Silent Scream (23 page)

As Gabriel peered at the fire, he shook his head, thankful it had occurred during this time of the day rather than the middle of the night.  Casualties and fatalities would be lower.  Flames lapped at one side, starting from the top corner as the blaze spat furls of smoke toward the graying sky.  The sunset smeared an orange stain behind the building.  It didn’t look so bad, but with fires, looks were deceiving.  It could simply be silently feeding, waiting for all hell to break loose.  Best case scenario, they would get this mother under control before evening.  Worst case, it would take control of them.

Already, Ramsey and Halsey were hooking up their hoses as Gabriel jumped out of the truck.  He was on his way to the ICC when the realization that this was Tammy’s complex came to him.  She had just struggled with moving her furniture into the third-floor apartment.  He turned to scan the parking lot, and sure enough found her vehicle.  Then something else dawned on him as well—Tammy had had surgery today.  She would more than likely be medicated.

His gaze focused on the uppermost floor, and he studied the movement of the flames lapping at the structure.  It felt like someone had punched him in his solar plexus.  “Dear God.”   Then he abruptly changed course.

Kevin called to him from the sidelines.  “Hey, buddy, what are you doing?  You haven’t even been briefed.”  He walked over to join Gabriel.  “You can’t go in there alone.  You know the rule.”

Gabriel nodded.  “Fine.  Then come with me, Kevin.  I don’t have time to wait around.”

“What’s up?”

“My brother’s girlfriend is probably still in one of the third-floor apartments.  She had her wisdom teeth cut out, and she’s probably medicated.”  He started walking toward the stairwell with Kevin hot on his heels.  He didn’t even realize he’d called Tammy Sam’s girlfriend, but even though the name wasn’t correct, the sentiment was.  Sam still loved her.  He was just too damned stubborn to admit it.

The other fireman and a probie, Ryan Mikleson, also joined him in blocking the stairs.  “That doesn’t mean you don’t need to be briefed before you go in there.”

Gabriel glared.  “Have you been briefed?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you can brief me on the way.”  He pushed past his friend and took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the distant call of his name.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Kevin talk to the probie, probably telling him to make the call about Tammy being in the apartment.  This was going to land him in hot water, but it was the only way to make sure he did what he could.

“Goddamn it, Gabriel.”  The other fireman stamped after him.  “You’re stubborn as hell.”

“I learned it from you,” he retorted, pausing to look down the corridor of the second-floor apartments before going on to the third.  “After all, weren’t you one of the smartasses who trained me?”

“Be that as it may, you’re breaching protocol,” he said, trailing after Gabriel.  “That’s a write-up and possibly grounds for dismissal.”

“If I wait for a briefing, she’ll be dead.  We both know that,” Gabriel said through clenched teeth as he turned to glare at Kevin.  “She’ll die of smoke inhalation.  Either let me take the heat by myself or help me find Tammy.  Either way, I’m not waiting for any goddamn protocol.”  He stepped onto the third floor.

Kevin trod up the stairs behind him.   “Are we back to this again, Gabriel?  Taking risks that might get you killed?

Gabriel turned sharply.  “No.  It’s not a damned death wish, no matter what you think.  Someone I care about is in danger, and I want to get her out.  Either shut up and help me or go back to the ground.”

“All right.  Have it your way.”  He caught up with Gabriel.  His fingers cinched the strap of his helmet even tighter.  “As if you’d have it any other way.  What apartment is she in?”

“I don’t know.”  Gabriel peered at the closest door—340.  His gaze traveled the length of the complex toward the side where flames lapped at the building.

As the two raced to the other side, they found more firefighters hovering around the apartments on the end.  The first two doors were open, and they were busy shooting water inside as another firefighter pounded on the next door—306.  “Anybody in here?”

No response.

“Is there anybody in here?” he yelled a second time, louder.

The firefighter pulled off his glove and touched the door.  “Shit!”  He looked down at Gabriel and Kevin.  “We’ve got heat in this one, too.”   He shoved his hand back in the glove and tried the knob, but it wouldn’t give.  Then he waved Gabriel and Kevin to him.  “Let’s break down the door.”  He pointed at Gabriel, “Got your ax?”

