Revenge
Chapter 33
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith was stunned for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Just as Peterson was about to pounce on her, she fired the weapon. He hit her arm just at that moment and the gunshot went wide. Still, he fell to the ground and Faith looked at him. Coughing, she got up and went over to the still figure before her. She used her foot to poke at him to see if he was indeed unconscious. Getting no flinch or movement from her efforts, she used her foot to turn him over. There she saw the single gunshot wound to the man's forehead and knew that ESU was at the scene.
"At least they know we're in here," she thought to herself as she turned back to her unconscious partner. She was coughing pretty steadily now and dropped to the floor to get as much clean air as she could. She crawled over to Bosco to check on him. When she got to him, she looked for the rise and fall of his chest and froze when she realized there wasn't any.
"Bosco!" she yelled, shaking him. "Bosco! Don't you die on me now. Not after all the time you've held on," she said, choking on the hot smoke entering her lungs. She felt for a pulse and found one, although it was extremely weak. Figuring he had a pulse because he must've just stopped breathing, she started giving him mouth-to-mouth, wondering how much good she was doing him when she wasn't getting good air herself.
Suddenly, she felt the cool spray of water coming from somewhere. In between breaths she looked up and saw the spray of water coming in through the broken window. She yelled. "IN HERE! WE'RE IN HERE!" She knew that the window wasn't big enough to get through and was very high to the ceiling. She gave Bosco another breath and looked to the doorway of the room. There was a wall of flame that no one would be able to get through.
She heard a voice behind her and turned back toward the window. "We're coming! Get as far away from the window as you can!" Billy called in to her as he wet down the room, hoping to keep the fire away from them long enough.
"He's not breathing! Hurry," she said, coughing hard, tears from smoke, frustration and fear falling from her eyes. "Please hurry!" she cried out.
"We're coming! Jimmy and D.K. are coming. Just hold on!" Billy called to her.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Jimmy and D.K. made several attempts to get into the building but were pushed back by the flames and smoke repeatedly. Everyone stood in horror as they watched the building become more and more engulfed. There were firefighters on the roof venting some of the heat and smoke to give Faith and Bosco, as well as the firefighters trying to enter the building, more time.
The fire commander finally ordered the firefighters off the roof when he got reports about the roof becoming soft. Taking it as a sign of impending collapse he had to order his people off the roof for their safety.
Billy had grabbed a ladder and thrown it against the side of the house. He climbed the ladder and began directing the stream of water from the hose into the bedroom. He looked inside and to his horror saw Faith doing mouth-to-mouth on Bosco. The other man lay dead on the floor, his body beginning to be consumed by the flames.
He yelled in to Faith to let her know that they were there - that they were coming and heard the desperation in her voice as she told them to hurry.
"Jimmy! He's not breathing. We gotta get in there somehow. We got no time left!" Billy yelled over to the team trying to make entry.
"Lieu," Doherty yelled over to his superior officer. "There's no way to make it in there. We gotta go in through this wall!" he yelled. D.K. had run to get the big saw and began to cut through the side of the building as Billy remained on the ladder, applying water to the flames.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**
Now that the barricades had been removed, Rose, Mikey and Trisha followed the ambulance and firetruck up the street and were standing with Sully and Ty across the street from the fire scene. They watched everything that was happening, although they couldn't hear much of what was being said.
Just as the wind shifted enough to carry voices toward them, the group heard the one on the ladder yelling to the other firefighter, "he isn't breathing!"
"Oh my God," Trisha and Rose said at the same time.
"He's gonna be okay. They'll get him out," Mikey said, not sure of who he was trying to convince more - his mother or himself.
Trisha stood looking toward the house, her arms wrapped around herself as silent tears ran down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and saw Bosco in her mind. It was the last time they'd been lying next to each other. They were both lying in silence, enjoying the peace and togetherness. They'd finished talking for a couple of hours and now were content to just be with one another.
"Maurice, please. You've got to hold on. I love you, Maurice," she said silently to Bosco.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Faith kept doing mouth-to-mouth. She heard the saw working to cut through the wall and prayed that they'd be in time. She could feel herself losing consciousness, but she fought it. She knew that if she didn't breathe for Bosco, he'd die. She felt again for a pulse and was rewarded with the beat against her fingers.
