Destined for Destruction

chapter one - luke

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life," my mom said as she set a plate of pancakes in front of my little brother, Oliver. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah," I said as I took a sip of orange juice. It was my first day at the Bucks County Fire Academy. I live in Montgomery County in Pennsylvania, but I've been told by everyone at my firehouse that the thirty minute commute to Doylestown was worth it. Bucks' program was much better than Montco's and I would finish in half the time. "I'll finally be able to actually do something."

I had been running with the Harleysville Fire Department since February. I joined just after my eighteenth birthday. My friend from my high school, James Anselmo, also ran with them and he told me that they apparently let fourteen year olds run around that place. Soon after joining, I learned that was true. Sure, it would've been nice to grow up doing this stuff, but there's no way I would let people at school know I was a junior firefighter. I'm Luke Hertz; I had a reputation to uphold.

Keyword: had. High school graduation was two weeks ago. I was no longer the football star I was in November; I was no longer the captain of the baseball team. Nobody even cared that I was Souderton Area High School's heartthrob.

I was just Luke Hertz, almost-firefighter.

"Do you have the directions to the Fire Academy?" Mom asked, finally sitting down at the table.

"Yes, Mom," I sighed. "I get my gear from the FD and take route 202 to 611. I got it."

"I thought you'd be more excited," my little sister, Aria, piped up. "Isn't this your dream?"

"I mean, yeah. But I don't know anyone else who is going. And it's gonna be this intense program...I'm gonna be there like every day, and I just—"

"Lu," my mom reached over the wooden table to put her hand on mine. "You've got this. You'll make friends before you know it. You're good with people. They didn't make you captain for nothing."

"They made him captain cause he's really good," Oliver said.

"Thanks, Olly," I smiled, finishing up the last of my breakfast. "And thank you, Mom. I'm just nervous."

"Cause it's the first day," she replied. "You're always nervous on your first day. The second day will be easier and before the week is over, you'll be rushing out of here to go back."

I playfully rolled my eyes. Yeah. Right. I looked at my watch and realized I needed to get going. I lived just behind the firehouse and grabbing my gear would be easy, but the traffic on 202 wouldn't be.

I got to school with five minutes to spare, jamming out to my favorite songs on the way. My travel coffee mug was halfway empty by the time I parked my Impala. I let the song finish before I walked inside, drumming on the steering wheel. Daisy was my baby. I grew up on Supernatural and was obsessed with Dean's Impala. While my 1969 Chevrolet Impala isn't Baby, she is close. She's a gorgeous navy blue and despite all the love affairs I've had in the backseat, Daise was my first love. We've been through everything together since I was sixteen.

I walked inside the front entrance to the Fire Academy with my backpack slung over one shoulder and my coffee cup in my opposite hand, hoping to find some sort of direction. There was a sign just inside the front door that said Firefighter 1 was in the classroom directly behind me. I walked in and found a seat. I looked around, searching for a familiar face or even just a familiar department number. The standard firefighter uniform was a pair of duty pants and a department t-shirt.

I didn't see a single familiar face, but I did make eye contact with the older man who was sitting in front of me. He wasn't old old, but for the fire service, he sure seemed like it. "Good morning," he extended his hand out towards me. I shook it. "Bobby Knight. And you are?"