after he'd closed the door behind me. He pulled a folder down from his bookshelf before moving behind his desk. He placed the folder down on his desk as he sat down.
Prrrffft!
Station Officer Michaels leapt to his feet while I struggled to maintain a straight face. Turning, Station Officer Michaels saw the now deflated whoopie cushion on his chair. With a longsuffering sigh, he picked it up and tossed it into the rubbish bin under his desk before he resumed his seat. I managed to remove the laugh that had risen in my throat by masking it with a cough. I didn't trust myself to speak yet.
Shaking his head, Station Officer Michaels opened the folder. "As I was about to say, I've received the report from your trainers at the academy. While it will take us a few more weeks to get your exam results back, the official report looks favourable. In fact, if you score ninety-three percent or more on your final exam, you'll pass the course at the top of the class. How did you think you went in the final exam?"
"I'm not really sure, sir," I replied. "I'm sure I've passed, but I don't know if my grades will be that high."
"Well, even if they're not, you'll still be in the top three in your class. But, if you do get the top of your class, I'm going to recommend you for leading fireman here with Green Watch. One of their leading firemen has been promoted to being a Station Officer in Swansea, so there'll be a vacancy here. If you do get to the top of your class, I seriously doubt they'd send you anywhere else."
I nodded thoughtfully. "Is that all, sir?"
"Not quite. Several of your trainers reported that you played a number of pranks of them, including but not limited to, hiding a fake snake in the glove box of an appliance, filling an officer's locker with foam and swapping the sugar and salt labels around in the kitchen." He leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure I can add that whoopie cushion prank that happened a few minutes ago to that list."
I decided not to say anything. Station Officer Michaels sighed, and he closed the folder.
"By rights, I should punish you for such behaviour, but you're still very young, so I'm sure you'll eventually outgrow it. Harmless pranks are fine, but if they end up injuring someone, I'm going to have to come down on you very hard. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"All right, you're dismissed."
I saluted Station Officer Michaels before I left the office. I headed down the hallway to the locker room. Most of my colleagues were in there, cleaning up their uniforms or making their beds for night duty. I took me sleeping bag out of my locker and I proceeded to do the same.
Harry approached me. "What did Michaels want?"
"He just wanted to discuss the leading fireman's course with me. He thinks I could get a promotion here, to Green Watch."
"That'd be good. It'd mean we'd still get to see each other during watch changes and formal station events."
"Yeah. I'd love to stay here if I can. I'm used to city life now, and I couldn't imagine being a fireman anywhere else."
Harry gave me a pat on the back before he left the room.
…
A few weeks later, in mid-April, I was at my home in Cardiff, packing my kit bag for another overnight shift at the fire station. It was used to the routine now, so it didn't take me long to pack. It was Good Friday, and so we were mentally prepared for an exhausting weekend as families gathered together for the Easter holidays. I was also waiting for my weekly phone call from my parents because I had some very exciting news for them.
As soon as the phone rang, I pounced on it. "Sam Jones speaking," I said into the receiver.
"Hello Sam," my mother greeted me warmly. "You sound excited."
"That's because I finally got my results back from the academy."
"Well, don't keep me in suspense. How did you go?"
"I scored ninety-six percent!" I gushed. "That means I got the top results in my class, and Station Officer Michaels has already submitted the paperwork recommending me for a leading fireman position with Green Watch!"
"That's wonderful, Sam! I'm so happy for you!"
"Do you really mean that?"
"Of course I do! You're doing something that you love and, given those results, you clearly know what you're doing. Your father and I are so proud of you."
I heard mum cover her phone's speaker with her hand and I heard her shout, "Sam got the top of his class in his leading fireman's course!"
In the background, I heard some cheering from my family. Aside from dad, I was sure I heard Charlie and Gareth cheer too. Mum put the phone back against her ear.
"When will you know?"
"In a few more weeks. The district Chief Fire Officer will make the decision about where to send me. I really hope I can stay here in Cardiff."
"I do too. At least you're only an hour away. So, what are your plans for the Easter holidays?"
"Unfortunately, White Watch and Red Watch drew the short straws for the Easter holidays, so I'll be spending most of the long weekend at the fire station. I've got a twenty-four-hour shift starting at five p.m. tonight, followed by another one starting at nine a.m. on Easter Monday."