"Bosco, please. Please hold on," she said, fighting back the tears again.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Bosco felt himself floating. It was like a dream. He could hear Faith's voice calling to him. He tried to call back to her, but he couldn't seem to catch his breath. It seemed very foggy in this dream.
Suddenly, he heard Trisha talking to him. "Maurice, please. You've got to hold on. I love you, Maurice."
"I love you too," Bosco tried to say. He saw Trisha's face. He knew the night that they'd met that they were destined to be together. He remembered the first time they'd made love. The look on her face afterward. She was crying and he thought that he'd moved too fast or that she was sorry she'd let him make love to her. He asked her if she was okay and he felt the tears come to his eyes when she'd told him that she was crying because she was happy. "Please say you'll stay with me," she said to him.
"Yes, Trisha. I promise," he answered and then they'd made love again.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Kim and Carlos watched on along with everyone else as Jimmy and D.K. fought to make the saw work faster. Other firefighters had grabbed axes and were trying to help break through the wall as well.
After a few more moments, there was a hole in the wall and Jimmy and D.K. slipped inside. Carlos and Kim started to move the stretcher and the backboard toward them in order to be as close as possible when they were brought out.
Kim watched on in horror as there was a terrible creaking sound. Suddenly, the Lieutenant was yelling.
"Everyone out of the building. Collapse! Collapse! Everyone out!" he ordered.
"Please let everyone get out okay," she silently prayed while she watched for some sign of the four of them coming out. Billy was standing alongside the hole in the wall. She watched as he threw the hoseline to the ground and went inside the building, ignoring the calls from his Lieutenant to evacuate the building.
A moment later, Billy came out half carrying Faith who was coughing violently and looking back over her shoulder and calling to Bosco.
Right after that Jimmy and D.K. emerged with an unconscious Bosco. A cheer went up all around and Kim and Carlos met them halfway. The crowd again went silent as a lifeless Bosco was placed on the stretcher.
The frenzy of activity to put out the fire was going on around them as Kim and Carlos tried to revive Bosco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 33
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith was stunned for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Just as Peterson was about to pounce on her, she fired the weapon. He hit her arm just at that moment and the gunshot went wide. Still, he fell to the ground and Faith looked at him. Coughing, she got up and went over to the still figure before her. She used her foot to poke at him to see if he was indeed unconscious. Getting no flinch or movement from her efforts, she used her foot to turn him over. There she saw the single gunshot wound to the man's forehead and knew that ESU was at the scene.
"At least they know we're in here," she thought to herself as she turned back to her unconscious partner. She was coughing pretty steadily now and dropped to the floor to get as much clean air as she could. She crawled over to Bosco to check on him. When she got to him, she looked for the rise and fall of his chest and froze when she realized there wasn't any.
"Bosco!" she yelled, shaking him. "Bosco! Don't you die on me now. Not after all the time you've held on," she said, choking on the hot smoke entering her lungs. She felt for a pulse and found one, although it was extremely weak. Figuring he had a pulse because he must've just stopped breathing, she started giving him mouth-to-mouth, wondering how much good she was doing him when she wasn't getting good air herself.
Suddenly, she felt the cool spray of water coming from somewhere. In between breaths she looked up and saw the spray of water coming in through the broken window. She yelled. "IN HERE! WE'RE IN HERE!" She knew that the window wasn't big enough to get through and was very high to the ceiling. She gave Bosco another breath and looked to the doorway of the room. There was a wall of flame that no one would be able to get through.
She heard a voice behind her and turned back toward the window. "We're coming! Get as far away from the window as you can!" Billy called in to her as he wet down the room, hoping to keep the fire away from them long enough.
"He's not breathing! Hurry," she said, coughing hard, tears from smoke, frustration and fear falling from her eyes. "Please hurry!" she cried out.
"We're coming! Jimmy and D.K. are coming. Just hold on!" Billy called to her.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Jimmy and D.K. made several attempts to get into the building but were pushed back by the flames and smoke repeatedly. Everyone stood in horror as they watched the building become more and more engulfed. There were firefighters on the roof venting some of the heat and smoke to give Faith and Bosco, as well as the firefighters trying to enter the building, more time.
