Page 61 of When It Burns

Hannah and I cheer loudly as the volunteer running sound presses play. The girls dance and tumble in perfect synchronization. By the time they hit their last stunt sequence, I am surprised I still have a voice. I resist the urge to jump up and down over the progress these girls have made, and I catch Theo’s glance from across the gym. He gives me a thumbs-up, and I smile widely at him.

God, I think I love this man.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

THEO

The locker room is charged with an energy like none other as Will stands and begins his pregame speech. “Big game tonight, guys. Y’all can do this! Our path to state depends on us winning this game!”

The boys sit silently, listening as Will goes on reviewing the things we’ve worked on in practice. I swear there is so much adrenaline in the room already, I can almost taste it. The team is ready, and despite the situations that may have surrounded me working with the team, I am pretty damn happy to be a part of this family. After Will finishes his talk, we break into our departments, and I look at the six wide receivers standing in front of me. “Boys, I’m already proud. Y’all have worked your asses off, and it’s time to reap the rewards. Let’s get that win!”

Wesley leans over and claps me on the shoulder before he says, “Coach Johnson, I know it was a mess when you started here, but we’re really glad you’re coaching us. We didn’t expect the asshole fire chief to actually know what he was talking about, but you proved us wrong.” The other boys and I laugh at his statement, and I am about to reply when I hear my phone ring. I grab it out of my pocket to put it on silent, but freeze when I see the number. Why is 911 dispatch calling me?

“Sorry boys, I have to take this,” I mutter before I step into one of the offices in the field house and hit accept. I press my phone to my ear, and I only hear the first few words before my world stops. I sprint out of the office and continue running out the back of the stadium until I reach my truck. I only got a few words, but they were enough to tilt my world on its axis: house fire, emergency, and possible fatalities. I hear her say that the on-call unit has been called in and will be there momentarily, but I know that I am closer than they are.

My truck hits at least ninety-miles-an-hour as I race through the deserted streets to the address of the small duplex that was called in, trying to stay calm. It’s all going to be okay.

My mental pep talk is thrown out the window as soon as I see the smoke billowing into the air while I am still a few blocks away. When I finally make it, I throw my truck into park in the street and jump out. A small crowd stands across the street, and I run over yelling, “I’m Chief Johnson, what happened? Do you live here? Do you know if anyone is inside?”

An elderly woman speaks first and says, “It happened so fast, and yes I think so. I just can’t believe it. I didn’t think—”

“Is anyone inside?” I snap, not having time to comfort her right now.

“We thought so. Mrs. Rachel lives on that side. Her daughter is thirteen, and she usually stays home by herself until her Mom gets off. That’s what I told the other firefighter. But I finally got Mrs. Rachel to answer the phone. She said her daughter went to the football game tonight so no one’s here. But by the time we figured that out, he was already inside.”

I look around to make sure I didn’t miss the arrival of the fire truck, confirming there’s no one else from the station here. “Ma’am, what firefighter? The on-call unit isn’t here yet.”

“No, no,” she says frantically. “There’s this young firefighter that lives down the street. His sister’s in a wheelchair, I think. He saw the smoke and ran over. He went in to look for Rachel’s daughter.”

My vision clouds and my heart stops. No. No. This can’t be happening.

And in the next breath, I look over to see the back part of the duplex collapse.

“ZACH!” I yell as I take a step to run towards the collapsing building, but before I can cross the street, the fire engine pulls between me and the fire.

A couple of men jump out and yell to be heard over the sound of the fire, “Chief Johnson, what are we dealing with?”

“Zach’s inside,” I say, barely able to get the words out. The other firefighters’ eyes widen before settling their expression and turning back toward the fire.

“Well, let’s go get him,” one of the men standing in front of me says. I give him a quick nod, and we start walking toward the building.

The smoke is so thick I have no clue how we are going to find Zach. I struggle to settle my nerves, running back through protocol in my head before sending up a silent prayer for a miracle. We are less than ten feet from the door when I see a figure come sprinting toward us, yelling over the roar of the flames, “GET BACK!”

It feels like he’s running in slow motion as I look up to see the roof starting to cave in. Zach has just made it to the door when a fiery beam comes loose and knocks him down. He scrambles to clear the porch as the fabric of his shirt smolders, and his shoulder blazes with a small flame. He is covered in soot and ash and it’s clear he’s struggling to breathe due to the smoke he’s inhaled. He dives into the grass just as the rest of the building comes down, and as I run to him, all I can focus on is the fact that he isn’t moving.

I run forward without thinking and do my best to put out the flames on his back without moving him. I manage to avoid getting burned but as I rip his burned shirt to get an idea of his injuries, I feel the ash covering my hands and I get hit with a flashback of the same sight from the night my life changed. Fighting to stay in the present, I focus on Zach. He is not going to end up like my parents and brother. I refuse to accept it.

I hear the ambulance sirens blaring ominously as the on-call unit rushes to connect the fire hose and extinguish the fire. As the ambulance arrives, I don’t miss the fact that Zach has yet to gain consciousness, but I can tell he’s breathing. I briefly report Zach’s status to the paramedics, who rush to check his vitals. “Breathing is shallow, but his pulse is present and strong,” the one closest to me says. They assume care, making quick work of assessing and loading him onto the stretcher for his transport to the hospital.

I look at my men who have almost finished putting out the fire, and struggle with a moment of indecision. I hate the idea of Zach being alone, but I can’t risk anyone else getting hurt. Derrick sees me and must immediately read the emotions on my face because he says, “Chief, we’ve got this. Go check on him.”

I stand there for another moment before nodding at him and sprinting off to my truck and speeding in the direction of the hospital.

He has to be okay. I can’t do this again.

* * *

I makethe eight-minute drive to the hospital in less than three, and after wheeling into a parking spot, I sprint inside the emergency room entrance. Stopping at the front desk, I exclaim, “One of my firemen was just brought in. I’m the new Fire Chief. Is he okay?” The nurses at the front desk take one look at my soot-covered hands and point me to a small waiting room on the opposite side of the hall. “The doctor’s checking him now, then he’ll be with you, hun,” one of the older nurses says with a weak smile.

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