The Dream Puzzle-7
"Mornin' fellas." Chet said as he entered the kitchen area. Marco and Mike were already there enjoying their first cups of coffee. It had been 4 ½ months since the night that Marco and Chet had finally discussed the strange events during Chet's sleepless night at the station. The two rarely talked about it although neither man had forgotten even the tiniest detail. But no one could have imagined that within a few short hours it would all come back – even the missing pieces.
After roll call Hank had decided to have a quick meeting before the men started their chores. The holiday season was in full-swing and he felt the need to remind his men about the need to be extra careful. There was always an increase in incidents during this season. Impatient drivers caused an increase in MVA's and holiday decorations seemed to result in an increase in structure fires. As a father, he also wanted to remind them that with school being out there was also a higher than normal chance of victims being children during daytime fires. But by the time this shift ended, he'd have a new warning for his men.
Chet was mopping the latrine when the klaxons sounded. Johnny and Marco were exiting the dorm while Mike and Roy quickly made their way from the kitchen to their places as the drivers of the engine and squad, respectively. Cap jogged from his office to the radio to acknowledge the call and then climbed into his seat in the engine as the bay doors opened.
The call was for children trapped inside an abandoned school house. The site was scheduled to be demolished in January. It was extremely unstable. The six men rode in total silence. Calls involving the rescue of children were the most difficult emotionally and everyone knew that with the condition of the building the likelihood of serious injury, or worse, was elevated. They were driving into a 'worst case scenario' and they all knew it.
Hank and Roy were the only two men with children and both of them felt a certain chill go up their spines when the call for trapped or injured children came in. This one was no different. Johnny had no children but he was very close to Roy's kids and both of them were on his mind as the two of them rode in silence. Mike, Marco and Chet all had nieces and nephews with whom they shared close bonds so this was going to be a tough call for everyone on "A" shift.
They arrived in less than 12 minutes which was incredible considering the bumper to bumper traffic that Roy and Mike had been forced to navigate through to reach this desolate area of their district. All of the buildings were rickety. Most of the windows were broken but at least there was no fire with which to contend. This place would be incinerated in short order if that were the case.
Deputy cars with lights flashing were already on scene. Sitting on the hood of one of the cars was a frightened boy of about 10 years with scratches and bruises on his face and arms. His clothes were torn in some places and he was covered in dirt and grime.
"Roy, check on the boy." The order came from Cap as he made his way over to Vince Howard who seemed to be the Sheriff's Deputy in charge of the scene.
"What've we got, Vince?"
"Well, seems a group of boys, four from what we can tell, decided to explore this old school building when the floor collapsed. This one here," he gestured to the boy being tended to by Roy, "managed to get out and go for help. The other three are still in there somewhere."
"Oh Jesus, have their parents been contacted?"
"We're trying Hank but so far we've only gotten through to Heath's father and he's on his way." Again, he gestured to the boy who now had a few bandages on his left arm and face.
"Hey Cap?" The call was coming from Roy who was closing up the drug box. "Heath says they were in a room on the back side of the building and the floor started to crack and they fell through. He was close enough to a doorframe that he held on to it and managed not to fall down to the basement."
"Is he ok?"
"Yea, he's really shook up but he's just got some scrapes and bruises; nothing that needs more than a bandage for now." Roy was very good at communicating with kids, especially since Chris was about that same age, which is why Cap had assigned him to the boy initially. If anyone could calm his fears while obtaining much needed information it was Roy.
Vince had already determined that blueprints of the building had been lost long ago and right now the LA County Sheriff's Office was trying to track down anyone who had knowledge of the layout of the building. It hadn't been used in 20 years which was proving to be an issue; no one seemed to know who to contact for details on the building.
"Vince, you got names on the missing kids?" Cap knew they'd need to be able to call out for the boys and having their names would help. But before Vince could answer Roy chimed in.
"Uh, I got that, Cap. We've got Jacob, Calvin and Brandon still in there. Heath is the name of the kid who's out."
"Alright men," Hank began, "let's head to the back and see what we find." Immediately, all six men all in turnout gear, headed around to the back of the building. This was one time that Hank really wished he had another captain on the scene because his heart ached for those boys and their parents…..and he wanted to be in there with his men helping to find them.
As Hank looked around the old campus, he could almost hear the echoes of happy children running to and fro amid the buildings. He watched his men climb the six brick steps and one by one enter through the double doors. These doors led into a long hallway with rooms on either side. Each step one of the men took sent groans through the old school building. The hallway walls and floor were covered with dust, spider webs, and the occasional book. There was even an old banner still hanging on the wall near the end of the hallway. Several sets of small footprints could be seen in the dust on the floor which made finding the room easy enough; the first room they looked into had a gaping hole near the far wall. Pieces of boards were jutting out in multiple directions like shark's teeth.
"Jacob?"
"Calvin? Hello?"
"Brandon? Can you hear me?"
Chet, Johnny and Roy were all calling out to the boys they knew had to be inside the dark hole. Marco hung back away from the opening listening for any sounds that might come from another direction. He thought for a moment that he heard a bell; much like the old desk bells school teachers used decades before. Having only heard it once though he dismissed it as part of the 'character' of the old building.
"Help….please."
"Hey, hey….listen up guys." Chet had heard the meek voice. "We're here to help you boys, ok?"
"What's your name?" Roy asked. His was the task of calming down the frightened child while the others decided how to extricate him.
"Bra..Brandon." The boy was obviously scared and was crying.
"Brandon, listen don't be afraid ok? We've got five firemen up here and we're gonna get you out real soon, ok? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"My, um, my elbow hurts bad."
"Ok, just don't move. My partner's name is Johnny and he's gonna come down on a rope and he'll bring you back up ok?"
"K, um, can he get Calvin and Jake too?"
"Are they with you, son?"
There was silence for a moment and all Roy could hear was the sound of sniffling coming from the darkness.
"Brandon? Brandon, son, don't be afraid. Johnny's gonna be down there in just a minute ok? I need to know if Calvin and Jacob are with you down there."
"I don't know….the floor went away and I fell and I….I don't know." He was sobbing and Roy felt terrible for the boy. He could only imagine Chris in this same predicament.
"Son, it's ok, it's alright. You just keep talking to me alright? What grade are you in?"
Marco, Chet and Johnny were deep in a discussion of the best way to get to the boys. Mike had returned to update their Captain on the situation and to retrieve the needed ropes, harnesses, and various other equipment. By the time he and Hank returned, a suitable beam had been located which could support the weight of Johnny and each young boy. They began to work together much like a well- oiled machine. Each man knew his role and with very few words spoken everything was ready for Johnny's decent into the darkness. As Johnny's head slipped beneath the boards, Marco jerked his head to the right. He had heard it again. That same bell ringing he'd heard earlier. But again, no one else seemed to hear it.