Burning Flames ¦ Evan Buckley

Chapter 6 - Friends

"Adult male, down, on the hillside. We got three kids in a bouncy house" Hen spoke, the team gathered near the cliff of their next job.

"Alright, we're gonna stage the trucks on that service road. I want El and Buck to rappel down, anchor that bouncy house. Assess the condition of those kids, start to send them down one by one in a basket. Hen and I will take care of the dad. Chim you're gonna stay up here and work the winch" Bobby commanded.

"Hey, how come I never get to do any of the fun stuff?" Chimney protested somewhat.

"Working the winch is fun" Bobby smirked and patted his shoulder before getting into position.

"This is starting to become a pattern" El spoke with a small smirk as she and Buck began to buckle up into the harnesses.

"Not sure if I like it," Buck teased, sending over a smirk.

"Agreed" She teased back, allowing herself to smirk back at him. Bobby had been pairing them up more and more when it came to jobs, clearly attempting to parent them into being friends. El had to admit it was working somewhat. He was teaching her to be more upbeat and free while she taught him to think before he delved head first into something.

As they lined up, the faint cries and pleads from the children could be heard from below. Buck and El repelled down in sync, them both having this connection when it came to being on the job. Buck secured the bouncy house while El continued to traverse down the cliff's edge. She soon enough reached the bouncy house, seeing the three young boys petrified.

"Hey...hey" Buck Spoke "We're LA fire and rescue. We're going to get you out of here, okay? Just stay calm, we got you"

"Hey boys, can you tell me if your friend here is okay? Is he awake? Is he breathing?" El asked, remaining calm for the sake of the young boys. She was met with head shaking and silence from the boys. She looked at Buck with a confused and concerned expression.

"Lower the basket down Chim" Buck spoke through the walkie talkie, giving El a small nod of reassurance.

"Is my dad okay?" One of the boys questioned in a saddened tone.

El turned her head to see Bobby with the father, it didn't look good but it also didn't look bad. "He'll be okay" She gave him a lipped smile "Now come on, we gotta move, now". While El kept the boys calm Buck and Chim sorted the basket. Once on hand, El guided it through the open side and set it down. Gently she made her way into the bouncy house, Buck grabbing her arm to stop her "I got this Buckeroo" She gave him a nod.

She guided one of the boys to Buck before attending to the unconscious boy. She felt for a pulse and luckily enough there was one, strong too. She placed him gently and carefully into the basket after applying a neck brace before giving a nod to Buck. She took the last boy in her arms and the three of them made it to the bottom of the cliff with no issues.

El allowed the rest of the team to do their duties, taking a moment in the sun, her eyes glancing over to Bobby who seemed somewhat upset. He was a mystery man, much like El was herself. Go to work, do the work, make a few jokes but don't get too close. Getting too close always scared El, she had been left or betrayed before and feared it would happen once again.

She feared that the more her team got to know her, the more attachment she would feel to them, albeit it was an understatement to say that she did like them; however her walls had been up for so long it wasn't as if she could just flip a switch and all would be fine.

-

It was another day at work and El sat, eating away at the bowl of popcorn as Hen and Buck played xbox together, winding each other up of course. El laughed as Hen pried the controller from his hands as he screamed for HR. "Chim, hey!" Hen called as he walked up the stairs, not in uniform which was unlike him "Here, you're up" She spoke however he walked right past them without saying a word.