Right Direction. (Hailee Steinfeld)

Up in flames.

My four days off have flown by, which is usually the way. I mean sure, I slept for literally 90% of them, but it was worth every second.

As an added bonus when I managed to stay awake for a few seconds at a time I managed to speak to Hailee. Everytime I woke up I seemed to have a DM or two off her on Instagram, to me it was basically the equivalent to a good morning my message, so it made waking up that little bit easier.

"Tobin! I missed you!" Buck shouted from his position on top of the truck where he was shining the shiny red metal, arms spread out with a grin on his face.

"It's been 4 days, Buck." I replied with a grin and a wave as I walked in the front of the firehouse, nodding my head in goodbye to the night shift who were leaving for their rest days.

"Point still stands." He shouted after me.

Before I could reply to Buck we were interrupted by the alarm blurring through the building indicating a call was coming to us.

"Fire truck 89, 126 and aid car required at 107 filforth avenue."

And so it begins.

Once I listened to the voice and noted they needed two trucks and an aid car I realised I would have to clock on early for the extra manpower considering we were mid shift change. I shrugged of my hoodie and trainers and threw them to the side along with my bag before rushing over to the truck where my equipment and gear was laid out next to the truck near Bucks, the Probie having prepped our gear a few minutes before we usually arrive.

I stepped in my boots and pulled my pants up over my joggers before pulling the straps over my shoulders and pulling my jacket on and let out a little grunt at the extra thirty pounds of weight now on me due to the gear. Probably shouldn't have had so much takeout the past few days either.

"What're we looking at, Cap?" Probie quizzed once TK started driving towards the coordinates.

Captain Nash had a quick read through of the limited information we were sent though before responding. "Looks like a three car RTA, query people trapped."

The incident wasn't too far from us so we got there fairly quick and we were first on scene. We all hopped out and took a look at the incident before taking any action. It looks like a car has ran a red light and gone into the side of another and then sent that car flying into a passing motorbike.

"Alright, Probie do a quick run through, go see how many persons trapped we're dealing with. Hen, Captain Vega, you evaluate any immediate injuries. Strickland, TK, you two take the bike. I'm gonna go see the driver who went through the lights. Buck, Kaiin, you two are on the T Boned car. We work swiftly and safely. Let's go." Captain Nash finished with a nod as we all immediately moved to our assigned jobs.

Me and and Buck grabbed some Jaws and ran over to our assigned vehicle, a bit more urgency in our step when Probie waved us over to indicate there was someone trapped.

"Help! Help me please. Please, my boy-my boys in the back." A woman In her early twenties pleaded as we got closer.

"Hey, hey calm down, we're here to help, alright? We got you. My names Buck, this is Kaiin, alright?" Buck spoke as we both had a quick glance at the situation. "Tobin." He mumbled and subtle gestured to the inside of the car with his eyes. I took a step closer and peered to the inside, tensing my jaw when I noticed a thick section of the cars frame had broken off and had gone straight through the woman's abdomen, straight away making this job a lot more time sensitive.

"Yeah. That too." I muttered back as I nodded to the front of the car which ran the light that had a liquid which looked a lot like fuel seemed to be through the engine. Buck nodded wordlessly before popping his head through the smashed window to speak to the distressed female. "We're gonna get your son out first, okay? The EMT's will have a quick look over of him."

The woman glanced at Buck and nodded as she grimaced in pain. He was easily able to reach in and take out the young child and pull him through the window with minimal troubles so I left him to the task and turned to the female at the front. "What's your name, sweetheart?" I asked as I shrugged of my fire jacket.

"Cara."

"Hey Cara. I'm gonna put my jacket over you, okay? It's just gonna protect you from any sparks or anything that flies of the car whilst we get you out, hmmm?" I worded my sentence like a question but didn't give her time to respond as I pushed my jacket over her body to cover her torso and arms , leaving me in my fire pants and a LAFD t shirt.

"Probie, I need the A1 Cutter!" I yelled when I clocked him near the truck. He nodded in response as I grabbed the jaws and placed them in the car door and brought them to life, allowing them to do their thing and separate the door from the hinges before I was able to pick it up and dispose of it. I grunted as I lifted the door, always thankful for the extra weights Captain makes us do. Probie arrived with the cutter and I nodded in thanks. "Alright. Cara you're gonna hear a lot of noise, and probably a lot of discomfort but I need you to try and stay as still as possible for me."

Cara nodded again and took a deep breath.

"Buck, we're gonna have to just cut through the frame and pull her out, we can't remove that on scene safely." He nodded in agreement and held Cara by her shoulders to restrict her movement for her own safety. I started the cutter and began slowly cutting my way through the metal frame.

"Uhhhh, Cap?!" I hear a distant voice yell, I take note of it and try to listen but don't stop my work.

"Kaiin, Buck, you need to clear out this cars gonna blow." I heard Captain Nash shout with urgency in his voice from his position as close by responders began to evacuate the area.

"We've got about 30 seconds." Buck mumbled as he lifted his head up and peered over the car.

"I've got it." I responded through gritted teeth as I willed the cutter to get through the metal quicker.

"Tobin."

"Buck! Kaiin! Now!" I heard Captain yell again. I began to feel heat on my face as the flame from the nearby car grew, signalling it was going to go up in seconds.

"Tobin, we can't, come on!"

"Go, Buck!" I yelled. I'm not losing someone on my first call of the shift. I can do this.

I didn't hear him respond but felt him wrap his arms around my body and try to tug me me back with him. I turn my face with the intention to tell him to move but was interrupted by the blast of heat hit me as my ears popped and the car nearby finally went up completely in flames, sending shrapnel from the vehicle flying in every direction. The force of the blast knocked me on my ass a few meters away.

Even with my ears currently ringing, everything sounding underwater, I could still make out Cara's scream. I went go stand up, prepared to pull this girl out by the shoulders if I needed to but before I was able to get on my feet I felt hands grab my shoulders and arms, pulling me back away from the wreck.

I couldn't make out who exactly was shouting at me due to the ringing in my ears. The world felt a bit blurry and I couldn't make out any of the noises around me besides muffled shouts and Cara's screams.

I tried to focus my eyes but a fire blanket was thrown over me as someone patted it down, I assume some part of me had caught alight from the flames. I flinched when I heard a second bang followed by a deathly scream, snapping me out of my confusion.

"Cara?" I mumbled, finally coming to my senses. "Cara!" I opened my eyes to see the car I was working one now completely engulfed in flames, her screams no longer present.

"It's too late, Tobin, she's gone. It's too late. I'm sorry." The Paramedic Captain, Tommy, mumbled as she pushed my shoulder down to keep me on the floor. "You did everything you could, kid. It's okay. I'm sorry, sweetheart." She added as I stared at the car.

She was probably my age.

She was just driving her kid to god knows where and now that kid doesn't have a mom.

All because of some more thank likely drunk asshole.

One persons stupid decision has changed a whole families life forever. In that one moment.

I've lost people before, in this job it's almost guaranteed. But it never gets easier. It's drilled into us from training not to dwell on the lives we lose, but instead on the ones we save. But that's hard to think about when you were a few moments from saving a life. A few seconds from a kid still having his mom.