Burning Flames ¦ Evan Buckley

Chapter 9 - Strongest Swimmer

El sat at the table finishing off her dinner which Hen had prepared for them. She wasn't in the mood for conversation right now; she was having one of those days. Her eyes scanned the room, noticing Buck going over to Bobby who was also in one of those moods, staring into his book aimlessly.

She placed down her fork, realising this may not be going the way that Buck was hoping. As Buck interrogated Cap about his book it was clear he was becoming agitated. All of a sudden Bobby shoved Buck against the wall with such force it echoed throughout the quiet firehouse. El gasped, having not seen an aggressive side to Bobby before. Bucks features reflected her own.

Saved by the bell, the alarm sounded. All hands on deck. She rushed to her feet and took a look over at Buck who was still against the wall, taking in what had just happened. She hated to admit but there was a part of her tha enjoyed the sight of Buck being put in his place. She brushed off her caring nature that was desperate to escape and headed to the truck.

-

The group arrived at the beach, only to be met with a crashed plane in the water. "You guys ever seen something like this before?" Buck asked as the 4 of them stared in disbelief and shock at the tragedy in front of them.

"Only in the movies.." El spoke, giving her head a tilt before they began to run down the beach, equipment in hand, ready to face the disaster ahead of them. El knew she was going to be given a big job for this considering she was the best swimmer out of them all. She was always in the water as a kid and being a former lifeguard gave her that extra knowledge.

The group helped some fellow first responders in carrying one of the lifeboats down and to the water, Bobby being put in charge of the scene. Upon being given the role of incident command Bobby began to spurt instructions. "I need you as my point man on the beach. Hen, I need you to check on the Coast Guard chopper and Buck I need you to check with the dive team. El you're with me, you're our strongest swimmer, I'm gonna need you, alright?"

As they approached the waters edge, El felt her stomach drop as she witnessed a ladder, still strapped to her chair, dead on the sand. Her movements slowed as the blue tones face of the woman stared into her soul, memories flashing in her head. Buck placed his spare hand on her arm in a comforting manner, seeing that she was clearly affected by this. "Come on keep moving." Bobby instructed.

The team rolled out on the lifeboat, the heat of the accident beginning to beat down on their skin. El had seen similar incidents go down in her time in Florida, she had once had to rescue 2 survivors from a helicopter crash in the sea, but she had never seen something on this scale.

The once peaceful water had now been tainted with jet fuel, the flames spreading on top of the water, making it look like an impossible scenario. "We need to be careful of the jet fuel, we have no idea how fast it's leaking and how much, it can spread quickly" El spoke, expressing her knowledge.

"I count 12 to 15 victims on the wing, at least 30 in the water. How long before that thing sinks?" Hen yelled over the sound of the turmoil.

"Based on the timing of the swells, I don't think that plane can take more than four or five sets before going down," Bobby confirmed.

Carnage set in. Survivors were jumping from the top of the plane, screams were echoing out. Water was splashing and crashing while smoke filled the air, making their vision impaired. The team arrived at the back half of the plane, smoke emulating from it, many survivors still inside. The group piled onto the plane apart from El "Cap, I'm going to help the ones in the water" She spoke with confidence, it would work best if she was out there doing what she could to help.

"You've got 4 minutes tops, then I want you back on that beach" Bobby spoke to her in an over protective tone, not wanting to lose a valued member of his team. El nodded before taking off her boots and shirt, 2 things that were likely to weigh her down. Luckily for her, she always wore a small, form fitting vest under her uniform. With no thoughts other than saving those she could in the water, clouded by past trauma, she dove straight in.