Nodding, Gabriel pulled it out.  “I’ll bust it in.” Gabriel clenched the ax tightly and swung three times before the door collapsed under the blade.  Fire jetted outwards, knocking Gabriel against the railing by the ledge.  His face mask struck the railing, fracturing the glass.

For just a second, the world spun, and he shook his head and peeled himself away from the rail, trying to right himself despite the dizziness.  Something moist ran into his eyes, and he thought it was sweat until he lifted the masked and brushed his gloved hand across his forehead.  When he pulled his hand back, he saw the dark stain of blood spread across the fabric.   

Flames spewed from the doorway, and one of the other men immediately focused the stream of water inside the apartment.  “I’ve got it from here,” Kevin said, waving for another fireighter to join him.  “We’ll search this one.”  As the other man joined him, he shoved his mask in place, watched the effect the water was having on the fire, and waited for the flames to die down enough to search the premises.

“Your helmet is damaged,” Kevin said. 

Gabriel touched the plastic where a nasty, jagged cut ripped across, threatening to dump the shield to the ground in tiny fragments.  “It’ll be fine,” he lied, turning back and heading two doors down, to 310, wondering if it, too, was already engulfed in flames.  What was the apartment’s layout? Where would the bedroom be?  He turned to his partner.  “Did they sketch the predominant layout of each apartment during briefing?”

“Yeah.  In the front left are the kitchen and dining room.  The living room is right at the entry way.  The bedrooms and bathroom are at the rear.”

“Damn.”  He knew Tammy’s apartment had a good chance of involvement.  The question was, how significant?  “How many bedrooms do the apartments have in this section?”  He touched the door to gauge the temperature.

“Two.”

The door was cool to the touch.  Could he really be that lucky?  He tried the knob.  Locked.  He turned to his partner.  “It’s locked.  We’re going to have to break it down, too.”

“Any heat?”

Gabriel shook his head.  “No.  It’s cool.”  He raised the ax over his shoulder and heaved it into the wooden door, ripping a gash into the surface.  Two more swings finally demolished its resistance to Gabriel’s efforts, allowing him to finally pry it open.  Stepping inside, he saw flames had invited themselves inside, and they danced across the back wall of the living room, even though the door felt cool.

“We’ve got heat, after all,” he shouted.  “Get a hose over here.”  He stepped into the room despite the fact that his partner was yelling at him to stay out.  Then he saw a picture of Tammy with Sam.  It stood on the fireplace mantle—a reminder of two smiling people who had had a bright future together.  Now, if he didn’t get to Tammy, they would have no future, period.  He ignored the warning and called out, “Tammy?  It’s Gabriel.  Can you hear me?”

Silence.  The flames danced higher and leaped outward, reaching for him.  They lapped at the doorway leading to the bedroom.  Tendrils of fire streaked out and crossed the doorway, joining from each side.

“Tammy?  Can you hear me?”

Knowing Kevin was right, that his mask was damaged and useless, he pulled it off, ignoring the fact that the air was thick with smoke. 
I have to get back there
, he thought, watching the fire weave together and part before darting through the doorway toward the bedroom.

Smoke darkened the room, and Gabriel fell to his knees, trying to cover his mouth and nose as much as he could by leaning into his coat.  “Tammy?” he called again, louder.

No response.

His chest started to ache, and he coughed loudly, the force of it wracking his entire upper body.   He forced himself to move quicker toward the bed; he could see the vague outline of it despite the smoke obscuring his vision.  He reached for its edge and groped the comforter covering it.

“Tammy?” he yelled again, running his hand over the bed. His fingers found only the flatness of smoothed covers, not the swell of a human beneath its confines.  “Tammy?” he said, coughing again as he patted down the entire surface of the mattress. 
She’s got to be here
, he thought.

Empty.  “Damn!” he swore and coughed again as a branch of fire leapt from the wall toward the nightstand, catching the lampshade on fire.  He stumbled from the bedroom back to the hall and then to the next doorway, where the door was shut.

“Tammy?” he called and tried the knob.  It slowly twisted at his touch.  “Are you in here?”  He stumbled forward, feeling his brain start to swim from the heat.  It was so dark he couldn’t see much ahead, so he thrust his arms in front and edged forward.  His hand struck a dresser.  He veered left, still reaching until he found the softness of a bedcover.  

