The Fireman and The Librarian
Chapter 8
Decay - Fire, Embers and the Aftermath
"Why can't you just say I'm right, Chris?" Jasper snapped over the phone.
"Can we talk about this when I get off shift tomorrow?" Chris responded. "You want to nitpick the subject to death."
"Yeah, but Chris."
"No buts." Chris laughed, knowing it would just piss Jasper off. "Just leave it until tomorrow. I love you. You know, I do." Hoping that would cool him off.
"Fine. But tomorrow, I want your answer."
"Jasper, if you think about it. You know my answer." The tones went off, and Chris jumped up. "I love you. I gotta go."
Jasper smiled; they were taking their relationship to another level.
****
Before rolling up to the fire, the Chief was telling the crew about the scene. It was a condemned chemical factory, which the homeless were using as a shelter from the cold.
The homeless started a fire in the southwest corner of the building, not knowing some hazardous chemicals were nearby. Some of the homeless made it out of the building, but they're unsure if everyone was out.
Chris and Mike entered the building on the east side and began climbing the stairs. Fellow firefighters came from the north and west. When Chris and Mike entered the second floor, they found it was just more like a landing than anything. Even though they couldn't see it through all the smoke, it would've given them a bird's eye view of the old factory below them.
They continued to the third floor, where they were met with total darkness. "Chris, I can't see anything," Mike spoke over the radio. "Hell, I can't even see you. Where are you man?" They were working in a team and were close together yet couldn't make out each other's outlines.
"Mike, there's a wall here, we've to find where to go around." They started feeling their way through. They were placing markers as they went to show their way out.
When they when through a large entryway, they didn't know they were heading closer to the fire. The smoke was still too thick to see anything; the area behind them collapsed, and they heard the evacuation signal.
Mike broke radio protocol, and he didn't care. He didn't want to die in the building they'd just told everyone to evacuate. "Chief, we got a fuckin' problem here."
More debris was coming down around them. Chris was trying to remain calm and figure out where they were to tell them their possible location.
"Mike, this is the Chief, location?"
"Third floor, location unknown. The ceiling came down and blocked our retreat. Not sure where to go."
"Chief, Chris. If calculations are correct, we're heading towards the fire."
Jesse looked at the Chief and mouthed the word fuck because if Chris's location was correct according to the floor plan, there was no way out. The stairway had already collapsed and was ablaze. They had to retreat the way they came.
Jesse called in the search and rescue team. Hoping that they could get to Chris and Mike in time before the whole damn building came down. It was more unstable then they first thought when they arrived.
The Chief prayed, Mike and Chris put markers down before he asked them. "Did you mark your path?"
"Yes Sir." The Chief looked up and thanked God.
"Go back to the cave in, that's our only hope." The Chief responded.
Chris and Mike were dodging falling debris as they went back.
The rescue team split into two and went to the third and fourth floors. They mirrored one another to see who could get to them either from the third or from above on the fourth floor. There was debris all over the third from the fourth.
"Jesse, are you tracing this?"
"Yeah."
"They went straight, the main hallway." The team then turned, "Oh shit."
"What?" Jesse asked.
"We can't get to them on this floor."
"Why?"
"The floor is gone."
"Forth, we can see that on the wall they turned."
Chris and Mike were listening. Chris pulled his flashlight off his coat and threw it up to the fourth floor. "If you see the flashlight, were down below, hopefully still alive if debris hasn't killed us." Not that their PASS devices were chirping every few minutes telling them to move, or they'd start sounding their actual alarm.
Jesse was looking at the floorplan. There were no fucking windows on that side of the building, no other stairways. This damn warehouse didn't want anyone knowing what it was doing, it didn't have windows but on the first, second, and fourth floor.
"I see the flashlight." One of the rescue team stated. "But it's going to be fun to get to the hole."
Can you do it safely?" Jesse asked.
Safely or not, the rescue team knew they weren't going to leave two men in the building if they could get to them. The team got as close to the gaping hole as they dared and lowered a ladder. "Who's coming up first and spread out like you were trained when you come over that lip. We'll grab hold of you and pull."
"Chris looked at Mike and told him to go." Mike did the climb and was up and over the ladder and gone to safety. Chris didn't like the feel of the floor under him and quickly began the climb. As he was climbing up over the ladder, Chris reached out for their hands as the third floor caved, taking the ladder with it. Chris landed hard on the edge of the gaping hole, threatening to cause it to collapse.
Chris was pulled to safety and uprighted. "Now, get your asses out of there." The Chief responded after he heard they had Chris.
When the scene was cleared, and everyone was back at the station. The morning had arrived, and Bill sat across from a quiet Chris in the kitchen. "What's going through your mind, Chris."
"I could have bit it today."
"Yeah, but you didn't."
"Bill, I can't do that to Jasper. You were right. He shouldn't have gotten involved with a firefighter."
"Chris, it was his decision. He loves you, and don't you love him?"
"I do love him. That's why I have to break up." Chris walked away from the table, grabbing his duffle as he left.
"Fuck." Bill was glad it's Tuesday, Jasper was at work.
****
Chris went straight to Jasper's and packed all his things. He took his large duffle from the station that would typically have his equipment in and put all his clothes and items in, trying not to forget anything. Over the nine months, a lot of his things have migrated from his apartment to Jasper's house.
He wrote a quick 'I can't do this relationship anymore' letter and left it on the table, telling Jasper that he'd explain when he wakes up if Jasper wanted to ever talk to him again. Chris left the key to his house on the table, locked the door before walking out, and walked to the train.
****
Bill was sitting in Jasper's house when Jasper arrived home. He had seen the note. He was trying his hardest to stay awake. "Bill, what are you doing here?"
"Jasper." Bill didn't know how to tell him.
