The Boot

Chapter Two

By GCS

DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.

Energy flowed through his body. He sat facing the hose-bed bouncing with the movement of the engine as it sped toward the call. The radio emitted constant chatter from the dispatcher and responding units. With each bouncing motion came more enthusiasm; more eagerness. 'I can't believe I'm actually doing it. I'm finally riding an engine, and we're responding to a call.' A lopsided grin spread slowly across his young face as he became adjusted to the constant rocking action of his seat in the vehicle.

His fingers absently drummed on his bouncing knee matching the rhythm created by the wheels against the pavement.

Like the engine he moved continuously, shifting, and looking.

He swayed as the engine turned a corner tilting slightly. He felt himself leaning into the seat as the engine braked for a car that hadn't moved out of the way.

Turning sideways in his seat he could see the large steering wheel and the skilled hands that controlled the direction they were traveling in.

Dale Scott loved his engine; that was apparent to anyone watching him drive. Johnny could see the corners of his eyes lifted to match the smile that he had on his face. It wasn't a toothy smile. His lips simply curled up in the corners in complete satisfaction and his eyes matched.

As they approached each intersection the air horn rang loudly alerting the other drivers of their presence. Dale slowed as he neared the cross streets making sure everyone stopped to let them pass. The cars in front moved to the sides of the road for the engine like Moses parted the Red Sea.

Johnny turned back in his seat facing the rear. Looking out the window at the people they had passed he noticed how quickly they returned to what they were doing before the fire engine had passed by with all its fanfare. Pedestrians that had halted before crossing the street immediately stepped from the curb. Cars that had pulled to the roadside had already returned to their lanes. Life returned to normal in the blink of an eye. 'It's like we didn't pass by here at all.'

He felt the engine slow and turn. As it did he also turned, back toward the front, hoping to see what tragedy had called them out.

Scotty pulled the engine up next to the hydrant. Bill jumped down and pulled the feeder hose draping it around the hydrant and stepping on the end to wait for the engine to pull forward into position.

Johnny watched, studying each man's actions. He'd been through extensive training at the academy, but his experience as a young boy watching his dad with the horses on their ranch; then handling them himself had taught him that seeing in a controlled situation is not the same thing as doing them yourself when it really counts.

Once the engine came to a stop Captain Jones already had the HT to his mouth barking out orders to the other rigs as he disembarked from the vehicle. Scotty had also slid from his seat and already stood beside the control panel setting the gages and signaling to Bill to release the water from the hydrant. Johnny joined Scotty beside the engine and waited for instructions. He knew that if it were not his first day he too would be pulling hoses preparing to battle the beast.

Bill ran over and pulled a 2 ½ from the engine and joined Captain Jones in front of the abandoned building they'd been called to. Flames licked at the window frames that had once held glass. Smoke slipped through open cracks between sagging rotted wood slats that lined the once strong walls.

Men from the other engine mimicked Bill and Captain Jones. With one hand on Bill's shoulder and the other pulling the heavy water filled hose Cap backed up his lineman. Bill moved the nozzle from side to side effectively spreading water over the outside wall of the building and dousing the flames that tore at the dilapidated structure.

Then Captain Jones called to him. "Gage, come over here and back Bill up." He raised the HT and called for Cody and Jeff to back up the other linemen. There were no victims and no buildings nearby that would be threatened by this fire, so they would be allowed to practice their skills.

Glancing briefly at Scotty, Johnny moved into action. He jogged over and placed his hand firmly on Bill's shoulder. He wrapped his other hand around the hose just as his Captain had and together they moved closer to the burning building. Step for step Johnny matched Bill's stride. He could feel the water pulsing through the hose in his gloved hand.

Scotty watched his trainee. 'Well Boot this is your first chance to show Cap what you've got. That's right walk with your lead man. Good.' He watched as Johnny easily pulled the heavy hose along behind him. 'You sure are strong for such a skinny fella.'

He turned back to his gauges, checked the readings and resumed his watchful stance. As an engineer it was his job to keep the pressure at the correct level, but also to keep a watchful eye on the scene. He had the advantage of being able to keep his eyes open for problems and in effect support the Captain in maintaining everyone's safety. That is one reason the Engineer is second in command.

It didn't take them long to get the fire under control and out. "Good job Gage." Bill congratulated him as they pulled the hose back toward the engine. "I'll let you back me up again." He smiled and nudged Johnny playfully on the shoulder.

Johnny's smile beamed with joy at his own skills. He'd done it. He'd fought his first fire. Well the ones at the academy didn't count. There had always been a trained crew ready to take over if the trainees didn't perform well. This time there had been no other team to take over if he had failed, but he hadn't failed. He had done an excellent job and he knew it. Walking back to the engine with a spring in his step he was also greeted with praise from his trainer. "Well Boot, I guess you may make a fireman yet." Scotty slapped him on the back and laughed. "You done good kid."

