Into the Dark
Johnny stretched his arms and yawned as he stepped out from under his covers revealing his thin body to the morning sun. Roy was still fast asleep on the bunk beside him. There was a smell of fresh ground coffee in the air, as he pulled his turnout gear on and walked to the kitchen.
The rest of the station was up and half-way through breakfast. Cap was sitting at the corner of the table reading the morning paper. Chet and Marco were playing a game of cards, and Stoker was watching the T.V.
"How was the sleep?" Chet asked smiling at Gage
"Well for information it was just great" John replied with a smile and slapped a hand onto Kelly's shoulder
"Well geeze Gage you slept till like eleven, and Roy's in there settin a new record.."
"Now, now Kelly, the guys had quite a few runs last night and didn't get in til this morning, so why don't we just give it a rest" Cap intervened
"I'll say" was Chet's smart aleck reply and then he shut up when Cap gave him the "eye" right above the paper
As John sipped his coffee and sat down with his plate of food, Roy walked into the kitchen in his boxers, scratching his head.
"Mornin Roy" John said with a smile
"Yea… good morning junior" Roy said as he headed straight for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. "So what's for breakfast?" he inquired looking over John's shoulder and onto his plate.
"Augh… not much just some eggs and ba……"
(buh bum buh) The Klaxons sounded off through the station.
"Station 51, Station 110, Truck 18, Engine 121, Batallion 3, Squad 10, Forest Fire, East Belmont Drive, Time out 10:55"
"Looks like it's gonna be a long day boys" Cap announced as they all ran to the trucks.
"Station 51, KMG 365" Stanley replied as he wrote down the address.
The squad was covered in dust flying down the dirt road behind all of the engines. Looking off into the distance, it was easy to see thickening smoke fill the air around them.
"Man this looks like its gonna be a bad one.." John casually threw out as he shook his head
"Yeah, if last night wasn't enough for us, I'm sure the day that we're about to put in will be." Roy added
"Yea that's for sure" John replied back
Roy applied the breaks as the assembly line of trucks came to a hault. Everyone jumped out manning their gear.
"Hey Cap…" Roy called out
"Yeah Roy?"
"Did you know whether or not we have any victims?"
"I just talked to dispatch, they say there are no homes up here and no victims that they know of, so for know you and John just man the lines."
"Okay, thanks cap"
For the next seven and a half hours, the firemen pushed through the burning brush and conquered the flames. The last flicker of light went out, and all of the men sighed in relief as they headed to put the equipment away.
The engines had already pulled out and John shut the passenger door to the squad, when quickly he jumped out and started down the embankment.
"Hey John, where ya going?" Roy shouted
"I left my helmet down there when we took a break a couple hours ago, I'll be back in just a sec" John replied out of breath as he ran down into the dark.
Roy yawned and sighed to himself, and stepped out of the squad to breathe in the cool night air and stretch a little. He looked down at his watch. It was almost 8 o'clock. He then proceeded to lean up against the squad and stare at the moon coming out.
John reached the bottom of the hill and walked over to the tree at his right, where he had left his helmet. He barely saw the shadow of it laying in the grass. He made a slight jog over to it and picked it up. Wiping it off he donned it on his head.
Just as he turned to leave and head back to the squad, he heard something in the ashes behind him. Half scared, and half filled with curiosity, John turned around to see what it was. Low and behold a little puppy, who looked like it had some cuts and burns, was staring up at John and waggin his tale.
John immediately took interest in the animal and walked towards it to pick it up. As John neared, however, the animal backed off some.
"It's okay.." John coaxed it "I won't hurt cha none… I just wanna help ya."
John stooped a little lower this time, attempting to get at the dogs own level and held out his fingers, rubbing them together, hoping to calm the animal down enough for him to grab him.
The little dog's nose touched the tip of Johns finger, but just as John reached to grab it, it ran off further into the woods.
"Oh come on!" John screamed to himself
He dropped his turnout coat and helmet on the ground and took off into the woods after the little dog.
After steadily jogging for at least two minutes through the thick forest. John stopped and took a look around him, convinced he had failed and lost the little dog. But then suddenly John saw him again, and took off after the little thing.
John was now at a standoff with the little dog, it had finally cornered itself about five feet in front of him.
"Come on little puppy.." John pleaded sympathetically" Come on… let me help ya out."
This time it seemed like the dog was not going to run again so John proceeded forward towards it. When suddently…. SNAP! It was as if the very earth had broken before him. He plumitted down in the belly of the earth, and landed hard on a lone and jagged rock. Everything turned dark, and John closed his eyes.
Roy whistled impatiently at the squad, waiting for his partner to return. John had been gone for a good 15 minutes now. "It shouldn't be taking him this long…" Roy thought to himself.
"Knowing Johnny, he probably sprained an ankle in a snake hole or something" Roy whispered to himself
" O well, I better go save the day before the rest of the station starts to wonder where were at. And I need some food too!"
