Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

Eleven

"Okay, we have two more in there that we can't find. We need help," Andy's voice came over the radio. Mallie looked at Maya, currently running the call at an abandoned warehouse where squatters were inside. They were outside while Andy, Ben and Travis were inside.

"Miller, Hughes, Cruz, you're up," Maya said into the radio. The three of them grabbed their oxygen masks and pulled them on, grabbing their fire extinguishers before running in, too.

They ducked through the hallways, blasting out the small fires they encountered on their way.

"Clear," Mallie said, stepping out of one of the rooms.

"We've got to find these kids fast. The smoke is getting thicker," Dean muttered.

"Yeah," Mallie and Vic agreed. They heard coughing, hurrying further down the hallway to see two teenagers on the floor against the wall.

"Tori! Are you Tori? Brian? Are you Brian?" Mallie shouted, kneeling beside them and feeling to check their pulses.

"Herrera, we found them, but we're losing visibility in here. I can barely see my drop-bag line," Dean said into his radio.

"We could really use those sprinklers," Vic added, blowing some more fire out with her extinguisher.

"Stand by," Andy's voice came through the radio.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, did you see that?" Dean said loudly. Vic and Mallie looked at him curiously. He motioned up to the sprinkler and they watched as a drop of water fell, landing on the floor and igniting into a full flame. He blasted it out, Mallie and Vic shielding the kids.

"Herrera, do not activate! I repeat, do not activate!" Mallie shouted into her radio. They heard a weird creaking noise and looked up, seeing the sprinklers slowly activating one by one, from one end of the hallway to their end.

"Get down!" Vic screamed. Mallie and Vic covered the kids again, Dean covering the two of them to help.

They felt a sudden rush of heat as the fires started lighting around them, making the kids cough a lot more. Mallie tugged her mask off and put it on the girls face, Vic doing the same with the boy.

"Miller, Hughes, Cruz, do you copy?" Andy's voice came over the radio.

"Yeah, we're here, and we're okay," Dean panted, spraying out some of the fires with his extinguisher. Vic and Mallie stood up to do the same.

"Damn it, I'm out," Vic cursed, putting hers down. Mallie sprayed the last of hers.

"Same," she said.

"I'm about to be," Dean sighed. He grabbed his radio. "This is Miller. Hughes, Cruz and I are here with two civilians. We're trapped. We do not have an exit. Repeat, we do not have an exit," he said.

"Miller, I'm gonna get you one," Sullivan's voice came over the radio.

"This is Herrera. My team can't get out either," Andy's voice joined the conversation. 

"Great," Mallie whispered.

"We're surrounded, and these walls are turning paper thin," Dean said.

"Then we use that. It's not load-bearing. We can chop our way-" Vic started coughing as the smoke got on her chest.

"Vic!" Dean grabbed her arm. Mallie winced as smoke stung her throat, forcing out a cough that turned into her hacking her guts up. "Mallie," he grabbed hers.

The teenagers tried to take their masks off but they shook their heads.

"No, no. You keep that on," Vic said.