The fire commander finally ordered the firefighters off the roof when he got reports about the roof becoming soft. Taking it as a sign of impending collapse he had to order his people off the roof for their safety.
Billy had grabbed a ladder and thrown it against the side of the house. He climbed the ladder and began directing the stream of water from the hose into the bedroom. He looked inside and to his horror saw Faith doing mouth-to-mouth on Bosco. The other man lay dead on the floor, his body beginning to be consumed by the flames.
He yelled in to Faith to let her know that they were there - that they were coming and heard the desperation in her voice as she told them to hurry.
"Jimmy! He's not breathing. We gotta get in there somehow. We got no time left!" Billy yelled over to the team trying to make entry.
"Lieu," Doherty yelled over to his superior officer. "There's no way to make it in there. We gotta go in through this wall!" he yelled. D.K. had run to get the big saw and began to cut through the side of the building as Billy remained on the ladder, applying water to the flames.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**
Now that the barricades had been removed, Rose, Mikey and Trisha followed the ambulance and firetruck up the street and were standing with Sully and Ty across the street from the fire scene. They watched everything that was happening, although they couldn't hear much of what was being said.
Just as the wind shifted enough to carry voices toward them, the group heard the one on the ladder yelling to the other firefighter, "he isn't breathing!"
"Oh my God," Trisha and Rose said at the same time.
"He's gonna be okay. They'll get him out," Mikey said, not sure of who he was trying to convince more - his mother or himself.
Trisha stood looking toward the house, her arms wrapped around herself as silent tears ran down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and saw Bosco in her mind. It was the last time they'd been lying next to each other. They were both lying in silence, enjoying the peace and togetherness. They'd finished talking for a couple of hours and now were content to just be with one another.
"Maurice, please. You've got to hold on. I love you, Maurice," she said silently to Bosco.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Faith kept doing mouth-to-mouth. She heard the saw working to cut through the wall and prayed that they'd be in time. She could feel herself losing consciousness, but she fought it. She knew that if she didn't breathe for Bosco, he'd die. She felt again for a pulse and was rewarded with the beat against her fingers.
"Bosco, please. Please hold on," she said, fighting back the tears again.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Bosco felt himself floating. It was like a dream. He could hear Faith's voice calling to him. He tried to call back to her, but he couldn't seem to catch his breath. It seemed very foggy in this dream.
Suddenly, he heard Trisha talking to him. "Maurice, please. You've got to hold on. I love you, Maurice."
"I love you too," Bosco tried to say. He saw Trisha's face. He knew the night that they'd met that they were destined to be together. He remembered the first time they'd made love. The look on her face afterward. She was crying and he thought that he'd moved too fast or that she was sorry she'd let him make love to her. He asked her if she was okay and he felt the tears come to his eyes when she'd told him that she was crying because she was happy. "Please say you'll stay with me," she said to him.
"Yes, Trisha. I promise," he answered and then they'd made love again.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Kim and Carlos watched on along with everyone else as Jimmy and D.K. fought to make the saw work faster. Other firefighters had grabbed axes and were trying to help break through the wall as well.
After a few more moments, there was a hole in the wall and Jimmy and D.K. slipped inside. Carlos and Kim started to move the stretcher and the backboard toward them in order to be as close as possible when they were brought out.
Kim watched on in horror as there was a terrible creaking sound. Suddenly, the Lieutenant was yelling.
"Everyone out of the building. Collapse! Collapse! Everyone out!" he ordered.
"Please let everyone get out okay," she silently prayed while she watched for some sign of the four of them coming out. Billy was standing alongside the hole in the wall. She watched as he threw the hoseline to the ground and went inside the building, ignoring the calls from his Lieutenant to evacuate the building.
A moment later, Billy came out half carrying Faith who was coughing violently and looking back over her shoulder and calling to Bosco.
Right after that Jimmy and D.K. emerged with an unconscious Bosco. A cheer went up all around and Kim and Carlos met them halfway. The crowd again went silent as a lifeless Bosco was placed on the stretcher.
The frenzy of activity to put out the fire was going on around them as Kim and Carlos tried to revive Bosco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...