him by the hand and pulled him out. He half-heartedly tried to pull away but she held on tight and hauled him out, pulling him towards the door. If this was a mass casualty scene, they would need all the help they could get, and a doctor was a good start.
Once outside, she looked right and left swiftly. An acrid, chemical smell filled her nostri ls. The unnatural silence pressed in on her heavily.
Directly across the street was a parking lot, and on the far side of the parking lot a red brick building had smoke pouring out of all of its windows. Glass littered the parking lot below. People were al ready milling about in the street and Emma didn't know if they came from the red brick building, or another.
Jerry was at the ambulance grabbing their aid bag and long board. She ran up to him, still gripping Reece's hand tightly. She grabbed Jerry and pan tomimed talking on the radio then pointed at him and mouthed "did you?" He shook his head no.
"Central this is Unit 17, explosion is at the red brick building near the parking lot on Ridge St. We are heading over."
Jerry was already sprinting across the parking lot. Emma pulled Reece across the street. When she stepped on the sidewalk on the other side he came to life and ripped his hand from hers. She spun around, eyes wide. He looked at her defiantly and shook his head no. She stared at him, mouth open. He shook his head again and his lips formed the word. He chopped his hands back and forth in front of his body, an ugly sneer planted on his face.
Fine.
She whirled around and started running. She ran as fast as she could, glad to burn some adrenaline.
Once in front of the building she hesitated. They didn't have gear, they actually weren't supposed to be going inside of an explosion scene without proper gear and without backup. But Jerry was already inside, and people probably needed help in there. Fuck protocol. She ripped the door open and ran inside.
Chapter 7.
Emma pushed the gurney into the ambulance and climbed in after. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. Jerry closed the doors behind her and headed up to the driver's seat. They had three "wal king wounded" and one woman with a possible broken leg. It had been 14 hours since the explosion.
They were still working in silence, although hearing was returning to Emma slowly. It had been challenging to work the scene without their hearing, but they had done their best. Since they were first ones on the scene they had been in charge of cataloging the severity of the wounded and getting the worst ones shipped out every time an ambulance showed up. All in all, they had 54 wounded. No one had been dead on scene, but Emma had personally placed 4 people in ambulances that she didn't have very high hopes for.
6 hours ago, dispatch cleared them to go home, but since no one in their chain of command had given them an order to leave they stayed. The explosion w as a mess of burnt, maimed, and terrified victims, and neither of them would be able to rest until it was clear. These 4 victims were the last of them. The only people left at the scene now were the firefighters picking through the building, trying to figure out what happened.
The drive to Westwood General Hospital was completely silent. The woman in the gurney cried silently into her arm. Her best friend had been badly injured.
Emma and Jerry dropped off the four victims and headed back to base without a word. The ambulance needed restocking on every piece of equipment in it but the night time supervisor offered to do it for them. Emma gave him a sweet smile of thanks and plodded to her car. Jerry caught her right before she got in and gave her a long hug. It was 7 in the morning and they needed some sleep. Hopefully it would come without nightmares.
Jerry gave her a piece of paper with something written on it. "John says we take today off. De-briefing tomorrow at 8 a.m. here." Emma nodded and got in her car . First order of business when I get home is to
Once outside, she looked right and left swiftly. An acrid, chemical smell filled her nostri ls. The unnatural silence pressed in on her heavily.
Directly across the street was a parking lot, and on the far side of the parking lot a red brick building had smoke pouring out of all of its windows. Glass littered the parking lot below. People were al ready milling about in the street and Emma didn't know if they came from the red brick building, or another.
Jerry was at the ambulance grabbing their aid bag and long board. She ran up to him, still gripping Reece's hand tightly. She grabbed Jerry and pan tomimed talking on the radio then pointed at him and mouthed "did you?" He shook his head no.
"Central this is Unit 17, explosion is at the red brick building near the parking lot on Ridge St. We are heading over."
Jerry was already sprinting across the parking lot. Emma pulled Reece across the street. When she stepped on the sidewalk on the other side he came to life and ripped his hand from hers. She spun around, eyes wide. He looked at her defiantly and shook his head no. She stared at him, mouth open. He shook his head again and his lips formed the word. He chopped his hands back and forth in front of his body, an ugly sneer planted on his face.
Fine.
She whirled around and started running. She ran as fast as she could, glad to burn some adrenaline.
Once in front of the building she hesitated. They didn't have gear, they actually weren't supposed to be going inside of an explosion scene without proper gear and without backup. But Jerry was already inside, and people probably needed help in there. Fuck protocol. She ripped the door open and ran inside.
Chapter 7.
Emma pushed the gurney into the ambulance and climbed in after. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. Jerry closed the doors behind her and headed up to the driver's seat. They had three "wal king wounded" and one woman with a possible broken leg. It had been 14 hours since the explosion.
They were still working in silence, although hearing was returning to Emma slowly. It had been challenging to work the scene without their hearing, but they had done their best. Since they were first ones on the scene they had been in charge of cataloging the severity of the wounded and getting the worst ones shipped out every time an ambulance showed up. All in all, they had 54 wounded. No one had been dead on scene, but Emma had personally placed 4 people in ambulances that she didn't have very high hopes for.
6 hours ago, dispatch cleared them to go home, but since no one in their chain of command had given them an order to leave they stayed. The explosion w as a mess of burnt, maimed, and terrified victims, and neither of them would be able to rest until it was clear. These 4 victims were the last of them. The only people left at the scene now were the firefighters picking through the building, trying to figure out what happened.
The drive to Westwood General Hospital was completely silent. The woman in the gurney cried silently into her arm. Her best friend had been badly injured.
Emma and Jerry dropped off the four victims and headed back to base without a word. The ambulance needed restocking on every piece of equipment in it but the night time supervisor offered to do it for them. Emma gave him a sweet smile of thanks and plodded to her car. Jerry caught her right before she got in and gave her a long hug. It was 7 in the morning and they needed some sleep. Hopefully it would come without nightmares.
Jerry gave her a piece of paper with something written on it. "John says we take today off. De-briefing tomorrow at 8 a.m. here." Emma nodded and got in her car . First order of business when I get home is to
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