Hey guys! I hope you still loke this story, I'm taking some pleasure to write it :)

Anyway I will update this story with chapters 5 and 6. So for now, here is the fifth chapter.

I let you enjoy it, and later (maybe tomorrow for me), I will update the sixth chapter.

Please let a review, about what you are thinking about it :)

CHAPTER 5 : birdsongs and the sound of waves

"I have a distress call!"

Everybody stopped their work and turned to the officer in charge of the excavantion squad. Boden joigned him.

"What is it?"

"Your female firefighter, she activated a beacon up. This means two things: either she and your candidate are in danger, or they found one of yours."

Boden closed his eyes and sighed.

"Gabby. Her name is Gabby. She is like ten male firefighters. So treat her right!"

Lieutenant Vermulen, of the leaders of the excavate squad, didn't know what to say. He simply shook his head up to down, looking at Boden who had a closed face, raging.

"I know Gabby. She started at 51 nine years ago and believe me, if she activated the beacon up, this means she found a place where we could easily excavate to find them."

Vermulen looked at the screen, activated a beacon and tried to find where they were precisely by the distress call. The firefighters were looking at him with a worried face. After a few seconds, he stopped his steps.

"The signal is under me."

He took a chalk and traced a cross on the concrete. In an instant, almost the entire crew was on this place and began to work to break the slab.

Inside, Ferraris was making his way back to talk to Hermann.

"Hermann you copy?"

"So the... This noise?"

"It's Dawson and Borelli. They made a hole and came inside to find us. I know who they are, I will come to them to bring them here. I just wanted to update you."

"Fine. Thanks Ferraris."

He took a serious tone.

"How is Casey?"

"Agh... Not so good. He is unconscious. His pulse is stable, must be the pain."

"And you?"

"Still a chest pain. And Severide is slowly bleeding to death. But apart this everything is okay."

"Bleeding to death?!"

"He was sitting, stucked under a beem and one of the ironstick was lodged to his right flank. When he freed himself, the stick left his side so..."

"Okay I see. I'll bring Dawson and Borelli here ASAP."

"Be careful."

"I will."

Ferraris made his way to the opposite direction to find their two rescuers.

In the hole, Casey was beginning to be conscious, shaking slowly his head left to right, wincing in pain. He opened his eyes and his vision was a blurr again, but more then before. He still had trouble to breathe properly.

"Severide? Your SCBA is full?"

Severide looked at the gauge then his mask.

"The gauge is in yellow and my mask seems intact. I know what you're thinking.

Severide knew that Hermann wanted to give to Casey the rest of oxygen they had, so he could breathe better. He took his mask, put it on Casey's face and open the valve letting through some oxygen.

"Try to take a deep breath Matt."

Fortunately, his breathing was good despite the pain. He opened his eyes again, turned his face to Kelly and tried to lift his arm. But he was too weak to do this. So he smiled, thankful.

"Keep your strengh Matt. Focus on your breathing. Rescue squad is on its way okay? Tony is bringing them here. We will be free soon!"

Matt closed his eyes and tried to nod. The pain was too high, tiredness increasing, he couldn't stay away much longer. He came down a black noiseless space.

"Matt? Matt!"

The tank was working, that was a good thing. It meant Matt was breathing. Hermann looked trough the hole.

"They stopped to work above us", Severide noticed.

"Maybe they found another way to make a hole, with more security."

"Tony said Gabby and Borelli were under the rubble. Boden had to call the excavation team, probably this son of a bitch of Vermulen."

"So he gave beacons to Gabby. She had to give them a signal to make a hole elsewhere."

"You're right."

Severide closed his eyes and frowned, holding a scream of pain.

"Your right ride?"

"No... My stomach. It hurts more and more. It began on the right side, but now it's everywhere on my stomach."

"Hey Kelly... Try to lay dawn near Casey. Maybe you will be painless, you will be right nex to him if we wakes up okay? Don't worry, i'm watching you, I don't move an inch."