Roy reached in through the drivers side window and grabbed the handy-talkie, just in case, and opened one of the back compartments and grabbed a flashlight to lead his way.
As Roy neared the bottom of the hill, he shined his flashlight around, looking for any signs of John.
He had at least expected him to be somewhere along the hill, and if not, definitely at the bottom.
Roy remembered where they had taken their break earlier, over by the big tree to the right. His light made a guiding path for his feet, and then he stopped when he reached the abandoned coat and helmet.
Roy's blood pumped with worry.
"Johnny!" Roy called out "Johnny!..." His voice grew stronger and louder with concern.
He knew what he had to do now, and he flipped to channel 3 on the handy-talkie.
"Dispatch, this is Squad 51, how do you read"
"This is dispatch 51, go ahead"
"I'm gonna need engine 51, and another squad to respond to my location, at the same address as our forest fire earlier"
"Okay 51, what's the problem?"
"Just call it in as man down…."
Back at the station, Chet was whining to Cap.
"Come on cap! Lets eat! It's John and Roy's own fault if their late."
"Alright Kelly… you win this time, but that's only because I'm about starved myself" Cap replied
Just as Chet heaped a spoonful of chilly into his bowl, the Klaxons sounded off through the station.
"OH MAN!" Chet complained as he set his bowl down and threw the spoon back into the pot.
"Engine 51, squad 110, respond to call from squad 51, man down, East Belmont drive, time out 10:55"
"Engine 51, KMG 365" Cap hurried to the engine and climbed aboard. All of the men were silent and looking sternly into the night ahead of them.
John's eyes fluttered open. It took a minute for his focus to come in. He could faintly hear a voice that sounded like Roy's, off far in the distance. He opened his mouth and attempted to speak, but he was only met with blood dripping from his mouth and extreme pain.
John squeezed his eyes shut, until that lapse of pain he caused himself, passed. He tried moving his arms around. And they seemed to be moving fairly well. He felt extremely weak though. He tried moving his legs as well. His left one he felt moving, but his right almost felt numb and then he felt a sudden jolt of pain, and his eyes snapped shut, back into a state of unconsciousness.
The engine came to a screeching hault, right behind the squad, where Roy had left it. Cap grabbed out his handy-talkie and thumbed it's side.
"Roy this is Cap, where are ya buddy?"
"Hey Cap, I'm down at the bottom of the hill, if you guys come down, you'll see a big tree off to the right where we broke from the fire earlier, I'll meet you guys in there"
"10-4" Was Cap's only reply
As the men from station 51 began to descend down the hill side, Squad 110 pulled in and grabbed their equipment out, following 51 down.
Cap and the others ran over to the tree where Roy stood holding Johns jacket, and his helmet.
"What's going on Roy?" Cap inquired
"I tell ya Cap, I'd like ta know the same thing, John told me he had left his helmet down here and was going back for it, he didn't come back up for 15 minutes, so I decided to come see what was going on, when I got here, all I found were these two things sitting up under the tree here."
"Geeeeeeze marie! Roy you shoulda known not to let John come back down here. The last time he went back for something, he was nearly killed by a serious snake bite." Cap punched his right fist into his left hand and gritted his teeth.
"I know, I'm sorry Cap, " Roy said looking down at his partners empty helmet
"No…. Roy, I didn't mean it that way, this is just, ugh… frustrating. Gage just always has to do something out of the ordinary." Cap put his hands on his hips and shook his head at the ground. "Well fella's, lets get out there and start lookin. Everybody pair up and take flashlights, and keep your handy-talkies available, and call in when ya find him!...Let's go!"
Squad 110 left their equipment by the tree and headed into the forest behind 51.
"JOHN!"
"JOHNNAY!"
"JUNIOR!"
"HEY JOHN!"
The many voices echoing throughout the tree's, woke John back up from his unconscious state. He knew that he needed help, and fast, he could tell by the symptoms that he recognized in himself, that his condition was sinking fast.
What could he do though? He struggled for answers in his mind, and a few tear drops slipped from his eyes from the feeling of pain and hopelessness. He was looking around the hole he had fallen in for maybe something that he could use, But all that was visible was nothing but wet dirt.
John began to give up hope, when he reached down and felt a lump in his pants pocket. Frantically, he worked with all and any effort he had at the moment, to empty his pockets. He pulled out a pair of gloves, a knife, some hard candy, and some receipts for medical supplies he and Roy had picked up at the hospital.
His head sank back in despair, and he reached beck in, one more time, praying to God that something would be there when he pulled his hand back out.
John almost lost his breath form excitement as he pulled out a flare that he and Roy had been using on an accident call that they ran the night before. John Kissed the flare and thanked God.
His only task now would be getting the strength to throw it out of the hole once it was lit. John waited a few moments to gain back some strength he had used up by looking through his pockets.
