Parallel Lives

Chapter 10: Pain - Sabrina

   (This one will have some heartwarming things so enjoy that)! 

   After what felt like hours, I managed to dig myself out of the rubble. I was covered in dust, and feeling so much pain. I tried to look around for anyone I knew. I couldn't see Jacob or any of the other battalion chiefs. I looked ahead and saw mine, and sighed in relief.

   "Chief!" I called out, rushing over to him. He looked over and gasped. "Sabrina! Holy shit we thought you were dead!" He exclaimed, hugging me tightly. "I thought I was too. Where's Jacob?" I asked, looking around. "I sent him back to the firehouse. Go over there and rest, ok?" He ordered in a soft tone. I nodded and made my way to the firehouse, beginning to hope that my unit were alright.

   The moment I walked in, I didn't even get a chance to say anything before I was lifted up in the air by Jimmy. "Bri, you scared the hell out of us! Jacob thought that you were dead!" Captain Thomas spoke, gazing at me in surprise. "Well surprise. I'm alive." I muttered, wincing a little due to the pain I was feeling from my wounds. I took off my helmet, and felt blood on my forehead. My arms were littered with scrapes. I took off all my gear, and put it in my locker.

   I noticed that everyone was here, except for Tommy Benson, our probationary firefighter and my best friend. "Where's Tommy?" I questioned. "I don't know. I heard that he went with our old battalion chief to the scene." Captain Thomas revealed. I began to feel frightened and sat on the bench, hoping he was alright. I could hear the others trying to reassure me and tried to get me checked out, but I refused.

   I sat there, trying to reassure myself that Tommy was fine. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned to hours. No sign of Tommy. The pain from my injuries began getting worse. It hurt every time I breathed. It doesn't help that I keep coughing. My back is hurting really bad and my hands, arms, and face are scraped from the concrete. Everything hurts, but I'm trying hard to overcome it so I can know what happened to Tommy. A few members from my unit, including Jacob from what I heard, left to go back to the site. One of them went to look for Tommy. Jacob went to look for me.

   "Oh shit!" Eddie, one member from my unit, yelled. We rushed over and heard another loud rumbling noise, just like what we heard when the towers collapsed. "World Trade Center 7 is collapsing!" Eddie shouted. We all looked ahead in shock. We were seven blocks away so we were able to see and hear everything. "Why?" I asked. "I think it's due to the fires caused by the debris." Eddie explained. Jesus Christ that was bad.

   I began to worry even more now. For Jacob, Chief Peterson, Daniel, his unit, and Tommy. The collapse of WTC 7 could've made everything worse for them. Were the people I care about in danger because of the collapse? I wanted to call Jacob, but I knew he wouldn't be able to answer.

   Time went by with no sign of anyone. I looked at the clock. It was 6 PM. Normally I'd be home, either resting or watching movies. Or even reading. I knew it would take awhile for me to get back on track with those things. My head was killing me now. I should've gotten checked out earlier.

   "Benson!" Eddie shouted. I perked up and looked over, seeing Tommy. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. It was in fact Tommy, covered in bits of dust. Tears began to well in my eyes at the realization that my best friend was ok. "TOMMY!" I screamed, racing towards him. He threw his stuff down and caught me in his arms, lifting me off the ground.

   "Thank God you're ok! I was so worried about you!" I sobbed, my voice muffled since my face was buried in the crook of his neck. He rubbed my back, consoling me. He set me down, ruffling my shoulder-length dark brown hair. "Are you ok?" I asked, wiping away my tears. "Yeah." He answered.

   "You were gone for a long time." Eddie noted. "I was down there searching in the rubble. I left shortly after building 7 came down. I was looking for you guys." Tommy explained. We were a bit taken aback that he had been searching for us throughout the entirety of us waiting for him.

   "So is everyone accounted for?" Tommy asked, nervously. "Yeah. You were the last one. Now everyone is accounted for." Captain Thomas answered. Tommy breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing that everyone was safe. "You motherfuckers. I was certain you guys were dead. I was digging through a whole mess of shit, and you guys have just been chilling here the whole time having fucking conversations?" Tommy joked, resulting in us chuckling a little. He sat on the bench and I laid my head on his lap, grateful he was alive.

   The pain was getting even worse now. Everything is giving me pain. I stood up, trying to walk around to eliminate the pain. This resulted in me getting a bit dizzy. "Sabrina, are you ok?" Tommy asked, noticing me wincing. I nodded slowly, only to stop once my eyesight started getting blurry. I didn't know what was going on, but I felt myself falling. I tried to look at my surroundings, but everything was a blur. I soon shut my eyes, darkness overcoming me.

   I didn't know how long it had been, but my guess was a few minutes. I felt myself getting loaded up on something. I was being rolled away. I knew right then and there that I was on a gurney and being sent to the hospital. I saw Tommy walking alongside me. "Call Jacob. Tell him I'm going to the hospital." I whispered. I could see Tommy nodding, and he stopped walking. I was loaded on to the ambulance and was being driven to the hospital. I was about to tell them I was fine, but I was too weak to say anything.

   It didn't take long to get to the hospital. Once I got there, I felt guilty. There's for sure more people with worse injuries than mine. I shouldn't be here. As I was being rolled in, a sharp pain and feelings of discomfort started developing in my chest. It shot up throughout my upper body, and it made the doctors and nurses panic. I was rolled away very quickly to another room. I knew there was something wrong. Once again, I felt dizzy and my vision blurred, before eventually going dark. 

   (Well that's not good. You guys will find out what happened soon. Stay tuned! I hope you guys enjoyed this)!