"Okay men let's get this place cleaned up and these hoses reloaded so we can get to our drills." Captain Jones' voice could be heard echoing from radios around the scene. Hoses were rolled and reloaded on the backs of the engines by some men while others started the work of making sure there were no missed hot spots. The crew from the ladder truck who had waited patiently watching the others fight the fire now took part in helping with the overhaul. Together the entire crew from Station 10 made short work of finishing up.

Once they all found their way back to their respective vehicles Captain Jones called the Station in as available. Then the line of vehicles paraded to the fair grounds for their planned hose drills.

When they arrived the skilled Engineers positioned their vehicles in a wide circle in essence setting up a training corral. All of the members of the crew gathered in front of the ladder truck and waited for instructions from their Captain.

"Okay men the purpose of today's drill is to demonstrate the knowledge of our newest crew members. I want to see how well they can handle the hoses and hydrants. Most of you will just be watching, but you should all be prepared to participate if I call on you." The Captain walked over to the three boots. "Now Gage you're up first. I want to see what you can do with the hydrant. Cooper you can time these guys."

Johnny stepped over to the hydrant. 'Well here we go. It's time to prove I can do this.' He pulled out his hydrant wrench and stood ready to uncap the sides, attach the hoses and turn on the water pressure. 'I've done this a hundred times. This is no different than practicing during training. These guys are no different than the guys in the academy. Sure they have a little more experience, but they're just guys.' He tried to calm himself.

"Go," Cooper called to him and he flew into action.

His able hands quickly twisted the caps off, flushed the hydrant, and secured the supply lines in place. He twisted the pressure control on top of the hydrant and released the water. He raised his hands in the air his task complete, "Time." He turned to his Captain for further instructions.

"Okay Gage, reverse your actions. Let's see how you do putting it all back. Swanson, you'll go next."

Johnny stepped back into position and waited for the call to start. Cooper once again called it, and he once again skillfully completed the task. Cooper jotted down the time on his note pad and whistled. "Cap he just beat Scotty's time by 3 seconds."

"Congratulations Gage. Scotty here has held the record for the best time on hydrant drills for three years." Cap patted Johnny on the back as he resumed his place in the line. 'Now I see why you graduated at the top of your class.'

Johnny could hear several comments being made among the group of spectators. He could only guess that they were not as impressed with his performance as his Captain was.

Jeff Swanson stepped up to the hydrant to go next. Cooper called to him to start. Jeff fumbled with the hydrant caps. After almost an entire minute he had them off and was flushing the hydrant. He slowly attached the supply lines and turned the hydrant water supply on. He raised his shaking hands in the air. "Time."

"Well Swanson, I think you'll need to practice on that in your free time. Now do it in reverse." Cap shook his head. He didn't need to hear the time from Cooper. He knew it was too slow. Jeff reversed his actions and called time again. He trudged over to his place in line with his head hung and his shoulders drooping. Johnny patted him on the back to offer his support. Jeff looked at him from the corner of his eye and then looked away.

"Okay Cody let's see how well your brother taught you." Cap motioned Cody over to the hydrant.

Cody moved into position with his feet slightly apart and his knees slightly bent. He raised his hydrant wrench above his head and called, "Ready."

Cooper raised his hand in the air, "Hold on." Then he watched the little hand circle the stop watch until it was time, "Go."

Cody quickly had the caps removed and the hydrant flushed, but he had trouble connecting the supply hoses. By the time he got them in place and the water pressure on he had passed the required two minute mark by 48 seconds. He slammed his wrench against his leg in frustration. "I can do better Cap."

"Well Cody that wasn't too bad for a boot. Let's see how well you reverse your actions."

"Okay Cap." Cody turned back to the hydrant and stood ready. He didn't fare much better in reverse. He only shaved six seconds off his other time. Neither he nor Swanson had passed the drill. Johnny had beaten the best time at the station.

"Okay men these basic skills are very important to the success of our team. Those of you who lack the mastery of these basic skills will be required to practice during your down time at the station. Poor basic skills leads to poor fire ground operations, and that my boys can lead to unnecessary injuries and even death. I won't stand for that in my unit. Scotty, show them how it's done."

Dale Scott approached the hydrant and in one minute forty two seconds he had completed the first half of the drill. Johnny's time was still one second faster. Scotty then turned off the water pressure, disconnected the hoses and recapped the hydrant in one minute thirty eight seconds. Again Johnny's time was still a few seconds better. Scotty stood up and turned to face the boots. "That, my friends, is how you work a hydrant." He strode back over to his engine and pulled off his turnout coat.

"Good job Scotty. Now each of you probies will grab a 2 ½ from your respective engines. We will lay them out and turn on the water pressure. The drill consists of you getting control of your rogue hoses." All three men went to their engines and pulled the requested hose. They spread them out and backed away. The other crew members moved back away from the area. They knew the hoses would snake up and throw water all around. They hoped their new recruits would get the hoses under control quickly so they wouldn't get wet. All three boots would perform this task together.