"It sounds like you're going to be very busy then."
"Yes…I could try and get the May Bank Holiday weekend off, so I can come and visit you all then."
"That sound like a good plan. Please try."
"I will mum. Oh, hey, I'd better get going or I'll be late to the station. Please take care and give my love to everyone."
"I will. Love you, Sam."
"Love you too, mum. Bye."
I hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. I knew that mum missed me a lot, but she needed to stop guilt-tripping me about living away from home. Not wanting to be late to work, I collected my kit bag and I headed downstairs to lock up my house.
…
Surprisingly, the Easter holiday weekend wasn't as busy as I'd anticipated. I spent most of my first overnight shift playing games in the common room or working out in the gym. Station Officer Michaels also put us through some training drills on the training tower to give the TV a rest. I think he'd been just as bored as the rest of us.
However, my second twenty-four-hour shift on Easter Monday turned out to be the worst one in my life.
…
Easter Monday had started out as a nice day, but by dusk, the temperature had dropped dramatically and a heavy fog set-in all-over Cardiff. I didn't take much notice of it initially. After all, fog was hardly something to write home about when you lived in the Welsh Valleys. However, by six p.m., the fog had become so thick that you could see it enter the appliance bay whenever we needed to open the doors.
"I wonder if this is what the smog in California is like?" Percy said as we assembled in the mess room an hour later for dinner.
"At least we know what we're breathing here," Harry pointed out.
From his place at the far end of the table, Station Officer Michaels wheezed a loud cough. "Maybe, but it's not doing my chest any good."
"Can we open a window please, sir?" I asked as I sat down at the table with my plateful of food. "It's starting to get stuffy in here."
"No!" my colleagues shouted in unison.
I threw my hands up in mock defeat. "Sorry, I forgot that you city slickers aren't used to breathing in fog," I teased.
Before my colleagues even had a chance to retaliate, a piecing shriek came from the kitchen. We all leapt up and hurried over to the serving counter which divided the mess room from the kitchen. Shirley was pressed up against the counter looking as white as a ghost and staring at something on the floor.
"What on earth is going on?" Station Officer Michaels demanded to know.
Trembling, Shirley pointed to the object on the floor. Station Officer Michaels and a few others leaned over the counter for a closer look.
"Oh, it's only a frog!"
"It was in the cutlery drawer!" Shirley exclaimed. "Argh! It's coming towards me! Keep it away!"
Rolling my eyes, I headed into the kitchen. I chuckled when I saw the frog hopping closer to Shirley.
"I think he likes you," I said as I wet my hands in the sink.
"Well, I don't like him! Argh! Sam! Do something!"
Reaching down, I lifted the frog into my hands. Then, with a smirk, I held him out to Shirley. "Why don't you kiss him and see if he turns into a prince?"
"That's enough, Sam!" Station Officer Michaels ordered. "Take it outside and put it somewhere safe and out of the way."
"Yes, sir."
As I started to walk down the hallway towards the stairs, I heard Station Officer Michaels say to Shirley, "I think we can all assume that he was responsible for putting that frog in your drawer in the first place, so I'll ensure that he's disciplined for it later."
"Well, I can discipline him now!" Shirley retorted. "Sam won't be getting any pudding tonight!"
I didn't bother to reply because Station Officer Michaels was correct in his assumption. I had hidden the frog in the cutlery drawer. I'd found it earlier that day sitting outside enjoying a light shower of rain.
Once I was outside, I released the frog into a small flower garden that was next door to the fire station. He seemed to be very happy to be back outside again where it was nice and damp.
Just as I turned to go back inside, I caught sight of a shadowy figure under a nearby streetlight. The figure stared back at me, unmoving.
"Who's there?" I called, surprised that anyone would be out on the street at this time of night in such heavy fog. To my amazement, the figure started glowing a translucent blue. I froze when I realised that I knew exactly what the figure was now. A hag.
My pwca! Oh no! Not again! It's been years since I last saw her!
The hag quickly transformed herself back into her usual form of a black horse with red eyes. With a snort, she trotted over to me. Nervously, I reached up and I patted her muzzle.
