I give you chapter 5 of this story. I havent' been able to write much but I am so happy I was able to get this out. Hope you enjoy as well. :)
Hank almost hated to admit it but taking a rest and eating had greatly improved his mood. Dixie stopped by and checked his pulse.
"Your hands are steady as stone now." She smiled. "Feel better?" He nodded. "I would tell you to try and get some sleep but I know you probably won't." She sat next to him and sighed. "Those men and women up there are some of the most resourceful, strongest, smartest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I know the almighty Kelly Brackett." She joked and then her face fell to a frown.
"I wouldn't tell Johnny what you just said his head would explode from all the expanding." Hank joked back, this time she laughed. "It's odd I'm worried about them but until we know what's happened I can't help but feel like they will just pop up and join in on the jokes."
"Me too." She patted the man's arm and stood. "Do try to at least rest." He nodded and watched as she continued her checks and passed out food and Gatorades. He laid back and closed his eyes.
"Hank?" He woke with a start and saw McConikee was who woke him.
"What?" Hank's brain was fuzzy and he realized that he had fallen asleep.
"You've only been out about fifteen minutes." The chief said. "But we've had a change at command and I think you need to be a part of this." Hank stood to fast, and the older man help steady him as he stumbled. "Ok?" He nodded and they made their way to the tent.
"What's going on?" Hank asked finally feeling awake.
"Well it' looks like we may have an option to get rescue to the crews but we all need to agree on it." McConikee informed him causing his eyebrows to knit. There was several men and a few women in the tent. "Captain Stanley meet Justin Davis, head of Carson's off roading club. He has an interesting proposal."
"Justin." He greeted and shook his hand. "What you got for me?"
"We have been watching the news and realized we could be of help." He pointed at several vehicles that were parked behind them several looking like they had armor attached. "Our off roaders have been modified to withstand unusual situations and extreme weather. The bottom of each of them have protections against punctures and heat. The tires have special steel mesh in them for the same. Roll cages and reinforced windows are all standard." He took a deep breath. "While we normally don't haul a lot of people we can fit three to four in each vehicle and at last count we have about twelve volunteering."
"Volunteering?" Hank asked.
"To drive up there get those people out." The man smiled. "We're well aware of the danger and well the ones that are here with me drove during a desert excursion that had it's fair share of sticky situations. We are asking if you and all the others here are ok with us doing that?"
Hank was sure his jaw dropped, before him twelve people stood ready to risk their lives for people they probably never met. He always wondered why people didn't understand first responders and their need to help, but now as he was on the receiving end of that help he understood the confusion a bit better. "You do understand that not only could you lose the vehicles but your lives?"
"I know it's a bit unconventional but yes, we're aware, we can go where the fire engines can't because of our size and we can go there quicker too." Justin's smile never left, he knew he was trying to sell something to a man that hadn't intended to buy anything.
Hank sighed. "Roger, it may be our only shot." He looked at McConikee.
The other man nodded in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing, while we wouldn't have our men driving, they would be taking the best route to the ridge."
"What if our people are hiking out?" Hank asked.
"That will be no worries." Justin supplied. "Marcy go turn on your overheads." One of the women that were with them ran over to a truck and then they were nearly blinded by the bright lights that were on a bar situated above the cab. "We can adjust how many lights are on so it's not so bright, but as you can see we will be able to see them."
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"And then he got pants right in the middle of scene!" Marco laughed recalling when Chet was 'attacked' by several kids who pulled his pants down to see if firemen wore underwear under the turn outs.
Isabella laughed. "Sounds like a comedy of errors."
"It was." He sighed. "I just hope I can rib at him again." He looked at his watch and saw his mandatory down time was almost over. "Oh man it's almost two AM."
"Is it?!" The woman asked. "I meant to get some sleep." She saw the flash of guilt flash across his features. "Oh don't feel bad this was much better." She stood and brushed off her turnouts and he did the same. They walked toward the cot where several firefighters were hydrating and eating.