Finally he took a deep breath and ripped the end off the of the flare and smiled to himself as the warm glow slightly lit the darkened hole he was in. Then with all the strength in him, from a prone position, he threw with force, the flare out of the whole.
A weak smile came across his face as he saw it light up the dry grass around the hole. Johnny felt his breathing then become labored, and taking a deep breath, his eyes shut in silence once more.
Roy and Cap both had there attention caught by the sudden light coming from a clearing in the trees before them. Cap thumbed the H-T "Guys, I think we've got em!"
Once in the clearing they both shined their lights onto the hole that John had fallen into. Cap quickly stomped out the few light flames eating at the grass around them.
They both walked over to the edge as the others ran into the clearing as well. Everyone shined their lights down, revealing a weak, dirty, and pale Gage, with cuts, and blood, and an obvious broken right femur.
"We'll go get the gear!" Steve from 110 shouted as they ran off into the dark.
"Hey Cap, that hole's only about 6 feet deep.." Roy said breaking the silence
"Yeah, and ?" Cap replied
"Well if I hold onto you guys, you could drop me down in there so I can assess him."
"Alright Roy, sounds good to me….. Chet, Marco …….. Marco, where's Chet?"
Marco shrugged his shoulders as Cap angrily shook his head.
"Lopez you help Marco lower Roy down, I'll go find out where our friend Chester B. is…"
Just as Cap began to storm away from the scene, Chet walked into the group, holding a little puppy.
"Hey look Cap! Look at this poor little guy I found. Out here all alone…" Chet talked to the dog and nuzzled it against his face.
"CHET!" Cap screamed, "You stay where you're supposed to next time! Ya HEAR!"
"Yeah, Yeah Cap, I hear ya, sheesh!... So how's John looking Roy?" Chet asked as he wandered near the side of the hole.
"Not too good from what I can tell down here. He's got blood coming out of his mouth, which means he's probably got some internal injuries, and his right femur definitely has a compound fracture to it. Hey Cap.. make sure you tell 110 to bring down a traction splint with em"
Roy didn't like the pale look on John's face, and his unresponisvenes. This was still going to be a long night.
2 HOURS LATER –
The men of Station 51 roamed around the waiting room at Rampart General, drinking coffee, and sitting deep in thought about what the results would be.
The door opened up and everyone jumped to their feet for some news. Dixie strolled through the door.
"Sorry guys, I don't have anything yet, He's still up in surgery. Dr. Brackett told me though, that other than the broken femur they had to set, according to his x-rays it looks like John just broke some ribs and punctured a lung. Which is very serious…. But John's one of those strong types. You fella's have seen him pull through, he'll do it again." Dix smiled a warm reassuring gesture to all the boys as she took her cup of coffee and headed back out into the E.R.
By the time the sun was rising, the men from station 51 began to open back up their eyes. They were all surprised when they came to the realization that they had all fallen asleep in chairs and on the couch in the hospital's waiting room.
The guys all stood up and stretched and yawned. Dixie busted through the door bright and cheerful.
"Morning boys, I trust you all slept well?"
They all gave eachother kind of a smirky look on their faces as they tried to rub out the aches and pains from sleeping all night in chairs.
Roy walked up to Dix at the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.
"So how did everything go with the surgery last night?" Roy decided to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Well he came through fine last night with no complications, I came in here to tell you boys, but I just couldn't wake you. … you guys can go see him if you want… he's up in room 234."
"Thanks Dix…" They all said as they quickly exited the room, anxious to see their wounded co-worker.
Johnny was sitting up in bed with Dr. Brackett by his side laughing. John could barely crack a smile because of the pain, but he managed one.
"So you mean to tell me you ran through the words in the dark, chasing a little puppy, and for what? So you could end up here for the next week? John, you are a character buddy." Brackett smiled and got up to leave
J
ust as he was walking away, all the guys from 51 came in through the door.
"I'll stop by to check on you later John," Brackett smiled as he walked out the door
"What was all the laughing about John?" Roy asked
"Ah nothing…. I was just telling him the story of how I fell in that hole."
"Yes, enlighten us all John, would you please?" Cap glared down at him with an eagle eye and one eyebrow raised.
"Well I went to get my gear, and there was this puppy you see, and he wouldn't come to me, and I could see he needed help, so I chased him in the woods, and next thing I knew I was laying in a ditch."
All of the men from the station smiled.
"John, you don't mean that mangy looking little brown puppy do ya?" Chet asked
"Yea I do, why?"
" O nuthin. I just caught him last night when we were looking for you, took him to the pound." Chet said in reply
"Now how did you catch that thing?" John said shaking his head
"I don't know John…. I guess some people just have the touch and others don't" Chet smiled as he and the others left him to get some rest
John shook his head and under his breathe whispered to himself "What touch?"
THE
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Hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks to all who read it, and I appreciate any reviews of criticism or accomplishment. Thanks again and God bless!