Alpha Hero - Hope Ford Page 0,42

briefly look up to see it’s Ladder 49. A calmness comes over me knowing that Zach will be here.

I start talking to the man that is going in and out of consciousness. His head is covered in blood and he keeps mumbling the name Kendall.

“Sir, I’m Shannon, and we’re going to get you out of here.”

He mumbles some nonsense and I look over at Zach running toward me. “It’s leaking gas; we have to get him and you out of here.”

I start putting a head brace around the patient and tell Zach, “His leg is caught. We need jaws.”

Zach turns to his squad and yells, “Bring jaws.” But someone is already running toward us with it his hands.

The hood catches fire and the firemen surround us, doing everything they can to put it out. The heat in the car goes up twenty degrees in an instant.

Zach has a fireproof blanket covering me and the man in the driver’s seat. His mouth by my ear, he tells me, “You have to get out of here, Shannon.”

I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t just leave them. I have to get the man ready for extraction. I keep working, doing everything I’m trained to do. “I’m not leaving him.”

Zach turns his head. “Let’s go, boys, get it done.”

The scraping and screeching of metal is terrifying if you’ve never heard it before. But I tune it out, talking to the man, preparing him for what is about to happen.

“Sir, sir. I need you to stay awake,” I tell him.

He opens his eyes and looks at me. “In my jacket pocket.”

I didn’t quite get it the first time and he mumbles it again. “In my pocket.”

I reach inside his jacket pocket and pull out an envelope. It has the name Kendall clearly written on it. I squeeze it in my hand. He reaches up and points to the letter. “Give it to her.”

I can see how important this is to him and I promise I’ll do it. I fold the envelope and stuff it in my pants pocket.

“We’re clear!” I hear behind me and everything starts happening fast. Philip and another paramedic help me pull the man out and stabilize him on the gurney.

We’re walking toward the ambulance when Philip turns to the other two paramedics. “Can you take him? My partner needs stitched up.”

They turn and look at me and nod their heads before walking away.

“Wait, I’m fine…” I start, but Philip holds his hand up.

“You’ve cut your head. You have blood pouring down your face.”

I stop trying to follow the man on the gurney and instead turn to our ambulance. I open the back doors and sit down, pulling off my gloves and tossing them into the hazardous container.

“All right, clean me up.”

Philip just shakes his head. “You know we’re supposed to go to the hospital for this, right?”

I just roll my eyes at him. “Just do it, Philip. It’s probably just a cut from the metal of the door or something. I’m up to date on my tetanus, if that makes you feel better.”

He opens his kit and starts working on me. By this time he’s had all the intel from the police and fire department. He tells me that the man we saved was hit by a drunk driver and the other driver doesn’t even have a scratch on him. I cringe thinking about it. I hate drunk drivers.

I feel Zach’s gaze on me before I see him. He walks up to us, crowding Philip.

“What happened?” he demands.

Philip just shrugs his shoulders. “Probably stray metal. Lucky it wasn’t her eye.”

He starts to stitch me up and Zach winces. “Don’t you want it numb or something?”

I just smile at him. He’d probably freak out at the number of times Philip’s had to do this and we never numb it. It seems every accident, I get a cut somehow. “No. I’m good.”

Philip cuts in and snorts. “Yeah, this is an everyday occurrence around here.”

I give him the stink eye and he shuts up, going back to cleaning up my head. Zach just stares at me and I avoid his gaze.

“You’re all good,” Philip says before shutting his case. “I’m going to write it up.”

I stand up and stuff my hands in my pockets. “So thanks for your help back there,” I tell Zach.

“You’re crazy. You know that, right?” he asks me.

I just smirk. “Says the man that runs into burning buildings.”

We both laugh until I look over and see the melted car we