"Okay... But you're hurt too. Your chest..."

Severide was right. His chest was still killing him, even a lot worse.

"I said don't worry. I saw worse then that. For now, I'm okay, now rest. Matt needs you in a good shape."

Severide nodded after staying still during a few seconds. He laid down on the left side of Casey, where his head was. He took his hand and watched him breathe the oxygen. He looked at the gauge, it was almost red. But at least, his brother didn't breathe all this dust. Not yet.

Ferraris arrived with difficulty inside the pocket and stood up to face the two rescuers.

"Dawson, Borelli... Thank God!"

He was happy. He encircled Gabby with all the strengh he still had.

"Tony... It hurts..."

He untighted his hug, sorry.

"I'm sorry. I... Damn, He would never have excepted you two here inside!"

Gabby frowned, trying to understand what did it mean.

"What?"

Borelli crossed his arms and wanted an answer too.

"It's not you. The former and the new candidates. A pregnant woman and... An unexperimented man, it's not current for a rescue that's all."

Gabby inhaled deeply and nodded. She knew what he wanted to say.

"I'm a fefighter now, so I gained enough experience to be able to do that. Moreover, I had a paramedic training because of my old paramedic job. And Jimmy is here to have an additional experiment, and he volunteered. We were the only ones who could pass through the hole we made."

"And above us, they know where we are?"

Gabby smiled and kneed to grab one of the beacon. She gave it to Tony.

"Excavation squad?"

"Two, to be exact. Firehouses 44,57 and 95 came in reinforcement, and there also are the bomb sqaud. They're trying to know what sort of bomb it was, but for now they're helping us to clear the area."

"Okay, uh... It's Vermulen's team?"

"Yeah, why?"

Tony closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"An argument between our squad and his squad. This bastard tried to fiddle with the district chief, just before you being assigned to 51. he is a jerk."

"So what did you do?"

"We had left him out of any promotion... For life."

Her eyes were big, and Jimmy let escape a laugh.

"By the way, on the radio you said your back was killing you."

"When I don't think about it the pain is manageable. I will worry when we will be out of this hell."

"Let me have a look. I took some medical stuffs from the ambulance."

Tony sighed and took off his gear. Seeing his back, Jimmy looked elsewhere. He wanted to threw up. Tony saw it and turned his head.

"It's bad?"

Gabby checked the injuries.

"Jimmy, pass me some gauze and saline solution."

She turned to Tony.

"Alright I won't lie to you. I don't know how but your back is badly burned. A second degree burn. Some debris may have passed between your skin and your gear. I need to clean the area and put a band the time to get you out okay?"

"It explains the burning sensation..."

He closed his eyes and let Gabby do her job. After cleaning his back and bandaging it, she turned to Jimmy.

"Stay here to help the firefighters when they will have broken the slab. Stay in a secured place under some stable debris and wait."

"Understood."

Gabby and Tony made their way to join the others.

On the other side of the slab, Severide was still conscious, fighting the fatigue overcoming him. Casey was still unconscious, the mask was still working but not for long. The gauge began to be red. Deep down, Matt was dreaming. Or he was hallucinating he didn't know well. In his head, there was a little cool wind, an iodine odor and the ability to breathe full lung. He was on the warm sand, plunging his feet into it. He had his eyes closed, enjoying the air he loved. The sea. He had never been to see the sea. He had an idea about it but he loved it. He could hear the waves curling and crashing on the sand, creating froth and going away as they came. He felt the sun flooding his face, his body, each cells. He felt good. He opened his eyes, he was dazzled a moment, then looked at the landscape. The sea, the blue sky, the sun, the wind, the sand, the sound of the waves, birds circling in the sky and whistling. He looked to the left and saw someone he knew. Someone he didn't mean to see again.

"Hallie?"

Eyes wide open, Hallie smiled.

"Hey Matt. It's been a while!"