"What are you here for this time?" I asked her.
My pwca nickered with an eerie sadness before she transformed into a will o' the wisp and vanished from beneath my hand. I watched as her translucent blue light disappeared into the fog. Confused, I returned inside the warm fire station.
…
A few hours later, I was upstairs in the locker room, settling down to sleep inside my sleeping bag on top of a folding bed. Harry had managed to score a second serving of pudding, which he'd smuggled to me. By the time Shirley had discovered what had happened, I'd almost finished eating my dessert. And so, Station Officer Steele had decided to punish me for the frog prank by making me vacuum all of the carpeted areas inside the fire station. It had taken me a while to complete that and, as a result, I'd missed out on watching a football replay on the TV. However, it was now about ten p.m. and I was exhausted and ready to sleep.
I really hope we don't have any emergencies tonight, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.
I felt like I'd only been asleep for a minute when I was suddenly awoken by the alarms sounding and the lights automatically turning on. Groaning sleepily, my colleagues and I got up and, after quickly pulling on our boots and tightening our belts, we hurried down the hallway to the nearest fireman's pole.
"Major RTA and fire on the M4, westbound just past the Coryton Interchange!" Harry announced from the Watch Room just as I reached the base of the pole. He handed a copy of the teleprint to me. "All appliances requested! Dangerous goods and trapped persons reported!"
Upon hearing that, an adrenalin rush surged through me, removing any traces of sleepiness that I had left. A glance at my watch told me that it was now a quarter past eleven. I pressed the button to open the appliance bay doors before I leapt into the driver's seat of the first pump-ladder appliance. I turned on the engine, activated my strobe lights and, once I was sure that my entire crew was aboard, I activated the siren before I drove out of the station.
Harry was with me this time as leading fireman and, since he knew Cardiff a bit better than I did, he directed me through the fog until we reached the interchange. From there, we were provided with a police escort up the shoulder of the gridlocked M4 to the site of the accident.
Despite all of my training, I was not prepared for the sight that greeted me upon our arrival. The accident was located between the bridges that crossed the River Taff and the railway line. At least thirty of forty vehicles had piled into each other in the foggy conditions after a large lorry had jack-knifed across the motorway. Fires were burning all over the place, trapping people inside their vehicles. Those who'd managed to escape were watching in shock from the median strip. Sirens filled the air as more and more emergency vehicles arrived at the scene.
I parked the pump-ladder alongside an appliance from the Roath Fire Station, and we all got out. While Harry was barking orders to the rest of our crew, I put on my firefighting uniform. I stared in awe at the sight before me. Cars were battered and crushed into each other, along with several lorries. Stunned, I walked slowly towards some of the cars that were on the edge of the accident. One of them caught my eye. It was a white sedan with a numberplate that I recognised.
That's my parents' car! What on earth is it doing here? They shouldn't be here!
I quickly ran over to the vehicle, hoping to find it empty. I was shocked to find that it wasn't. Both of my parents were trapped inside! Through the thickening smoke and the fog, I could just make out my dad slumped over the steering wheel. My mum, however, was pounding on the window, desperately trying to break it so she could escape. Her eyes widened and she gasped when she recognised me.
"Sam! Help us!"
I quickly tried to force the passenger-side door open, but the impact had crushed it to the point where it wouldn't budge. Then, I tried smashing the glass with my fist, but it was solid and impossible to break without a hammer.
"Keep trying, mum!" I told her. "I need to go and fetch a crowbar!"
"Please, hurry, Sam!" mum begged.
I took one last glance at my mother before I sprinted away towards my appliance. Upon reaching it, I threw open a locker and a grabbed the biggest crowbar from the rack. Then, I started to run back towards my parents' car.
"Sam!" Harry shouted from somewhere on my left. "Stop! It's too dangerous!"
I ignored his warning and continued running. All of a sudden, I felt something heavy and soft crash into me, throwing me face-down onto the tarmac. The force of the collision sent the crowbar flying out of my hand. Before I had a chance to recover my senses an enormous explosion erupted, engulfing the entire pile of vehicles in a superheated fireball. The radiant heat was so intense that I felt it burning the back of my un-gloved hands.