"Treat 'ya?" He offered as he grabbed a few sandwiches and Gatorades, she nodded and they sat on the same cot. They ate in companiable silence, every once and a while stealing glances.
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Mike hadn't intended to do it, but he fell asleep at the wheel while organizing his thoughts. He woke with a start and rolled his neck at the stiffness. His stomach growled loudly and he looked at his watch and sighed at the time. Two hours had passed since he had dropped his colleagues off on the ridge, an hour since they had last heard anything from them. He knew if anyone had heard from them Cap would have found him and let him know. He moved slowly as his muscles protested about the position his nap was taken in. Making his way to the tent he knew that would have provisions, he was so hungry even a PB and J sounded great.
Grabbing a few sandwiches and a bottle of water he sat at one of the cots and nodded at his friend who was sitting with the female firefighter from 110. He smiled as he caught them stealing a glance or two. While Marco was just two years his junior, when it came to romance he was like his kid brother. When he had met Rebecca just five years earlier and he knew she was the one Marco was the one who helped him propose and he was one of the first friends he told about her being pregnant with Louie. He knew the man was still worried about his colleagues as the woman would from time to time give him a comforting rub to his shoulder. He ate the sandwiches quickly and nearly guzzled the bottle of water.
He was taking care of his trash when he noticed that the activity had shifted around the command center. Marco and the woman had seen as well and joined him as they watched. "I say we get closer so we can hear." Mike turned to the woman. "I'm Isabella Nunez, call me Izzy. I know you're Mike, Chulo here has told me all about you." She smiled and shook his hand.
"Chulo?" Marco asked but the woman just shrugged her shoulders and began marching toward the tent who was the center of their attention. The two men followed and could see all the extra people that had joined the small space.
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Rebecca had given on all pretenses of sleep as she woke every ten or so minutes as she thought she heard someone coming into the room for her. She looked at the bedside clock and groaned. Two AM?! She had gotten up at seven with Mike and little Louie to go to the pier and now she had maybe gotten a total of forty minutes of sleep, she felt worse after her rest and wished she hadn't even tried.
She made her way downstairs finding the mood of the home subdued. The lights were low and Danielle was watching the television with JoAnne. Jo's face was still puffy from crying about her worry of the upcoming week and Danielle was glued to the screen. Elizabeth was missing but she could hear more than one person in the kitchen moving about. "What's happened?"
Danielle and Jo looked up and she could see the worry in their faces. "They got to the ridge and saved most everyone." Jo supplied. "But there was a fire whirl and it cut off the rest of the efforts and the crew up there from rescue." She sighed. "We don't know who's up there but each time the news cuts to the command tent we can see dad pacing or frantically trying to get someone on his HT."
"I can't help but think it's someone he knows." Emily entered from the kitchen with a cup of steaming liquid. "It's tea I didn't think you would want the caffeine." Rebecca took it with a grateful smile.
"Nora, Sophia, Elizabeth?" She asked still hearing the rattling in the kitchen.
"Nora and Sophia are still here and finishing cleaning up. Elizabeth gave it a good shot but she left about thirty min ago, exhausted." Emily sighed. "Not that I think she will be able to sleep she was picking at her fingers, you know like Lou does when she's anxious?" Rebecca nodded. "At least we know where she got that tick."
"Mom, something else is happening." Danielle said, her tone low but urgent. "But I think it's a good thing?" She turned up the television, the other women joining them at the change in volume.
"What is it?" Nora asked as she dried her hands.
"Mark something like I've never seen before is happening." The camera zoomed in at what looked like a group of people walking toward the command center. "People of the community have started arriving with their off roading vehicles. From what I have been told they are offering them to the department for use to get to the firefighters and the rest of the people on the ridge. " The camera panned out and you could see multiple different vehicles with modifications parked. "Most off roading vehicles have modifications to protect again the various conditions they can come across from debris and even fire. Now we don't know if the department will be able to use these vehicles, but it just goes to show you how the community has come together." The camera switched to the woman reporter again. "And if you wish to help you can volunteer as well, everything from your time to essentials like food and water is much needed for the men and women in uniform as they fight this fire." Danielle turned the volume down as the reporter continued about how you could volunteer and help.
