who is lying motionless on the ground.
Blood.
All I see is blood.
Vincent is lying not far from him. I quickly turn away from the gruesome scene and focus on getting to Isaac.
“I found some people! In here,” a muffled voice yells. Five firemen make their way into the open space we are in that has just recently filled with heavy black smoke. Several begin to grab Isaac and Vincent to carry them out while another rushes up the ladder to me, He shoves a breathing mask over my face, not giving me a chance to speak. I didn’t realize until now, just how bad my lungs burned. The fresh, pure air being forced into my nostrils makes my eyes heavy.
Once I’m loaded into an ambulance I finally become aware of what’s going on. I start screaming for Benny and Isaac but all the paramedics do is push me back down onto the gurney telling me to calm down. I’m finally able to slightly compose myself enough to talk.
“The man you found in the building with me, the younger one. Is he alive?”
“Is he a relative?”
“No, but he’s my boyfriend. And he saved my son when the warehouse caught fire. Where is my son?”
“Ma’am, I won’t have any answers for you until we get to the hospital.”
“But you can at least tell me if you saw a little boy outside.” I begin to cry as I describe him. “He’s three years old, dark black curly hair?” I begin to hyperventilate as I worry that Benny could have been left behind.”
Someone places a mask back over my face to give me some air. ”You need to calm down. We’ll be at the hospital in just a few minutes. I promise we’ll find where your son is once we are there.”
The ambulance finally comes to a stop and the back doors swing open. I’m wheeled out on my gurney and as they turn it to make it through the hospital doors I see two more ambulances pulling up to the front of the building. I’m wheeled into the hospital and right into a room before I can see who’s in them.
~
I’ve been promised three times by three different people now that they would find out Isaac’s condition and where my son might be. It’s been twenty two minutes and thirteen seconds since anyone has been back in my room. I know this because I have watched every second of those twenty two minutes pass by on the clock up on the wall of my hospital room.
Finally the door opens and a one of the young nurses from before walks in with two police officers behind her. I recognize one of them as Isaac’s old partner, Officer Luna, and he’s carrying Benny. He lays him down beside me as I weep.
“He had a little smoke inhalation but was treated on the scene. I brought him here to you as fast as I could.” Benny’s face has streaks of black soot still on it but other than that he seems okay to the eye.
“Officer Monroe saved me from the fire, Mommy. He really is a super hero. He told me to not move and that he was going back in to save you too.”
I will myself to stop crying, knowing that my son is forever back in my arms. I look up at Officer Luna with questioning eyes. He ever so slightly shakes his head back and forth, making me hold back a gasp as I cover my mouth.
“It’s not good, Vada. All I know is that he was coding when they got him out. I haven’t heard anything else.”
You can tell he wants to cry but it holding it in for mine and Benny’s sake. They’ve been partners for four years and were roommates in the Police Academy before that. I know they were close.
The nurse speaks up, “Are you speaking of the younger gentleman? The one who is a police officer?”
“Yes, he’s my partner,” Officer Luna answers hesitantly. Neither of us is really ready to hear he is dead.
“You’re right. He actually coded the whole way here. They lost him at one point but they were able to revive him. He’s in emergency surgery, but last I heard, they are expecting him to survive. He is very lucky that one of the bullets just barely missed his heart.”
“Thank God,” both Officer Luna and the other Officer say in unison.
The nurse turns to both of them. “I will keep you all updated once I hear