"Charge the hoses," the Captain called to the three Engineers.

All three men, Johnny, Jeff, and Cody moved to retrieve their loose hoses. Cody and Jeff immediately dropped to their knees and began crawling down the length of their hoses as they whipped from side to side and rose up into the air like a giant snake. Johnny chose to move up further on his hose before dropping to his knees. Then he quickly advanced to the end and was able to shut off the valve and secure the hose. He laid his hose down and walked back toward the engine.

Cody had seen him finish the drill and when he reached the end of his hose instead of turning off the water he turned the spray toward Johnny's departing back and knocked him off his feet. Then so it would appear to be an accident he fell backwards himself and allowed the hose to slip from his hands again. Jim saw his brother go down, and he ran over to his side grabbing the hose and shutting off the nozzle. "Cody what the heck are you doing? If Cap thinks you did that on purpose you could be washed out." He whispered to his brother as he helped him up.

Johnny had the air knocked out of his lungs. Dale Scott and the two men from the Rescue Squad rushed over to see if he was hurt. They slowly turned him over on his back, "I'm o..okay. Just got the wind knocked out." He laid his head back to the asphalt and took several deep breaths trying to get control of his breathing. 'Well I guess it's starting. Just like at the academy. I do well, and they retaliate.' He closed his eyes and concentrated on continuing to take deep breaths. While he lay on the ground the other crewmen returned the hoses to the engines and prepared to return to the station.

"I guess that's enough for today. Gage are you alright?"

Johnny slowly sat up meeting his Captain's eyes. "Yes sir. I'm alright, just winded." He knew he would be really sore tomorrow, but he wouldn't give Cody Graves the satisfaction of sending him to the hospital on his first day at the station.

Arriving back at the station a short time later everyone scattered. The kitchen detail set out to prepare dinner while everyone else either finished their duties or found something to do until dinner. Johnny went out back to shoot basketball with some of the other guys. At first he stood off to the side not sure if he should just join in or wait for an invitation. After a few minutes someone called out to him, "Hey Gage, do you want in or not?"

"Yeah, I'll play." The ball shot in his direction. He caught it and immediately dribbled toward the goal. Going in for a layup he made the basket. The group played around taking turns shooting from different positions around the lot.

Dale Scott joined the group, "So Boot, it looks like you have some skills."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders, "I guess."

Scotty dribbled out and turned tossing the ball easily through the hoop from a 3 point distance. "Show me what ya got."

Coleman grabbed the bouncing ball and tossed it to Johnny who in turn dribbled out to where Scotty stood. He dribbled a few more times lifted the ball almost to his chin…lowered it slightly…twirled it in his palms and with a slight bend of his knees he pressed the ball into the air in a high arch toward the goal. It hit the backboard and bounced off the rim slipping through the net.

Several cat calls echoed across the back lot. Scotty slapped him on the back. "You're okay Boot."

Johnny smiled and excused himself. He felt tired and still a little sore from getting knocked down earlier. "I think I'm gonna head inside." He disappeared into the back door and made his way to the locker room to get some aspirin. Opening his locker he found a kid's toy tomahawk and a wig.

He stood momentarily motionless, his mouth open; his shoulders slumped. He ran his hand through his hair and dropped it back to his side.

Scotty had followed him inside wondering if he was really alright or if he had actually been hurt from the high pressure impact of the water blast to his back. He stopped half in the door and half out watching as a deep sadness moved across Johnny's face settling in his eyes.

Johnny sighed and reached for his bag pulling out the aspirin. Scotty walked over and took the tomahawk and wig out of the locker and tossed them in the garbage. "They don't mean any harm Johnny. It's just because you're a Boot. That's all."

"Yeah sure," Johnny said quietly. Reaching in his locker he grabbed the novel he had brought to read, turned closed his locker, tossed the aspirin in his mouth dry swallowing, and left the locker room. He climbed the two flights of stairs to the dorm room. He could hear a ball game on the TV and several voices cheering on the opposing teams. He lay down on top of the blanket on his bunk and read for a while. Becoming drowsy he raised his arm draping it across his eyes to block the light and fell asleep.

He was still there an hour later when he woke up to a gentle shake. "Gage, dinner, come on wake up." He opened his eyes slightly and peered up to Jeff Swanson standing over his bed. "Come on man."

Johnny turned over on his side and mumbled something incoherent.

"Gage, Cap said you need to come eat." Swanson was getting aggravated. "Come on!"

Johnny slowly got up and sat on the side of his bunk. "I'm coming." His back and shoulders ached. He rubbed his palms over his face and yawned deeply.

Before he could get up from the side of his bunk the tones sounded again.