From the prompt: "Flood of fire..."
"Some Fire"
Allen knelt, swabbing disinfectant over the little boy's cut. He bandaged the boy's arm, told him he was brave and sent him on his way. Then he moved to the next child in the line. It was just a small quake - they happened in the Valley all the time. This school wasn't entirely safe structurally, however, and the community couldn't raise funds for renovation.
The other three on his squad - Jessica, Tony and Vicki - were tending to some of the other students and teachers. A little girl watched him solemnly while she had her knee bandaged. He flashed her a reassuring smile.
Mrs. Quayle, the principal, had ordered a headcount meanwhile based on that morning's roll call, and the first graders were slowly shuffling into ragged lines. Allen fixed one last scrape and was packing up the first aid kit when a shriek pierced the air. He whirled around and saw Jessica and Vicki standing beside a teacher, trying to soothe her. The woman looked like she was about to cry. Allen shoved the bag at Tony, who hurried to put it into the truck, and crossed the soccer pitch.
He stood in front of the teacher. "Ma'am - " he began.
"Miss Martin," she filled in, sniffling.
"I'm Allen, the head EMT on this squad. What's the problem?" he asked. He braced himself to hold his ground; people were dubious as to his authority when they saw his deep, docile dark eyes.
"One of my students is still in there!" she wailed.
Allen shot Vicki a look, so she nodded and headed back to the ambulance to make the call. "Ma'am," he explained patiently, "you'll have to wait till the fire department gets here. We're only EMT's and we're not allowed to go in - "
"Penny's small!" the woman protested. "She could be hurt."
"Ma'am, the quake's stopped, and if she's in there she'll be just fine - " Allen began and stumbled when the ground shook.
Screams rose. Allen steaded himself and turned when there was a muffled whoomph! Suddnely the whole school building was ablaze.
Miss Martin was sobbing now. "The gas heater must have broke. Penny's not here. Please. I counted twice..."
Tony, who'd joined them by now, but his lip. "Ma'am, this is a job for the fire department. We're not equipped to handle this type of situation. We have to wait for the firemen to get here."
Allen stared in horror as the fire spread, like a flood of blazing water. (What a day not to be Keith,) he muttered. His heart leapt into his throat when his senses went into overdrive. He could hear a little girl screaming.
He tugged on his crash helmet. "I'm going in. She'll be dead by the time the firemen get here."
Tony caught his arm. "Allen, no."
"I can hear her screaming," Allen hissed, his dark eyes unfathomable.
Tony drew back, gulping. "Then let me come with you."
Allen shook his head. "No. We don't need to risk too many lives. I'm on my own. If I die, you can tell the director it's all my fault." Settling his helmet firmly on his head, he started towards the blaze, the screams growing louder.
He winced when he was finally engulfed in the totally of the heat. (This bites,) he whined to himself. But he had to do this. It's what all of them did, saved a life in a futile effort to give back for all the lives they took. He navigated the blazing halls, following the plaintive whimpers over the crackle and hiss of flames. He cursed when he came to a door. She was behind it. Well, might as well ditch all pretense of being human. One punch shattered the wood. He waded through the debris, peering through the smoke, not bothering to breathe since he didn't have to. She was huddled in a corner behind a fallen metal desk. He flung it aside easily, wincing at the pain in his fingertips. She beagn to scream more when he scooped her up and tucked her under one arm before sprinting through the building, busring through walls if he had to. The fire wouldn't hurt him, but it was certainly uncomfortable and would hurt the girl.
He burst out of the building and kept on running until he could no longer feel the heat on his back. He set little Penny on her feet, and then the fire trucks arrived. Miss Martin scooped Penny up, hugging her tightly.
Allen tugged off his helmet, drawing a hand across his brow. His clothes were burnt badly, revealing his porcelain white skin underneath, smudged with smoke.
Tony, gazing at him with wide eyes, led him over to the ambulance.
"I have to treat you for smoke inhalation, buddy."
Allen smiled, a little tiredly, but gratefully.
"No prob. That's some fire, huh?"
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© Agent Duo 2004