Parallel Lives

Chapter 3: Terror in the Lobby - Jacob

   (I'm going to be uploading this book every Wednesdays and Sundays! Like I said before, there will be more chaos. I hope you guys will enjoy this)!

   The guys and I quickly made our way inside the lobby of the North Tower. There were horrible things everywhere we looked. People burned, glass everywhere, debris coming down outside. I gathered with my guys and waited for any orders. Chief Peterson walked in with Sabrina right behind him. She was wearing her gear, which was beige and yellow. Ours were black and yellow. "Chief! Do you really think Bri should be here?" I asked with worry. I didn't wanna put my sister in harm's way. "She won't leave, Jake. She'll refuse if I ask her." Chief muttered. I saw Sabrina looking at me. I couldn't tell what emotions were being told in her green eyes.

   "Cobain, try not to be scared. Ok?" I tried to console. My other younger sister and I occasionally called her "Cobain," after Kurt Cobain since Sabrina's favorite band is Nirvana. My sister insists that Bri would look like him if she dyed her hair blonde. I honestly don't see a resemblance since she has shoulder-length dark brown hair and green eyes. She used to have really long hair but she cut it two months ago to make work easier. My sister won't even call Bri by her real name anymore. Just Cobain, but Bri didn't mind it. Sabrina smiled a little and nodded.

   Chief Peterson set up a command post and began to command the firefighters that were here. He told the guys where to go and what to do, to which they nodded and started their duties. "Jake, you stay here. I'm gonna need a lot of help here." Chief commanded. I nodded, a bit disappointed that I wouldn't do anything. However, I took one look at Sabrina's face and knew exactly why Chief Peterson told me to stay. Sabrina wouldn't be able to focus if she didn't know if I was ok.

   More firefighters came in soon enough, including my best friend since childhood, who shared the same dreams as me and joined the fire department at the same time. "Daniel!" I called. Daniel turned to the source of my voice and saw me. His face instantly lit up. "Jacob! You ok?" Daniel asked as he ran over. "Yeah I'm ok. You?" I asked. Daniel nodded, but I knew him too well to know that he was lying. "Dan, you can't fool me. I know you aren't ok." I observed. Daniel nodded in defeat. "You're right. I'm just in shock." He confirmed with a shrug. He looked at the command post and saw my battalion chief, with Sabrina standing beside him looking nervous.

   "How's Sabrina?" Daniel asked. "Nervous." I replied. That's all I knew. I didn't know if she felt any other emotion. Daniel walked up to her, with me following closely behind. "Hey Sabrina. How are you feeling?" He asked, concern laced in his voice. "Frightened." Sabrina admitted. Daniel patted her shoulder in comfort. "Gonzalez!" Chief Peterson yelled. Daniel rushed over. "Yes sir?" He answered. "I want you and your firefighters to go take the elevators to either the 60th or 70th floor. I am not too sure where the plane hit but apparently it's above the 78th floor." Chief Peterson commanded. Before he could respond, our captain rushed over.

   "Chief, there's no working elevator! We've tried everything but there's nothing!" Our captain, Donald Thomas explained. All of the firefighters that Chief ordered to certain floors were back in the lobby. Something seemed to click in Sabrina. Her nervousness seemed to leave. She went behind the front desk and stood up on it. "Guys! There's no working elevators. I am thinking that the jet fuel leaked down the elevator shafts and either made the elevators stuck, or blew them up." She theorized. "How do you know?" A firefighter asked. "What do you know? You're just a junior firefighter. Not an official one." Another firefighter yelled. I turned to glare at whoever said that.

   "When I walked in, I smelled a little bit of jet fuel. There were people dead and burned on the floor near the elevators. Some, if not, most of them were blown out and the blast damaged the lobby. Anybody within the radius of that blast are dead. You guys are gonna have to climb up the stairs to save people and put the fire out." Sabrina explained. We all gazed at her, realizing she was right. The firefighter who had made that comment looked away from her as he realized he judged Sabrina too early. I started feeling a newfound respect for my little sister. Someday, she will definitely be a better firefighter than me.

   Sabrina stepped down and rejoined Chief Peterson. It was silent as everyone gathered their thoughts. Chief gazed at Daniel. "Alright, change of plans. Go up the stairs to either the 60th or 70th floor." Chief Peterson said. Daniel nodded. "Stay safe you two." Daniel said, hugging the two of us. I patted his back and saw him and his firefighters make their way towards the stairs. Daniel stopped and turned back to look at me. He gave me a smile and shot me a finger gun motion. I returned it, smiling. We used to do that all the time when we were little. He stayed there for a moment, before finally walking away out of sight.

   I guess Sabrina could see my nervous expression, because shortly after he left, she hugged me. "He'll be ok, Jakey. Don't worry!" She assured me. I smiled. She hasn't called me "Jakey" in a long time. I patted her helmet. "Yeah. I'm sure he will. He's pretty tough." I said. "Yeah. More tougher than you." Sabrina giggled. I punched her arm softly. There she goes with her usual antics. It was nice to have some humor from her throughout this catastrophe. Now, we just need to see how things go. Hopefully not too bad.

   "Chief, I'm gonna go outside really quick. I'm gonna see if there's any issues out there and I'll see if any more firefighters are coming." Sabrina explained. Chief nodded. "Be careful, alright?" He warned, to which Sabrina nodded. I gazed at her, more nervous. Sabrina threw me a comforting smile and walked out the building. I stood there for a moment, feeling lost and numb. I sighed. Now what?

   Just then, I heard another loud rumble, just like before. Before I could react, I felt the building shutter a little and heard a blood-curdling scream outside. I looked at the entrance and saw Sabrina running in, screaming at the top of her lungs. "THE SOUTH TOWER GOT HIT! THE SOUTH TOWER GOT HIT!" She screamed. She stumbled into my arms. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

   I looked behind me towards the mezzanine, looking at the windows. There were fireballs and debris falling outside. "Holy shit look at those fireballs!" I yelled, pointing. Many firefighters looked in the direction of my finger and gasped. Sabrina continued to cry in my arms. I looked at Chief Peterson with fright. We both shared the same panicked expressions. Our problems just fucking doubled. This was bad. This was real fucking bad.

   (Need I say more about the chaos? This is gonna be more crazy soon enough. I hope you guys enjoyed this though. See you soon)!