Page 2 of Raging Inferno

Before I could check his leg, I was blinded by a flashlight. The firemen pointing it at me, ordered me to head for the stairs revealing the south tower had collapsed. I turned my attention back to the guy laying on the floor and met his frightened gaze.

“It’s okay,” he rasped. “Go.”

Without a second thought, I lifted him into my arms and threw him over my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he questioned.

I remember thinking there were a million ways I could answer his question but, in the end, there was only one valid response.

“My job,” I replied, looking him in the eye.

“Thank you,” he whispered as I drew in a deep breath and took off.

Moving through the chaos, I carried him down the five flights of stairs as fast as I could. My body ached, but I pushed through, hurrying through the lobby. Reaching the front doors, I stepped outside and was immediately engulfed by the thick cloud of dust. Debris and remnants of what once was the south tower threatened to both choke and blind me. My eyes strained for focus as I crossed the street in search of a paramedic or an ambulance. However, I never found either because a moment later the world paused once more as the north tower began to fall.

With the man slung over my shoulder and death chasing me, I ran as fast and as far as I could. A block or so down, I spotted an old church. Making my way inside, I stared up at the crucifix and asked for a pardon. Not for me but for the man I rescued from the elevator. Then, I laid him down and told him not to move. Glancing around the historic chapel, I wasn’t sure it would hold through the impact but, it was our only shot.

“What’s your name?”

“Jimmy,” I replied as I hunkered down beside him and waited for the tremors to subside.

“You got a last name Jimmy?” he asked, hissing through the pain.

“Casale.” I paused for a moment before turning to face him. “You good?”

“Yeah, I just figured I should know the name of the man who saved my life,” he replied. Unable to find my words, I nodded. My eyes sliced to the crucifix hanging above the altar and I prayed it wasn’t a wasted effort that this little church would prevail.

“How long have you been a fireman?” he asked, drawing my attention away from the man who sacrificed his life for the sake of his people.

“Today is my first day,” I admitted.

“Well, if it matters any, you’re doing one hell of a job,” he whispered.

It was a compliment that any other day would’ve made a man proud but that day, no one wanted praise.

“What about you?” I questioned hoarsely. “What’s your name?”

“Christopher Edwards.”

“It’s good to meet you, brother,” I said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Those were the last words we spoke to one another and five minutes later when I was sure the dust had settled some, I left Christopher Edwards in that little church. I found a paramedic and instructed him that there was a man in the church who needed medical attention and then I went back to what had become Ground Zero. For the next thirty hours, I stood amongst the debris, searching for signs of life.

When I finally arrived home, I was covered in white dust and the scent of death clung to my being. You can never truly understand how bad it smells until it’s in your face. The days that followed were just as grueling, just as morbid. The firehouse switched our schedules, appointing us to twenty-four-hour tours. Eight of those hours we reported to Ground Zero to help with the recovery. We stood in line for hours, removing debris with five-gallon buckets and only stopped if we recovered a body. That went on for two weeks until we realized the odds of us finding any more bodies were slim to none and the city brought in cranes to assist in the cleanup.

I often thought about Christopher Edwards and what happened to him afterward but, another year would go by before I ever saw or heard of him again and sixteen more before I understood why he remained in my life.

Seventeen years have passed and I’m just now learning, God had a plan for the two of us.

A plan that began the day the world stopped.

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