“Tammy!” he said more loudly as he stood and patted down the mattress, his fingers scanning the rise and fall of rumpled covers.  Nothing. 

Could he be wrong?

No, Tammy was here somewhere, maybe in the bathroom.  Using the frame as a guide, he moved along the edge of the bed.  Pain flared in his chest.  His body rebelled against the smoke he tried not to inhale, as if the choice were up to him.  He kept coughing, wishing his mask hadn’t shattered.  The ache that had once throbbed in his head blossomed into a sharp, stabbing sensation that rendered him dizzy.  Each breath seemed more and more shallow.  He needed air.

Not without Tammy.

He forced himself to crawl around the bed, heading toward the last room–the bathroom.  “Tammy!” he called between violent coughing spasms.

Only the crackling sound of flame consuming wood answered him.

He upped his speed, using his hand as a feeler for obstacles he could barely see.  The coughing worsened, stopping his momentum.  He felt like his body was cooking in the suit, and fatigue mixed with the dizziness.  He tumbled forward and landed against what he thought was a soft rug, but, as his fingers investigated, he found it to be hair.  “Tammy?” he croaked between coughs.  His eyes watered.

He couldn’t see her face, but it had to be her.  Despite the weakness, he grabbed her and lifted her into his arms as he stood and staggered back toward from which direction he had come.  He stumbled twice–once over the dresser, and once over the bed before  escaping to the hallway where fire blocked his escape. 

“Tammy!” he shouted then coughed violently.  “I need help!”

Only the fire answered.

The flames shimmered unpredictably, dancing high and then low.  “Tammy!” he shouted again.

No answer.

The building groaned, and Gabriel shuddered as he recognized the sound–wood giving way.  He had to get the hell out.  It was only a matter of time before everything collapsed around them.   He watched the doorway for a few seconds more, but no help appeared.  Then he shifted his attention to the flames blocking his path as they danced unpredictably.  He would have to go through them.  He focused on the mesmerizing heat and waited until they lapped toward the floor before he darted through them–one ring of fire, then two lapping toward his face and Tammy’s body as he broke away from the apartment complex onto the cement walkway out in front, collapsing to his knees as he cleared the doorway.  Although it should have been lighter here, his eyes seemed clouded with the blackish dizziness in his head

“Gabriel?  It’s Kevin,” someone said, touching his arm.  “You have to let go of her.  We need to get her to the EMTs.”  He slowly released his grip and felt them take Tammy away.  He struggled not to give into the blackness that wanted him so badly.

Without warning, the nausea grabbed him, forced him forward to wretch until dry heaves consumed him.  When the cramping passed, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.  “Oh, God,” he said as he felt hands pulling him upright, leading him.

“Let’s get you to the EMTs, too,” that same voice said, but it seemed far away.  It seemed like they stepped forever in the darkness when Kevin said, “We’re at the stairs.  Can you see them?”

“No.”  His head lolled forward, and he started to pitch down them, but Kevin caught him and wrapped his arm around him, half-carrying him.  The nausea hit again, punching his stomach repeatedly.

“I’ll get us both down.”  Together, they managed most of the steps, at least before a loud boom pierced the air.  Then the stairs crumpled, leaving Gabriel airborne as he slipped into the blackness.

Chapter Twenty-One

“All hell is about to break loose.”

Maddie peered at Yolanda from the doorway of the triage room, watching as the older woman hung up the telephone and scribbled on a pad.  “What do you mean?”

“There’s a massive fire over at Eastside Apartments–at least twenty civilian casualties en route.  Mostly smoke inhalation, some broken bones.  One heart attack.   Two fatalities have already been tagged.”  She laid the pen against the pad.  “Do you want to call in  Ashford?”

Nodding, Maddie said, “Yeah, even though I hate to ruin his day of golfing.”  She chewed on her lip and stared at the arm that had healed so recently.  Suddenly an image of Gabriel popped into her mind.  “Did the EMT say if any firemen were listed as casualties, or which stations were involved?”

“He didn’t say.”  Yolanda flipped through a protocol book to find Ashford’s pager number.  Settling on a page, she scanned the numbers, using her forefinger to keep her place.  As she picked up the receiver and punched in his number, she looked at Maddie.  “I don’t think he’s going to be pleased.”