"Mom, do you think they will allow them to use the off roads?" The teen had a hopeful expression.
Emily was still watching the news, somewhat in shock. "I don't know, this honestly has never happened as far as I remember?"
"Me either." Jo added. "It's easy to forget how the community loves our guys are till something like this happens."
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It was slow moving but it was definitely better than being up in on the ridge where the glow intensified as each house caught. "You're wheezing." Lou whispered to the man playing her crutch.
"Hope you hadn't noticed." Chet huffed and puffed much harder than he should have even under the circumstances. She could even hear the wheeze behind the words. "Your limp is getting worse."
"I know." She could feel herself adding more and more weight to him as they made their way down. They had been hiking for almost forty-five minutes and were only about halfway down. "I think we need to sit." He nodded and both sat down on the under brush.
"Gage!" Another firefighter had seen the duo sit down abruptly. "Kelly and Werner are down!" Johnny looked at the woman they were carrying and took a breath.
"Could you use a break?" She nodded, and he hated to admit it but he could as well. Roy had traded off with one of the many firefighters but he had refused as he was counting her contractions and how intense they were. Thankfully the water seemed to be doing its job and she only had two since the hike down started. The group had paused and he looked around at them too, the faces he could see were weary and the shoulders were slumped on the people he couldn't. A couple of the firefighters had given up their shields and respirators to the civilians and while they weren't a perfect fit they protected them some.
"Johnny, I think we could take five, reassess everything, hydrate and keep moving if need be. The smoke isn't so bad here." Roy adding his view of the situation.
"I agree. Everyone take five!" Several people sat on the underbrush. "We better go check on Chet and Lou." Roy helped his partner and the other firefighter put the woman down. "Nancy, you let us know if anything changes."
"Will do." Her husband, John, was by her side giving her sips of his water.
Roy and Johnny made their way to their crewmates, the wheezing of one could be heard nearly ten feet away. "Shit Chet!" Johnny said as he nearly sprinted the rest of the way to him. "Why didn't you say anything?"
The man was working too hard on his breathing to answer, Lou was sitting behind him, propping him up, and keeping his head tilted in a 'sniffing' position to help open his airway. "It got bad quick. C'mon Lug, breathe in and out. She had her hand on his chest and kept encouraging him to take the breaths. "He needs an inhaler, Ventolin, he has one at the apartment but didn't think to take it here." She supplied and then turned her attention back to him. "That's right, keep breathing...in and out, Roy." She pleaded to her senior partner.
"Ok." He watched as his friend struggled and the woman looked to be nearly in tears at it. "Does anyone have an inhaler, specifically Ventolin?!" He shouted around the crowd, hoping against hope. "Or Albuterol?" He saw a small hand raise, the owner a boy who looked about eight, Roy sighed in relief and made his way over to him. "Hi, I'm Roy."
"Charlie." The little boy greeted. "This is my mom." He pointed to the woman who was standing near him. "I have that inhaler, it's for my asthma."
Roy nodded and looked at the mother too. "One of the firefighters in the back really needs it and while I am sure you were told to not share it, do you think this one time would be ok?" The boy looked up at him and then his mom who nodded.
"Mom says it's ok." He dug in his pocket and handed him the device. "Just make sure you wash it, don't want him getting my germs."
Roy laughed and ruffled his hair, like he would Chris at that age. "I don't think he'll mind but we'll try." He sprinted back to his friend whose struggles had gotten worse.
