Page 118 of Tangled In Tinsel & Knots
Then I see it rounding the corner several blocks away. An enormous float, a two-story workshop scene with Santa standing on an elevated platform at the top, waving to the crowd. The platform has a small guardrail around it for safety, accessed by stairs built into the structure. Someone is inside the float, operating the vehicle that moves it forward.
The whole thing is wrapped in thousands of Christmas lights that were supposed to create a magical glow.
But the lights are flickering. On, off, on again, then a section goes dark completely before sputtering back to life.
My stomach drops.
I had all the floats inspected and triple-checked by licensed electricians. Every wire, every connection, every power source was verified as safe.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Chris notices too, his body tensing beside me. “The lights on the Santa float?—”
“I see it.”
“Could just be a loose connection,” he offers, but his voice lacks conviction.
I want to believe it’s just a minor technical glitch that hopefully people won’t notice too much. The float continues down Main Street, getting closer to our position, and Santa keeps waving enthusiastically like nothing is wrong.
The crowd doesn’t seem to notice the flickering lights, too focused on Santa himself.
Maybe it’ll be fine and it’ll hold together for the next ten minutes until the float clears the route.
Then, as the float reaches a position maybe fifty feet from where Chris and I are standing, something sparks from the light rigging.
A bright flash, visible even in daylight.
The crowd gasps collectively. “Ooooh!” People pull back instinctively from the barriers.
And then flames erupt from the edge of the float where the lights are mounted. Orange and hungry, spreading fast across the decorative garland.
“Oh, fuck,” I breathe.
My training kicks in immediately. I’m already pressing the button on my radio. “We have a fire on Santa’s float. I need fire suppression at the Main Street and Fourth Avenue intersection NOW. Everyone, clear the area around the float immediately!”
I’m moving before I finish speaking, Chris right beside me as we duck under the rope barriers onto the street.
“Everyone, step back!” I’m shouting, waving my arms. “Move away from the float! Clear the area!”
The float has stopped moving, and I see the driver scrambling out of the cab, looking shocked and terrified.
Chris is already getting onto the float on the opposite side to the climbing flames, reaching for Santa on the elevated platform. Santa is frozen, staring at the flames spreading across the front of the float. Chris barks something at him, and that gets him moving. They are down the stairs in no time and safely onto the street just as the flames spread to engulf nearly half of the float’s decorative exterior. Smoke rises into the sky, and I want to die from this happening now.
The crowd is backing up, some people screaming, parents clutching children, everyone pulling out phones to film. This is a disaster.
Two firefighters in full gear running toward us, carrying specialized backpack units with nozzles. Atlas, the fire station chief, I recognize him immediately because I coordinated with him personally to have fire support stationed at strategic points along the route. Just in case.
Thank God I did.
Atlas is a very large man, easily six three, built like the Greek god he’s named after, with tanned skin and dark brown hair trimmed short at the sides. And he is captivating.
“Clear out!” he shouts with the kind of authority that makes people obey instantly. “Everyone, back!”
He and his partner move fast toward the burning float, aiming their nozzles at the flames.
Chris appears at my side, his hand on my elbow drawing me back from the heat. “They’ve got it. Let them work.”
I watch, my heart hammering so hard I feel it in my throat, as the two firefighters spray the flames with some kind of chemical foam that I assume they use for electrical fires. The flames resistat first, but within a couple of minutes, they’re extinguished, leaving black char marks across half the float and smoke rising in plumes.