"Breathe Lug,...in...out." He could see Lou beginning to panic and he passed her the inhaler quickly. She shook it and gave a spray into the air to make sure it was primed. Putting the inhaler in his mouth the man tried to turn his head away but she held him still. "No deep breath in." She depressed the can just as the breath started and waited. Roy could see she was counting to sixty. "Again." They continued this till the man had four puffs in about a minute apart. The wheezing hadn't stopped but had improved and he wasn't struggling as hard. He began to cough heavily and gagging, the woman underneath him shifting her weight to lean to his side, Johnny and Roy helped by holding his weight at that angle. She whispered in his ear and smoothed back his hair as the man vomited up mucus and ash in the grass. Taking another breath again caused more coughing and vomiting. This cycle continued for a bit as well till the coughing was manageable.
Johnny and Roy could see the sweat beads on his face and neck and knew this had fatigued him greatly. "Alright Chester a few more puffs and then we'll see about getting you upright." Johnny took hold of the inhaler and helped him take two more, this time the coughing fits didn't happen and his struggles had stopped. The senior medics looked at each other in relief, if the inhaler hadn't worked the man wouldn't have made it much longer without needing intubation and that was not something they could do.
"Chet, do you think you can stand?"
"Yeah Roy, with help." He took his friend's hand and they stood. Johnny was trying to get Lou up who was having her own struggles.
"Made it worse by laying on it." She ground out as she tried to stand a few times and failed.
Johnny offered both his hands to her in a criss-cross hold, she grabbed them and pulled hard, letting out a yelp of pain as something in her hip shifted. "I got you." Johnny told her and checked the splint and her leg again. "Did you feel anything pop or give?"
"I don't know." She answered. "We were laying on sticks the pop could have been my hip or one of the many twigs giving way under our weight. Lug?" She was trying to shift her weight to see the man in question.
"I'm better." He came over to her. "But I don't think I can be your crutch anymore."
She gave him a small smile. "It's ok." Johnny had expected some sort of joke but the way she was looking at the Irishman in worry. "You better go thank that boy, he saved your life." She added.
Roy put his hand on the man's shoulder. "She's right and since he has asthma I think you guys should walk out together and share as needed." The pair walked away from Lou and Johnny.
The woman put her head in the crook of her Johnny's neck as he was leaned over to support her. "I don't think I can walk much further, when I rolled with him to the side, I did feel something go." She whispered and he could hear the tears. "It hurts."
Johnny knew that she hadn't wanted to say anything while Chet was here, so she didn't make him feel guilty. "Ok, I'll get two free men to carry you." She nodded and let him put her back on the ground slowly. Two men from brush thirteen offered and soon were getting prepared on how to carry her and not and not add to the injury.
"How we doing, Nancy?" Roy asked the woman who had finished another bottle of water.
"Better, no pains since we stopped. Are the two firefighters ok?" Roy smiled at her worry. She was a mother already, concerned about others when she was the one who needed the help, just like his Jo.
"That's wonderful and they're just fine." He patted her arm. "Once Johnny is back, we'll get moving." She nodded and watched as he walked away.
"Poor man looks like he is carrying the weight of the world." She said as he walked away.
"That he does." Her husband answered, then put his hand on her belly. "He definitely has my whole world." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, soon she was picked back up by Johnny and Roy and they began to hike down again.
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Justin knew it was going to be a dicey search as the club all began from the same starting point but separating in a long horizontal line driving in zig zags to see if they spot any pedestrians or until they were on the ridge. While their machines were smaller than a fire engine they weren't as small as a person and the foot paths were more than they could probably cover. The CB would crackle to life from time to time and he would mark an 'x' on spots that were searched or actively burning and likely didn't have the people they were looking for. It was slow moving but it had to be faster than walking especially if anyone was injured.
"Marcy to Justin." He could hear the adrenaline in her voice.
"Justin to Marcy, you ok?" He was worried that she had gotten surrounded by fire and this idea was going to result in the injury of friend.
"More than! I've spotted several pedestrians at the following coordinates." Justin quickly wrote down the longitude and latitude and repeated to the rest of his people. Several blares of horns and revving of engines his response as they celebrated and changed their directions to the men and women who needed them.